The fact is that the only reason Sarah Palin was picked as McCain’s running mate was to bring the religious right on board. She was amazingly unqualified for the job. But James Dobson and the other leaders of the religious right were vehemently opposed to McCain, and were actually calling on their flocks to NOT vote for him — until McCain picked out Palin.

Palin was everything the religious right wanted — hardcore anti-gay and anti-abortion, a creationist, and a graduate of one of the most fanatical Pentecostal sects in America.

That’s why she was McCain’s running mate. And it backfired on him spectacularly.