McCain's VP choice may undercut argument

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Likely Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain's choice of inexperienced Sarah Palin as his running mate could undercut a key argument, analysts say.

McCain, the senator from Arizona, is taking a gamble by choosing Palin, a first-term governor of Alaska, because much of the case he has built against Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, is that his resume was thin, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Some GOP observers say that argument is now moot, since Palin, 44, has no political experience outside of her home state.

"Here's what I'm worried about," Republican lobbyist Ed Rogers told The Times. "McCain had to protect his reputation as an opponent of status quo Washington. He had to pick someone with the shortest Washington resume. He did that. He picked someone the right wing is going to be happy about. But it's a gamble. The question is, what does it do to the argument that Obama's not ready?"

But other Republican analysts said Palin wouldn't be a liability on the "experience" argument.

Scott Reed, who managed the 1996 presidential campaign of Sen. Bob Dole, said Palin would stack up well against Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware.