Aren't there other Republican women who deserved to be asked first?

[undeterred]

Look, the main reason she was asked to be on the ticket is because she is a female conservative. Well female conservatives are a dime a dozen. The men of the party certainly have to pay their dues for decades. To pick an ingenue for the VP ticket is insulting to the other women in the party who have paid their dues as Senators and governors. Regardless of what we think of their positions, aren't there other women McCain should have asked instead if he decided he needed to put a woman on the ticket?

Edit: How about Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, elected in 1993
http://www.senate.gov/~hutchison/bio.html

[texpatriot2004]

1. Surely there have to be! Don't you think? nm

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. There are a bunch, and that point needs to get out there

[Virginia Dare]

3. I guess they were going for the "celebrity" appeal...n/t

[onenote]

4. "deserved"? Since when has that been the basis for picking a vp?

VP picks are made for a variety of reasons -- they reflect a combination of political calculus and wishful thinking.

[dionysus]

15. pretty sure the OP means that having a good resume makes one deserving of being considered?

:shrug:

[undeterred]

16. Well usually the repubs care what their party thinks

and they don't pick someone who hasn't "paid their dues" yet.

[onenote]

18. dan quayle had paid his "dues"? Spiro Agnew?

Nah...they pick whoever they think will help them (or not hurt them).

[DrZeeLit]

5. Christy Todd Whitman. Maverick. Trusted. Ready.

I guess she either really pissed off everyone too much OR
she was TOO Maverick for McDim OR
she turned 'em down.

She would have been a force with which to reckon.

[cliffordu]

6. Yep.

[LostinVA]

13. I forgot Whitman -- that pick would have scred me

She's more a Dem than many Dems.

[oviedodem]

7. Hutchinson, It was on the news today that Hutchinson was pissed and did not know who Palin is

[BrklynLiberal]

9. I imagine Libby Dole is not having a really good day either...

[undeterred]

10. Yeah, I just looked at her bio

Now she is one impressive woman with a lot of accomplishments. She would probably scare McCain to death.

[Frustratedlady]

11. I thoroughly enjoyed that interview. She was all Southern sweetness with a dagger.

You could tell she was po'd that she wasn't asked. She might have turned it down, but she at least wanted to be asked. Bet on it.

THAT would have been a ticket. Phew!

[SteelPenguin]

8. How bout just a person more qualified

The fact is he picked Palin because she's

a) A woman
b) Socially Conservative
c) A washington outsider

that's it. They said "we need a woman to get the PUMA votes, we need a social conservative to get the FUNDIE votes and we need an outsider to get the MAVERICK votes". She's pretty much the only one that fits the bill for all three.

Unfortunately for them she isn't competent enough to be president.

[LostinVA]

12. Yup, some kinda good guys, some sucky

Hutchinson, Snowe, Collins, Whitman, even Dole, even Sue Myrick, Rice, et al.

This is also an insult to all of THEM.

[dionysus]

14. either snowe or collins from maine would have been better... well,as far as repukes go that is...

[NewJeffCT]

17. For Republicans, there are several women that are more qualified

Condi Rice, for one

Kay Hutchinson, Liddy Dole, Christie Whitman

Collins & Snowe from Maine.

Jodi Rell from CT is a more qualified female Republican governor, though she has her issues