Who is Sarah Palin and Does McCain have Good Judgement?

For a change I'm in total agreement with No. 3 Democrat Rahm Emanuel when he said, in reaction to McCain's choice for running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin:

On his 72nd birthday, is this really the one-heartbeat-away he wants to put in the White House? ... What does this say about his judgment?

And you could almost visualize the jaw drop on analyst Ron Fournier, of the the Associated Press, which led him to write:

A governor for just 20 months, she was two-term mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of 6,500 where the biggest issue is controlling growth and the biggest civic worry is whether there will be enough snow for the Iditarod dog-mushing race.

Every politician has some skeleton's in their closet. Palin's is fresh, according to Fournier:

She has an ethical issue as well. Alaska lawmakers are investigating whether Palin abused her power in firing a public safety commissioner. Lawmakers say they want to know whether Palin was mad at the commissioner for not firing an Alaska state trooper who went through a messy divorce and ongoing child custody battles with Palin's sister.

This Just In:

The pick earned McCain praise Friday from evangelicals and other social conservatives who have been skeptical of him. "Conservatives will be thrilled with this pick," said Greg Mueller, a conservative GOP strategist.... Maybe.

Palin, the darling of the social conservatives, has another fresh skeleton in her closet, from the perspective of the social conservatives, Palin's seventeen year old, unwed daughter is five-months pregnant. Of course, this doesn't bother me, but I'm not a social conservative.

Nice headline with which to start off the GOP convention: "Palin says daughter, 17, is pregnant"

Ya gotta wonder if McCain knew this was coming (apparently he knew)? If not, there could be some future trust issues between McCain and Palin. If he did know, then he better start playing up the, "Hey. Palin's just like a lot of other families out there where this sorta thing happens..." Except she has health insurance.

Maybe they're going after the sympathy-vote. And you thought the Democrat convention was a soap opera.

More: Fact-Check Article. Some examples:

+ McCain: "She's been governor of our largest state."

FACTS: Big? Yes, but mostly wilderness. Alaska is ranked 47th by population.

+ McCain: "She's been in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply."

FACTS: She's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state.

Sources:

Associated Press, Analysis: Palin's age, inexperience rival Obama's, Ron Fournier, August 29, 2008.

Associated Press,
Palin says daughter, 17, is pregnant, September 1, 2008.