For the first time in a number of months I am once again excited about the Presidential Race. I was certain McCain was going to pick either Romney or Pawlenty. The more I look into the Governor from Alaska, the more excited I get. She is a true conservative. That will turn some people off, and excite others. She has only been in elected government for a few years, but she has some very clear opinions on a variety of issues. She is pro-life, her oldest son is about to go to Iraq, she is a lifetime NRA member, she has been billed as a “reformer” and has the experience to back it up. She supports developing America’s resources to provide energy independence. She got elected as Governor of Alaska by first defeating the incumbent Governor in the Republican primary, and then defeated a former Governor in the general election. She has a history of attacking both Republicans and Democrats when they make wasteful decisions in government.
She abandoned the “Bridge to Nowhere project”. She said that if Alaska needed a bridge, they would pay for it. I really admire that opinion at the State and Local level. Just imagine: an official who doesn’t believe the Federal Government is the solution to every problem. She is against gay marriage, while defending homosexuals from discrimination.
There has been a lot of criticism of McCain for picking someone with as short a resume as hers, when Republicans have been pointing out how thin Obama’s own resume is. I think there are two very large differences between Sarah Palin’s resume and Barack Obama’s. First, Palin was a Governor, not a Senator. That is a very important difference. As Governor, you are the one ultimately responsible for your state. As a Senator, you delegate, or work with others to pass laws that the executive branch then enforces. You may or may not agree with Mrs. Palin, but you can look at her experience and see exactly where she stands on most issues. The same thing can’t be said for Obama.
Secondly, she is the nominee for Vice President, not President. As President, Obama is the leader of the Executive branch of the U.S. government, and the leader of his party. As Vice President, Sarah Palin would only become President in the event something happened to McCain. Presumably, she would have some time in the office of Vice President before taking on the mantel of President. She will also be able to pick a Vice President to work with her that compliments her, much as Obama has chosen with Biden.
At the end of the day, voters will have to decide who they like more; Obama / Biden or McCain / Palin. I am very excited about the Republican ticket. I think a number of voters are going to start supporting McCain and Palin the more they learn about her.
18 comments:
If she's such a great choice, why has she never been mentioned by anyone before?
What I'm reading and hearing is she's a "gamble" for McCain. In my experience, gamblers are losers most of the time.
Having said that, I like that he picked a female and she seems to be pretty spunky.
She has been mentioned before. She, Hutchinson, Lieberman, Ridge, and Huckabee were all getting attention. Most people thought it would be Pawlenty or Romney because they were the safest bets.
She's a gamble, but she is also a very strong and aggressive choice. We will see how it plays out.
Look forward to seeing how it plays out. What a nice change!
Palin was for the bridge before she was against it. Oct 22, 2006:
REPORTER: Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?
PALIN: Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now--while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.
If the "executive experience" of the Governor of Alaska (pop. 627,000) qualifies somebody to be VP, then show much more qualified to be VP is the CEO of Dekalb County, Georgia (pop. 737,093)?
Go Vernon!
Sarah Palin: making every American wonder why they aren't running for President.
Sarah Palin has left the United States twice in her life. First passport: 2007.
Andy, according to you (and according to McCain) Obama doesn't have the experience to be President.
And now McCain picks someone with even less experience for his VP.
Obama has picked someone who can help him lead.
McCain has picked someone who he thinks can help him win.
The sad fact is that both parties have placed Senators on the number one spot in their ticket. Obama chose to add a Senator to his ticket. Senators don't get Executive experience. Truthfully, Mrs Palin has more executive experience than any of the other three.
Both Obama and McCain picked VP's they thought would help them win the general election. Should something happen to McCain after he takes office, President Palin would be able to pick a new vice president that can help her lead.
And don't forget, every day she spends as VP will be another day of experience leading the free world.
The comments crack me up. The other side must not be as confident in their candidate as they attempt to appear. I've enjoyed watching the outrage unfurl, though. It wasn't immediate, they had to study up first since they know so little about a governor many R's already admire and respect. Then, systematically, the same sound bites get regurgitated. It brings joy to my heart to hear Obama supporters whine about the opponent's lack of 'experience'.
