Okay, first things first: Last night, I was a part of history. The convention was nothing short of incredible - and though I didn't have as much of a chance as I'd have liked to mingle with big- and medium-wigs, the fact that I got to be there at all is a memory I'm going to take with me for the rest of my life.

But the big story today - as John McCain intended - is Sarah Palin, McCain's choice for running mate. To be honest, I find her utterly underwhelming... but more important than the political implications of having her on the ticket, I think, is how the candidates' differing processes of selecting running mates reflects on their judgment and decision-making capabilities.

Barack Obama, as is now well-known, subjected his potential VP nominees to extensive scrutiny - including long conversations with his vetting team and with himself and a deep exploration of his candidates' personal, political, and financial records. Every angle, everything in the candidates' pasts, everything they'd said and done, was considered when coming to this decision, which was mulled over for quite a while.

And it's clear from Obama's process that the primary qualifications for the role were (a) that the person be prepared to take over the presidency on day one should the unthinkable happen, (b) that the person have independent judgment and be willing to express contrary opinions to Obama's, and (c) that the person have a good working relationship with Obama. Obama got all three - and much, much more - in Joe Biden, who convinced me even more this week that he is the right man for the job. (Not to mention that his mother is perhaps the sweetest little old lady on the face of the planet.)

On the other hand, John McCain - as is becoming well-known - went from his gut, deciding just the other night that Palin was his pick. He'd met Palin a grand total of once - yes, one time - before deciding that the not-even-half-term governor of a state of 680,000 people with no economic or foreign policy experience of any kind was completely ready to be the leader of the free world on January 21, 2009. The vetting process for her was apparently somewhat minimal.

And I'm not entirely sure what exactly McCain saw (or sees) as the primary qualifications for the role of vice president... she's not ready to take over the job, there's absolutely no evidence on her of any kind on the issues that matter, and McCain had met her only once before choosing her, thus negating any argument about his trusting her character or about their working relationship. The cynical part of me says that the reasons for her choice as running mate are rather obvious (made all the more so by her reference to Hillary Clinton in her introduction speech today - an insult to all real supporters of Hillary Clinton, who even though she was not my choice to be president was certainly qualified for the job), but the part of me that thinks that John McCain made this decision for the good of the country is wondering just what the hell he was thinking, putting someone he barely knows and who has no record and no relevant experience potentially one heartbeat away from having her finger on the button.

Now which kind of decision-maker do we want leading the free world? Do we want someone who considers all the angles, consults intelligent people from various ideological standpoints, thinks deeply about the issue, and comes to a conclusion based on the best possible criteria for a successful choice? Or do we want four more years of the last eight years, a president who shoots from the hip and makes decisions based on his gut feelings with criteria for success that aren't at all clear?

In other words - do we want intelligent leadership in Obama, or do we want four more years of Bush-McCain?

The choice to me is very clear - and made even more so by what, in my opinion, is a rather irresponsible choice on John McCain's part.

Labels: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, Politics, Sarah Palin