Vice Presidents We Have Known

The nomination of Sarah Palin as Vice President, a virtual political unknown with little experience, is being beautifully stage managed. Americans must have short memories when it comes to embarrassing and incompetent GOP VP candidates. Republican campaign management has gotten dirtier and louder than ever because they have specialized in selling their lackluster candidates with slogans and spin better defined as outright lies. They not only got W. elected, but are now stuck with the disaster he and his Vice President have caused. They learned lots about spin and damage control from another light-weight Vice President, James Danforth Quayle. His selection by George H. W. Bush caused an immediate controversy. The media, in 1988 were mostly mainstream broadcast and print publications. There were no internet bloggers and no round the clock cable channels with prattling pundits to minutely dissect Quayle's glaring tattered edges. The media did jump on questions concerning young Dan's military service, a Florida golf trip he took with a female lobbyist, and the question of his experience to be VEEP. But daddy Bush won and Quayle became VP #44 and immediately became a non-stop string of embarrassments.
Today Republicans have learned to control and limit access to their intellectual lightweights, keeping George W. Bush's gaffes under the radar as much as possible. Now they have to do something with Ms. Palin who was presented with calculated fanfare and given a handful of old re-sharpened GOP darts to toss as she read her prepared speech full of sound and fury signifying nothing . . . except that she is going to have a tough time in a serious interview. But the campaign has now sent her back to the frozen north “to take care of family and state government matters” making her unavailable for interviews except for one interview on ABC, and Charlie Gibson has to be nice. Meanwhile like a goose being stuffed with a feeding funnel to become eventual pate’ Palin is being force fed answers to possible questions and coached on hail Mary plays in case someone asks her about world politics, social issues or anything else requiring an informed answer.
We survived Quayle because George H.W. Bush was in good health and kept his court idiot at arm's length for four years. Senator McCain’s health and state of mind at age 72 plus his sad political prostitution of once admired stands and challenges to his party make him a sorry choice to lead our country. The cynicism of the GOP in selecting an inexperienced but opportunistic female for the VP spot and then marketing her like premium dog food with designer glasses is the worst yet. They can't keep her hidden till November.