I don't really know much yet. It would seem that the idea here is to nail down the base – Palin is quite right-wing – and pick up some Hillary voters.
She's 44 years old. Is she ready to be president? John McCain is 72 and has cancer. I'm writing these words right as the news is breaking, around 8:40 am Rocky Mountain time, and the first question the yakkers are raising is what we call here the so-called heartbeat-away question. She was a mayor of a town in Alaska with a population of 8,000 just three years ago.
Also she's going to be debating Joe Biden. I think he'll mop the floor with her, provided he isn't overconfident.
Pat Buchanan just said: "I think this is the biggest political gamble, just about, in all of American history." He's talking up her right-wing credentials now. So McCain still feels he needs to nail down the base. They may think they can get some Hillary voters because Palin is an attractive woman, and it may be that they will. But I would think that once Hillary voters know her right-wing politics, the vast majority will steer clear.
Final thought: The cables are going to be showing clips of Dan Quayle. Is that what the McCain team wants?
