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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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