Why didn't McCain pick a BETTER VP than Palin?

There are plenty of people who are better than Palin! Plenty of women too. What I mean is, Mitt Romney and Huckabee are a billion times better than Palin. They have more experience and are better speakers than Palin. So I just don't get why McCain picked PALIN. McCain's an old guy. Palin won't be ready to be prez if McCain dies of old age soon (not saying that he'll die within the next 4 or 8 years, but he might)