Did McCain overlook more qualified female candidates?

Or did he just go for the hot chick? What about Elizabeth Dole or Olympia Snowe?

Elizabeth Dole - served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush presidential administrations, and currently serves as a United States senator from North Carolina. She was elected to the Senate in 2002 and is the first female senator for North Carolina. She is a member of the Republican Party and former chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. She is married to former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and 1996 Republican presidential nominee Sen. Bob Dole.

Olympia Snowe - is the senior United States Senator from Maine. A moderate Republican, Snowe has become widely known for her ability to influence the outcome of close votes and Senatorial filibusters, in part making her one of the most influential modern U.S. Senators. In 2006, she was named one of “America’s Top Ten Senators” by Time Magazine. Congressional Quarterly noted that her presence at the negotiating table in the 107th Congress was “nearly a necessity.” Her political popularity in her home state is the highest of any current U.S. Senator; as of November 22, 2006, she enjoyed a 79 percent approval rating in her home state of Maine.

Both of these women are more qualified than Palin. Were they too old, not “hot” enough, what?