wow. Sarah Palin. wow.
I'm a big believer that experience is overrated, but. Sarah Palin? Whose only political experience before late 2006 was as a city council member in Wasilla, Alaska--a town of six thousand people?
wow.
I like Sarah Palin from what I'm reading about her (although obviously we disagree on pretty much everything). I've never heard her speak (has anyone?), but I think she's certainly a bold choice. Here's what I know:
1. She has the reputation of taking down corruption in what is probably the most politically corrupt state in the U.S.
2. She's a woman.
3. Reliably conservative on all the social issues that are important to the Republican base--very strongly pro-life, for instance.
4. No foreign policy experience. (Which I guess the McCain camp would argue is fine so long as McCain is, you know, alive. My argument would be that you don't pick a VP who complements you; you pick a VP who is ready to be President should the need arise.)
5. Some of the much-vaunted-by-Republicans "executive experience," i.e., she has run a government, and apparently run it quite effectively, although in Alaskan political terms, she is still a newcomer, and still probably enjoying the honeymoon bounce.
6. No national leadership on any issues from the governor's mansion (i.e., she's not a Kathleen Sebelius-type governor, or even a Rod Blagojevich).
Okay I'm gonna go back to writing now.
posted by John Green @ Friday, August 29, 2008
28 Comments
28 Comments:
lol, would you say mccain went "looking for alaska?" sorry, had to do it :)
in response to Charlotte: HA!
I'm a sucker for bad puns/jokes.
If she's good enough for Glenn Beck, she's good enough for me.
Sarah Palin on Glenn Beck's Show
Charlotte: HAH!!
John: The McCain camp announced that they felt it was important to put a woman on the ticket in order to draw disappointed Hillary supporters to their ticket. While I'm glad to see a woman on the ticket, I'm sad that the only reason she's there is because of her gender.
As glad as I am to see a woman running as vice-president, I think the choice was a misstep for McCain. It is too much a choice made in reaction to Obama and his campaign. If McCain hopes to prove that he, too, can create change and stand apart from the old boys' crowd, this doesn't level the playing field between him and Obama, but only underscores the necessity of that particular field of play, which Obama still controls.
Plus, given McCain's age and health, one must really trust that his vice-president is capable and experienced. Palin has much to prove on both points.
Hm... but wouldn't you rather have an inexperienced VP than an inexperienced President who only got elected to the Senate because his opponent was caught in a sex scandal and then hasn't even finished out his term yet? Oh, and he's only spent the majority of his term as Senator campaigning for Presidency. Furthermore, Obama claims he can debate McCain anytime, yet quietly turned down McCain's request to debate for the past ten weeks, answering questions from regular citizens. Because Obama cannot pick and choose nice, biased questions from the public, he shies away and continues to blab on about how HE is the one who truly connects with the American people.
Alright then.
I think it is important for the presidential candidate to pick a running mate whom they can get along with. So...can McCain get along with someone who does not produce as much testosterone as him?
First of all, as a semi-Republican (I'm wavering these days), I'm not really loving the Sarah Palin pick. While I like her as a person and I agree with many of her policies, I don't think she's the right pick for McCain's success. As you suggested, I think that McCain needed somebody who could back him up in the case of his...well...death, and I don't think she's the best choice for leader of the free world. She just doesn't have enough experience yet.
I'm saddened that this campaign has turned into a sex or race movement. Can't we discuss politics without bringing in a person's gender or their race?
It shouldn't matter. Once they are in office their race or gender doesn't play a role in their decision-making. Why should it matter in getting them to office?
Personally I'm disappointed with both VP picks and both candidates.
Something you should learn? She's a creationist. How's that for change for the better?
I think way too much of it is about her being a woman..and I probably shouldn't be so damned annoyed, but I am!
"Palin made an immediate play for support from Democratic women, mentioning that she followed in the footsteps of Geraldine Ferraro, who was the Democratic vice presidential running mate in 1984.
She also referred favorably to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who drew 18 million votes in her unsuccessful run against Obama for the Democratic nomination.
"But it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all," she said."
Huh, really?
Damn near first thing she did was talk of her sex. Please tell me there's more reason then this.
I understand that a woman in the with that much power in the white house would be huge. Huge! Picking a woman because it'll get media attention, ugh.
Wait..wait...
"Huckabee also used the Palin pick to reach out to women.
"Governor Palin ... will remind women that if they are not welcome on the Democrat's ticket, they have a place with Republicans," he said."
Maybe if I keep on reading these articles I find one that makes me feel that her being a woman wasn't the main reason they picked her.
While I'm all for progress in our country, it always bothers me when gender or race give a person an edge/advantage that they wouldn't normally have were that stripped away. Don't pick a VP because of something they can't change (such as gender or race)- pick them because you think they're the best for the job. When we highlight things like race or gender, we lose sight of the actual person. I think it's very unfortunate that this presidential election has become all about gender, race and age and not about experiences, skills and views on the important topics.
