Sarah Palin for Vice President?

Barack Obama didn’t choose Hillary or any other woman to be his vice presidential candidate, so that poses a question for McCain. Should he choose a woman to be his vice president? One of several names being floated is Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Being a governor, she’s got executive experience. She’s a conservative, there’s no question about that. She’s all for drilling in ANWR. And she’s one tough cookie. Back in April, she was in Texas at an energy conference where she was slated to give a 30 minute speech when she went into labor with baby Trig a month early. What was her response? She stayed calm, delivered her speech, and then flew home to Alaska where she gave birth to Trig the following day.

She’s also a pro-life Republican who lives her principles. Sarah and her husband knew through testing early in her pregnancy that Trig had Down Syndrome. Instead of aborting him as 90% of all women who get a Down Syndrome diagnosis do, she and her husband loved and accepted Trig for who he was. From a Palin Family press release:

Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed.

Hat tip: Parent Dish.

I have great respect for Governor Palin. Her biggest negative is her relative inexperience, although she’s got a heck of lot more experience than Senator Obama.

Another woman who’s being considered is Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay. During the Saddleback forum, Senator McCain named her as one of the wisest people he knows. Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic says there’s a lot of buzz about Meg Whitman being a possible running mate.

I must say, though, I am very uncomfortable with choosing a woman to be vice president just based upon the fact that she’s a woman. Neither race nor sex should be the primary factor in choosing a running mate. That’s unbelievably superficial. Instead, John McCain should choose the most qualified and experienced person who matches and complements his skills and experiences. If that happens to be Palin or Whitman, great. If not, then he needs to choose someone who fits that bill.

Update: For a great blog that outlines in detail reasons why John McCain should choose Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate see Sarah Palin for Vice President.

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