John McCain’s decision to select a female as his running mate, only months after the historic efforts of Hillary Clinton, reeks of political manipulation.

This “politics as usual” is to be expected, as this has been the status quo in politics since well before the time of Julius Caesar. In fact, we are so accustomed to this type of behavior that we often ignore the underlying message which certain political decisions are sending.

In the case of Barack Obama, the choice of Senator Joe Biden as his running mate is a clear and obvious attempt to compensate for Obama’s lack of foreign relations experience. Biden is not only a long-time member of the Foreign Relations Comittee, he is currently it’s chairman.

In the case of John McCain, the choice of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate is a clear and obvious attempt to compensate for his lack of confidence that he can win the election without taking over Hilary Clinton’s disillusioned voters. There are 18 million Hillary voters at stake and John McCain would be a fool to not try his best to win them over. After all, if he doesn’t win them, Obama will.

During her acceptance speech, Sarah Palin made John McCain’s motives clear by saying,

It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.

So basically, what John McCain is banking on is that American women will be so hypnotized by another woman in the presidential race that they will completely ignore the experience of that woman and what she actually stands for.

I’m sorry, but I think this decision severely underestimates the intelligence of women everywhere.

After all, who is Sarah Palin?

Image courtesy of The Wall Street Journal