The Palin Pick: So When do we Start Burning Our Bras?

"Did you hear? Good news. McCain has picked a woman, Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska." The speaker was a dyed in the wool Bush hater and Obama supporter.

"I'm not so sure, it's good news," I replied. And I wasn't. I confess that my first thought was "a neophyte one heartbeat away from the presidency?"

Then, I started learning about Sarah Palin. What I learned lifted my spirits. Here was a gracious, yet no nonsense broad. Originally, I had suspected McCain of pandering to women, but by the time I finished the short course, Palin's gender was just an added bonus. Here is a ticket with two mavericks. You can see how her reformist stance, her willingness to take on the oil companies, as well as the entrenched Republican machine, would appeal to Ol' Mac.

And, here's the best, the woman is a populist. Yup, finally, someone not from the ranks of the moneyed or political class. Here's a family, an honest to goodness family, not the photo op variety. Here's a woman who knows how many houses she has, doesn't mingle in elite circles,knows what it is to be middle class. C'mon, she's not even a soccer mom. She's a hockey mom.

So, why am I not nervous about her relative inexperience? Well, unlike Obama, she has actually presided over and administered a budget, that of a state government. In fact, a look at the variety of issues she's faced make her style and her beliefs clear. Unlike Obama, she is not running for the top spot where inexperience in the White House is a guarantee. She might be a rabble rouser, but she is not an "organizer" with all that entails. She does not in her inexperience seek to change the world, part the waters, or even stem global warming. Her political philosophy precludes big government. In this instance, less is more. Thus, if you were to parse it fairly, she is less liable to cause disaster than the "One," not to mention voters have a far better idea of what she would do in office. As far as I can tell, she never voted "present." So what's not to like?

What this choice makes evident is that Hillary should have been the nominee with an apprentice Obama. And I'm not even a Democrat. Hillary, I can respect. That's why they're all steaming. Gotta hand it to McCain.