Ronald Reagan

There has been a lot of talk about John McCain's pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as historic because she is the first Republican women nominee for VEEP.  But there is another historical angle to this ticket that crosses party lines.

If you consider western to be everything from New Mexico up to Montana and west of that, this is the first ticket that is completely comprised of candidates from the west.  If you look at the history of the Democratic Party, the closest the Democrats have had to a presidential of vice presidential candidate are Texas and South Dakota.  While Republicans have had Ronald Reagan (California), Richard Nixon (California) and Barry Goldwater (Arizona) on their tickets at one time or another, never have they had two candidates on the ticket at the same time from the west.

Pennsylvania has three living former United States Senators: Richard Schweiker, 82, a Republican who was elected in 1968 and 1974; Harris Wofford, 82, who was appointed to the Senate in 1991, won a special election later that year and lost re-election in 1994; and Rick Santorum, who won in 1994 and 2000 and lost his bid for a third term in 2006.