McCain Picks...Sarah Palin?

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Despite Arizona Senator John McCain being the Republican nominee for president this year, right now all the talk is about a little known governor from the Land of the Midnight Sun, Sarah Heath Palin. But was nominating this curious figure as McCain’s running mate a good idea or a bad idea?

Okay, so I got last week's VP prognostication wrong. Not only was I wrong, I was way off. I speculated that it would be either Mitt Romney or Charlie Crist over Joe Lieberman or Tim Pawlenty. The name "Palin" didn't even cross my lips, even if you listen to the audio backwards!

But, that being said, what's the verdict on Palin?

Well, for the first time in Good Idea, Bad Idea history...the jury's still out.

She's been a pretty tough cookie up there in Juneau, Alaska, selling off the state airplane since she didn't think it was needed, although air is the only way to get to some towns in the Last Frontier.

She's also initiated both the largest budget in Alaska's history, but made the largest cuts to the construction budget at the same time. She's also been one to get after now-indicted Senator Ted Stevens about his financial dealings.

However, at the same time as all that, she has managed to get involved as the target of a state investigation over the firing of State Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. In that incident, allegations claim she fired Monegan because Monegan wouldn't fire State Trooper Michael Wooten who, at the time, was going through a rather unpleasant divorce with Palin's sister. Palin and her team, of course, deny involvement, however, the investigation continues nonetheless.

Additionally, Palin initially lent her support to the so-called "bridge to nowhere." In a bit of a turn of fates from 2004, seems she was "for it before she was against it."

Palin ran her 2006 gubernatorial campaign, essentially, on a "build the bridge" platform, lending her support to the bridge that would connect Ketchikan, Alaska to its airport on Gravina Island, which, currently, is only served by ferry. Her support dissolved, however, when it gained national attention as an example of ridiculous pork-barrel spending.

Overall, when it comes to the question of her nomination, John McCain's no dummy. Palin has gathered heavy support from the so-called "Republican base" due to her very-conservative outlook on social issues.

Yet, at the same time, McCain has showed some curious judgment in making decisions he feels would be politically expedient, most notably, now, with the so-called "hug heard 'round the world," when he hugged President George W. Bush during a 2004 campaign stop in Arizona.

Overall, we'll call the Palin VP nomination a Good Idea for now, but that may change since, on the whole, hardly anything is known about her.

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