The Star-Telegram's contrast between Obama's choice of Joe Biden to be his running mate and McCain's pick of Palin couldn't have been more biting:
Since the political parties' national conventions, much has been made of the candidates' vice presidential picks. While it is Obama and McCain who are competing for the highest honor that the American people can bestow on a fellow citizen, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin are relevant as measures of the candidates' judgment.
Obama picked a seasoned veteran, a Delaware senator who has distinguished himself as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees. A moderate on foreign policy, Biden brings experience and an extensive network of international contacts, a definite boost in an arena where the Illinois senator needs an assist. Biden often been a leader on issues, from aid to former Soviet states in the early 1990s to U.S. involvement in the Balkans.
On the domestic front, Biden, 65, has worked extensively on crime and domestic violence issues, authoring the Violent Crime Control and Enforcement Act of 1994 and the Violence Against Women Act in 2000.
Obama's "cautious and safe" selection of Biden may not have moved the polling needle, but it reflects Obama's recognition that his own candidacy was daring enough in a nation so deeply divided.
McCain, 71, selected a woman who, without question, energized a Republican base that was underwhelmed with the man at the top of the ticket. Many conservatives, in their desire to back the Republican Party's nominee, choose to forget that McCain was not their early favorite.
He was hammered in the early primaries for his support of humane immigration reform; his campaign-finance initiatives were vilified by those who consider the freedom to financially support political candidates a First Amendment right; and his commitment to balanced budgets meant he initially opposed extending President Bush's tax cuts - a commitment McCain put aside when it became necessary to adopt the GOP's tax-cut mantra as his own.
The Arizona senator quieted many of his early Republican critics by naming Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 44, as his running mate. She ignited the base with "drill, baby, drill" speeches and unapologetic social conservatism, as evidenced by her pro-life, teach-creationism stands.
But that brilliant short-term tactic has proved a flawed long-term strategy. Palin's once-captivating newness and tough-gal persona have given way to serious questions about her understanding of checks-and-balances governing on a national level. While she may be an entertaining master of the politician's fine art of the memorable one-liner, she inspires little confidence in her readiness to be commander in chief.
It's sad that the Dallas Morning News did not even have the sense to address the kind of judgment both candidates displayed in naming their running mates.
As it is, I am glad that at least one of my area's newspapers had the sense to endorse the only adult running for president-- a man who also understands family values far more than either McCain or Palin could even dream of.
