John McCain has picked Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate – in my opinion, a strategically brilliant selection. Her negatives shouldn’t be crippling. I assume the vetting process made sure the mini–scandals that have dogged her won’t get bigger. And while picking an inexperienced VP makes it harder for McCain to attack Obama for the same thing, McCain has already decided he won’t be using the failed Hillary Clinton “he’s inexperienced” playbook.

Her positives are obvious enough – she’ll bring youth and excitement to the ticket. And, let’s not kid anyone, her main purpose is obviously to attract female voters, especially disgruntled Clinton supporters. It also appears that McCain is keen on reviving the “maverick” myth, in an effort to distance himself from Bush, so picking an obscure Alaskan Governor is about as “outside Washington” as you can get.

Of course, I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a lot about Palin – if she turns out to be an empty vessel, then this pick could backfire spectacularly. McCain took a risk but, up against Obama, this was probably a risk worth taking.

Speaking of Obama, I haven’t had a chance to watch his convention speech yet – that’s on the agenda for this evening. But the early reviews have been very positive.