Sarah Palin is a governor, and there's long tradition of governors running on Presidential tickets. Four out of our last five presidents have been governors. And Alaska is a huge, beautiful place, the largest of our states when measurured by square milage and the last true bastion of the American wilderness.
Does that mean Sarah Palin is ready for the national stage?
No. Not even close. Sarah Palin is, at best, an obscure local polician.
Alaska is, in fact, a very small place. The total population as of 2000 was 683,478. That is not a typo: the vast expanses of Alaska hold just over half a million people.
States like California, Texas, and New York have large populations-- indeed they have more people than many European countries. Clearly governing these states, with innumerable competing factions and interest groups, is a worthy qualification to represent all of the 300 million people who make up the USA.
But governor of Alaska? Not even close. Running Alaska is a lot more like running a city ... and not even an especially big city at that. After all the population of New York City is thirteen times bigger than that of Alaska.
If Alaska were a city, it would be the 19th biggest city--bigger than Baltimore, but smaller than Charlotte, N.C. Do people consider the mayor of Charlotte, N.C. to be a natural candidate for VP?
Combine the tiny population with the fact that outside forces--either the Federal government, which owns 65% of the land in the Alaska, or the resource extraction companies that are the state's economic lifeblood--de facto run much of the state and "Governor of Alaska" doesn't look like a very impressive credential for VP at all.
Alaska is geographically remote and in many ways racially and culturally homogeneous. The biggest handicap Palin faces in thie election is that she simply hasn't been closely exposed to the vast diversity of people in the US. Contrast that to Joe Biden. Despite getting some grief for hailing from tiny Delaware--though with 865,000 people it still has more folks in it in Alaska--Joe Biden knows Americans and Americans know him. He's dealt with politicians from every state, and during his presidential campaigns he's met every kind Americans from all over.
The Republicans will try to make us believe that the fact that Sarah Palin came from a remote, sparsely-populated area gives her pluck, courage, and insight that big city folk lack.
And it would ... if we were living in a Hollywood movie. In reality, though, living in isolation doesn't make you wise. It just makes you isolated.
Sarah Palin is simply out of touch with the vast majority of the American people--just like her running partner, John McCain.