The Republican choice for McCain's running mate is made. Sarah Palin of Alaska is their choice. Her last name is perfect for my observation....as in she is "pale in comparison" to Joe Biden.
She cannot hold a candle to Biden's experience and service as a senator. Palin is in the second year of her first term as governor. Previous experience is as mayor of a town of 5,600 people, where the greatest issue she faced was whether or not there would be enough snow for the Iditarod dog sled race. And the other leadership role was chairperson of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, which plays her right into the hands of the big oil companies, which matches her stance on pro-Alaska drilling, protected wilderness or not.
Palin is pro-life with no exception for rape or incest, she doesn't think global warming is caused by humankind, and thinks creationism should be taught in public schools. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.
The McCain strategists attacked Obama on his lack of experience to be commander in chief and then turn right around and select a woman who is "commander-in-chief" of the Alaska National Guard. What a conundrum the McCain camp created! First, they use, as one of their main focuses of criticism, Obama's lack of military savy to be a good commander-in-chief, and then select someone with actually less military exposure than Obama.
Now to my second point concerning Palin. Why in hell would McCain select someone who is under investigation by her own state for abuse of power of her office as governor to try and force the state's public safety commissioner to fire her sister's ex-husband, who is a state trooper? That is a double-whammy that should haunt the McCain-Palin ticket until the election, and should be fully investigated by the media.
Was this the best running mate the Republicans could find? As James Carville stated, Olympia Snow would have been a far better choice. Palin as vice president and a heartbeat away from the presidency? I should not!
What goes around comes around, Rove and gang. We Democrats are here to take on McCain and his poor choice of a running mate. Oh, and by the way, RNC and McCain camp.....thanks for your help!
She cannot hold a candle to Biden's experience and service as a senator. Palin is in the second year of her first term as governor. Previous experience is as mayor of a town of 5,600 people, where the greatest issue she faced was whether or not there would be enough snow for the Iditarod dog sled race. And the other leadership role was chairperson of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, which plays her right into the hands of the big oil companies, which matches her stance on pro-Alaska drilling, protected wilderness or not.
Palin is pro-life with no exception for rape or incest, she doesn't think global warming is caused by humankind, and thinks creationism should be taught in public schools. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.
The McCain strategists attacked Obama on his lack of experience to be commander in chief and then turn right around and select a woman who is "commander-in-chief" of the Alaska National Guard. What a conundrum the McCain camp created! First, they use, as one of their main focuses of criticism, Obama's lack of military savy to be a good commander-in-chief, and then select someone with actually less military exposure than Obama.
Now to my second point concerning Palin. Why in hell would McCain select someone who is under investigation by her own state for abuse of power of her office as governor to try and force the state's public safety commissioner to fire her sister's ex-husband, who is a state trooper? That is a double-whammy that should haunt the McCain-Palin ticket until the election, and should be fully investigated by the media.
Was this the best running mate the Republicans could find? As James Carville stated, Olympia Snow would have been a far better choice. Palin as vice president and a heartbeat away from the presidency? I should not!
What goes around comes around, Rove and gang. We Democrats are here to take on McCain and his poor choice of a running mate. Oh, and by the way, RNC and McCain camp.....thanks for your help!
2 comments:
I couldn't agree more but could add many more reasons for rejecting her as a suitable candidate. (For example - she is currently under investigation for abuse of power not to mention the revelations about her daughter's pregnacy (more on that later).
But be careful and do not assume that her selection is all negative for the McCain bid. She is well known among the pwer brokers of the Republican party, and is viewed as one of them, an insider and a solid player. She is clearly in a position to attract independent minded women. Her "Annie Oakley-ish" persona will have some appeal. In addition her appeal to the Christian right fills a hole for Mcain, whose own relationship with them has long been strained for his refusal to endorse a total ban on abortion (ala the Christian right's wishes) and his insistence on separation of church & state. Whereby McCain is much despised by the conservative Christians, his candidacy now has an attraction that will tilt their vote in his favor. (They certainly would never vote for Obama.)
I will tell you now, that I believe the Christian right poses a great danger to the construct of American democracy. They have become forcefully able in politics, and there agenda is bound to effect politics for a long time to come. Lest you fail to see the danger in that, let me just say "Iran". I make little distinction between the Ayatollahs in Iran and Pat Robertson and his ilk.
Regarding the pregnacy of her daughter: I cannot place a mantle on Palin for this disclosure. But I think it is a telling parable that in this large Christian family, so ripe with achievement, that an unwanted teen pregnacy is one of those achievements. I also think that this will have little effect on the Christian right's view of her which I suspect is one accompanied by a deep sigh of relief (now that they have a rally point). We should not forget that Palin is outspoken about drilling in Alaska. She has even sued the Federal government for declaring the polar bear as an endangered species because she was concerned it would impact drilling in Alaska negatively.
I think McCain has found himself a female "dubya". She is outspoken, lives and works in an oil state, has the Christian right (God's on her side it seems), is a card carrying member of the NRA, is articulate (unlike dubya), and can draw the female vote better then dubya could. She is, apparently, a very capable soccer mom. However, Republican Alaska state Senate President Lyda Green, who is from Palin's hometown of Wasilla, said: "She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?"
As if we needed any other reason, Palin is one of the strongest supporters of the drill everywhere policy that mccain has flipfloped into (so much for his maverick status). As is often the case, the NY Times Tom Friedman nails it on the head
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/opinion/03friedman.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin
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