A lot of people are surprised by McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
God-o-Meter was suprised when Southern Baptist Convention politicla chief Richard Land pushed for her so forcefully in a CBS News interview a few weeks back.

CBSNews.com: Who’s on the list of people mentioned for VP that you think would most excite Southern Baptists and other members of the conservative faith community?
Richard Land: Probably Governor Palin of Alaska, because she’s a person of strong faith. She just had her fifth child, a Downs Syndrome child. And there’s a wonderful quote that she gave about her baby, and the fact that she would never, ever consider having an abortion just because her child had Downs Syndrome. She’s strongly pro-life.
She’s a virtual lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. She would ring so many bells. And I just think it would help with independents because she’s a woman. She’s a reform Governor. I think that, from what I hear, that would be the choice that would probably ring the most bells, along with Mike Huckabee, of course, who’s a Southern Baptist.

So McCain has finally listened to the Christian RIght–and on the most important decision of the election season. The Christian Right is elated, particulary with the news coming on the heels of rumblings that McCain was flirting with a pro-choice veep.

6