The entire nation was shocked and surprised when Sarah Palin emerged as the Republican candidate for vice president.

My initial reaction was not entirely unfavorable.

Palin is very easy on the eyes, and as a healthy middle-aged male, I considered what a blessed relief it would be to look at Palin for the next four or eight years, as opposed to that grim-faced old sourpuss, Dick Cheney.

Soon, however, the onion began to unpeel layer by unctuous layer, and it became abundantly clear that Palin had been chosen NOT for her qualifications to serve in the nation’s second highest office, but because she was an attractive and successful woman who possibly could steal some votes from Hillary’s camp, and otherwise offer a fresh face far more appealing than the usual rogues’ gallery of rich white Republican males.

Lately the media has focused on Palin’s pregnant teenaged daughter, Bristol. I wholeheartedly agree that Bristol’s pregnancy is a private matter and should not be a campaign issue.

However, it seems sadly ironic that the Republicans, who for decades have blamed liberal secular humanists for the moral degeneration of our country, and who have insisted on teaching abstinence-only in our schools, should field a candidate who has a pregnant teenager.

More, it seems the height of hypocrisy that the Republicans are now trying to paint a rosy face on Bristol’s pregnancy, making her out to be some sort of hero because she plans to carry her baby full-term, while portraying the Democrats as intolerant and mean-spirited.

Historically, politically, religiously, and every which way, it is the Republicans who have for decades decried and deplored “baby mamas” and premarital sex.

Sarah Palin has served as governor of Alaska for less than two years now, and one would think she’d have her hands full just learning the ropes in that job.

She also has a baby with Down syndrome, and one would think she’d be busy with that as well. Add to the mix a pregnant teenager, who presumably needs her mother’s attention and support now more than ever, and I have to wonder how she’ll manage to find the time and personal resources to run for vice president without ignoring to some extent the pressing needs of her family and governorship.

The hype and hoopla surrounding Palin and her family have distracted voters and the media from the real issues, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the dire state of the economy.

For the McCain campaign, that is a good thing, a very good thing, because the Republicans would be in a very bad way if they were forced to run solely on the Republicans’ dismal record of the past eight years.

Also on the positive side, Palin’s candidacy augments and amplifies John McCain’s reputation as a freewheeling maverick, a guy who follows his gut and his heart, and who turns his back on conventional politics.

The flip side of that coin brings John McCain’s judgment into question.

Why did he pick Sarah Palin? Was she really the best and most qualified person to serve as vice president?

Or was she chosen primarily for political reasons?

If the latter is true, I don’t see the “maverick” in that.

Palin undeniably brings a very human “hockey mom” face to McCain’s campaign, a perfect counterbalance to the McCains, millionaires who own more houses than McCain could readily recollect. (They own seven.)

But the religious right never has been very close or cozy with McCain, and it remains to be seen how the so-called moral majority will embrace, or not embrace, Sarah Palin’s candidacy.

The Republicans’ selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate was a desperate gamble.

They knew they could not win with yet another tired old white man on the McCain ticket, so they tried something new and different.

It’ll be interesting to see how the dice finally come up.