The Choice of Palin

There are many who like McCain because of his POW status and his "country first" message. In fact, he is now the republican nominee for president exactly because of that. When his campaign seemed to be over in the primaries a year ago, he was able to recover exactly because of that.

But beyond the many reasons for which McCain does not deserve to be elected, there is one that is very defining. It is not the fact that he would be "Bush-III" (although that is true). It is not that he is too truly out of touch with the average American (although that is also true). It is Sarah Palin.

By that single decision, McCain established a few things:

1. That his "country first" message is not sincere. One has to be totally blinded not to see that there dozens of women candidates in the GOP far more intelligent, accomplished and qualified than Palin. Some examples are Kay Bailey Hutchison, Susan Collins, Elizabeth Dole, Olympia Snowe, and even Carly Fiorina. McCain picked Palin simply for political calculations. He did not care whether she is qualified to be president if something happens to him (and she is obviously not). That means that he simply decided that he no longer cares about this country.

2. By picking Palin, he underestimated the intelligence of many female voters all over the country. Paradoxically, it was a sexist move on his part. Picking an unqualified woman (when there so many qualified ones) and expecting that women will simply vote for her because she is female, is sexist and offensive. McCain has a record of disrespect for women, and his selection of Palin was consistent with that.

3. By picking Palin, he also proved that he can not stand up to the religious extremist faction of his party. Palin is essentially a religious fundamentalist with some extreme out of touch views (like that the Iraq war was God's wish). If McCain can not stand up to the religious extremists within his party and he is held hostage by them, how could he stand up to America's enemies?

Electing McCain would be a total disaster for the country. Lets hope it does not happen. This country deserves better than that.