It's Palin
McCain's picked Sarah Palin as his VP. Let's state the obvious: she's a woman. She's the governor of Alaska. She's younger than Obama. She's anti-corruption, anti-big-oil, pro-drilling-in-Alaskan-oil-refuges, anti-gay-marriage, super-pro-life and made a public decision not to abort a baby with Down's Syndrome.
This is going to be a tough/interesting election.
51 comments:
You guys got this out there before the AP as far as I can tell. Congratulations!
TR
She is actually pro-big-oil, and in fact her husband even works for BP offshore..
ty annonymous commentor for contradicting the information in the post without any evidence. you make the internet a better place.
She also has actual executive experience, which none of the other three do
Yes, even though her husband is a BP employee, BP is definitely not happy with her nor her decision to go ahead with AGIA, which is her plan for developing a gas pipeline. BP and Conoco have an opposing project called Denali and have been very public with their dissatisfaction with the Governor. They really hated the new tax they got last year which resulted from the roll-back of a more favorable tax package that had been passed under the cloud of a corruption and bribery scandal during the previous administration. These were the sort of dealings that Palin ran against and she was publicly opposed by her own party leadership at the time. Have to agree with the original post, this will definitely be a tough/interesting election.
Just Google 'alaska corruption' for more details or try: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_political_corruption_probe
She is less qualified to lead the nation than even Obama, in terms of experience and proven mettle. From Bloomberg:
"Palin, a former beauty queen, high school basketball star and television sportscaster, began her political career in the 1990s as a city councilwoman and then mayor in her home town of Wasilla. The town's estimated population in 2007 was 9,780, according to the U.S. Census Bureau."
And she's been the governor of Alaska for what, two years? If McCain kicks the bucket, what makes Palin ready to assume the mantle of the presidency?
Little, I'd say.
Unexpected choice? Yes. Smart choice? We'll see.
and mccain is not exactly unlikely to kick the bucket soon
She's been governor of Alaska for about as long as Obama's been running for president, and has no serious experience before that. McCain just lost the ability to call Obama out on his lack of experience, and Biden will pick Palin apart in their debate.
Palin is a very shrewd choice. As governor she actually turned back pork barrel spending earmarked for her state. She has bucked the Republican party twice - in her run for Lt. Governor (the Republican party in her state openly opposed this) and governor. She will play to a lot of women on the fence/pissed with an impression that Hillary got dissed, and she still encompasses the Republican base's "guns, babies and Jesus"- she's a mother of 5, including a Down's Syndrome baby; she's a Christian; and she's a member of the NRA. At first listen, she's a pretty good speaker too. The only gap in her political resume is her foreign policy experience - to which she can honestly reply that she has virtually as much as Barack Obama.
Finally - she's an elected woman coming from a decidedly "man's" state (if you've ever been to Alaska, you know what I mean by that).
Interesting is an understatement. This is one tough, smart woman with a very compelling biography.
Cougar. I'm voting for her just on that. Hotttttt!
To add a comment about the 'experience' factor -- this could actually be a shrewd choice. Talk all you want about Biden having more experience, and Palin being a heart-beat away from the Presidency, but you end up comparing her lack of experience to Obama's. So who's to say that experience is the deciding factor. In fact, it's probably Obama's lack of experience and 'outsider' status that made it possible for McCain to choose Palin at all. In this case haven't we been saying that it's really all about leadership. So be careful to dismiss her out of hand. I can only point of that she is wildly popular in her home state even among Democrats who know of her very conservative stance on abortion.
I think it's great that her kids are bi-racial too.
@anon 1:16 PM:
you're right. she has executive experience. never mind that it was in the third least populous state in the nation, or that she's been in office for only a year and a half. her "experience" makes her a better candidate than ANY senator or congressman.
mccain and biden are DEFINITELY more experienced than she is. obama is as well.
She sounds like the female sheriff from "Fargo" - which is too cool. I'd love a president (does anyone think McCain would make it 2012?) who could say to Putin, "Hey there Vladimir. Ya. Listen, there. You try to go into Ukraine next and we'll have to take you down. You betcha. Ya. Ok?"
