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More Sarah
MORE SARAH....As I was driving home from Panera (power is back on! yay!), I was thinking about this Sarah Palin thing. And what I was thinking about was what a bizarrely contrived and calculated choice it is. I mean, aside from six years as mayor of Wasilla (pop. 6,715) — about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more — her political experience consists of 21 months as governor of the fourth smallest state in the union. That's it.
But she's a woman! And pro-life! And opposed to corruption! And maybe all those disaffected Hillary supporters will vote for her! And she won't upstage the old man!
It's hard to think of a more intensely cynical, focus-grouped, poll-driven, base-pandering VP choice in recent memory. Even Dan Quayle isn't in the running. This is ridiculous.
"I mean, aside from six years as mayor of Wasilla (pop. 5,470) ? about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more ? her political experience consists of 19 months as governor of the fourth smallest state in the union. That's it."
So what are you saying Kevin, that she lacks the experience to be Vice President and possible President of the US?
Even that paltry resume that you describe beats both the One's and Biden, neither of which has any executive experience at all.
aside from six years as mayor of Wasilla (pop. 5,470) ? about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more ? her political experience consists of 19 months as governor of the fourth smallest state in the union. That's it.
Palin's "political expetrience" of eight years isn't much less than Obama's of twelve, mostly as a state senator about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more. And Obama's administrative experience is. . .? I wouldn't go there.
If Biden is Obama's Cheney then Palin is McCain's Obama and Hillary rolled into one.
"I mean, aside from six years as mayor of Wasilla (pop. 5,470) ? about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more ? her political experience consists of 19 months as governor of the fourth smallest state in the union. That's it."
So what are you saying Kevin, that she lacks the experience to be Vice President and possible President of the US?
Even that paltry resume that you describe beats both the One's and Biden, neither of which has any executive experience at all.
aside from six years as mayor of Wasilla (pop. 5,470) ? about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more ? her political experience consists of 19 months as governor of the fourth smallest state in the union. That's it.
Palin's "political expetrience" of eight years isn't much less than Obama's of twelve, mostly as a state senator about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more. And Obama's administrative experience is. . .? I wouldn't go there.
If Biden is Obama's Cheney then Palin is McCain's Obama and Hillary rolled into one.
How tall is she?
Kevin: (from previous thread) This was a better pick than it might first appear. Although McCain gives up the experience argument, he guarantees huge viewership of the RNC. She's hot, and men will want to see her, fantasize about her, etc. If she's self-possessed and articulate, she becomes the female Obama, suggesting that she has the judgment and character to be president, just the like the black guy with little experience. In effect, it's now Obama v. Palin and if she can hold her own in a debate, McCain becomes an afterthought. The real issue is whether folks would rather have an inexperience black man or an inexperienced white evangelical female leading the country. The race is no longer only about Obama's historic run as a black man; it's about Palin's historic run as VP and the real possibility that she could be the first female POTUS. Advantage McCain if she's got the rhetorical chops.
I wonder if others find the very image of McCain next to a much younger and attractive woman -- a former beauty queen at that -- very creepy. Is it because of all I know about McCain, or will the average voter also feel queasy?
P.S. How long before swimsuit photos (or worse) of Palin show up on the intertubes?
____________________________________________
Palin does have a record of standing up to oil companies, which will help McCain with those type of attacks. Maybe McCain really does admire the way she rose up out of the scandals in Alaska.
But I assumed she had been taken off the list because of that state trooper scandal. I guess not, but it probably should have. It's not that the scandal is a massive case of corruption, but it makes her look like a petty small-town mayor--which she was two years ago.
(P.S., apparently Wassila now has a population around 8,000.)
At first I was worried that McCain's VP pick would overshadow Obama's triumph of last night. But Good God Almighty if this isn't a wonderful gift! Thanks, John and Karl! Can you spell L-A-N-D-S-L-I-D-E??!!
They're going for the "ovary identification" vote. "Hillary has ovaries, Sarah has ovaries, I have ovaries...case closed." As if that was the only reason so many women supported Hillary.
I think McCain just sunk his own battleship.
You can smell the desperation in these choice. This is just another example of how the republicans don't get it. It's mind boggling, really.
If anybody thinks this choice is going to help with independents, they'd better think again. She's "opposed to corruption" but she's under investigation for siccing the government machinery on her sister's husband when he became her ex-husband.
Kevin, would you post an update on the investigation of Palin's alleged abuse of office? Perhaps it would then echo on the tv?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121746477267499109.html
You say she's "opposed to corruption!"
Are you sure? I believe there are some Republicans up there in Alaska who have some problems.
On the MSNBC intro panel on her this morning, one of three entries was something about her being under investigation.
The problem PanderMe is that Obama has been running for over a year. He personally beat the Clinton machine and took over the Democratic party. That is a giant accomplishment everybody recognizes. He isn't a social promotion. This election, no matter what the Republicans do, Palin is going to look hopelessly inexperienced.
If she is so damn good, why didn't she take over the Republican party and why isn't she the Presidential candidate?
Interestingly transparent choice. The McCain camp is clearly betting the farm that women are spiteful enough and will hold a grudge long enough to vote against Obama in Nov. A gut reaction that only a man would have. There certainly are some women who will put spite and revenge before their own economic interests, but I think gambling a presidential bid on them is really risky.
Women are generally smarter than men, especially conservative ones, give them credit for.
I was just googling a bit and came across this
Not exactly brilliant commentary though calling for her to be VP pick in February is something.
Apparently she is "a Moderate Populist Conservative" on the political graph.
Prediction: The response to all criticisma of Palin will be "How dare you criticize her? She didn't abort her kid even when she found out it would be retarded!"
Sounds really cruel, I know, but some relevant questions would be:
If you are pro life, why did you have pre-natal genetic testing, the only real purpose of which is to determine if the child has a genetic defect which would cause you to abort? Isn't that the kind of wasteful medical expenditure Repulbicans decry? Are there other conditions which could have been revealed that would have cause you to choose abortion?
What a croc! At least this blows a complete hole in the lack of experience argument against Barack. Apparently the Rovians have convinced McCain that if the can rile up the base's lizard brains more time, he can get a 50%+1 win. Highly unlikely this time.
link doesn't seem to work.
here:
http://benningswritingpad.blogspot.com/2008/02/sarah-palin-for-vp-maveri...
PanderMe, i posted in the last thread but I'll do it again here.
No way "In effect, it's now Obama v. Palin". Maybe that's a theme McCain's people want to push, but it'll never work. Presidential campaigns are about the person running for president. As much as political junkies talk about it, the the VP is an afterthought who matters very little when people decide who they're voting for. Maybe some hard core pro-life, pro-gun republicans will be excited about this but not swing voters. At best its a wash, and more likely i think they'll see her as vastly underqualified and really kinda ridiculous.
If Palin has a sense of humor, she could play Carol Burnett to McCain's Tim Conway. SNL can't wait.
Hey, look at where bh linked to. She can work a computer. That's probably why McSham chose her.
Ron: The problem is that a lot of people don't make rational political decisions. I guarantee she wouldn't be on the ticket if she wasn't very attractive. That's a big part of the calculus. It really does guarantee a lot of interest in the convention so that McCain gets his message out to a larger audience. So brilliant from that standpoint.
So, again, if she has real rhetorical ability and if she's a quick study on foreign affairs, Obama besting Clinton is an irrelevancy. She co-opts some of O's arguments about judgment and character and her personal life story, her passel of kids and handsome husband, reinvigorate a stale campaign. It's cynical, she's not qualified, but I think they're in the game.
"I mean, aside from six years as mayor of Wasilla (pop. 5,470) about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more her political experience consists of 19 months as governor of the fourth smallest state in the union. That's it."
So what are you saying Kevin, that she lacks the experience to be Vice President and possible President of the US?
Even that paltry resume that you describe beats both the One's and Biden, neither of which has any executive experience at all.
aside from six years as mayor of Wasilla (pop. 5,470) about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more her political experience consists of 19 months as governor of the fourth smallest state in the union. That's it.
Palin's "political expetrience" of eight years isn't much less than Obama's of twelve, mostly as a state senator about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more. And Obama's administrative experience is. . .? I wouldn't go there.
If Biden is Obama's Cheney then Palin is McCain's Obama and Hillary rolled into one.
