The Young Turks

I was thinking today "Boy, this Palin could be bad news for the country....some way to put country first." But then I tried to think back in history to the last few Republican VP's, and I started to realize that Republicans have only once since 1952 put their country fist when picking a VP.

 Consider the list:

The first Republican President since Eisenhower was Richard Nixon, who himself was a very competent Vice President, elected in 1968. He picks as his wingman the loathsome Spiro Agnew. Agnew, in compensation for lack of experience and a grasp of the issues, viciously attacks the "nattering nabobs of negativism" in the "elite" media, along with his opponents. He is later embroiled in scandal and taken out of office.

 Ronald Reagan chooses George HW Bush as his VP, the lone brightspot in the succession of Republican VP's.

George HW Bush, in turn, nominates Dan Quayle in 1988, a highly incompetent and inexperienced Senator best known for his dissimilarity to Jack Kennedy and his innability to accurately spell the name of common vegetables.

And, more recently, George W Bush in 2000 selects Richard Cheney, who is exceedingly experienced. Unfortunately this experience is undercut by his intrinsic nefarious and malicious nature, not to mention his poor skills with firearms.

So, as you can see, John McCain is just continuing a long Republican tradition that's been around since the late half of the 20th century.