McCain/Palin

Sunday 31 August 2008This is 16 years old. Be careful.

I was really surprised when McCain picked Palin as his running mate. I guess McCain figured if he was born in Panama, he could have a veep from Sheffield, England, though the citizenship requirement may be an issue. And sure, Michael Palin was funny in Monty Python, but he has almost no political experience. I’m just not sure how it will all go over with the voters.

Oh, Sarah Palin? That’s different. Never mind.

Seriously, Sarah Palin is a really interesting pick, interesting enough that no one quite knows what will come of it. She’s obviously a capable and principled politician, and now the only executive of the four candidates. But she’s been governor for less than two years, and before that was mayor of a town of 9,000.

Everyone agrees that picking Palin pretty much makes it impossible for McCain to call Obama inexperienced. Her family life is the most interesting wildcard, including as it does a blue-collar husband, a infant with Down syndrome, and a son about to be deployed to Iraq.

And then there are her personal beliefs and how they affect her governance. The early evidence is that she is very right-wing in beliefs (pro-life, creationism, against gay rights), but isn’t dogmatic in applying them in government.

A very interesting choice indeed.

Comments

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IMO the choice of Sarah Palin was made for one reason and one reason only - and it's definitely not because of her political experience or some, as yet unadvertised, skillset.

Buying the female vote anyone?
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"principled" politician? Isn't she under investigation already for abusing her powers?
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I also think it's a very interesting pick considering McCain's age. If he wins and has health issues during his term that would force him to step down, is someone whose prior job was mayor of a town of 9000 really ready to assume duties of the President Of The United States?

One thing that does worry me about her, lack of national/international experience aside, is her her stance on Polar Bears.
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There is speculation that that the new baby isn't even her son but her GRANDson, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/30/121350/137/486/580223
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Good grief, look at the liberal panic. News flash: she has been a favorite for conservatives for quite some time. I heard about her a year ago and was crossing my fingers for either her or Bobby Jindal for VP.

As for the idiotic story that the baby isn't hers, I encourage my liberal friends to run with that one. Good luck!
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Andrew, no wonder she's a favourite, she's as corrupted as they come :)
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> Palin pretty much makes it impossible for McCain to call Obama inexperienced.

The genius is that Obama supporters will do it for him!

Everytime a Kevin Spencer belittles the experience at the bottom (Student) of the Republican ticket, the question is begged of free thinkers:

"What about the lack of accomplishment at the TOP (Teacher) of the Democrat ticket"?

What's more, all the millions spent on video and fake Greek temples in Dever were wiped out by by the pick:

CNN - Palin Wipes Out Obama Bounce
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/08/31/cnn-poll-obama-49-mccain-48/
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"Palin Wipes Out Obama Bounce"

Doubtful. Unless you are referring to the fact that she has taken all the headlines at the moment with all of her baggage. Freethinkers will be eager to see where the substance is.
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Well now... it seems that at the same time that Governor Palin, advocate of family values like right-to-life and abstinence-only sex education, was living her convictions and bringing her Down Syndrome baby to term while also being very busy with the demanding job of Governor of Alaska, her 17 year old daughter was out getting pregnant. I feel for her family, and do not intend for this to be a personal criticism of Sarah Palin because this really can happen to anyone. Perhaps it would have happened anyhow. Perhaps the psychological impact of having her "hockey-mom" taking on a demanding full time job and being pregnant at the same time had nothing at all to do with it. But, the outcome speaks for itself: so much for the supposed superiority of so-called conservative Christian family values!
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FWIW, I suspect you'll end up re-considering the "capable and principled" bit (how much do you really know about her? has she had anywhere near the scrutiny that every one else has? etc, etc).

More importantly, we seem to repeat this too often: slice and dice the VP consideration N ways, and when it's all over, re-discover that the VP really doesn't matter much on voting day.

Barring any shocks to the system, if the Obama team stays on message, and keeps this election about Obama v. Bush-McCain, they win. If some significant national security event takes place, McCain wins. Hope and fear, etc.
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It continues to be interesting, first the pregnancy rumors, then the pregnancy announcement. I'm not sure what to make of that whole thing. The timeline of Trig's birth is certainly unusual, but now the announcement that Bristol is pregnant trumps all of that. The corruption investigation will likely amount to nothing, even if she is found to have done wrong: the complex interactions of corruption charges simply don't have the story-telling power of pregnancy, fellatio (Clinton), or any other illicit sex (think Sen. Craig or Gov. Spitzer).
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BTW: one of the other interesting aspects of the Palin choice is the claim that McCain only met with her once and spoke with her twice before making the decision, which if true would seem to be a pretty slight involvement.

OTOH, at least she didn't chair the veep selection committee...
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I didn't expect this, but the Palin stuff is competing with Gustav coverage:

The Palin Meltdown in Slo-Mo

This is all very strange. The careless vetting and "maverick" choice of Palin on short notice says more about McCain, I think. I thought gut-based-initiatives had been discredited due to the current administration.
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McCain basically picked Dr. Laura as his running mate. Puzzling that they both seem to love guns and war (i.e. killing) but be very against abortion (i.e. killing). When listening to the republican convention, I kept wondering: how and when did the republicans become the mean and bitterly angry party? They mainly sell their message through fear - "think about 9/11 and be really, really scared and vote for us!"
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Rick, how can you blame them? It worked for 7 years, it was almost a magic formula before Katrina.
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http://pown.it/2111
this is another awesome Mccain parody... check it out. Its hilarious...(actually it would be hilarious if the whole Mccain situation wouldn't be that sad)
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THE CHICKENS ARE COMING HOME TO ROOST ...
Barack is cryin. He always thought this is mine!
I'm Michele's husband, I'm black, and this is mine!
I just got to step up into the plate ... and, then out of
nowhere, came 'Hey, I'm Sarah Palin' ... and he said
damn, where did you come from? I'm black, I'm
entitled ... there's a white woman stealing my show
... wah ... wah ...

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