McCain's Vice

Early rumours suggest that John McCain has opted for the surprise choice of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate. If true, I wonder which group of voters he is aiming for with the choice of the Alaska governor?

Some of her photo shoots look like they've come straight out of that niche men's magazine, "Specs and the City" (not that I'm a subscriber). In the UK meanwhile, the press would doubtless refer to her as a 'Yummy Mummy' - she has five kids called Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.

Palin is both a woman and three years younger than Barack Obama, thus partly nullifying the Chicago senator's differential appeal, and notably adding another obstacle as he seeks to win over Hilary Clinton's staunch female voters. She is also that rare thing, a Republican with a sense of humour, and is thus always good value as an interviewee, adding a fresh twist to McCain's tired public persona.

The enormous but lightly-populated state of Alaska is rarely at the forefront of American politics, but right now the highly-contentious issue of 'offshore drilling' is a vital one as the country seeks to reduce reliance on foreign oil. As Obama put it last night in Denver, "..drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close." The McCain camp begs to disagree.

Although the media's first reaction is likely to be 'lightweight', I think this appointment by McCain is actually quite smart, except in the event that she actually succeeds to the Presidency in the style of President Lyndon Johnson. Given that McCain will be 72 on election day, this is not a non-negligible risk. Maybe America will get its first female President after all.