Hi, all.  I'm back from the wilderness of Europe and rejoining the TPM community in style with my very first post. 

I have to think that many undecided voters are very concerned about our flailing economy.  Senator McCain has repeatedly conceded his lack of knowledge about it, and has said a few times that he was looking for a vice-president who had some grounding in economic policy. 

McCain's apparent goals in picking Governor Palin are (1) to appeal to evangelical anti-abortion voters; (2) to appeal to disaffected Clinton supporters; and (3) to redirect the MSM narrative so that the talk of the Labor Day weekend won't be the successful Democratic convention, but the Republican's surprise VP pick..
 
But in the unlikely (I hope) event that McCain is elected, his running mate seems to offer little that McCain doesn't already bring to the table.  Like him, Governor Palin is strongly pro-war, anti-abortion, and well connected to the oil companies.  From what little I know of her, I don't see any major additions there.

This is not a VP pick designed to help McCain govern.  It is a pick designed to help him win the election.  Once they're elected, I guess we can hope that the elves will take care of the economy.