If nothing else, John McCain’s choice of Alaskan  to be his running mate and the next Vice President of the United States is controversial and will be seen (in hindsight) as either his greatest blunder or a stroke of strategic genius. Time will tell although we are betting on the former.

Palin is virtually unknown outside of Alaska and it has now been disclosed that McCain spoke to her only ONCE before inviting her to join him as his running mate for the presidency.

In fact, some have surmised that his ultimate decision was made only after the Democratic National Convention ended with Barack Obama’s historic acceptance of the Democratic nomination and the speech he delivered that blew away everyone who witnessed it.

Now if you are like me and many other sane citizens following this historic election, you might me wondering what the hell motivated John McCain decision besides his obsessive need to be president (his own words). Well, over the weekend, the Anchorage Daily News discovered a whole new reason Governor Palin is the perfect person to be the next Dick Cheney:

She can look you in eye and tell you black is white……especially when there’s oil involved!

Back in January, the secretary of the interior was considering whether or not polar bears should be on the endangered species list. There were strong feelings on both sides of the issue. Childish romantics, who think there should be more bio-diversity on Earth than cows and us, wanted them listed. Grown-ups (and oil company lobbyists) argued that the answers are never that simple. But what about the scientists? Governor Palin wrote an op-ed for the New York Times that said:

"I strongly believe that adding them [polar bears that is, not scientists] to the list is the wrong move at this time. My decision is based on a comprehensive review by state wildlife officials of scientific information from a broad range of climate, ice and polar bear experts."

So her decision was based solely on the scientific studies conducted and because the Scientists said so. Right?

Well not exactly because that‘s not what they said. But Like Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin is not going to let a little thing like scientific facts get in the way of progress….or the furthering of her agenda and career.

The Feds — who eventually did add the bears to the list — based their decision on models that showed all of Alaska’s polar bears dead by 2050. The ice they hunt and mate on is melting and they’ll fall in the water and drown.

Oh, and then there is global warming. In an interview for the September issue of the conservative magazine Newsmax, Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, said she does not believe climate change is caused by human behavior.

“A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made,” Palin said in the interview, which was posted online Friday.

McCain, R-Ariz., by contrast, has broken with his party’s dogma by supporting a mandatory program to cap carbon emissions — a point of pride for McCain as he burnishes his independent reputation.

Palin’s quote about global warming not being man-made is also at odds with the freshly approved GOP platform for 2008. That language — adopted by the party this week — marks the first time the Republican Party’s policy document addresses climate change.

You know, Gov. Palin was once asked that is she ever had an opportunity to move to Washington D.C. and get involved with the “den of vipers” that operate there, would she go to which she answered, “I don’t think so.”

After learning more about this ultra-Republican I think that Washington has more to fear than she does. A chip right off the Cheney block….don’t you think?

AROUND the BLOGOSPHERE:

Palin dissed veep job - In an interview a month ago, she dissed the job, saying it didn’t seem “productive.” See also: McCain keeps press guessing.

Reflections on the Choice of Sarah Palin - There has been a lot of discussion here over the last day on the choice of Sarah Palin, running the entire gamut from the idea of "Thank you for the early Christmas present, now we can rest on our laurels, the election is won" to "This …

Sarah Palin and Feminists for Life - McCain’s veep pick is a proud member of Feminists for Life, which tries to convince young women that choice means giving up the right to ‘choose.’

Veepstakes: Romney, Pawlenty Fade; New Focus on Palin - Sarah Palin. The reason: a charter flight from Anchorage International Airport landed Thursday night at Hook Municipal Field in Ohio, according to Flight Aware, a website that tracks air flights. Other prospects floated in recent weeks …