Too clever by half, and shows how much McCain is now in thrall to his handlers. It's the sort of choice that seems brilliant to someone who thinks in terms of voting blocks: both fire up the conservative Christian base and lure Hillary voters. But it undermines not only the experience argument against Obama, but also any conception of McCain as someone who thinks only about what's best for the country.

And I don't think it will even succeed at what it tries to do. Will the conservative Christian rank and file really get excited about a female vice president? Will many Hillary voters really be attracted to an anti-abortion candidate?

So, happily, I think this will come to be viewed as a serious misstep, or at least lost opportunity. Plus I'm really looking forward to the VP debate.