Top 8 Females with More Political Experience than Sarah Palin

Posted at 12:58 PM Aug 29, 2008

By Jason Arango

With the announcement of John McCain's VP selection still fresh in the air, there have been some concerns about Governor Sarah Palin’s lack of experience. With that in mind, we offer the following list of eight females with more political experience than Republican Vice Presidential nominee Palin.

8) Angela Lansbury

At 83 years old, Angela Lansbury has garnered the respect of about five different generations. She's also well remembered for her portrayal of Mrs. Iselin, the manipulative political puppet-master in The Manchurian Candidate. Not a hugely impressive political resume in and of itself, but it's more than compensated for by the fact that a McCain / Lansbury ticket is destined to be dynamite with older voters, and also deflect the Democrats' attack of McCain's age since he will look spry by comparison.

7) Emma Thompson

Playing the fictional version of Hillary in Primary Colors should be enough of a resume to make Emma Thompson a reasonable choice in McCain's attempt to steal as many of her supporters as possible away from Barack Obama.

Even though Hillary says she backs Obama, what if a more charming British version of herself were running alongside McCain?

6) Penny Johnson – 24 (Sherry Palmer)

Sure, aside from also being fictional, the vast majority of her political experience was of the more scheming and manipulating variety. Still, you can't discount the fact that she was a part of Senator Palmer's historic campaign to become the first African American president.

5) Geena Davis

Nineteen episodes as President Mackenzie Allen on the canceled TV show Commander and Chief trumps two months as governor of a non-contiguous state. Though stepping down to Veep could be seen as a demotion, you have to remember it's not like she was president on The West Wing or anything.

4) Glenn Close

As Vice President Kathryn Bennett in Air Force One, she's already proven she can take the reins if something happens to the president. If McCain goes down with a heart attack, or even just needs help logging into his AOL account, Glenn Close will be able to step up and help a country in crisis.

3) Joan Allen

Having served as both a first lady (Pat Nixon in Nixon) and a VP candidate (Sen. Laine Hanson in The Contender) makes her one of the most over-qualified women in America for second in command. She proved she could undergo the intense scrutiny that comes with running for office, and also showed she can handle adversity with grace and dignity. Plus, her work in The Bourne Trilogy shows she's comfortable working with the CIA, FBI, and other government organizations.

2) Laura Dern as Katherine Harris in Recount

We know you could easily argue that Katherine Harris herself would be the more logical choice, but honestly, she seems frighteningly ill equipped for the job. Whereas the real Katherine Harris wavers between clueless and just plain crazy, Laura Dern is capable of both a basic understanding of the political process and the ability to lead the country should a dinosaur ever be unleashed on San Diego.

1) Lauren Caitlin Upton - Ms. Teen South Carolina

Already having proven herself a master of foreign policy, she's also cute as a button and would help McCain appeal to a younger demographic. Her name recognition is huge, and in addition to making for a debate guaranteed to leave Biden speechless, she will help further entrench the Republicans in the Southern states.