In selecting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain is dusting off an old GOP tool: the estrogen guard. Slap a friendly, female face on a hard core-conservative political platform, and pray to the heavens that the pundits and the public will only talk about gender. It worked for George W. Bush, but the female decoy may be losing its luster.

Coming into office in 2001, after the most contentious election in years (and an inauguration parade in which he was pelted by eggs thrown by protesters) President Bush’s cabinet included strong, experienced pro-corporate ideologues, but when he announced his picks --including five women, the media predictably focused almost entirely on demographics.

The New York Times ran a long feature about Condoleezza Rice, former national security advisor, former oil company director who was taking the top national security post. But the paper didn’t discuss her views on national security until the twenty seventh paragraph of an article dominated by talk of her dress-size, her hair, and her hemline.

Today, desperate for female votes, John McCain clearly hopes his Palin pick will burnish his appeal among middle-of-the-road women. It’s a long-shot choice. Palin believes abortion is a crime even in the case of rape and incest (that was even too draconian for the voters of South Dakota). She supports teaching creationism as strongly as anyone and as Governor vetoed sustainable energy projects. Will the media see the substance or only the “Ms. Congeniality.” We’ll see. The primary campaign of Hillary Clinton may have done something to accustom reporters to peaking beneath the surface of a female candidacy.

But don’t hold your breath. The media have permitted John McCain to cast himself as a “maverick” despite a voting record of supporting George W. Bush 90 percent of the time. Will they go for Palin, the fresh-faced feminist? Just maybe.

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