Following in the footsteps of Pat Buchanan and Fred Thompson, John McCain has suggested yesterday that Sarah Palin is especially qualified to be president because Alaska is really big:

With Ms. Palin facing a torrent of inquiries from reporters, Mr. McCain joined other Republicans in assailing news outlets when he told ABC News in an interview on Wednesday that “Sarah Palin has 24,000 employees in the state government” and was “responsible for 20 percent of the nation’s energy supply.” He added that he was entertained by the comparison of her experience to that of Mr. Obama and that “I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America.”

He’s right, though, that describing Obama’s leadership of his campaign as executive experience is a weak talking point.