From The Progressive
By Matthew Rothschild

John McCain just surrendered his best case against Barack Obama: that the Democrat does not have the experience to be commander in chief.

By choosing Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who has absolutely no foreign policy or national experience, McCain has taken a huge—and perhaps fatal—gamble.

His bet is that appealing to Hillary Clinton voters and, to a lesser extent, white union voters, is more important than making the now-defunct experience argument.

It’s a risky bet, though, in many ways.

First and foremost, Palin doesn’t appear to be a candidate who is ready, at a minute’s notice, to be President. Given McCain’s age and bouts with melanoma, that could be a big drag.

Second, it’s unclear how she may handle the obstacle course of a national campaign. She could trip clumsily, and end up a disaster like Dan Quayle.

Third, she doesn’t bring a swing state into play. Alaska traditionally goes Republican. It might have been smarter for McCain to go with someone like Tim Pawlenty, who possibly could have turned Minnesota red.

But she solidifies McCain’s support with the social conservatives, as she is an ardent anti-abortion activist and a big NRA supporter.

Most obvious, she and McCain were angling for the Hillary Clinton vote.

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