On another note, thank you for the election-related videos. As someone who tends not to watch or read much election stuff because she gets sick of all the backtalk and such, I have enjoyed hearing your perspective in a calm, well-informed manner.
This news is awesome! It will get so many more voters out this year as well now! McCain and Palin ticket in 2008 is where the vote is at!!!
http://www.johnmccainsarahpalin.us
Remember when you said you would answer the rest of the questions from Chicago in textual form? The question I would still like answered is, "Did you go to church as a child?"
I've read a lot of stuff on Palin, and the thing that gets me is that people keep knocking her on her lack of experience. They keep saying how she's not ready to be president. And that really burns me up because people tout Obama's same lack of experience as a plus (he's not part of the establishment) but use it to break down Palin.
I'm not a Republican but the sad fact is that on purely objective terms, Palin has more of the kind of experience necessary to be president than Obama does. Running a state, even without international concerns, is more in line with the presidency than being a senator.
The truth is: Politics is a game. Obama chose Biden to lend his campaign the experience factor. McCain added Palin to negate the historical factor of Obama's campaign. Their veep picks put them on pretty equal footing. They both now have historical tickets, with experienced and inexperienced candidates. It's going to be quite a battle.
The more I am learning about Sarah Palin, the more I don't like her-she left the town she was mayor of in financial ruins, she supports drilling in ANWAR and fought having the polar bears added to the endangered species list because it would hurt the oil companies! Also, she's extremely pro-life only supports abortion in the case of saving the mother's life!! She's not even saying that women who are victims of rape should be allowed to choose whether or not to have that child-it should be their choice or their's alone!!! Aughhh! I am also very upset McCain thinks he can nab support from women just by putting a woman on the ticket. It's about who can do the job best and to mean race, gender, etc DO NOT matter!! Obama is the person for the job. No to McSAME!!
I am from Alaska, and all my friends and relatives there are completely alarmed. The biggest mistake people can make is underestimating this woman.
1. She is vehemently anti-choice.
2. She wants to get polar bears off the endangered species list.
3. She wants to open ANWR to drilling.
4. She's a creationist who believes scripture should be law.
The danger is that she's very likeable, and there's something quite charming about the PTA mom's rising star, and the mooseburgers, etc... This is a disaster for the environment and the country.
I am insulted as an American, and as a woman at McCain's choice of Palin. If a "woman" was what McCain thought he needed to improve his chances he had several far more qualified candidates to choose from: Olympia Snow, Kay Bailey Hutchison are just a couple of examples.
I truly believe McCain wanted Lieberman and when he couldn't have him he chose the most socially conservative, millennialist evangelical, politically blank slate he could find in order to mold her into a different face for Lieberman's politics.
Picking the wrong woman (and I hope they don't win) doesn't help the cause of "women". So if Hillary supporters select a woman who has values completely counter to their own just because of gender, and Palin proves to be the inexperienced, overly-conservative woman I fear--well, that certainly sets the feminist cause back quite a bit. We can't pick candidates who run counter to what we believe over gender, race, religion, or whatever. *SIGH* - Yes, I am a woman, a mother, and a supporter of the Obama/Biden ticket. Because I'll take intelligent teamwork that supports freedom and the environment any day.
I take it as a bad sign when someone is trying to run for a high office with little expsosure and the only thing that comes to my mind when seeing video of her is "wow, she's pretty and has great hair". I mean I would love to vote for a woman, that would be completely awesome, but McCain I'm not going to win my vote just because I can't vote for Clinton. I vote for the person who(hopefully) has the same ideals I have, and she doesn't.
Palin is hardly qualified to be vice-president, let alone president. She is graceless, and has a reputation for downright cruelty to others. her stances on the environment are alarming, and her attitude toward public education is backward.
New thing I learned about Palin today:
Her eldest daughter's preggo.
If you're liking what you're reading about her, are you possibly reading her wiki page?
Because someone spent a lot of time editing it to make her look better in the 24 hours before announcing her as the VP pick.
"Governor Palin ... will remind women that if they are not welcome on the Democrat's ticket, they have a place with Republicans," he said."
This pisses me off for a number of reasons. I think the thing that bothers me is how condescending it comes across towards women. Really, Huckabee? Women need to be "welcomed" in order to become a part of politics?
According to the Time article, she wanted the city librarian to ban books when she was mayor of Wasilla-really??? Don't mess with us librarians, we are a feisty bunch when riled up!!
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837918,00.html
This is scarier: http://www.andrys.com/palin-kilkenny.html
I find it amusing that people comment on Palin's experience or lack there-of, but Obama's not looking any better on that front... and he's supposed to be President right away??
Obama is intelligent, works with a good team, and is honest. That trumps lies and smear campaigns any day.
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