Sarah Palin, the rural choice?

With today's announcement, Gov. Palin may be the first vice presidential candidate with such an intimate and far-reaching knowledge of concerns unique to rural communities. Alaska is, of course, the largest state in the country in terms of land area, and much of it is sparsely populated. When running for Alaska governor two years ago, Palin put out this position paper on rural issues. In it she addresses rural energy costs, endorses hiring local residents to serve rural communities, and discusses her positions on local control, subsistence fishing and hunting, and indigenous communities.

Whether her connection to rural issues is more help than hindrance is an open question; already Democrats are using it to underscore her lack of experience. For example, Paul Begala noted this morning that Palin's two years as governor of a state with "more reindeer than people" is evidence that McCain was "out of his mind" to pick her. CNN's Jack Cafferty joined the bandwagon too, describing Alaska as "a state that has 13 people and some caribou."