Contributed by Elisabeth Hurley

I admit I am proud of women’s achievements, politically or otherwise. Would I eventually like a woman in the White House? Of course I would! Why am I not excited about Senator McCain’s choice of Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate? Here are my reasons:

Governor Palin would be one heartbeat away from the presidency which is a real concern since Senator McCain would be, to my knowledge, the oldest elected president should he win in the November election.

Regardless of what one thinks of Senator Hillary Clinton or which party ideology one might follow, many of us would agree that Ms. Clinton had (and has) the wherewithal to run for president of the United States. Using Governor Palin to win disenchanted votes from Clinton supporters may have been a smart political move on McCain’s part, but would his choice do the country any good? My belief is that Governor Palin is unready and unprepared for either the vice presidency or an eventual presidency. Three reasons come immediately to my mind:

1. When Governor Palin “linked the war in Iraq with the September 11 terrorist attacks” she claimed an untruth that is no longer stated by even the Bush/Cheney Administration. As most of us realize today, Iraq was not involved in the horrific September 11 crimes and Al Quaeda was not in Iraq at this time. Instead, our country’s war against Iraq helped Al Quaeda terrorists set foot in this war-torn country.

2. When asked by Charlie Gibson how she would react if Israel would attack Iran, Governor Palin seemed at a loss. Her answer was flippant and impulsive to say the least. It was just as flippant as her “you can’t blink” response to the interviewer’s first question if she would be ready to lead the country. I don’t think “not blinking” would help in reaction to a potential war between two countries in the Middle East or elsewhere.

3. Governor Palin, when asked by ABC’s Charlie Gibson what she thought about the Russia/Georgia conflict, replied that Russia is a neighbor to Alaska and that she can see Russia on a clear day. She did not seem to know what caused the conflict about the small break-away republic. Neither did she seem to understand how to help bring the conflict to a peaceful end.

I will leave it up to others to get into Governor Palin’s understanding or not-understanding of the so-called “Bush doctrine” (of which, I believe, there are actually four, with the preemptive strike response perhaps the most crucial one). It just makes me wonder what Senator McCain whose past experiences give the impression that he cares for his and our country, was thinking about. As much as I respect his wartime service and prisoner of war experience, I do wonder about Senator McCain’s judgment today.

Respectfully submitted,

Elisabeth Hurley