Sen. John McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Louise Heath Palin as his running mate has thrown Barack Obama’s campaign into a tizzy. Obama’s handlers had counted on McCain choosing “another old, rich, white guy” and devised their strategy accordingly. Their initial, unrehearsed response was to allege that Palin, who would be “just a heartbeat away” from becoming president, lacks experience and is unqualified to be commander in chief.

Democrats may regret challenging Palin’s bona fides. We consider them superior to Obama’s.

Any comparison of the two candidates should start with the recognition that, unlike Obama, Palin is not running for president. If elected, Palin may indeed be just a “heartbeat away” from the presidency. But, should Obama prevail, he would be THE heartbeat.

Let’s start with executive experience. Palin has been governor for two years and was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska for six years. She was also president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. Obama has never managed anyone except his legislative staff—in a Congress whose approval ratings now hover in the single digits.

Some liberal critics have suggested that Palin’s executive service is somehow diminished because it occurred in a sparsely populated state. Yet Alaska is pivotal to the U.S. economy as it accounts for a substantial share of domestic gas and oil production.

Neither candidate can boast of colorable foreign policy experience. Obama chaired the Senate Subcommittee on Europe but never called it into session. And, of course, he has lived abroad and traveled to foreign lands in an official capacity. His resume in this respect is so thin that he actually told one reporter that he was qualified to handle U.S. foreign affairs because he had majored in International Relations in college. Palin, on the other hand, is governor of a state that borders Russia and Canada.

What about private sector experience? For all of his talk about relating to the common working man and woman, Obama lists his profession prior to entering politics as “community organizer.” That does not even meet the “Future Father-in-law Test”: “Son, what do you do for a living? ‘Community organizer?’ Huh? What’s that? Who pays you? Time to find a real job.” Granted, he did log some time as a college lecturer and as an associate with a civil rights law firm. In contrast, Palin’s experience is blue-collar, including stints as a salmon fisherman and a sports reporter.

While neither has served in the military, Palin is the commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard and has a son who enlisted in the U.S. Army on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Alaska National Guard’s 49th Missile Defense Battalion is on permanent active duty and shields the entire U.S. from ballistic missile attacks. She is also commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force, which plays a role in U.S. Homeland Security’s counter-terrorism efforts.

We acknowledge that the Republican euphoria over Palin may be overblown. She is accomplished, poised, authentic, homespun, principled, Truman-like and conservative. But she has yet to prove herself on the national stage. We can accept that in a candidate for vice president.

However, we find it unacceptable in a candidate for president. Obama began running for president after serving a scant 143 days in the U.S. Senate and seven years in the Illinois state Senate. At neither the state nor national level can he boast of a single substantial legislative achievement.

By contrast, we expect great things of Palin. In selecting this young, vigorous, determined mother of five, McCain has thrown the Democrats off-stride, consolidated support from conservatives and added a spark to the campaign.