Across the pond

And now for something entirely different……. A short while ago John McCain produced the biggest surprise so far in this presidential campaign, by choosing Sarah Palin, the 44 year old Governor of Alaska as his running mate. it is probable that far more Americans have heard of Kentish Town’s favourite comedian, Michael Palin, than have heard of Sarah.

She has been Governor of Alaska for just two years. Alaska is one of America’s newest states and almost as remote from Washington as Hawaii. And in this campaign the Republicans have been using Obama’s time spent in Hawaii as part of their attack stategy to brand him as someone with little experience of the centres of power. None of the heavy weight media commentators I have read rated Sarah Palin as a serious possibility.

However, Russ Limburgh the right-wing news pundit has been running an energetic ландшафтDraft Palin campaign. She brings youth and charm to the ticket. And she has been very popular in her two-year Governorship.

She is a staunch conservative on all those issues close to the hearts of right-wing Christian fundamentalists who have kept George Bush in power for eight years. According to Limburg:

Her stances on gay marriage, capital punishment, abortion and gun control will appeal to many of the conservatives McCain turned off and into Romney’s arms. She could make them feel better about coming out to vote for McCain.

And, of course, she may pick up some of the women who would have voted for Hilary Clinton, despite the fact that her policies are at the other end of the political spectrum.

It is a bold and brave choice. But it has its downside.

The announcement was made on McCain’s 72nd birthday. He looks in great shape but I have an old friend who tripped over the telephone cord in his study and broke two of his knees at exactly the same age. All of us oldies have brittle bones. So Sarah Palin will truly be a heart beat away from the White House if McCain wins.

This will make it much more difficult for the Republicans to attack Obama for his lack of experience, when their vice-presidential candidate has even less experience. And it will enable Obama to build on the attack strategy that he used in his acceptance speech. He was somewhat unfair to brand McCain, who has taken some notable independent stances, as 90 per cent George Bush’s twin. It will be much easier now he has chosen who is a true Bush sister.

Her experience of foreign policy appears to be zilch.

But she undoubedly has charisma. And the experience of being a Governor, even for a short time, is better training for being the nation’s chief executive, than being a Senator.

And she looks to me to be an extremely feisty woman. She is tough-minded but combines it with an entirely feminine charm.

Obama has based his campaign on the American dream, echoing the Martin Luther King ‘I have a dream speech’ of 1963. And raising a chord with all those American novels which demonstrated that the dream has not yet been realised.

But the truth is there is more than one American dream.

As I wrote yesterday this election gives Americans a clear choice between two radically different policies. Sadly to some Americans Luther King’s dream is their nightmare.

Photo: Matt Sullivan/Reuters