Some of you were stunned by McCain’s choice for his running mate and asked how Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin can bring anything positive to the ticket. Well, it’s going to have to play out some before we know for sure. I have to say, though, I’m impressed that McCain pushed away from the recommendations of his party (to choose a more seasoned old school lawyer-politician) and chose instead a Washington outsider.

But McCain isn’t a cookie-cutter politician. In that respect, he’s exactly what the country needs. He’s gone against the grain to pick a running mate he thinks will help him fight (and a fight it will be!) to fix our broken political system and hopefully restore public trust in government. I for one would love to see that happen. But McCain’s choice brings with it some obvious risks and some perhaps less obvious benefits.

For example, Palin has served less than two years as Governor of Alaska which tends to eat into the experience message on which McCain has so far relied. At 44, she’s three years younger than Obama. She’s served as a mayor and as the Ethics Commissioner on the state board regulating oil and natural gas for a total of eight years political experience before her election as governor. That’s slightly less than Obama with seven years in the Illinois legislature and three in the US Senate.

But let’s take a look at the positives she brings to the ticket: