McCain keeps maverick status with VP pick

Out of the clear, blue Alaska sky McCain stunned political pundits (and literally had them guessing until the final hour) by selecting the governor of our northern most state in Sarah Palin. Many jaws could be heard hitting the floor with a resounding thud when it became official on Aug. 29.

I admit the pick surprised me because I didn’t see any way in which McCain was not going to select Mitt Romney. I feared the pressure from the extreme right wing of the party would accept nothing less. In fact, I was all set to criticize McCain for losing his maverick status for selecting Romney. I guess once you are a maverick you are a maverick for life, however.

In some ways, we shouldn’t be surprised that McCain went his on way and make this selection. Some published reported over the weekend indicated McCain really didn’t know Palin at all before selecting her as his vice presidential running mate. It doesn’t get much more maverick than that.

Realizing McCain’s choice had been made, the extreme right-wing element of the Republican Party figured it had no choice but to get on board late last week. I happened to be in my vehicle when the official selection announcement was made and flipped the radio to Rush Limbaugh’s live show. Limbaugh, who of course long ago lost any ounce of credibility he had, acted like a complete buffoon as the announcement was being made.

Limbaugh carried on like he was viewing a peep show rather than carrying the announcement of the selection of the person who could one day become the leader of the free world. Limbaugh began drooling over Palin like a young teenage boy who strikes gold when he finds a copy of a Playboy magazine.

But enough about Limbaugh and his inflated ego. McCain went his own direction with his choice. Make no mistake, Palin is a conservative across the board from gun rights to abortion. However, the choice was certainly was a bold move.

The presidential election of 2008 is now set up to be historic regardless of the outcome. We will either have our first African-American president or we will have our first female vice-president. It is a major step forward for our country and one we should all be proud of as citizens. Hopefully, it will open the door wider during future elections.

With exactly two months to go until we enter our respective voting booths, I once again encourage everyone to get involved in this historic election.

Whether you support McCain, Obama or even another candidate like myself (Bob Barr), become involved in what is the most American of processes.

Few things you will ever do will be more important or more rewarding.

Chris Bridges is a reporter for The Banks County News. E-mail comments about this column to chris@mainstreetnews.com.