Sarah who?

Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008 | 2:07 a.m.

John McCain’s selection of little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate on the Republican ticket was stunning to say the least.

It was such a surprise that the story dominated the all-news cable channels Friday, casting aside any analysis of Barack Obama’s sensational Democratic presidential nomination speech the night before — and that is saying a lot. After all, the initial Nielsen ratings showed that more Americans watched Obama’s speech than they did the opening of the Beijing Olympics.

So in the short term, viewing it as a purely tactical move, McCain’s announcement worked in eclipsing the glow from Obama’s speech.

Nonetheless, selecting Palin is a risky move that ultimately could backfire on McCain. Palin has been governor for less than two years and before that was the mayor of a small town. She is known as a “maverick” — now where have we heard that term before? — and has taken on the establishment, including powerful Republicans, in Alaska. But there are doubts whether she should be the proverbial heartbeat away from the presidency. It’s an issue that has more relevance in McCain’s case because he is 72.

McCain’s campaign hopes those who supported Hillary Clinton’s candidacy will look so favorably on McCain’s tapping Palin they will go with the Republican ticket instead. For starters, that’s condescending, and it doesn’t take into account that Clinton’s politically centrist views are in no way compatible with Palin’s right-wing political philosophy. It also is amusing to see Republicans hypocritically engaging in identity politics, a form of politics they frequently criticize — at least when they think it can’t be used to their advantage.

Palin’s selection as a vice presidential nominee undoubtedly will make next week’s Republican National Convention much more interesting, but for now it is difficult to imagine it will give McCain the boost he was seeking.