I can't wait for the VP debate. Ya. Ya.
I noticed in comparing her speech today with Barack's last night that she said "I" a whole lot less. From a psycho-sociological standpoint, is this a factor of her already accepting the 2nd banana role, or Obama still being predicated entirely on himself/cult of personality campaign? Analyze and discuss in no less than 10 pages. Due in week. No extensions.
She's got kind of a Laura Roslin thing going on in that picture
SHE SCARES ME
god i'd love to plug her up
taken from a republican op-ed from cnn regarding palin:
"She is blunt, outspoken and charming. And don't assume she can't stand toe-to-toe with Joe Biden. She is a great debater. And she was runner-up for the Miss Alaska title, won Miss Congeniality in that contest, and plays the flute."
OH, OK, SHE WAS THE RUNNER-UP FOR MISS ALASKA, TOTALLY A GREAT DEBATER, YOU'VE CONVINCED ME!
Does that mean that the Republicans plan to argue that the best way to improve our image abroad is to... improve our image?
Props on the flute, though. I hope she can do jazz. Then she's got my vote. :-P
if mccain wins and palin is VP, I'm moving. to canada. oh wait, shit, that's too close to her home turf. mexico it is, then, even if I have to be close to Dubya
http://theburnlab.blogspot.com/2008/08/tigh-selects-roslyn.html
down the road, the VP candidates don't really matter that much in the election.
She is a stone cold fox.
ha i know who wrote that i think ^
I actually would not be surprised if a significant number of disgruntled Hillary supporters wind up moving over to McCain camp because of Palin. This makes me want to cry. Of course, these are probably people who would have voted for Obama hesitantly, if it all, anyway.
The thing is, I don't dislike her as much as I dislike many Republicans in office. I think she's wrong on most of the most important issues, but there is something likable and honorable about her. Which scares me. Why couldn't McCain have picked someone who's a total tool like Romney or Pawlenty or even Lieberman?
If any Hillary supporters vote for McCain because of Palin then they were never going to vote for Obama. She is virulently anti-choice and a creationist. I can understand her firing up the Republican base but not stealing from Hillary supporters.
I'm voting for her just because she is SO HOT. OMG.
9:51 that means you are controlled by your dick or, as some would say, your tail wags the dog.
She doesn't believe in global warming.
Total Laura Roslin.
McCain=Adama
Obama=Cylon
10:11 - Actually she has a reputation as someone who has gone toe to toe with the oil companies. She was also the state ethics commissioner who blew the whistle on the REPUBLICAN Senator from Alaska who has now been indicted.
I think Biden is in trouble if he thinks he can roll over this one. I watched her speech on YouTube. Not only did she deliver it flawlessly and seemed very likable, she also projected a very strong personality.
As far as foreign policy experience, she has little, but CNN said she did visit Iraq last year as a governor (Alaska has two large military bases and she was "interested in seeing first hand where the troops were going." Remember, it took until the end of the primary season for Obama to go there.
Also both she and McCain now have children serving in the military in Iraq. Not saying this is good or bad, but it kind of negates the "Bush should send his daughters there" being used on them.
I think this whole race just got tougher or Obama. If she gets 5% of the female vote that were wavering on Obama, that could swing the election.
"Ms. Palin has been a rising star on the right since she beat an incumbent governor in a Republican primary in 2006 and then a former Democratic governor in the general election. With an approval rating around 80 percent, she is among the most popular governors." From 8-29-08 NY Times.
This is either a very desperate pick, or a very shrewd pick. As the Times points out (paraphrasing), if the pundits point to her and say, "She has negligible foreign policy and overall political experience! How you vote or her to be a heartbeat from the presidency, the Republicans can turn around and say, "She's only a heartbeat away; meanwhile you have a guy with virtually the same resume running for the top spot."
As for the size of her state - if the argument is made along the lines of, so she was governor of a small state, big deal - they'll point out that Alaska has roughly the same population as Delaware, Biden's state.
Worst of all, I actually liked her today. She didn't seem like a Republican. This makes me very nervous.