Chicounsel, the whole "executive experience" argument is such a load of crap. The idea being mayor of a town of 6000 is somehow better preparation for the presidency than being a US Senator be cause its an "executive" position is ludicrous. Oh yeah, then she's been gov of a state with 670k people. Clearly she's been well steeped in the pressing foreign policy and global economic issues that face a VP or and president. She has a BA in journalism from the University of Idaho and was a beauty queen and local sports reporter after all. You're right, Chicounsel, she blows obama out of the water. Clearly a political and policy heavyweight.
I think McCain's pick goes to show his general contempt both for Democrats and for his own party. He thinks that all that matters to some Democrats is the gender of the candidate. Let's prove him wrong.
Carol Burnett to McCain's Tim Conway
How about Lou Grant and Mary Richards?
She's opposed to corruption.
Is there anyone who is "for" corruption?
I'm just wondering how a former beauty queen will manage the traditional VP's role of attack dog.
"Is there anyone who is "for" corruption? "
Republicans?
Kevin Drum >"...And maybe all those disaffected Hillary supporters will vote for her!..."
Sheesh !
Boy, talk about a "good soldier" taking one for the party.
I think he`s trying to lock down the wayward Harley vote.
Guess they are thinking they can make The Buffalo Chip into the Summer White House.
And "jumping the shark" doesn`t even come close to describing this move.
"There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." - Ansel Adams
Will someone in the media ask McCain how much time he has actually spent in the room with the person he thinks is most qualified to lead the country in the event of his statistically likely incapacity? Given that she just had a baby 4 months ago, and she's in Alaska, what was it? A weekend in Reno? How well could he really possibly know her, beyond his taste for younger women?
Question: What are these?
Track
Bristol
Willow
Piper
Trig.
Answer: Sarah Palin's kids.
When I first logged on to msn.com homepage and saw this stupid, stupid news... I just had to LOL. I knew, just knew this is what McCain would do. It is obviously a pandering, desperate strategy as others on this commentary have said.
My worry is that a big majority of this country is that ignorant and short-sighted. They see a woman, and think Hilary. They think they are being forward thinking. As much as we are laughing at this choice, it will still need to be overcome, because stupid people are stubborn people, too.
"Palin's "political expetrience" of eight years isn't much less than Obama's of twelve, mostly as a state senator about which I'm sure we'll be hearing much, much more. And Obama's administrative experience is. . .? I wouldn't go there."
Put it like this: If McCain says that Obama lacks the experience to be commander-in--chief, then what does it say about him that he picked somebody with less expereince than Obama to be his VP candidate? Don't forget that McCain is 71 years old & Sarah Palin would be only a heartbeat away from becoming President.
Eh, considering the choices this was probably the smartest pick. At this point Palin I guess is the only one that doesn't offend any Republican constituency, and obviously the Republicans don't actually care about experience (it's just something they came up with to hit Barack with) so don't look to parry McCain and the Republicans with this eminently logical argument (it's not about the logic). The smartest thing about her pick is that she's a committed extremist on the culture wars (wants to teach creationism, virulently anti-choice, etc.). This was a pick to get the base excited with a hope to pick off some women. I bet it will work, but I don't know whether that will be enough for the Republicans this time around.
Carol Burnett to McCain's Tim Conway
How about Lou Grant and Mary Richards?
Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson.
Anonymous, McCain is 72 today.
Obama has been running a 1/2 billion dollar presidential campaign with over a thousand employees and hundreds of thousand volunteers for the last year. A campaign that took over the Democratic Party and beat the Clinton machine. I would count that as executive experience. By this point he is extremely well known. Sarah Palin isn't.
What "experience" did the following Vice-Presidents have prior to their election:
Elbridge Gerry
Daniel D. Tompkins
John Caldwell Calhoun
Richard Mentor Johnson
George Mifflin
William Rufus
John Cabell Breckinridge
Hannibal Hamlin
Schuyler Colfax
Henry Wilson
William Almon Wheeler
Thomas Andrews Hendricks
Levi Parsons Morton
Garret Augustus Hobart
James Schoolcraft
Thomas Riley Marshall
Charles Gates Dawes
Charles Curtis
John Nance Garner
Henry Agard Wallace
Isn't she supposed to be at home caring for her family?
Keeping 5 kids in cookies would be a full-time job in itself.
I'm just wondering how a former beauty queen will manage the traditional VP's role of attack dog.
In a tankini, of course. How do you hit back against that?
