Sarah Palin: John McCain's Vice President a Reckless Decision?

After the Initial Shock, Will the Choice of Palin Be a Campaign Killer?

It's no big secret that the Republicans can keep a secret. Senator John McCain's vice presidential choice has been no exception. It has been the McCain plan to announce the vice presidential pick at the political rally in Dayton, Ohio, on August 29 for weeks. Although it was "leaked" to CNN that the McCain camp would announce his running mate as soon as Senator Barack Obama made his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, that turned out to be somewhat of a feint.

Who Was On McCain's Vice President Short List?

The McCain Vice President short list has received quite a bit of attention in the past few weeks and even more since Barack Obama chose Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. Among the names on Senator McCain's list: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman.

But Pawlenty excused himself by mentioning that it would be a "fair assumption" that he was not the nominee because he would be at the Minnesota State Fair when Senator McCain announced his choice. And CNN's sources told them that Mitt Romney's people said he would not be in Dayton.

Stories that Karl Rove called Senator Joe Lieberman to try and get the senator to remove himself from consideration lit up the internet in the days before the rally as well.

But in the last hours before the rally in Dayton, another name surfaced, that of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Fueled by reports that a private plane had landed outside Dayton from Alaska, CNN began talking about the possibility of Palin being the Republican choice. Sarah Palin's name had been mentioned here and there as a long-shot but not seriously considered as a frontrunner for the position.

At 10:35 a.m. CNN reported that their sources confirmed that Senator McCain would indeed nominate Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Why Sarah Palin?

Sarah Palin, 44, is the youngest governor ever to be elected to the position of governor of Alaska and has been on the job for two years. She is known as a reformer, being credited with cleaning up corruption in the Alaskan government.