DAYTON: John McCain made what some analysts say is one of the riskiest wagers in US political history by naming Sarah Palin as his running mate, potentially putting a national security novice a heartbeat away from the presidency. In one sense the pick was an immediate success, sparking an avalanche of media coverage which swamped talk of Democrat Barack Obama's soaring convention speech and elevation as the first black major party White House nominee just late Thursday.Pat Buchanan, a former Republican presidential candidate, said on television channel that the pick of the 44-year-old mother of five was the "biggest political gamble in American political history." The upside is that the charismatic Alaska governor will delight the conservative right which has been wary of McCain, is a fit with the "change" theme consuming the electorate and makes a pitch for women voters yet to warm to Obama.
She is youthful, energetic and with a young family brings a trace of glamor and flamboyance to the previously staid McCain campaign, and she can be billed as an anti-Washington reformer. And her selection allows McCain to tap into the historic theme of this election: if Obama wins, America will get its first African-American president. Should McCain win, the country will have its first female number two. But the pick is such a gamble, because Palin has zero foreign policy experience, no exposure to the fierce crossfire of the national political battle, and will be portrayed by Democrats as a right-wing extremist.
The number one knock on Palin is that in a time of global turmoil she has no obvious credentials to serve as US commander in chief should McCain, who was 72 Friday and has had cancer twice, die in office or have to step down through ill health. Palin will also have a challenge in going head-to-head in a vice presidential debate with Obama's vice presidential pick Joseph Biden, a senator with decades of national security experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment