You know what? One of the key things to examine when you think about a president is the type of campaign a presidential nominee runs. Does it look like a well oiled machine? Does it feel like a well oiled machine? Does it look like a cohesive unit? Does it look like something put together in a Dr. Seuss book? Look at the cohesive way Obama has run his campaign. Like him or hate him, you have to admit that his campaign has been run very, very smoothly. From beginning to end. Every move has been very carefully thought out and carefully executed.

During his run against Hillary, he put so many people on the ground that he kept it close in most places and won in others. This meant that he was able to still pick up delegate votes even when Hillary won. She didn’t plan beyond super Tuesday and his campaign was set up for the long haul. She had to donate millions of dollars to her own campaign while Obama was flush with cash all the way through. In the end, she relied on race by saying out loud that Obama couldn’t win over White less affluent people (I have always wondered why she would have said such a thing out loud….). In the end, that argument didn’t help her to win. I think Obama beat her partly because she was cocky from the start and partly because he had a well run campaign.

I think Obama’s campaign machine has been incredible. He has people calling, people knocking on doors and more TV coverage than I have ever seen. He has gone to areas that democrats typically don’t go to. He has set up websites to dispel rumors. He has held press conferences to address issues. He has maintained a steady and calm exterior no matter what has happened. When it came to selecting a vice presidential candidate, he selected someone who complements his perceived weaknesses instead of someone who would just be good window dressing.

Now I have to be honest about something. I like John McCain. I’m not saying I want him in office. I think he is entirely too old. However, I can be honest and say that he seems like the grandfather we all wished we had. He is like that old man that used to give the kids candy that you just want to wrap your arms around (in a non-Catholic priest kind of way). However, when you look at how he has run his campaign and the choices he has made, it is clear that he is not the one that should be president. Sarah Palin is energetic, attractive and willing to work hard. The problem is that so are some of my family members. Just because they are that way doesn’t mean that they are able or ready to be president or vice president. When John McCain selected a vice president, he should have looked for someone who would be viable should something happen to him. He is 72 after all. If he died, I would have a real hard time accepting Sarah Palin as the commander in chief. I think that although she clearly has some political experience, no matter what, she is just not knowledgeable about all of the issues the president needs to be knowledgeable about AND she doesn’t have the refinement that makes me feel comfortable when she speaks. I’m sorry but I don’t want to hear “you betcha” anymore than I want to hear “yo” from one of my political leaders. If I was dating someone and I took him to a business dinner with my clients and he talked like she talks, I would be very embarrassed. Maybe it’s just me. Another thing is that her family has very serious issues. Anyone with a teenage daughter who is pregnant wouldn’t get my vote. I’m sorry. I think that her family really, really needs her. I’m a mom and I have one child. I know how crazy raising one child can be. With 5 children, some of which have special needs, you need to be front and center. Sarah may resent people asking her about how her kids are going to be raised, but, lets all be honest here - women are the traditional care givers in a family. She may make more money than her “first dude”, but women are still the traditional caregivers in a traditional single parent or two parent family. There are exceptions, but typically its the woman. All of the ethics issues she is facing over the trooper and travel aside, I think she is not as well versed or as smart as Barack. Think about this. If you were in a court case and your life depended on the outcome, who would you want to defend you - Sarah or Barack. All ideology aside, I would want Barack all over that. I don’t include McCain because he is just too old. I would never want someone like Sarah to defend me. She is cute, but when she opens her mouth she doesn’t exude intelligence.

McCain could have selected a female Republican with smarts and talent that would probably have been less attractive than Sarah, but likely would have been a supremely better pick. If he had done that, I believe that this race would be different at this point. However, his selection just illustrates how his campaign has been run. There is no way that anyone could say that his campaign has been run as well as Obama’s has been run. No matter how this thing ends up, I think it was a spirited race and an extreme contrast in how to run a campaign.