With the recent naming of the unsurprising, and very surprising, choices for Vice President, I thought a post was due out about the possibilities for Christianity. To be upfront, I am a registered democrat. However, my political beliefs are a complicated amalgamation of being raised with middle class, democratic values, and my personal Christian beliefs.

I have usually seen three separate camps in mainstream Christianity. The Party Line, staunch Republicans who think politics and religion are inseparable; The Lost Sheep, who don't pay much (if any) attention to politics but vote Republican because their pastor says to; and The Free Thinkers, who see no problem in mixing ideologies and political platforms for form their own, personalized views. So, let's take a look at the two Vice Presidents.

First, as he was named first, is Delaware Senator Joe Biden. While being a typical democrat with his voting record and stands on key issues, he certainly lends experience, age, and panache to Obama's relative inexperience. It is a good balance, and stands to reconcile the ticket with those who were wary of Obama's lack of experience in the high powered political arena. For Christians, Biden represents a mixed box of chocolates. True, he is a Catholic and has agreed that life begins at conception, but at the same time, he advocates pro-choice. It seems that his separation of personal religion and exercise of power will anger some Christians and placate others. Overall, Biden is not too different than any mainstream democrat, though he does tend more toward the populist mindset.

Today word spread over the blogosphere that McCain had named Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his choice for Veep. Shocking, I know, especially as she was practically a non-entity until now. Some hasty research paints an interesting picture. Her Wikipedia page seems to make her out to be a sort of "clean-government" crusader who resigned from her Alaskan Oil and Gas Commission under protest for the lack of ethics of her fellow Republican leaders. Looks promising so far. She is also a prominent member of Feminists for Life, whose motto is "Refuse to Choose: Women Deserve Better than Abortion". Their aim to to eradicate the underlying reasons for abortion and believe that we shouldn't have to choose between women and children. An admirable goal, and it will sit nicely with the younger set in mainstream Christianity and the free thinkers who like to mix their ideologies. Her voting record, however, is somewhat bare; thus showing her relative inexperience in DC politics. So she offsets McCain pretty well and fills in what he lacks. He is older, and she is extremely young (44); He is a stereotypical Republican and Bush-ite, and she brings freshness and a more moderate viewpoint; He can be snappish and curmudgeonly, and she exudes charm and charisma (being a former Miss Alaska).

So, what should we make of these choices? I honestly don't know yet. It certainly muddles the waters a bit and a choice that may have been pretty clear yesterday may not be as clear today. From a political standpoint, the Vice President choices are excellent and serve to round out and moderate the candidates. From a Christian standpoint, I am less sure of my vote than I was yesterday.

This much is clear: However you vote, come November, history will be made. Whether it will be for the first Black President, or the first Woman Vice President, it is a good day for politics.