John McCain is old. Being president is tough. If he is to fall over, he’s picked a real experienced backstop to have her finger on the button: Sarah Palin [1], Governor of Alaska.
All I can say, is Joe Biden just got an easy debate schedule.
John McCain’s central and best argument in this campaign is that Barack Obama simply lacks the experience to be President of the United States. And now John McCain, who is a cancer survivor who turns 72 years old today, is picking a vice presidential nominee who has been governor of a small state for less than two years and prior to that was mayor of a town with roughly one-thirtieth of the citizens that Barack Obama represented when he was a state senator in Illinois.
Whatever you think of Barack Obama’s qualifications to be Vice Presidential, Palin is manifestly less qualified
Talking Points Memo [2].
I respect John McCain for a lot of things, but, considering he could have picked a high-powered woman from business like E-bay’s Meg Whitman [3] or the former CEO of HP, Carly Fiorina [4], I have to wonder- what’s he been smoking? Sarah admits she’s smoked pot and inhaled. Lordy, how times have changed!
And, most significantly- McCain is speaking in Dayton Ohio today to make the announcement- at the Nutter Center. McCain picks one of Forbes 10 fastest dying cities [5] to make the death of his campaign official and lightning quick. Do they get do-overs on vice presidential picks?
Sorry David. This is where I have to strongly disagree.
Let’s talk about what both John McCain and Sarah Palin are NOT.
Neither one is an elitist lawyer.
Don’t you think our country has suffered enough internal damage at the hands of these glorified “clerks” who are masters in the arts of intimidation, manipulation and deception ? Granted “W” isn’t one either, and I’m sure you’ll remind everyone how much damage he has done, however, we have had such a void in this country for so long when it comes to true leadership – from local to state to national positions of responsibility. Lawyers end-up filling these positions almost by “default.” An appropriate analogy would be something along the lines of the HR department running show while the CEO goes AWOL for 20+ years. Everyone “feels good” and appearances are maintained, but there’s no true growth or accomplishment.
And another key difference I think you should appreciate. The families of both McCain and Palin “walk the walk” when it comes to military service – a key point that not only separates (okay, I know about Biden’s son) them from their opponents, but also separates them from the “old guard” of the Republican Party – the C.C. Republicans, who still call the shots here locally.
Mastering the art of extortion through abuse of our civil court system is NOT service to your country. It’s the exact opposite, no matter how good of a show you can put on.
Jim- I hate lawyers as much as the next person, however, there is no way in hell, that we’re going to talk about McCain- who voted with GWB 90% of the time as any form of change what-so-ever.
I don’t need 10% change.
Being a veteran is a big part of my life- as it is yours, but it no more qualifies me for office than my ability to type.
It’s the quality of the ideas and the clarity of the vision- and in both, McCain is missing the boat.
Huh. I wonder why he didn’t just pick Peggy Lehner?
She’s got two X chromosomes, she’s seriously anti-choice, and she has about the same amount of experience as Sarah Palin… plus she’s older and she’s local (so the campaign wouldn’t have had to pay for her to fly in from Alaska). Seems like a no brainer to me.
McCain wins, passes away, and then we will have a mother of 5 running our show – my mom had 7 and did a great job, multi-tasking and gettin shit done – maybe this is the right choice.
experience is overrated. It just means you are more in the hip pocket of others than a less experienced person.
I am glad of McCain’s choice – go GIRLS!
and she is good lookin’
Gene just made me LOL in my cubicle.
I <3 irony.
Why Gene, you big ‘ol sexist pig you !
Your point is only half-funny. My mom raised 7 too. No easy task, by any stretch of the imagination.
Sarah Palin. Cindy McCain. All the female reporters and anchors on FOX.
I’m there !
Oink, oink.
I think Palin is the perfect choice to shore up the suburban vote in places like Ohio.
She’s in to shore up the GOP base…heck, she [b]is[/b] the GOP base. And the comparison with Lehner is apt, as Palin sounds like a local GOP politican here, but in her case she became governor.
