I would not have thought it possible, but McCain and his advisers have made the perfect vice presidential selection in Sarah Palin. It is an ingenious, even thrilling choice, and one that is all the more remarkable in that it was completely unexpected. All the other candidates, such as Romney and Pawlenty, were boring and came with serious drawbacks. Obama has certainly added excitement to the Democratic ticket; now, with his choice of Palin, McCain has done the same for the Republicans.
Compare Obama's unimaginative selection of Joe Biden--another Washington D.C. blowhard--with McCain's choice. I suppose Biden is supposed to win over lower-middle-class white voters by the fact that he is a backslapping good old boy who likes to watch football games and eat chili dogs. What Biden offers is a proven record of mediocrity, and perhaps he can appeal to mediocre people on the basis of a shared absence of accomplisment.
I'm not saying that Palin has accomplished much either. What she has is potential. The Obama camp has already released its first commercial attacking Palin. But how ridiculous does Obama sound in faulting her for lack of experience? Palin is serving her first term as governor, but then Obama is serving his first term as senator. Palin has no foreign policy experience and has only been to Iraq once; Obama's level of foreign policy experience is exactly the same. It's worth noting, in this context, that Obama, unlike Palin, is at the top of the ticket. Palin will at least have a chance to learn on the job; Obama wants to step right into the Oval Office. So every time the Democrats use the experience charge against Palin, they remind the American people of Obama's greatest weakness.
Here's why Palin is such a good choice. She seems like an incredibly wholesome person who doesn't so much talk about family values as embody them. This is the best kind of social conservative: one whose life is an exemplar of the kind of American dream that we can all admire. In attacking her, I think her critics like Paul Begala and James Carville sound like total jerks. I'd like to see more of those carping attack dogs on TV: they can only help Palin.
With her support for a muscular foreign policy and guns and oil drilling, Palin is an across-the-board conservative, which will reinforce McCain's credentials with the right-wing base of the party. Not that those guys had anyone else to vote for, but the choice of Palin will increase the enthusiasm of GOP activists in working hard for a McCain victory. Second, unlike Bush, McCain has chosen a deputy who can be a future leader of the Republican Party. Palin is also young and thus helps to neutralize Obama's youthful advantage. As a woman, Palin will not so much win over the disenchanted Hillary supporters as pick up Hillary's argument to independent voters that it's about time America had a strong woman in its top echelons of political office. For every Obama supporter who can claim an historic first for the Democrats, Palin enthusiasts can make an equal historic claim for the Republicans.
The media will continue to lionize Obama-Biden and attack McCain-Palin. It's only a short time before we start hearing that Palin is the "wrong kind of woman." (Would anyone dare argue that Obama is the "wrong kind of black man"?) Still, the American people have gotten pretty good at seeing through the media charade. A whole summer of media genuflections hasn't produced a substantial Democratic lead. For months, McCain and Obama have remained virtually tied. Now, with Palin, the Republicans have their first chance to pull ahead.
Reader Comments ( Page 22 of 22)
316. that dumb she is a liar and a ambitious women who would dag her own family in the mud to win that election
kyle at 1:02AM on Sep 4th 2008
317. Question for Dinesh (which I know he will not even read):
If the Republicans believe so strongly that executive experience is
important in a presidential candidate, why didn't they nominate one
of their FIVE this year who actually had some?
If her terms as mayor of 5,000 and governor of 680,000 make her more
qualified than Obama, they also make her more qualified than McCain.
acole631 at 12:32PM on Sep 4th 2008
318. You just continue to write "great" articles. You've got to kidding me. "Lionization" of the Obama Biden campaign. They've been bashing Obama since he announced his campaign for presidency. A few people make some comments about Palin but everyone seems to have an opinion about Obama. There have been jokes about Obama's name, his upbringing false books written about his past. And you have the nerve to say that the media is treating Palin worse than him. And what is this whole thing about experience?? As far as I'm concerned none of these 4 people (Obama, Biden, McCain, Palin) have experience because none have them have been President. It's ridiculous to even bring up this topic. At least Obama has created new visions for change in America rather than the same old startegies of the Bush Administration. Thanks buddy.
therealtalk3 at 3:01PM on Sep 4th 2008
319. You can read the actual bios of all people in Congress, including the candidates at VOTESMART.org.
Neither McCain nor Palin have law degrees, and no experience.
