There are two qualities I look for in a vice-presidential candidate. What expertise do they have that will assist the president in making decisions affecting the country and the world? And should the president die in office, is that person prepared to take over the role of president?

When John McCain selected Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, I was immediately skeptical on both of the above counts. So last night’s speech at the Republican national convention was her chance to show what she offers the Republican presidential ticket. And what did she show? An ability to read a speech that was written by John McCain’s campaign theme, and joyfulness at attacking the Democratic candidate.

Did she reveal any expertise? No. Did she state her positions on the important issues of the campaign? Not at all. In fact, her uselessness as vice-president looms even larger when compared to the expertise and extensive knowledge possessed by Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden.

In 2000 I thought John McCain was the best of all the primary candidates running for president, until he passively let George W. Bush libel and degrade him throughout the primaries. In the eight years since, McCain completely abandoned his reputation as a maverick and a compromiser who reached across party lines by backing almost all of George. W. Bush’s disastrous policies, so that I lost much respect for McCain. I was hoping that he would redeem himself in my eyes during the primary campaign, but what he mostly showed instead was that he learned from Bush how to attack other candidates while revealing as few policies as possible.

And after winning the nomination, McCain’s first important decision was selecting a vice-presidential running mate, a decision which he botched terribly. One of the headlines at CNN online asked, “Has McCain lost his mind?” At this point, it is difficult to think otherwise. He certainly has lost my vote in the upcoming presidential election.