by Joel Stottlemire

Created on: November 17, 2008   Last Updated: December 16, 2008

People considering the "fate"or "destiny of Sarah Palin tend to overlook one fact about her appearance on the national stage; she was a desperate gamble. The Republican ticket in 2008 flagging in the polls and lacking any real power to generate enthusiasm, chose the vice-presidential candidate based on single issue, namely the perceived discontent among women voters with the Democratic party after the defeat of Hillary Clinton.

Generally, the choice of a running mate for the presidential nominee involves a complex set of calculations intended to balance out any perceived weaknesses in the president to be. An excellent example of this is the nomination of Al Gore as VP to Bill Clinton. While Bill Clinton was charismatic and popular there was a perception that he lacked experience on the national stage. Gore, a second generation Washington insider made an excellent choice. Similar choices are typical of presidential races; the flamboyance of Regan was offset by the stoicism of Bush senior, Ferraro provided zip in the pedantic world of Walter Mondale.

Even in the days before her nomination, Alaska's first term govenor Sarah Palin, was not seen as a candiate. She had no national presence, nor any national or international political experience that would seem to make her a likely candidate. Quite the opposite, political experience is often one of the key ingredients for the office of the Vice President.

In the case of Sen. McCain's election bid, energy was so low, just being tied to the current president was nearly fatal, that no real candidate could be found who would uplift and energize the campaign. Instead, a strategic but very risky choice was made. Governor Palin was almost totally unknown and unvetted. Her one real advantage was that she was a tough talking woman who might, just might have the power to take dissatisfied female voters away from the Republican part. It was a gamle that did not pay off.

While Palin did endear herself to some of the conservative base with her views on abortion and other issues, these same positions kept her from appealing to the very people she had been chosen to attract, middle to liberal women. In the end its hard to say whether Palin had any real impact on the election or not.

As for her future in politics, it is far to early to tell. Rarely has someone with so little political experience been thrown into the spotlight so fully. What Palin needs is to be left alone to develop the the political enviroment that bred her. If she is to return successfully to the national stage it must be first as an elected offical of the state of Alaska and then and only then, as a national figure.

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