Sarah Palin has been the talk of the town since she came out of nowhere to receive the Vice Presidential Nomination from the GOP’s John McCain. I would go as far as to say that John McCain did a better job of picking his VP than Barack Obama.

The Issue: Is Sarah Palin a better VP pick than Joe Biden?

First let’s look at Obama’s pick of Joe Biden. Obama has long been criticized as appearing to be elitist (now I am not saying that he is elitist, but rather that he appears to be that way to some). Hillary Clinton campaigned to the blue-collar workers while Obama appealed to progressive upper class. If Obama were looking to pick a VP who would complete his party’s ticket, he would have chosen someone (probably from a swing state) who was a “working man’s candidate” to appeal to Clinton’s supporters. Instead he chose Joe Biden, in an attempt to create a more experienced ticket.

Obama’s mistake: listening to the media. The voters don’t care how much experience he has, they love his charisma and ability to motivate people. He needed a charismatic working-person. Joe Biden, a lawyer from a small New England State and a career politician is hardly completing the democratic ticket.

Now let’s look at McCain’s process. McCain’s party is not very enthusiastic about his nomination. He is seen as too moderate and willing to compromise too much that the GOP holds dear. He will be able to reach the independent voters and he needs someone who will organize his base. Additionally, he sees a huge falling out occurring between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Many passionate Clinton supporters still have negative feelings towards Obama. Sarah Palin solves both of these problems.

Sarah Palin on paper is probably the best pick John McCain could have made for his Vice President. Firstly, she is a small-town conservative who will mobilize and energize his GOP base. Secondly, she is a woman who might pull at Obama’s would-be supporters still upset that Hillary didn’t receive the nomination. Notice that I said she looks good on paper. As the campaign continues, more information about Palin comes to light causing more and more trouble. Also, she has to compete with Biden in debate and deal with the media who are looking for any reason to make news out of her: good or bad.

Conclusion: Palin appears to be a smart pick for McCain. If she can avoid making too many public mistakes and keep all of her skeletons in the closet, she and John McCain might pull it off. Obama played it very safe with Joe Biden, McCain took a risk. We will see if it pays off in the end.