The Audacity of McCain

It was very interesting that in his speech to the Democratic Convention in Denver, Barack Obama discussed John McCain in the context of change. He said that McCain had voted with George W. Bush 90% of the time, which meant he opposed Bush 10% of the time. Obama stated that he did not personally want to risk the 10% likelihood of change under McCain as President.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton delegates were reported to disfavor Obama in large numbers because of their disappointment that sexism had negated her run for the presidency.

Now, John McCain has chosen a woman to run as his vice-presidential candidate. This is as audacious as politics gets! John McCain is around 72 years old. There is probably at least 10% likelihood that he will die in office and that he will be replaced by a woman president. Talk about change!

The woman nominee, Sarah Palin, is a very inexperienced professional politician, a governor of Alaska. For many people, that in and of itself would make her the best candidate of the four presidential or vice-presidential nominees of the major political parties in the U.S. Imagine an actual president who is not a sleazy professional politician like McCain, Obama or Biden is!

The audacity of McCain is that he is preempting the Democrats in a very impressive way. Women represent at least 50% of the American population, and thus by nominating a woman running mate McCain has opened the door to a woman president by attrition, which is stunningly audacious in view of his advanced age. (Let it be known that McCain’s own mother is still alive and well, so there are no guarantees that he will die soon).

How many women who would have voted for Hillary Clinton will now vote for McCain/Palin because the ticket includes a woman? How many people who would have voted for Obama will switch because they would rather see a woman vice-president than a mulatto president?

The audacity of McCain is stunning. The election is now his to lose.