Give it time for it to sink in for awhile. McCain just celebrated his 72 birthday. Both his grandfather and father lived to 70-72, respectively. He chose, as his backup in this election, someone clearly not ready to take over for him in case of incapacitation. This was a poorly made choice, and it will haunt the republicans.

And what is your case for Obama - the top of the ticket candidate? Less than 150 days in the US Senate before announcing his candidacy? 8 years in a state legislature? Lots of foreign policy going on there!

Be honest: just say that you like Obama for X, Y, Z reasons...but don't pretend he has any meaningful experience that would qualify him for president.

and, dipshit, McCain's mother is 96 and still alive. healthcare is also much better than it was in both his grandfather's and father's time.

his pick is haunting you tweakers. because you know, in one genius move, he's destroyed the Magical Quest of The Messiah and Joey Hairplugs.

lovin' it.

Nah. If McCain wanted a woman, Senator Huchinson was a far better choice. Somehow I can't see Governor Palin staring down Vladimir Putin or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Senator Biden is going to tear out her liver with his teeth and eat it raw at the podium during the debates. I can't even be happy about that. I just feel sorry for her. It'll be like watching a puppy being kicked to death. What normal person can enjoy that? The more I read about her (including her own words) the most clear it becomes that she's very much out of her depth. Certainly not the person to step up and take over a two front war and the world's largest faltering economy if Senator McCain can't make it to the end of his term.

quillsiinister,

"Out of her depth"? I believe the appropriate phrase is, "Above her pay grade." At least, that's how pro-level politicians like Obama explain their shortfalls.

That works, too. My point is that there was at least one woman under consideration for McCain's second in command who might have held her own against Biden in the debates, or Putin in the real world. Palin isn't that person.

Unless she's going to rip open her mild-mannered blouse to reveal a superhero outfit underneath, this could get extremely messy. I'll make sure to buy some popcorn. :-)

Mac's age is no secret waiting to be revealed by some left wing blog.

Those who consider it that serious a factor eliminated him from consideration 18 mos ago.

Those who do not or never have considered it a factor at this point in time are not suddenly going to "see the light."

He's outlived his grandfather, tied his father and still has a 95 yr old mother who stands straighter than a British sentry at Buckingham palace.

He has 1000 pages of med recs that say he's perfectly healthy and in better shape than most men his age.

He has 10,000 pages of resume.

Obama has a 1 page med report and 5 pages of resume.

Not to worry about Sarah Barracuda having to take over. She'll do just fine as a 4 yr VP.

Obama has been in the direct national spotlight for 4 years and his life has been more scrutinized than possible any other candidate in the history of this country.

As for foreign policy, Obama is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Within four months of the appointment, he took a trip with Republican Dick Lugar to Russia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine to work on issues related to nuclear non-proliferation.

This trip led to Lugar and Obama co-sponsoring a bill, passed into law in 2007, related to weapons nonproliferation.

In addition to that, Obama has proven he is a fully capable statesman with his recent trip to the Middle East and Europe, where he was warmly received. Moreover, he has made other trips abroad during his short stint in the Senate.

It may not be a long record, but compared to Palin, whose major achievement is half a term of as Governor of a state with a total population less than that of the City of Chicago, it is magnanimous.

So, to put it bluntly, those that claim Obama doesn't have any experience are full of shit. To take it a step further, it takes more than just experience and Obama has also demonstrated that he has the mettle for the job. Several weeks ago, though, Palin admitted she didn't even know what the VP did. Could you imagine if Obama said he didn't know what the President did? That admission, alone, shows she is unfit for the job.

A 1,000 pages of medical records that shows he's perfectly healthy. That is the most amazing bout of cognitive dissonance I have heard in a while.

The man has had reoccuring bouts of cancer (melanoma). Sorry, that's not "perfectly healthy," by any definition of the term, even if he has been cancer free since 2002.

earlier before their was such an explosion of quality medical treatment in this nation. Your contempt of the elderly has been noted by this AARP member and I am certain that a huge number of us will reward you bigoted Obamacrats for such slanders on voting day.

So recall while you are being so contemptuous of the elderly that we actually get of our ass on election day and vote.

in Alaska AND make herself the governor of the state, which means that she's quite likely to take a skinning knife to Putin. Do you Obamafanatics even HAVE brains?

Who knows more about the world outside of Wasilla and Alaska-- Obama or Palin?

We know Obama's world view, international travel, work on foreign policy issues in the Senate (bills introduced, passed and/or co-sponsored on nuclear arms, international health, environment, Congo, and more). He has lived in Indonesia and interned in Pakistan. He has an international family spanning multiple continents. He studied international relations at school.

Since campaigning, he's had intensive consultations with foreign policy experts and interacted with world leaders.

He has already demonstrated a prudent foreign policy stance vis a vis Iran (e.g., diplomacy before "bombing" or "obliterating"), and Iraq (e.g., judgement in not supporting the war, proposing a timetable that is now being worked out by Iraq and the current administration). Obama has received more financial support from members of the military overseas than McCain, the veteran. That should send a message.

Obama is clearly respected and admired all over the world, and represents a positive image for America, hope for improved international relations, and fewer enemies and more friends. America could use some of that.

What is Palin's international experience? She's even admitted that she has not been focused on Iraq, which is understandable at some level given her other priorities.

Put foreign policy experience aside-- who is more familiar with the challenges and issues of the large, populated states on the mainland-- Obama or Palin? What contribution can she make on the complex immigration issue? Does she have a grasp of the diverse demographics that make up America, their respective socioeconomic issues, challenges of race relations?

Obama has 12 years of legislative experience at the state and national levels, and an intimate understanding of an inner city. Palin's geographic exposure is limited to a village and a state population smaller than Chicago.

For the past two years, Obama has managed an effective and efficient campaign that has built a grassroots movement, raised unprecedented funds, and taken on the powerful Clinton machine. He has shown he can delegate well, organize, and get along with others.

Palin is doing great work in her own limited environment. She shouldn't be belittled for that. She should be commended. But Obama is far more experienced.

prorixum-- It is not a shortfall to admit that one cannot provide a definitive answer to a complex ethical and moral question for which there is no right or wrong answer.

I'd rather hear a candidate say they can't answer than to make up something that is politically expedient, which is what you wanted Obama to do to prove he is "decisive." Many women (and men) are very ambivalent about the abortion issue and all its dimensions. Obama respects that.

Spruce, I don't think "magnanimous" is the word you meant there. But I'll be magnanimous and leave it at that.

Obama doesn't have experience. You refute that by saying he went on a field trip and co-sponsored a bill. Color me unimpressed. I'm also not impressed by the fact that he went on other field trips where he had no negotiating authority and no agenda other than self-promotion. If you want to delude yourself into thinking that adds up into presidential material, go ahead. But those who disagree are not full of shit - they just haven't drank all the Kool-Aid.

Personally, I vote on policies rather than experience...but I find Obama's wrongheaded policy positions mixed with his lack of experience to be terribly foul.

Christine,

Obama didn't say he "didn't know." He said it was "above my pay grade." Those are two separate issues. Moreover, Obama opposed the Born Alive Act, so whether he wants to admit it or not, the issue is not "above his pay grade."