Rebecca - The outrage is directed at Obama detractors who seem to think inexperience is only an issue for him, but not for anyone else.
Andy - Executive experience is only one piece of the puzzle.
I'd like to hear you answer anonymous' question - If the "executive experience" of the Governor of Alaska (pop. 627,000) qualifies somebody to be VP, then how much more qualified to be VP is the CEO of Dekalb County, Georgia (pop. 737,093)?
I didn't think it was a question worth answering. The answer would seem pretty obvious. But as you said Family, experience is only one piece of the puzzle. Vernon Jones, or any number of other Governors, have more executive experience than any one on either ticket. That is one reason why Senators are not traditionally the Presidential candidate.
My problems with Obama are with more than just his lack of experience, just as I am excited about Mrs. Palin for more than just her experience as Governor.
Rebecca:
So, following your logic, we liberals should interpret the right's o*b*s*e*s*s*i*o*n with Obama as "lack of confidence" in McCain?
There is, frankly, a lot of incredulity on the left today: Sarah Palin is not a serious candidate.
My understanding on Gov. Palin's stance on the bridge is that she is still for spending STATE funds on it. She is, however opposed to accepting the Federal money that was earmarked for the project. To me that shows integrity.
Also, I am LOVING that the only thing that the opposition seems to be able to attack her on is her experience! She may have only been the governor for 2 years, but she sure has had a lot of accomplishments...
Family,
I will be sad to see you go. Personally, I think trying to convince others of things you are passionate about is the best way to get things accomplished. But I don't disagree with you either. If you are passionate about a particular candidate, talk about that candidate with your friends or family, work on their campaign, and contribute to them. This article started as a discussion of Sarah Palin. She is a Vice Presidential candidate I am very passionate about.
Chell,
I think you are dead on. I admire the that she wanted to build a bridge with state funds instead of federal funds. I wish more state and local officials tried to solve their own problems instead of looking to the federal government for solutions.
One final note on Familyman's comments. I think Family started commenting on my blog shortly after I started writing it. While he and I both think the other is wrong, I have always enjoyed his comments. While I will be sad to see him go, I think he was wrong on one point. I am not convinced that our society is becoming more liberal. I think many of the densely to super - densely populated areas are in fact getting more liberal. This helps explain why a state named after a Saint (California) has become so way outside main stream thinking today. However, I think more and more rural areas, and some urban areas are getting more conservative. I have also read that Generation X and the Y Generation are more conservative on particular issues (like abortion) than the baby boomers.
Does this mean every one is going to one day become a Conservative or a Republican? No. But I also think the American People as a whole only have so much patience for extreme liberalism.
Chell:
Do you mean Palin's experience of giggling when shock jocks called the president of the state senate, who is a cancer-survivor, a "bitch" and a "cancer"? Do you mean her experience of saying she'd be "honored" to host these shock jocks? Audio here. You ought to listen. Get to know your candidate.
And, no, she didn't simply want state funds for the bridge to nowhere. She wanted Andy's federal taxes paid from Georgia to build that bridge. That's why she talked about the *congressional* assistance. So she already told one whopper in her first public VP candidate speech. But you people seem to believe whatever you want to believe, so, whatever.
I have to appologize. My above comment is a response to Familymans comment from the previous post. He is leaving us and I was wishing him well.
Anonymous,
Republicans do not have the monopoly on being people who "seem to believe whatever you want to believe." That seems to be a common human trait and not just for politics. It kind of is one of those great American freedoms.
Each one of those 4 has baggage. Each one of those 4 has comments that are chopped down and taken in context, out of context and well for what ever purpose will sell more papers, get more viewers, get more listeners or get more votes.
Each one of them does bad and good, has done bad and good and will do bad and good.
No point in all I am saying other than more proof against your claim of Republicans being hard headed.
As far as I can see Senator Obama is just as lacking as Gov. Palin just like she is just qualified as he.
Anon,
I was so inspired by your criticism of Sarah Palin, I wrote a whole new post to address it. Check it out and let me know what you think.
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