IBD Editorials
In the military culture that shaped John McCain, there is no more important responsibility than the promotion boards that select the right officers for top positions of command. It's a sacred trust in McCain's world, because people's lives are at stake.
McCain wrote in his memoir of the officer's responsibility for those who serve under him: "He does not risk their lives and welfare for his sake, but only to answer the shared duty they are called to answer."
McCain made the most important command decision of his life when he chose Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee. Two weeks later, it is still puzzling that he selected a person who, for all her admirable qualities, is not prepared by experience or interest to be commander in chief. No promotion board in history would have made such a decision.
Because of Palin's dynamism and political appeal, she's being hailed as an "inspired choice," to use President Bush's words. And she certainly has energized the Republican ticket: The polls show it, as do the enthusiastic crowds. And if a politician's primary responsibility is to get elected, this may indeed have been a sublime choice. But was it the right one? And what does it tell us about McCain?.....
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