McCain's campaign hopes to capture what few unconvinced Clinton backers are left with this very questionable pick for VP. It's insulting to what few HRC die-hards there might be (and after the Democratic Convention that number is small indeed). "Look, we picked a woman. Isn't that enough?" HRC has tons of experience - Gov. Palin has none of HRC's credentials. What a farce!

Sent by RG, Tampa, FL | 12:57 PM ET | 08-29-2008

And in the same way it could be said, "The Democrats have just put the former Chicago Community Orginizer with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away FROM THE ACTUAL PRESIDENCY, not vice-presidency."

Hmmm, Mayor for VP vs. a Community Organizer for US President? Interesting that they went there.

Sent by Caleb | 1:08 PM ET | 08-29-2008

He picked a woman to pick a woman. McCain has talked about inexperience as a key topic - and he picks this person as his running mate? 20 months in office verses 8 years (Obama) - that is quite a time difference. And McCain is one or two heart beats away from making Palin the president. I thought highly of McCain for his environmental view point - but now I think he is the flip-flop they called Kerry - and obviously two out of touch and two old.

Sent by Todd Kosharek | 1:18 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Obama was a State Senator of Illinois plus a four year term U.S. Senator plus has pulled off one of the most successful grass roots campaigns in U.S. history. He is a lawyer who taught constitutional law and penned two books on his own. Senator Obama is more than qualified to be president and he had the judgement to pick a qualified VP.

In contrast, Palin was Miss Alaska, newscaster and mayor for a small town with no foreign policy experience and less than two years as a governor of Alaska. GOP applauds this pick? Laughable.

Sent by LMDJ | 1:23 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Jesus, this whole campaign is a circus.

Rome is falling people. You made it happen, GOOD JOB!

Sent by Jody Sol | 1:27 PM ET | 08-29-2008

"I'm a hockey mom from Alaska." Self-described. Possible start-up credentials for American Idol and Dancing With The Stars if we next learn that she can sing and dance. Can't wait for the auditions, aka the debates.

Sent by lynn | 1:30 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Ha. I wondered why "they went there". Sometimes you just speak before you think.

But, you don't hear those kind of tacky things from McCain. He congratulated Obama on picking Biden. He said it was a good pick. Last night, McCain told Obama, "Good job." He's a classy guy.

Sent by Caleb | 1:50 PM ET | 08-29-2008

The only risk I see to Obama's campaign here is that Palin is a strong and confident speaker and could draw an unfortunate unscripted response from Joe Biden in debate. I'd say it's a low risk.

Other than that I think McCain made a poor choice to go with someone with so little political experience.

Sent by pete g | 1:58 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Love Governor Palin's comment: "I'm so grateful." As I was listening to the introduction and her speech (replete with sports references), that was my impression: she is a grateful JV cheerleader that has been asked to the prom by the "senior" varsity football player.

Sent by alp in oregon | 2:04 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Mrs. Palin, the mother of a 4 month old baby with Down's Syndrome, has agreed to run for one of the most time consuming job commitments on the face of the earth...is this the new face of Republican "family values"? As a woman, I wholeheartedly believe that we should be afforded the same opportunities as men; however, as a realist, it doesn't seem to speak well of Governor Palin's judgment that she has chosen to pursue this particular opportunity at this particular moment in her life. I'll be curious to see how this issue resonates with the rest of America, especially with the older generations of female electorate that McCain is trying to woo post-Hillary.

Sent by ALP | 2:15 PM ET | 08-29-2008

It is an insult to the Hilary supporters, to feel that John McCain thinks that a woman...any woman...will reel them in!

Sent by Jean Hjerpe | 2:16 PM ET | 08-29-2008

This pick is definitely insulting to women...it is an obvious ploy to woo former Hillary supporters. This woman believes in NOTHING that Hillary supported, and has no real experience to back it up.

So much is at stake in this next election, including a fight to save our Supreme Court, that we cannot have McCain and the extremely conservative Palin win. Anyone who is wooed by Palin to McCain's camp was never going to vote for Obama/Biden in the first place.

Sent by Tracy | 2:26 PM ET | 08-29-2008

The mere fact that McCain is still a viable candidate is alarming. He has forsaken the "maverick" credentials to toe the GOP party line. And in the area of foreign policy, let's not forget that McCain during his 2000 bid for the GOP nomination was quoted on his campaign tour as saying "I hate the gooks," and "I will hate them as long as I live."

