I have been trying to wrap my head around John McCain’s selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee today, and I’ll be honest, I’m having no luck. I don’t know if it will help or hurt McCain, or what exactly it says about the state of our politics. I know that as a partisan Democrat I don’t want her to be Vice President, but I’d’ve thought that about anyone that McCain picked.
But what I’m really starting to wonder about is whether this will bring more coverage to Alaska and its unique economy and politics. As I understand it, the state distributes a dividend from oil revenue to everyone in the state – a shared participation in the state’s resources that provides some foundation for every citizen. That’s a fascinating idea to me, and I wonder if we’ll have the chance to discuss why Alaska does it this way – and why the rest of the country doesn’t.