Imagine what could have been.

Republicans are delighted that Vice President Joe Biden has had to apologize twice this week for comments he made that offended key Arab partners. In one case he suggested that the United Arab Emirates were supporting al Quaeda fighters in Syria. The UAE demanded that he walk back the comment which, of course, he did. But the Republicans should be delighted, not by Biden's discomfort, but because if McCain has won the presidency two elections ago, the party would have faced the humiliation of the constantly bumbling and always misspeaking Sarah Palin issuing apologies and retractions on a daily basis.