Palin: Beyond 2008

It has been a very busy long weekend and I have had no chance to post anything for a few days.

I must say that I am thrilled with the announcement that John McCain has selected Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate. I am thrilled for several reasons, but what jumped out to me after reviewing some of her accomplishments was the way that Palin has put her principles above her politics and her party.

She is a conservative with consistently conservative ideals, and she will not kowtow to Republicans just because they have an R behind their name. In a fair fight my guess is she could easily kick the crap out of Lindsay Graham, though it is also my guess that Lindsay would cry like a girl and try to scratch for the eyes.

This selection could be interpreted as a bone to conservatives, whether McCain intended it to be so or not is not certain as this could simply be McCain's ego trying to reassert his maverick credentials. I'm hoping it is a bone, I've been begging for one for months. Whatever the case, it is exciting to see someone willing to go to the mattresses when they see something amiss rather than excusing the behavior because of political party. If she is willing to take on Republicans for being too progressive, she will be willing to take on the Democrats for being the same.

What this does for McCain's campaign overall is hard to tell, though I think it will be a net positive. While Alaska holds little electoral clout, the independent spirit of someone like Palin and her strong conservative positions will result in a lot of excitement for the Republican ticket going forward, a party that up until this point had very little enthusiasm headed toward November.

The long term implications of a Palin Vice Presidency would mean that, if elected, she would be the presumptive Republican standard bearer for the party headed into either 2012 or 2016, depending on McCain's decision to pursue a second term.

For a party in need of some long term stability and direction, Sarah Palin could be just what the doctor ordered.