Hi, all.  I'm back from the wilderness of Europe and rejoining the TPM community in style with my very first post. 

I have to think that many undecided voters are very concerned about our flailing economy.  Senator McCain has repeatedly conceded his lack of knowledge about it, and has said a few times that he was looking for a vice-president who had some grounding in economic policy. 

Presumably, his goals in announcing his pick of Senator Palin are (1) to appeal to evangelical anti-abortion voters; (2) to appeal to disaffected Clinton supporters; and (3) to redirect the MSM narrative so that the big news before the Labor Day weekend won't be the successful Democratic convention, but the unconventional Republican VP pick.
 
But, in the unlikely (I hope) event that McCain is elected, he has chosen a running mate who has little to offer the executive branch that McCain doesn't already bring to the table.  Like him, Governor Palin is strongly pro-war, anti-abortion, and well connected to the oil companies.  From what little I know of Governor Palin, I don't see any major additions there.

This is not a VP pick who designed to help McCain govern.  It is a pick designed to help him win the election.  Once they're elected, I guess we can hope that the elves will take care of the economy.