VIDEO: Call Me Lucky: Sarah Palin Wins the VP Gamble, and Maybe the Biggest One of All


Who needs all those CNN audience meters, rolling up and down with approval and discontent? We know what we saw here at this website, where we can spot true Americans and true blarney with hawk-eye clarity. So our result after the VP debate? Well, it wasn't exactly Kennedy-Nixon or Lincoln-Douglas.
Joe Biden was OK but looked a little sleepy, missing a few chances to punch and counterpunch. Without doubt, the true champ tonight was Sarah Palin, the Mauler from Wassila, who gritted her teeth and flashed a wink or two at the crowd while poking away. (No friendly winks for any of the mainstream media, though). She was remarkably effective against the Pride of Scranton or Wilmington or wherever Biden says he's from. There are lot of people betting she'd stumble and lost that heavy-favorite bet, at least tonight.
Palin may have taken a step or two towards the vice-presidency.
But the most remarkable news today is that Palin may be even closer to the presidency than we think.
According to some wise-aleck who looked up the Social Security actuarial tables, Palin would have a 1 out of 6 or 7 chance of becoming president if the Republican ticker prevails. (We won't spell out how that exactly might happen, but you get the picture). This was, of course, bad news to the sourpuss Mainstream Media. Roger Cohen, in the NY Times, underlined the McCain-Palin gamble in today's pages:
I know one thing: this is no time for further gambling. John McCain rolled the dice on Sarah Palin. I’m grateful to Bob Rice of Tangent Capital for pointing out that the actuarial risk, based on mortality tables, of Palin becoming president if the Republican ticket wins the election is about 1 in 6 or 7. That’s the same odds as your birthday falling on a Wednesday, or being delayed on two consecutive flights into Newark airport. Is America ready for that? The lesson of the last eight years is this: when power is a passport to gamble, people can end up seriously broke or seriously dead.

So McCain may be the gambler, but who can say they are more lucky than Sarah Palin?
No one thought Lyndon Johnson had a chance of becoming president, either.