What McCain's choice of Sarah Palin could mean for defense spending
Posted by John Keller
Republican presidential nominee John McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential running mate. This brings a lot of interesting things to the table.
McCain in choosing Governor Palin could be making an interesting choice. Palin's son reportedly has just joined the military, so it's fair to assume she would be supportive of military initiatives -- particularly for improving military and aerospace electronics and other defense technologies.
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Like McCain, Sarah Palin also would likely be tough in foreign affairs, and tough in particular, on issues like the incident when Russia invaded Georgia.
The choice of a woman also could be interesting. Think of the disenfranchised Hillary Clinton supporters who might like to cast their votes for a female candidate. The Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket offers no such choices.
If folks are looking to vote for so-called "minority candidates," then this election has it all.
The choice of a potential Sarah Palin vice president on the ticket also could be good news for conservative voters. Palin for VP reportedly is a social conservative who is strongly opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage. In addition, she is an advocate of private gun ownership, and evidently is very popular in Alaska.
This ticket would appeal to a lot of voters. Sarah Palin would appeal to female voters, to gun enthusiasts, to advocates of a strong military, to social conservatives, to pro-family advocates (she have five children), to young voters (she is just 44), and potentially to champions of the disabled (Palin's youngest son reportedly has Down's Syndrome).
It will be interesting to see how the choice of Governor Sarah Palin for vice president comes across to American voters.
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
