Intellectual Honesty 101

One of the best places to watch the emerging political spin is in the comments sections of some of the major right-wing and left-wing blogs.

It was on those blogs that liberals swiftly rose up to mock the inexperience of Gov. Palin. As the volunteer shock troops of the GOP, conservative loyalists howled at the hypocrisy involved in Obama fans criticizing someone else's inexperience.

There were inconsistencies on both sides. If Obama fans believe that judgment and character outweigh decades of Washington experience, then they can't rip Palin for her political callowness. Yet conservatives need to acknowledge that Obama fans are hissy about the experience issue precisely because conservatives have made such a, um, federal case out of it.

The GOP loyalists counter that an inexperienced Palin is "merely" the bottom of her party's ticket, whereas an inexperienced Obama is at the top of his. That's a bit disingenuous. We all know the bottom of the ticket is supposed to be as poised for presidential service as the top. Thus, conservatives now need to back away from the experience issue, having lost credibility there, and focus on proving that their ticket offers a better blend of values, character and decision-making.

McCain seems to be acting on a hunch, but his choice seems gimmicky. Further, he has taken a risk by choosing a candidate who has not yet had a public baptism by media fire. Joe Biden had that baptism 20 years ago, and surmounted it. Palin? We'll see.

Again, having argued recently that veep picks don't affect the typical presidential race, I'm now curious to see if I'm wrong.