It is alarming because a major candidate for president publicly used a racial epithet, refused to apologize for doing so and remains a legitimate contender. Is this the face we want to present as our representative on the world stage? The efficacy of his ability to deal with increasingly important Asian nations must be called into question.

Sent by Dave in Phoenix | 2:37 PM ET | 08-29-2008

The only way the McCain-Palin ticket makes sense is if the GOP plans to build Dick Cheney a secret bunker in the White House so he can continue to run the country (into the ground). Obama will be our next president.

Sent by Liz in PA | 2:42 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Oh how blind the democrats are by not seeing what they created. The DNC-Dean should have seen the true line up (Clinton & Obama). They had the foundation that would have beaten anything the GOP could design. Not now, Go John & Sarah.

Sent by Kevin | 2:42 PM ET | 08-29-2008

On the other hand, what entertainment value this has! She put the former governor's personal jet up for sale on eBay. When McCain dies we get big-hair-Betty as president! Politics is a blood sport, so this will be one helluva season.

Sent by Gita | 2:43 PM ET | 08-29-2008

The choice for Palin as VP running mate is fresh and exciting on the surface, but ultimately desperate and cynical. Beyond the freshness and surprise, Palin is simply the Bush-Cheney-McCain hope that women will save the party's corporate patriarchy. Most women who supported HIllary are not likely to induce such self-inflicted lobotomies by voting this ticket.

Sent by J.David Cruz | 2:47 PM ET | 08-29-2008

This appears to be a last minute act of desperation. I'm not saying this in any way to discredit the idea of having a women VP, but the way it appears to be more Fabricated History by the Republicans. " Oh yeh...well... we can make history too...watch this". This selection does not seem genuine, or heartfelt, or beneficial to the greater good. This seems like a gamble and it really says a lot about the way John McCain will lead our Country, "By just wingin' it".
It was also ludicrous the way some GOP conservative leaders have already suggested that they felt bad and were hurt at how poorly Hillary was treated by Obama at the DNC. Give me a break, what an insult to the people who supported Senator Clinton. When was the last time you heard any Conservative say anything tender, or complementary, or even remotely polite about any of the Clintons? This reeks of Carl Rove / Dick Cheney/ Katharine Harris, deception.

Sent by John B. | 2:59 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Accepting a time consuming job of a VP with a 4 month old sick child at home is certainly a display of "good" judgement on Palin's part. Picking any female, especially one that is currently being investigated, to win over Hillary's people is also a display of "good" judement on McCain's part. I think McCain has just taken away his only honest attack on Obama which was lack of experience. I think it's time I become an Independent. McCain has certainly failed the Republican Party and I cannot remain a part of it.

Sent by Melvern | 3:09 PM ET | 08-29-2008

The Demoncrats have not put a former Chicago community organizer on the ballot for President -- they have put a former state senator who accomplished a great deal a relatively short amount of time for a constituency consisting of the population of one of the largest U.S. cities who then went on to become a US senator for one of the most populous states in the Union. Regardless of one's political viewpoints, no one can deny that Barack Obama must be one impressive individual to have come so far in such a short time; he clearly stood out from the crowd and must have made wise decisions in his relatively short tenure in national politics. To suggest his experience is in any way lacking next to Governor Palin's is disingenuous and simply, incontrovertably inaccurate, regardless of whether Governor Palin has achieved much or little in her short time as governor of Alaska.

For those who are cynical enough to suggest that race is what distinguishes Barack Obama, I am afraid we have not come nearly far enough in this country for that to be a distinction that works in a candidate's favor.

Let us not forget what a brave and rare thing Barack Obama did to truly distinguish himself as the most junior senator -- voting against the invasion in Iraq. Again, whether or not one agrees with the decision, it is indisuptable that it takes remarkable strength (and risk for your own political longevity) to go against a tide as powerful as the one that swept us into Iraq. Democrats and Republicans alike were hell-bent on action there and were blinded by the tragdey that had just befallen our nation. For Barack Obama to stand practically alone means that he who he says he is -- someone different, someone who is acting in the interests of something greater than himself. For at that time in American history, his vote was akin to political suicide. Only hindsight is 20-20.

Sent by Aiming for Hope, Not Fear | 3:22 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Could it be that after the Democratic Convention that no one else wanted to be on the ticket? Palin will not take the political hit in terms of the long run by loosing like others on the short list would.

