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By C. Antonio Romero
SAN FRANCISCO, 1 SEPTEMBER 2008 — In
the wake of the Democratic convention, John McCain has certainly defied
expectations by picking little-known Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his
vice presidential nominee.
"Inexperienced!", crow the Democrats.
"Hypocritical!" would be the natural Republican response. Barack Obama,
whatever his gifts, was almost as un-tested as Palin when he chose to run
for the Presidency.
But there are two things afoot that distinguish
the choice of Palin from the choices around Obama, and that should be
decisive even without the other considerations.
First: Obama
himself chose to take on the risks of jumping in on a campaign with so
many candidates, who had so many advantages - and made that choice work,
at least so far. (Hillary Clinton also chose the path that led to the
highest office in the land, and did the hard work to make that choice come
together.) Palin's place in this race was chosen for her - even if she was
in public service, this landed in her lap, bestowed upon her by a party
seeking to assuage a certain demographic.
Second: The American
people, at least those who are open to the Democratic possibility, have
looked closely at Barack Obama and chose him over the other, more proven
alternatives. He may be inexperienced, but tens of millions of people,
informed by their own experiences and equipped with such knowledge of him
as they have, chose him as their best option for the future. Obama's
choice of a known quantity in Joe Biden is a kind of faith keeping with
that choice, an acknowledgement of the people's experience.
Palin may only be the running mate and not the actual
candidate, but so far, at least, only a small number of people have
examined her, much less chosen her, for any role, let alone the political
role of a lifetime, one which she could be called upon to fill at any
time.
We will see, in the weeks to come, whether she can overcome
that unfamiliarity and (a separate question) become a choice the American
people can rally behind. Right now, though, she is the choice of only one
man - a man whose choices have already given many cause for
doubt.
To be in the same race as Obama, Biden and McCain, she will
have to surprise the American electorate with her performance as much as
Senator McCain surprised us with his choice.
C. Antonio Romero is the Nouveau and
Technology editor of Culturekiosque.com. He last wrote on Barack Obama: The New Caesar Africanus? Or, What the
hell is Chris Matthews Talking About?
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