Surprise! McCain's veep pick is Sarah Palin

This morning, John McCain stunned the Washington, D.C. political establishment by tapping a relatively unknown governor from Alaska to be his running mate.

It's a choice that many are already comparing to the first George Bush's choice of Dan Quayle. And it is a choice that destroys McCain's ability to attack Barack Obama as "inexperienced" or "not ready for president".

If McCain believes an Alaska beauty queen has the judgment and wisdom to lead the United States of America, then how can he argue Barack Obama, who has worked as a community organizer, served as an Illinois state senator, and a United States Senator isn't ready for the job?

Not to mention what he has learned as a candidate, having been tested repeatedly in grueling debates, primaries, and caucuses.

Barack Obama is ready to be President. It's not clear that Sarah Palin is ready to be Vice President. Before becoming governor, she was:

...a former beauty queen, ex-high school basketball star and onetime TV sportscaster. She's also the subject of an ethics investigation in her home state of Alaska that's connected to her firing of the state's public safety commissioner.

The commissioner, Walt Monegan, alleged he had been pressure to fire a trooper who had been married to Palin's sister and split with her in an ugly divorce.

The Alaska state Legislature voted last month to hire an independent investigator to probe whether Palin or anyone connected to her had pushed Monegan to fire the trooper, Mike Wooten.

What's more, Sarah Palin doesn't even understand the job of vice president. Here's what she told CNBC about a month ago:

PALIN: As for that "V.P. talk" all the time...I tell ya, I still can't answer that question uh, until somebody answers, for me, What is it exactly that the V.P. does, every day?

I'm used to, uh, being very productive and working real hard in an administration...we want to make sure that that V.P. slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we're trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that, uh, that question.

Conservative host Lawrence Kudlow actually had to inform her that the vice presidential job is in fact, a very important and serious job:

KUDLOW: Well, I worked in the White House during President Reagan's first term. Let me assure you - and I've spent a lot of time in the Bush White House as a journalist in meetings with.. interviews - it's a pretty big job, Madam Governor. It's a real big job. You'd be surprised how big the veep job is these days.

Palin's answer to Kudlow's question about being McCain's running mate in this interview is solid proof that she doesn't have what it takes to be Vice President.

Talk about being not ready for the job. She admitted on national television that she doesn't understand what the vice president does.

Hello!? Sarah, have you ever bothered to read the Constitution? Don't you know that the Vice President is President of the Senate? Do you understand that the vice president becomes Commander-in-Chief immediately if the president becomes injured, dies, or resigns? Do you realize that you would be traveling abroad and representing the United States of America in the president's stead?

In this case, Kudlow is right. Being vice president is a pretty big job. It's nothing to be dismissed lightly. Who wouldn't want to be Vice President?

When it comes time for the vice presidential debate, I believe Joe Biden is going to make Sarah Palin look pretty ridiculous.

The choice of Palin likely secures Alaska for McCain, but that doesn't mean Mark Begich can't take down grumpy Ted Stevens.

And the selection of Palin may cost McCain votes across the country from voters who will soon hear - courtesy of the Democratic Party and the Obama campaign - that Palin doesn't know much about how our federal government works.