The chatter on repoublican sites is hilarious. I highly recommend checking some out both for comedy and to get a sense of how the otehr side reacted. here'sd a couple quotes from redstate.com
"Epic. Win.
Awesome is made of John McCain"
and
"He clowned you with a surprise pick whose experience, appearance, and gender make her a formidable opponent at very least, and you try to play it off as an act of desperation?"
He clowned us guys. HA. Doesn't everyone here feel 'clowned' that Mcain picked a beauty queen as his running mate. I can't stop laughing.
A better comparison than Quayle IMHO is Clarence Thomas.
Picking up on the cynicism meme... For months McCain and his people have crying about how Obama doesn't have the experience. Now he shows just how much it's really valued. Not just what they can't say now, but what they did say before, "eh, didn't mean it."
The amazing thing about this pick is the way it knocks down McCain's supposed strengths while playing up his weaknesses.
Republicans have spent months attacking Obama for his lack of foreign policy experience, but putting Palin on the ticket will bring that campaign tactic to a standstill. (Can you imagine a Biden/Palin debate on the war in Iraq, the future of NATO, and the independence of South Ossetia?)
At the same time, McCain has always been playing defense on the age issue and now he's gone and put a relative neophyte on the ticket. It's a safe bet that the media is now going to show a lot more interest in McCain's health records and his life expectancy now that we've seen who would be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
From every perspective, this is just a dumb, dumb move on McCain's part. Hallelujah.
Kevin
I agree Palin is a Hail Mary. But that's today's news. We want change for the future. Tomorrow the McSame campaign will rearrange the deck chairs at all his homes. We can only hope Karl Rove will go down with the ship.
The move has done you good. At least to me, your style seems more open, natural and relaxed now. Reminds me of something I used to read several years ago... CalThomas?...no, that couldn't be it...Calvin&Hobbes?...maybe not. I'll think of it.
I'm still holding a gudge because you didn't fall for the Rather evidence on GWB's National Guard misdeeds. If only you had clapped your hands, closed your eyes and believed like the rest of us, it would have been true.
Anyhow, welcome back. I just subscribed.
Um, yeah, there's nothing the pantsuit crowd likes better than seeing a 72 yr old man, who already abandoned his first wife when she didn't look hot any more for a young rich woman, pick another young hot woman to stand next to. McCain already has a huge gender gap. This doesn't help him with the 50-70 yr old women at all. Talk about not knowing how men and women see these things differently. I think think the pantsuit set is offended by this. Pick Rice, or Hutchison or any number of R women who have real experience and you can disagree on policies but respect the choice. This? No.
The two main lines of attack against McCain that Palin opens up:
John McCain has not been pressing the experience point in good faith. Ideally for the Dems, the party would have the discipline not to attack Palin for her inexperience, but to attack McCain for being cynical and disingenuous about the whole experience issue. Asking the Dems to refrain from going off-message, though, is like asking Dr. Strangelove to keep his hand under control. Still, it makes it really easy to say, "John McCain is being cynical, John McCain thinks you're a bunch of rubes, John McCain can't really mean what he says about Obama".
Going hand-in-hand with this is the line of attack that says, "John McCain thinks women are just accessories." It's like women are the new black--first Bush Sr. tries to replace Thurgood Marshall w/ Clarence Thomas, and now McCain is trying to sell Clinton supporters on a kindler, gentler, female Clarence Thomas. This should extinguish doubts that HRC will try to undermine Obama's campaign, and it will mobilize Clinton and other political lionesses to back Obama hard. This too reinforces a narrative of "John McCain is being cynical, John McCain thinks you (women voters) are a bunch of rubes, John McCain just sees women (especially young, glamorous women) as means to political ends."
This could seriously backfire for McCain. He has to hope that the media focuses on direct attacks against her rather than attacks against him based on what his pick of her says about him.
Um, yeah, there's nothing the pantsuit crowd likes better than seeing a 72 yr old man [snip] pick another young hot woman to stand next to.
Halle, you're totally discounting how he sewed up the "Carruthers, I'll be dining at the club with my......niece from out of town" bloc.
This pick just shows that the GOP is still more interested in running campaigns than actually governing -- it's a crass political move, not a choice that will help McCain lead the country should he win.
I do, however, predict that the GOP will use the "She has a kid with Down's!!" card to blunt any and all criticism of her ideas, just as they currently pull the POW card at every turn.
Bank on it.