As far as I can see, the choice is nothing to do with suitability for the role and everything to do with politics. It's all about electability, and in Palin you see what an elderly conservative white male thinks of as a vote-winner. There's some truth in it, too, because looks bring out the male voters, and combined with a high profile and some spin will appeal to the celebrity-obsessed.
I may be slightly jaded by the fact that we have something of an opposite situation going on right now. We have a PM who is a solid, sensible, non-risk-taking guy with ten years' experience as Chancellor - who you would think is just the guy to be running the country in the current world economic situation. And yet he's under attack by his own party because he's not pretty or high-profile or celebrity enough to be a vote-winner, and the media have scented blood and are forecasting his doom to the point that his actual ability and performance are entirely irrelevant.
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Date: 2 Sep 2008 07:24 pm (UTC)I may be slightly jaded by the fact that we have something of an opposite situation going on right now. We have a PM who is a solid, sensible, non-risk-taking guy with ten years' experience as Chancellor - who you would think is just the guy to be running the country in the current world economic situation. And yet he's under attack by his own party because he's not pretty or high-profile or celebrity enough to be a vote-winner, and the media have scented blood and are forecasting his doom to the point that his actual ability and performance are entirely irrelevant.