I wanted to avoid writing anything about Palin since well she is such a non-entity and a distraction. But given that people and expecially the press are falling for her act I guess I’ll capitulate briefly.

The problem with Palin is not who or what she is but that historically the choice of a Vice President has been irrelevant except in terms of picking up a state or two.

Was she the best qualified pick? No. Even if you were looking for a female Republican why not Kay Bailey Hutchinson or Heather Wilson? Is she qualified? By Spiro Agnew standards maybe. Not that the status of being as qualified as Spiro Agnew is much to aspire towards.

And Spiro Agnew is where I’ll begin.

1) Tickets do not lose based on who is Vice President.

The 1988 election actually was competitive. But it is doubtful anyone voted for Dukakis because Lloyd Bentsen was running for VP or against George Bush Sr because Dan Quayle was running for VP.

Dan Quayle was a surprise pick and was attacked mercilessly by the Democrats. Sarah Palin might be in favor of teaching creationism. Dan Quayle’s wife openly in a cringe inducing interview called the seven days of creation and the flood of Noah fact.

Some things such as the spelling bee (where potatoe actually is a valid alternate spelling of potato) was unfair. But we succeeded in the battle to portray him as a complete incompetent and a moron. Hardly anyone cared. In the end they cared more about Michael Dukakis.

In 1972 Spiro Agnew was made Vice-President in a manner similar to Sarah Palin. He was a moderate governor who was a stalwart supporter of liberal Nelson Rockefeller. And through his (mis)handling of riots in Maryland gained some acclaim by conservatives. He was useful in trying to court both the left and the right at the convention. And both did their paradoxical task. The liberal Agnew being the conservative pitbull appealing to the “silent majority.” The far-right Sarah Palin being the feminist appealing to Hillary voters.

Agnew didn’t have to prove he was qualified or that even he was a good guy. His role was to attack and draw Democratic critics away from Nixon and towards himself and to bloody up those who confronted him. To draw those with respectability down to his level.

That is Sarah Palin’s role. If your goal is to dent her popularity and bring her perception down to the level of Spiro Agnew you will probably win that battle. But at the expense of perhaps losing the war.

2) Experience isn’t the issue.

I assume most of you saw the hilarious Daily Show clip where they juxtapose Karl Rove’s analysis’ of the qualifications of Tim Kaine for VP with his praise for Sarah Palin. But we’re guilty of some of the same.

Virginia is a bigger state. Richmond is a bigger city. That isn’t why I’d vastly prefer Tim Kaine to Sarah Palin. It’s what Tim Kaine believes. It’s that I think Tim Kaine has vastly superior judgement.

Same goes if Barack Obama had selected a dark horse candidate. Joe Manchin of West Virginia? Small state. And yes he has a lot more state experience. But in the end it’s what they stand for. Bill Ritter of Colorado? My views would have nothing to do whether being a District Attorney in Denver is “better” than being Mayor of Wasilla. And neither would yours.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate what she is to them would be if Obama had selected Paul Hackett as his VP. It would be a choice that would electrify the base. His qualifications would be exceedingly thin. But I would love for Republicans to say he’s unqualified because he was “just an Iraq veteran” the same way Republicans rejoice every time someone criticizes Palin for being “just a hockey mom.”

Would Obama face criticism over such a pick? Absolutely. Might people see Hackett as unqualified. Perhaps. But in the end most will care mostly about whether he is compelling personality. Same way they are judging Palin. For partisan Obama and McCain supporters that judgement will be based on who they support anyway.

For those in the middle it will be an issue of questionable importance no matter how they decide. Which is why it would be foolish for McCain to expend too much energy attacking him (rather than Obama).

I wish this was different. In a better world former majority leader George Mitchell would be our Presidential nominee against Dick Lugar. That isn’t our world. And given I believe Obama has the potential to be a pretty good president perhaps this isn’t all that bad of a world.

3) Experience isn’t our issue.

Our issue is judgement. Not whether someone has a padded resume but whether when an issue is to be decided will the person in charge have the vision to make the correct decision.

Our issues are that Republican policies have dug the United States into a big hole domestically and aboard an only b changig those policies can we get out of that hole. McCain is great at issueing press releases but when all is said and done he supports the exact same policies and will obtain the exact same results.

4) Condescension does not benefit us or our narrative

It is easy to be condescending towards Sarah Palin. When you’re discussing what she did on the city council or at a pilates class less than five years ago in a town smaller than the campus of some of the universities you attended it’s hard not to. How is this a discussion of what qualifies one to be President?

Bill Maher dismissed her as a “stewartess” and just a “hockey mom.” And she’s been criticized for attending a number of schools before eventually obtaining her degree.

In 2004 Wesley Clark pointed out John Kerry was merely a Lieutenant while Clark was a General. A valid point in that a General has far more responsibility and executive leadership experience. A much more impressive position that takes years to rise to. But there is a reason why he only mentioned this once. The rejounder was simple and effective. There are far more Lieutenants than there are Generals. And the last thing he wanted to do was insult everyone who had been a Lieutenant.

Same way we don’t want to insult those who are from a small town. Those who are moms. Those who had to work to get their degree. We don’t want to say to those people you are not qualified to be President despite the fact most of them are in fact not qualified. Same way most of us aren’t qualified. And the same way most of us really don’t want to be told we’re not qualified despite the fact we aren’t.

And this plays to the whole “elitist” mantra of the Republicans. Some of this is the typical anti-intellectualism you can see going back to their campaign against Adlai Stevenson and Phil Gramm mentioning failing the 3rd grade far more often than having a Ph’d in economics. But the reality is there are far more students who don’t get a’s than those who do. Ted Kennedy wasn’t a very good student. But has been a damn good Senator.

But elitism is not us. It’s them. We don’t want to be condescending because Palin’s narrative is meant to show she’s “one of us.” That she is “just” a mom who struggled in school and achieved against the odds to become a Vice Presidential nominee. That she is someone who has kids and faces the same problems as the rest of us. She’s just like “you.”

That’s not our narrative. It’s not a complete nor accurate narrative. Our narrative is John McCain doesn’t get it. He doesn’t get it in part because he is in a completly different world than the rest of us. Married to a heiress and owning more homes than he can even remember he is insulated from the pain the rest of us feel. He’s a Washington beltway insider who just doesn’t see what the rest of us see. A political opportunist who has sold his soul and his policies to George W Bush to get the Republican nomination.

As for Sarah Palin. We know there is household help and her “firing the cook” story is a ruse. Due to her positions of power she has a lifestyle that is not longer like most of us. We all know that she is a petty party hack and a career politician for over a decade. She has fought for ideological purity and against anyone who questions her over anything whatsoever over pragmatism for years. She is not a woman of the people. The same way McCain is a not a man of the people.

Let’s not give the Republicans the argument they want. Sarah Palin was meant as a diversion to shift the argument away from policy and towards personality and meaningless symbolism.

The target is John McCain and the Republican Party. The party that has governed and decided national policy for the last eight years with barely a hiccup. The central question is whether people have finally “had enough.” That’s our best narrative. Let’s stick to it.