Sent by Bill | 3:54 PM ET | 08-29-2008

All during the campaigning everyone has been complaining about Obama's lack of experience. When he chose Joe Biden as a running mate, a man who has plenty of credibility in the foreign policy area, they said that a VP couldn't band-aid Obama's shortcomings. The GOP has been drumming it into everyone's minds that experience is the only way to go and McCain is the clear choice there... and then McCain picks Palin. Though doctors claim the guy is in perfect health, should something happen to McCain... THIS IS THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BE IN CHARGE?

How is this not completely hypocritical?

I can't wait to see Palin debate Biden on foreign policy. I can't wait to hear and read all over the news that women, once supporters of Hillary Clinton, are flocking to the GOP as they said they would because they have a female candidate on the ticket. I can't wait to shake my head until it falls off at how people will say that Palin can juice up the race and how McCain/Palin exemplifies change for Washington.

McCain = Bush #3
Palin = Anti-abortion, gun-friendly, oil-loving newbie.

McCain + Palin = a Bush-impersonating ventriloquist and his puppet "Perky".

Sent by Terri | 5:18 PM ET | 08-29-2008

As a former Hillary supporter I have been slow in coming around to Obama. Biden helped. Palin? You must be kidding! Proof positive that McCain thinks women are both stupid and gullible. I could have been persuaded with other QUALIFIED republican women...I could have even lived with Huckabee or Romney...but Palin? No way. No how. No McCain/Palin.

Sent by Jane Smith | 5:33 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Just remember the insightful words of Hillary herself. "I didn't start this fight for Hillary, I did it for the single mom with cancer and two autistic children, I did it for the wounded Marines, the kid who can't afford college, the elderly losing medicaid". "Did you vote for me, or for the people that need the Dems help"? Never forget that inspiring call to arms.

Sent by John B. | 7:44 PM ET | 08-29-2008

Is there any question after McCain's pick what he thinks of women??? How insulting! Any woman that is a mother and professes to be a conservative, pro-life christian, and still stands behind and supports Sara Palin is nothing but a hypocrite. What kind of a mother takes on this kind of political commitment that would take her away from her family and a special needs newborn when she is needed the most? There is no greater job for her now than to be there 100% for this "special" child she chose to bring into this world. She is making a choice that does not reflect her "conservative" values, she is doing nothing short of abandoning her most important responsibility, being a mother. I am all for women working and being mother's, but she has made a sickening choice to be a puppet for the republican that degrades women at the expense of her family. One has to seriously consider her judgement. As a woman and mother, I am deeply offended by this choice.

Sent by Kelly | 1:03 AM ET | 08-30-2008

In addition to the other above-mentioned ways this seems a politically clever choice - none of the dems can mention her inexperience without reminding everyone of Obama's perceived lack thereof; and won't Biden have to act nice in debating her or be accused of misogyny as tended to happen when Hillary was in the fray?

Sent by Barbara Moore | 1:39 AM ET | 08-30-2008

A whirl wind trip to Europe is foreign policy experience?

If you are for change, why pick an entrenched politian for a running mate?

How much of that U. S. Senate term has been spent in Washington?

Sent by Janet | 9:22 AM ET | 08-30-2008

Hello (Jane):

Obama must think that Clinton is stupid, by not putting her even on his short list of VPs. The whole democratic establishment must be ashamed of themselves by ignoring substance (Clinton) over speech (Obama)in rejecting Clinton totally. If the democrats have any morale they must reject Obama totally and completely as a "speak what you want to hear" guy. Sarah has as much, if not more experience in running an executive office as Obama has! So, what's the problem???? Come on, be honest to your souls!!

Sent by Beedee | 10:17 PM ET | 08-30-2008

I'm an Alaskan, who worked for the State of Alaska and who has seen first hand how republicans think. Frank Murkowski, the Governor before Palin, was put into office by oil corporations and one of his first task was to fire all the politically appointed commissioners and directors, ignoring the huge loss of qualified people and replaced them with his barber from his town, plus anyone he liked from his church or dressed like him. People asked Frank how he was going to successfully run the State with his barber as commissioner and his reply was something to the effect that,"the people left in the departments will do their jobs for them or be fired. Guess what? Frank was right! All of the worthless, no
nothing executive branch, were hand carried to complete their jobs.
John Macain picked Palin the same way and for the same reasons. It's who you know, not what you know! The "good ole boys" network and the trophy wives and trophy partners will relinquish their royal status only if the American people take it from them and being sore losers they will destroy America on their way out. Pray that Americans will put an end to the destruction of the USA and vote as one for Obama.

Sent by Kimo DeV | 12:07 AM ET | 09-10-2008