Throughout the Democratic Convention conservative activists, columnists and pundits openly discussed John McCain’s intention to select a running mate the Friday after Obama’s acceptance speech. Their argument was that by so doing, McCain would dash any and all momentum stirred by the “Great Orator’s” historic acceptance speech while garnering as many headlines as possible.

To quote our current president: “Mission Accomplished.”

The headlines, however, are for all of the wrong reasons. Few, if any of us who even casually watch politics knew anything about McCain’s surprise pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. When I first heard the news, anyone in proximity may have seen the huge empty cloud, much like the ones depicted in cartoons, appearing over my head.

A number of columnists have already called this the worse pick ever—even worse than Dan Quayle’s selection 20 years ago.

As the information concerning Palin trickles in, the more I read the less I like about her political views. A professed reformer, it is reported that she is under investigation for her own ethical violations in Alaska. We have learned that she once was mayor of a town of around 9,000 citizens before becoming governor of a state of approximately 650,000, one so small that Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman joked is smaller than the City of Jacksonville.

I have also learned that in 2000 Palin supported Pat Buchanan, yes the same Pat Buchanan who is considered by many to be a racist and an anti-Semite. The same Pat Buchanan who once boldly suggested that Americans would certainly prefer immigrants from Europe than Africa or the Caribbean (read Haiti) because they can fit in with American values easier.

As far as first impressions go, Palin is clearly unimpressive.

Conservative talking heads immediately began trying to spin the pick. Rush Limbaugh, the same man who demonized John McCain throughout the Republican Primary only to cozy up once victory was won, defiantly declared this afternoon that Palin has more “experience as an executive than Obama.” Limbaugh went on to add that hers is a “real American success story”, unlike Obama who was “born in Hawaii.” Note to the college dropout Limbaugh, Hawaii is in America, too.

Limbaugh’s words of course are coded racism, as I have found that he and others of his ilk use the word “American” as a synonym for “white” particularly when discussing Obama or anyone who does not espouse his type of “values.” Further, Limbaugh’s suggestion that she has more experience than Obama is laughable. Yes, we have to remember the “experience card”, the Big Joker in this political game of spades that has had even the staunchest Obama supporters nervous because he has only been in the US Senate for four years.

Probably the best line of the day belonged to Robert Elisberg of the Huffington Post who wrote that “she has so little experience that she makes Sen. Obama look like FDR, Winston Churchill and Julius Caesar combined.”

In that vein, McCain certainly plays the part of Pompey, another grizzled war hero whose Hubris and envy of Caesar led to a civil war that ultimately landed his head on a stake.

Digressing, while this pick was certainly poor, Democrats would still be wise to be wary of their adversary. Remember, Quayle had the last laugh when he was sworn in as VP in January of 1989.

It occurred to me this afternoon that McCain is displaying such Hubris because in his mind, he still does not believe that Obama can best him. The polls continue to bolster his confidence, many of which suggest that he still maintains a slight lead over Obama.

As an aside, I am wary of polls, particularly because as my mother often says, “they never contact us.” The truth is that polls are usually conducted with folks with landlines---the older generation mostly that rarely, if ever, uses cell phones. As such, it is difficult to get a read on how many young voters of all races will actually turn out to support Obama.

Nevertheless, there is something peculiar about this pick today, something deep within my subconscious that wonders what McCain was thinking? All summer he has discussed how he wants someone whose “company he enjoys” and “opinion he respects.” While Governor Palin is attractive (there are bumper stickers in Alaska that read “coldest state, hottest governor”), what is it about her resume that warranted such high esteem? If anything, this is a slap to the face of the Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s, the Christy Whitman’s and the shrewdest pick he could have made, Condoleeza Rice, conservative women who have far better credentials than Palin.

I am bracing myself for a rough ride the next two months. It is apparent that since his VP will offer little substance, McCain is about to go on the political warpath. In the process, I wonder whether we are about to witness a torrent of nasty and divisive ads that will scare the fence sitters away from Obama because of his race or his name or the ever present lie that he is some Modern Muslim Manchurian candidate sent here to destroy America from within?

We will have to just wait to find out but I believe that McCain’s Hubris, his tragic flaw, was exposed today and like every Greek Tragedy, will ultimately prove to be his undoing.

I would not be shocked if at some point Palin even drops out, citing a need to spend more time with her family, which includes a child with Downs Syndrome. It would be the honorable thing to do, to spare us the potential disaster of having the mayor of a fishing town one stroke, aneurysm, or other natural cause away from having the nuclear launch codes. The people of America deserve better.

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