And here's how she stands on Pro-Life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGPFPBmzRrQ
jn at 9:35PM on Sep 6th 2008
320. Sarah Palin barely has an education, let alone "executive experience"! She's been barefoot & pregnant in the back woods of Alaska and her husband works for BP.
Wow. Her PR people really have you all spoon-fed.
jn at 9:35PM on Sep 6th 2008
321. If only Obama wasn't so far into Socialism :::sigh::: Gotta go with McCain - Greg----http://us.imdb.com/name/nm2734923/
GregbeingFrank at 1:14AM on Sep 7th 2008
322. Palin is a GREAT Vice President!
as said by a commentator:
If Governor Palin is successful, she will bring back traditional principles and reignite the social causes conservatives believe in. That, of course, angers the left, which wants to basically wipe out conservative beliefs. They fear a resurgence of traditional tenets. They fear what Governor Palin could represent. So the attacks on Palin are almost unprecedented.
She is qualified for President
Henry Kissinger said that VP Harry S. Truman had no foreign relations experience but when thrust into the Presidency, he became one of the best Presidents on foreign relations.
Obama could be a quick learner under the mentorship of Joe Biden. Sarah Palin should take advantage of John McCains' foreign relations experience and if she became President she could name a VP with credentials like Biden also.
John McCain and Sarah Palin are the absolute best candidates to run our country and lead us into the future. Good going Sarah. Your acceptance speech was excellent and right on the money. You go girl and you show American's what a good prolife, profamily and pro God woman can do and with John McCain you can win this election and turn this country around to where we belong. Elect John McCain and Sarah Palin and America will be on it's way to great days ahead. She is INCREDIBLE... how few people could be a mom of five, with a handicapped child, achieve an 83% approval rating as state governor, and smile all the way through a prime time speech, after the week this woman has just had.
sparkling516 at 12:38PM on Sep 7th 2008
323. "I am THRILLED at McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for his VP. She has executive experience and has learned the ropes from the bottom up...Obama, according to his campaign, spent his 143 active days in the Senate "listening and learning", but he has NO RECORD AT ALL of taking action. While Alaska does not have the population that most large states have, the skills needed to govern are the same. Alaska was rift with corruption in both parties and instead of pointing fingers at the opposition, she stepped in and cleaned up BOTH parties from the bottom up! She took on big oil and refunded excess profits directly to the citizens of Alaska...Obama wants to force big oil to pay more in taxes and use those taxes for more big government handouts. She has a proven record of refusing federal ear mark handouts...Obama wouldn't even vote to suspend them for a year"
First off, Palin was in favor or supporting an earmark for the "bridge to nowhere" before she ever lied and stated "thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere"..
Second, here's a list of Obama's accomplishments in his OWN state:
Obama joined forces with former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to pass the toughest campaign finance law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and banned gifts from lobbyists. Before the law was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among 50 states for its campaign finance regulations.
-As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan.
-He traveled to Russia with Republican Dick Lugar to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts designed to find and secure deadly weapons around the world.
-Obama has been a leading advocate for protecting the right to vote, helping to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and leading the opposition against discriminatory barriers to voting.
- In the U.S. Senate, Obama introduced the STOP FRAUD Act to increase penalties for mortgage fraud and provide more protections for low-income homebuyers, well before the current subprime crisis began.
-Obama sponsored legislation to combat predatory payday loans, and he also was credited with lobbied the state to more closely regulate some of the most egregious predatory lending practices.
-Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 to provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military.
-Obama worked to pass a number of laws in Illinois and Washington to improve the health of women. His accomplishments include creating a task force on cervical cancer, providing greater access to breast and cervical cancer screenings, and helping improve prenatal and premature birth services.
-Obama has introduced and helped pass bipartisan legislation to limit the abuse of no-bid federal contracts.
-Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that was described as the "gold standard" for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending subsidized corporate jet travel, mandating disclosure of lobbyists' bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law.
danielle at 11:08PM on Sep 9th 2008