She doesn't believe global warming was caused by man, and is pro-life even when dealing with rape and incest. Interesting...
I'm pretty tired of people talking about this phantom voting block of women who were Hillary supporters but now are just gravitating towards McCain because his VP has a vagina.
I've heard that America is "one third swing voters" but that doesn't mean their votes all change on the slightest whim. Were talking about people who preferred Hillary over McCain, but McCain over Obama. Are there more than 5 such people? I doubt it.
Also 10:17 you made my entire day. I lol'd friggin' hard.
Y'all got sucked inter dem REpublickin techniques, see. Yer focussin on the lil events of the lection, like oh, I unno, a silly veep. This doesn't change the fact that Obama is still way awesome and that he wants changenotmoreofthesame. Palin is evangelical Bush style times 10, which 70-some-odd percent of the good ole Us has grown to hate.
Obama's a gon weeeeeen!
1:16--If you look at some of the more extreme pro-Hillary sites/forums, you'll see that there really are people who have been convinced to vote for McCain because of Palin. Now, this is just the interwebs, and the number of people on those forums alone would not change anything, but it is proof that such people exist, and there are more than five of them. The only question is, is how many more of them are there in the real world? Maybe the ones on the internet are completly at odds with the rest of the Hillary supporters, but maybe not.
2:35 am has it about right. she's a female version of dubya.
I can't imagine there could be many pro-life independents. She is an embarrassment to women.
How can she be an embarrassment to women, 9:37!? She beat two men - a republican incumbent and a former 2 term democratic governor - to win the governorship of her state - which is a very male dominated good ol boy state when it comes to politics. She did this while managing a family with 4 kids. She's since had another child with Downs Syndrome. And as the head of her state ethics commission she faced down the oil companies and has given her states residents a windfall oil profits rebate - something Obama has floated - instead of spending the excess revenue like most state government would. I may not agree with her anti choice stance but in no way is she an "embarrassment to women."
oil revenue rebates to Alaska residents are nothing new.
She also believes in teaching creationism. She's not an embarrassment to woman, more like an embarrassment to intelligent people and our country.
Can someone tell me why she is referred to as "Ms." Palin in the NYT article? she is married, right, I keep hearing about her husband.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/29palin.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&hp
I would love to DRILL HER!!!!
seems like the obama camp is getting nervous--- go mccain/palin 08!
Wow, wow, wow! I am blown away by the number of pro-Palin comments here.I would not have expected it and believe it augers well for the Palin/McCain ticket. They've got my vote. For the first time in my adult lifetime..I am proud of the Republican Party. As a decades long unaffiliated voter I recently registered Republican to participate in the primary.
Thanks for the encouragement; I have posted about you at Right of Middle
whatever guys. I'm voting for the Friedbergers.
Honestly, this is ridiculous and desperate and a mockery to US politics. It's completely obvious McCain will be riding on her working class soccer mom persona and vagina for the presidency. My God, they've only met once before, even Palin's own mother is surprised and is voting Obama, a huge number of Alaskan Dems and Reps dislike her (her political fanbase comes mostly from appointees...cronyism, much?), and she's a liar. The McCain camp did a shit job of vetting her; she's got scandals up the wazoo (Trooper scandal, Bridge to Nowhere bullshit, and now this whole is-Trig-her-baby dealio) and is ALREADY backtracking on her statements.
Bullshit. What a sham. At least Obama's got the humility and intelligence to turn to experts for advice and scientific, bipartisan, fact-based information in areas he needs help in (Biden's foreign policy experience is a great complement to him). McCain's proven himself to be bullheaded and belligerent in the past, a "maverick" run by his own personal set of morals. While that's great and high-minded, his morals are not my morals, and I refuse to get sucked into the Republican campaign's symbolic politics.
Fuck. That. Shit.
Obama/Biden '08
Better choice for republicans would have been Ms. Rice she is more experienced can play the female and color card and known for her strong right wing stance. All that said I am not super informed on politics and could be way off, but as I see it that would have been a far better choice.
Condi Rice would have been a good choice but not necessarily a better one IMHO.
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