With all of McCain's endless jingoistic rhetoric of 'country first', you'd think chief among his requirements for a vice president would be someone who could in fact lead the nation were he to be incapacitated or die in office - macabre speculation, but necessary when the top of the ticket candidate is 72 years old.
Sarah Palin seems to have an interesting personal history, but her political resume is notably scant (from Wikipedia):
After being selected as the runner up in the 1984 Miss Alaska contest, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska City Council from 1992 to 1996, was elected mayor of Wasilla in 1996, and ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 2002.
After charging ethical violations by state Republican Party leaders,[2] she won election in 2006 by first defeating the incumbent governor in the Republican primary, then a former Democratic Alaskan governor in the general election.
When Barack Obama chose a running mate, he selected someone with nearly-impeccable national credentials and extensive foreign policy experience. Joe Biden is known and respected throughout the world - by Americans and foreign leaders alike.
Sarah Palin is no Joe Biden. This is a deeply cynical selection, passing over many better-qualified candidates to throw a SOP to the extreme right wing of the GOP, and to appeal to the vocal if numerically insignificant PUMA faction of Hillary Clinton supporters.
Unlike Joe Biden, Sarah Palin is manifestly not qualified to be Commander in chief of the United States.
The nation should be thankful for the first glimpse of John McCain's executive judgement. Selecting Sarah Palin renders McCain's 'country first' pronouncements exceedingly hollow.