McCain and former Queen Noor

It now seems clear enough that the operative word in the McCain campaign is "maverick," as in:  "John McCain proved he is a maverick because he picked a maverick to be his running mate." Oh?  

First of all, there seems to be plenty of evidence that McCain's political agenda was rather traditional before he chose Sarah Palin;  and secondly, I'm not convinced that she was his personal choice  to be what he had frequently insisted  would be "the person most qualified to take my place."  He either dismissed that attribute for a vice president, or his  cynical handlers dismissed it for him.  I believe that it was the latter case. He admittedly had no more than a brief get-acquainted introduction to her.  If he had really wanted a woman to complete the ticket with a worldly  presence , he would have been much better off choosing the dashing former  Queen Noor.  People hiring hamburger flippers are more familiar with what  they're getting.

Instead, the religious right  and folks like Rush Limbaugh set down the ground rules for McCain on abortion, stem cells,  gay marriage and global warming and found the poster woman for their cause. Maverick McCain simply  agreed.  If you watched him on the stage as she was being introduced, you saw a subdued demeanor, a man picking at his fingernails, who may have been as surprised as anyone else that she would be his running mate. 

Maybe there will still be energy in his campaign logic, but it's not there yet.