Of all the candidates Palin and her husband are closest to being regular people that average folks can relate to. A solid choice for McCain.
Remember, in SW Ohio, the only people who vote Democrat are blacks, homos, uninionists, and a handfull of liberal oddballs. Normal people, regular folks, don’t vote Democratic here, and this is why McCain/Palin will carry this part of the state. That and McCain being closely identified with the military and national security.
That being said, Montgomery County is competetive, and I think Obama will take this county due to black turnout..but I think it could be close.
Jeff, you are a total weirdo oddball, and that has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read on this great blog.
I think she’s an interesting choice, and makes the race more competitive. McCain’s biggest problem is the enthusiasm gap, and I suspect that’s why they chose her. Obama’s “very favorable” ratings double if not triple McCain’s. She will inject excitement in the race. But, and this is a big one, I think it will end up hurting McCain.
1. This brings the choice issue into focus even more. Women who may be excited about her and don’t know how adamantly anti-choice she is will be turned off by her quickly.
2. I guarantee that the issue of equal pay for women will come largely into focus. Seeing as how McCain has voted against it, it will hurt him with women.
3. They do not, in the least, look compatible on stage. If you saw how they embraced after the speech, he gave her an awkward peck on the cheek, and I could tell that she didn’t seem comfortable.
4. Right now they are trying to reclaim (yeah, I did it) the “outsider” mantle, but when people find out about her “troopergate” scandal in Alaska I imagine that her reformer image will come into question very, very quickly. She has already been caught in one lie on this, denying that anyone in her office was involved, and when it was uncovered that someone in her office WAS involved, she denied knowing what was going on. Talking Points Memo has some good information on this. This will raise questions on McCain’s judgment, advantage Barack. It will also remind people (and I get a feeling Biden will help on this) about Bush’s cronyism, and it will allow Biden and Obama to pivot onto Katrina, especially with Gustav barreling towards the coast, and possibly at the worst possible time for the Republicans.
I’m not saying the ticket won’t be formidable, but I’m sure the Obama people have a leg up and also, the press loves nothing more than to expose hypocrisy in government, especially Republicans
she may lack experience, but so does Obama? Duhhhhhhh
He is on the top of the dem ticket, she is just #2 – BIG difference. I voted democrate and I am not any of those things listed above………..jeff seems to be a bit, well, you know, ahhhhhh……… scay? no?
“Jeff, you are a total weirdo oddball, and that has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read on this great blog.”
I dont know anyone in real life who’s a Democrat, who doesn’t fit those categories…Well..ok…one, but she retired.
SW Ohio is a Republican valahalla, deal with it.
“jeff seems to be a bit, well, you know, ahhhhhh……… scay? no?”
Let’s put it this way.
I bet you all a beer at the Century that McCain wins SW Ohio, these counties: Darke, Miami, Greene, Clark, Preble, Warren, Clinton and Butler.
…all these except for Montgomery County. And that Obama takes this county by 5 points or less.
Jeff, the geek in me cannot resist telling you that the link to your blog is “http://daytonology.blogspot.com/” … Instead, you’re linking to “www.blogspot.daytonolgy.com”, which obviously doesn’t exist.
Purely an observation.
Liberal oddball,
Seth
This is a complete politcally-motivated, headline grabbing selection completly devoid of seriousness regarding governing. If Gov. Palin is qualified for president, then certainly Obama is as well. 3 words re. this move by McCain: weak, weak, weak.
She is not running for President, Obama is. SHe is more qualified in a lot of ways, to be honest. She has gotten shit done, and B.O. has been a lot of talk, I mean A LOT OF TALK. But he will still get my vote.
