Wasn’t she in Van Halen’s Hot for Teacher video?

I think John McCain has made a brilliant pick for vice president. There are several reasons for this.

1) If he had gone with any of the more obvious choices it would not have generated as much interest. A Mormon heartthrob, a Minnesota nobody and a Florida governor rumored to be living the lifestyle of Robin Williams in The Birdcage (according to my Republican sources) would not have been the newsmaker that Sarah Palin is (unless the governor of Florida got into a scandal about his wide bathroom stance).

2) His choice took Obama off of the headlines immediately.

3) She looks like some sort of teacher from a Cinemax late night movie that takes the glasses off, lets down the hair and… I’m just saying it can’t hurt.

4) She is a strong representative for the social conservatives. Hate them or love them they are a large part of the Republican Party and I think it is a good thing to see all political views represented. Although there is her wanting to teach Creationism…

5) Her family story will slightly offset the amazingly touching story of Joe Biden. She is a mother of 5 with her oldest going to Iraq and her youngest with Down syndrome. It may not be the way for everyone and does not mean other women should have to choose as she has, but as a woman (much more valid than a pro-life man in my opinion) she has clearly lived a pro-life way and no one can call her a hypocrite.

Another thing that struck me during Bill Maher last night is how quickly he went to referring to her a MILF and other such comments. Michelle Martin quickly pointed out that she had as much gubernatorial experience as Tim Kaine, one of the 3 finalists for the Democratic VP nomination. Coming back to the Hillary complaints – this kind of talk is the sort of ingrained sexist talk that, although not necessarily driving Hillary Supporters to Palin, could remind them to stay home on Election Day. And yes, I am aware that I intimate the exact same thing above in #3. But barely anyone pays attention to what I say.

The argument the McCain campaign will make is that the McCain ticket has put experience at the top of the ticket and youth/outsider/energy in a support role, whereas the Obama campaign has reversed it.

I think all eyes will now be on Palin, especially with the Republican convention coming up, and if she delivers a strong speech and debates well she will prove to be a wise choice for John McCain to sure up the conservative base.