McCain clutches at straws and comes up short

John McCain's curious pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate really has to make one wonder about his judgment. Palin - a governor for only two years - previously was the mayor of a town of less than 8,000 people. She already is embroiled in a scandal in her home state. And just last month she said she didn't understand what a vice-president does.

In an interview with Larry Kudlow of CNBC, Palin said, “[A]s for that V.P. talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that V.P .slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question.”

What about McCain's oft-repeated "experience" claim in this election? Well that flies right out the window with Palin. Can you imagine if McCain - now 72, having survived cancer - were president and she was suddenly called upon to lead the country? What does she know about foreign affairs or even Washington, for that matter? I would think there are many Republican politicians who are better-qualified vice-presidential candidates, including Kay Bailey Hutchinson. For that matter, most of us would be more qualified to be vice-president than Sarah Palin.

Does McCain really think the lingering few Clinton supporters and independents who haven't been won over by Obama would vote for him, simply because his vice-presidential pick is a woman? How deluded is the man?

Palin, a mother of five, is also a creationist, so maybe McCain thinks he's appeasing certain elements of his party. But he's obviously not considering the good of the country, otherwise he would never put such an unqualified person's name forward for an important office with critical responsibilities.