McCain rolls the dice

A few weeks ago I was talking to a Republican who fretted that McCain wasn’t far enough behind. His worry was that the McCain campaign wouldn’t realise just how many risks it has to take to win. Well after McCain has tapped the young, inexperienced Alaska Governor Sarah Palin no one can make that argument anymore.

The question is this is a sensible risk or a stupid one? The argument for it being sensible is that she is a woman, a Washington outsider, a reformer, someone who excites social conservatives but doesn’t scare moderates and understands energy issues at a time when high gas prices regularly come in the top three issues for voters.

On the other hand, she has no national security experience and is not tested on the national political stage. Democrats are already saying how can someone who three years ago was mayor of Wasilla, whose population is less than ten thousand, be prepared to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.