Everyone knows the Presidency and Vice Presidency are in the Executive Branch? She’s pretty much spent her whole career in the executive branch. She has experience governing a city and a state. Barack, as far as I can tell, has “served” in the legislative branch, and would probably know one clue if you asked him to name what branch of the government the presidency is a part of. But, I think this criticism and these attacks are expected. Once Barack has gone totally off course with his message, it’s hard to talk about change and ending washington politics as usual. Barack likes to talk about changing Washington; McCain picks a VP that can change washington.
Jake–
With the exception of Cheney (who we are lucky hasn’t burned Washington to the ground) has a VP ever “changed” in Washington? The most we can expect of a VP is to be a good adviser to the president. Gore was particularly well suited at this. Biden will be. I suppose if Palin wants to put in her $0.02, she could always give her opinion on how to be politically convenient.
Has a VP ever changed in washington? Or changed Washington? See, we can also expect a VP to also act as a good replacement to the president should the president become unable to carry out his duties. Biden could possibly be that. He can probably give a good speech, whether it’s the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s 1942 State of the Union, etc. Palin, though only being in office a limited time, has shown she is effective at managing a state. Barack can’t even do the job people are paying him to do. But, I see your point on how she is politically convenient. It sucks for a candidate to actually carry out change, while another is satisfied with blowing it up our butts.
Jeff, if you’d ever like to sit down and talk, I would gladly shatter your perceptions.
Don’t you realize what you said was the same thing as:
All blacks love watermelon
All Jews pinch pennies
Etc…
One good thing did come out of yesterday. Due to the tragic car accident on US 35, McCain and his motorcade were forced to see the stark fist of hypercapitalism up close and in person, as their motorcade was forced to drive through the foreclosure ridden streets of East Dayton.
We should all look towards the example of Russia under communism instead, see how that noble ideal built up the morale of all citizens. Capitalism blows. Money is bad.
Here’s what Andrew Sullivae said regarding this unserious pick that’s dead-on:
Yes, we knew McCain had an ego. We never quite appreciated how vast it was. Yes, Obama is inexperienced in foreign policy. But at least he has thought seriously about it. Do you really believe that Sarah Palin understands the distinctions between Shia and Sunni, has an opinion about the future of Pakistan, has a view of how to exploit rifts within Tehran’s leadership, knows about the tricky task of securing loose nuclear weapons? Does anyone even know if she has ever expressed a view on these matters? Here’s a bleg: can anyone direct me to any statement she has ever made about foreign policy?
The biggest secret of the Bush administration is that they were never serious about national security. Serious leaders do not fabricate intelligence through torture methods borrowed from the Communist Chinese. Serious leaders do not invade foreign countries on dubious intelligence with no plan for an occupation. Serious leaders do not try to manipulate detainee policy for electroal purposes. Serious leaders do not engage in moronic talk of victory or surrender five years after removing a regime.
And now we know something about McCain’s promise: he takes all this even less seriously than Bush.
@John- thanks for pointing out the Andrew Sullivan piece- it’s here btw: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/08/the-utter-arrog.html
Here’s how seriously he takes the office of the Vice President: eight years ago when asked by Tim Russert if he would consider being Dubya’s running mate, McCain said:
“The vice president has two duties. One is to inquire daily as to the health of the president, and the other is to attend the funerals of Third World dictators. And neither of those do I find an enjoyable exercise.”
Make that three duties. He left out pandering, which is exactly what he picked Palin to do.
So, as per the 2004 and 2006 elections, Republicans said that the only measure of the quality of a politician is in whether or not the people re-elect that politician. By that measure, Palin has never been tested in any real office, as she hasn’t even been Gov of Alaska long enough to face re-election. How would she fare if she made it that far?
(Moot question, of course, considering that she has 80% approval in Alaska, but I think that she should have to face re-election at least once before being considered as a serious asset)
Zak didn’t the Republicans say back in 1994 that any politician who stays in office past one term turns into the enemy? The whole contract with America. Funny how the playbook changes.
Anyway fascinating choice as VP I am still just giddy about the possibilities. This is going to induce so much rhetoric.