John McCain has finally chosen a running mate, and those who suspected a further move towards the right, with a selection of Mitt Romney or other experienced politicians, received a nasty surprise. McCain has a history of being a maverick, and clearly the years have changed him little.

Palin’s official Alaskan Gubernatorial photo.

Upon learning of his announcement of Alaskan Republican Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, networks and campaign followers alike scrambled to find out just who this unknown is. Some sought quotes, others sought interviews with Palin herself, while more esteemed, old-school publications and people actually consulted paper sources. The rest of us simply went to where 90% of America goes when they need to find out something: Google.

Background

Biography: Sarah Palin is Alaska’s current governor. She took office on December 4th, 2006, making history as the first woman to be Alaska’s governor. She was born on February 11th, 1964, and is relatively youthful at a sprightly 44 years old.

Palin has served only two terms as Alaska’s governor, and before that was on the Wasilla City Council for two terms as well, 1992-1996. Throughout her tenure as governor she has garnered approval ratings of 80% and above. She is also mainly congratulated on her clean government, though there is a taint of scandal wherein she may have fired Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan as he had not removed a state trooper she wanted fired for personal reasons. (More explanation of the brouhaha surrounding the incident can be found on Wikipedia and various news sources.) Personal quotes from Sarah Palin are as follows, courtesy of http://www.ontheissues.org/Sarah_Palin.htm:

Education: “My budget includes fully funding the “K through 12” foundation formula. In addition, I’ve included more than $200 million in new dollars to cover the increased retirement costs for local school districts, so that more local school district dollars get into the classroom, where the money belongs. We’re facing a potential $10 billion PERS/TRS retirement plan shortfall that affects local schools. Our $200 million dollar line item for school districts is part of the half BILLION dollar proposal to help th districts, local governments and the state alleviate the pension plan burden while we work with the Legislature on a long-term solution. I’ve also committed to help provide local school districts with more predictability, for better planning by supporting “early funding of education.” I’ll introduce a separate education appropriation bill and ask that it’s passed. Our local school districts deserve to know what they have to work with early enough for them to create efficiencies through planning.”

Economy: “I have established an aggressive goal of reducing general fund spending by $150 million dollars. This takes tremendous effort by staff as well as the cooperation of the Legislature. On the savings side, by depositing our one-time surplus of $1.8 billion dollars, we’ll build our savings account to nearly $4.3 billion dollars. It’s a necessary step to ensure that we can fund essential services tomorrow; and avoid massive “single year” cuts down the road, if and when, faced with tougher times.”

Civil Rights: “I am pro-life and I believe that marriage should only be between and man and a woman. I am opposed to any expansion of gambling in Alaska.”

Energy and Oil: “My Administration will pursue the gasline plan that is best for ALL Alaskans. How do we get there? Through a two-step process. First, we acknowledge that the Stranded Gas Development Act (SGDA), under which the previous Administration negotiated with the “Big Three” producers (ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and BP), no longer applies. The Legislature’s own experts have testified that the gas can no longer be deemed “stranded” due to long-term economic conditions.

I believe in protecting Alaska’s environment through fair enforcement of our environmental laws. Having a clean record on environmental regulation is critical to getting ANWR open and maintaining our fisheries mining, timber, and tourism industries. I would also revisit the change in regulations on the Alaska Coastal Zone Management program in which the past administration by eliminating the rights of local districts to write specific local enforceable policies on important issues like subsistence. “

Other: Palin also is reported to be pro-contraception, and a member of Feminists For Life. She also, hilariously enough, is a member of the National Rifle Association. As for the pronunciations on civil rights, she opposes same-sex marriage yet has extended benefits to gay couples as a governor.

Analysis

Sarah Palin sounds like a no-nonsense, stern, morally committed person. She is also a social conservative, with leanings toward moderate energy policies as well as reducing spending. In other words, she’s a lot like John McCain — which is probably why he picked her.

There are formidable weaknesses in her resume, though. She has even less experience than Senator Obama in Washington, a charge often leveled at Obama which, understandably, Democratic supporters were gleefully eager to use in labeling her. However, Sarah Palin’s weaknesses may be also her strengths - if she can inspire the same type of desire for change that Obama has, perhaps she may bring the much-needed impetus to McCain’s campaign.

Also, McCain probably selected her to counterbalance his age and ties to the current White House. Thus she seems like a somewhat sensible choice for McCain, as she addresses the areas he is weak in. As an added bonus, she may attract women who might have voted for Hillary Clinton.

Given that, McCain’s choice still has pundits and political columnists scratching their heads in amazement at the gamble he has taken. The most recent news of Alaska for the lower-48 was that of allegations of Republican Ted Stevens, the longest-serving senator, being faced with charges for corrupt land dealings. Thus, the state’s governor may give some voters pause, as well as Palin’s socially conservative stances on many pressing issues.

In addition, as previously mentioned, Senator Obama has proved himself adept at campaigning and Washington bureaucracy; Sarah Palin has no experience. Yet, she does have experience as an executive, which is something Obama lacks. Yet as a comparison to Joe Biden, Obama’s vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin has terribly low experience in both politics and Senate-related matters. It is probably better to compare the vice-presidential nominees to each other rather than Palin to Obama, yet discussing the various charges and inferences people will draw is also worthwhile.

In the end though, John McCain stayed true to his go-getter form, and gambled on a little-known choice for vice-president. His tenacity might bode well if Sarah Palin can bring a much-needed change and youth to beautify the Republic presidential campaign image. Yet still, there are many weighty cons to weigh Palin down.

Only one thing is certain. There are only so many weeks until voters go to the polls, and neither side has swayed their respective party into the nation’s undeniable favor.