The Irony of Palin’s Position and Her Real Purpose

By Ned Shell

As Saturday Night Live so accurately pointed out this past week, it is almost laughable that Sarah Palin, a sportscaster, beauty queen, high school basketball hero, and yes, vice presidential candidate, has come closer to the White House than Hillary Clinton, Senator and former First Lady, a woman who has lived and breathed politics for much of her life. Palin’s political career has lasted around 8 years, if you count being mayor of Wasilla, (a town of 7,000 people), and less than 2 if you limit yourself to her governorship. Clinton, on the other hand, served as First Lady for 8 years and Senator for almost the same amount of time. Yet by some crazy, twisted turn of events, and the implication that McCain values his campaign more than his country, Palin has almost accidently climbed her way to being literally a “heartbeat” away from obtaining the most powerful job in the world.

John McCain, a 72 year old man who in 2000 underwent melanoma surgery and has since refused to release subsequent health records, would have to be disillusioned to not realize there is a substantial possibility that he will face serious medical concerns over the next four years. If something so unfortunate were to happen, Sarah Palin would be the president of the United States. A very frightening prospect.

But this little fact means nothing to the McCain campaign which only cares about getting a Republican in office. While Barrack Obama has picked a running mate based on qualification and advising potential, McCain has picked one that adds virtually nothing in the arenas of policy and experience. She isn’t knowledgeable in any area McCain needs help with ( Joe Biden is strong on foreign policy; an area Obama is considered to be weak in), and she has never worked in Washington before. The ONLY reason Palin was chosen was because she attracts voters (especially females) who originally supported Clinton. She is a personable, talented speaker who knows how to spew baseless ad-homonyms against the Democratic nominee. She is perfect for the Republican bid.