There has to be an upside to this. Let me think.
Okay, by picking 44 year old, two-year Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, John McCain now has all three electoral votes in Alaska squarely in his column...
Oh wait, they already were in his column. Never mind.
Okay, Idaho, then. Palin's home state: four electoral votes, now with McCain!
But wait, he already had them too. So no battleground state advantage here.
Maybe it's the 3 am phone call? When the phone at the White House rings at 3 am, we would want, um, Sarah Palin to answer the phone?
Okay, so it's clearly not that. Despite how McCain's been saying Obama's not capable of receiving that phone call, slamming him for being too young and inexperienced, Obama, 46, still has at least two years in age and eight years in government experience over Palin.
Because of his "lack of experience," Obama was not fit to be Commander-in-Chief, the Republicans said.
Well, Sarah Palin has been governor of Alaska for one year and nine months. Since December 2006.
But Palin's only going to be the vice presidential candidate, right? It's not like she's running for the Commander-in-Chief post! The only way that could conceivably happen is if something happens to McCain while he's president. Fat chance of that. At age 72 with multiple recurrences of melanoma?
Look, I don't want McCain to die, and I don't want myself to die either. But I am aware of that possibility, which is why I have life insurance. John McCain's insurance payout for the United States in case something happens to him now comes in the form of Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska.
She's conservative. She's pro-life, she likes hunting and fishing, she supports offshore drilling, and she's a fiscal conservative. No significant difference there from Pawlenty, Crist, or even Romney, who did flip-flop on abortion, but as the former governor of a significant state, an economy expert, and the son of a very popular former Michigan governor, would have put that state into play and filled two very significant vacuums.
So why did he pick her? Family values? No. She can't beat Biden's story there.
Evangelical/Christian right appeal? Huckabee or Pawlenty would've brought that and much more.
Why? It's not the electoral votes she's bringing, it's not her experience, she doesn't trump anyone else significantly in the conservatism, values, or faith realm, and she's not putting any battleground or other states in play. So what is it?
Could it be just because she's a woman? Could this be reverse sexism?
Does McCain seriously think that all of those disgruntled Hillary voters will now flock to him for choosing a woman just because she's a woman?
What does that say about John McCain's judgment that when he does decide to choose a female candidate, it's not someone with an established record like Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, but a former Miss Alaska pageant winner who, even though she has an admirable resume, is clearly not as qualified to be vice president as many of the more experienced women in the Republican party who really have something solid to offer?
Even Cindy McCain is more qualified to be vice president than Sarah Palin. John McCain's pick makes both George H. W. Bush's Dan Quayle pick and George W. Bush's Harriet Miers pick (for the Supreme Court) look good.
Okay, look, I'm only shaken here because I lost a few bets on this one. And I'm not going to bet on this (because John McCain has clearly lost his mind), but here's a prediction: like Harriet Miers, we may see Palin reject the nomination at some point, citing a noble reason like needing to spend time with her children or Alaska needing her, while McCain regretfully "accepts" her resignation and taps someone more reasonable like Mr. Romney, Mr. Pawlenty, or Ms. Hutchison for the vacant post.
Let's hope that happens before Sarah Palin - otherwise a very impressive, successful, and attractive person - has to go up against Joe Biden in October's VP debate in St. Louis. I have a feeling that may not go well for her.
And if I'm wrong about my prediction, everyone who was sold on Obama's speech last night can take heart in the fact that he will now almost certainly be the next President of the United States.
Friday, August 29, 2008
It's A Girl! And That's Pretty Much It!
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10 comments:
GOD, YOU ARE STUPID!
Anonymous, with your mature, insightful arguing skills, I'm shocked that McCain didn't pick you.
Care to elaborate a bit? In a non-ad hominem way?
So, McCain is wrong for picking "a girl" with little experience for VP and the dems are right for putting an inexperienced, unvetted man at the TOP of their ticket?
NYSMike:
Like I said in the post, I think Pralin has a very impressive resume and I think she's a fine woman. My argument is only against the idea of her being qualified to be vice president - or president. From strictly a strategic political standpoint, McCain has now lost the sole legitimate argument against Obama's candidacy that he had - that of experience.
And still, if you want to talk about experience, Obama at least has the experience of campaigning, debating establishment politicians 21 times, surviving political scandals, and dealing with the media, which is brand new territory to Palin. Added to this are his 7 years in the Illinois Senate (a much bigger constituency than the 9000 people in the city Pralin was mayor of) and his three years in the US Senate (compared to Palin's year and 9 months as governor of Alaska.)
It's almost insulting to women to pass up someone like Kay Bailey Hutchison who has truly worked for what she has accomplished - and trade that for a pretty face (nothing wrong with that if it wasn't an isolated factor) who is a walking talking campaign gimmick.
This is going to be an interesting two months.
I meant 'Palin', not 'Pralin'. :) Thanks for your comments.
Thanks to Maggie - http://maggiesnotebook.blogspot.com/2008/08/radical-liberal-bloggers-heres-run-down.html - for linking to my post on her site with the following comment:
"Ali A. Rizvi, like Brasky another small time liberal blogger, calls Palin “just a girl”. I’m sure his mother is proud."
Because I do have some readers that may be lost on the concept of satire, let me clarify the title of my post.
"It's A Girl! And That's Pretty Much It!" is a translation of what I feel was going on in the minds of the McCain camp when they were drafting criteria for a VP pick to pander to a certain group of voters out of desperation.
In the post, I also allude to the idea that those Hillary voters weren't looking for 'Just A Girl" - and that's why it's not going to work. To think that is underestimating the intelligence of these women voters. This post would not have had that title if Kay Bailey Hutchison was McCain's pick.
Ali, you weaken your argument and the article by opening yourself to accusations of sexism. See how you have spent a couple of responses trying to fend off these accusations rather than dwelling on the main thrust of your propositions: What on earth was going on in McCain's mind?
Palin certainly has demonstrated strong political potential and may have been a great choice for someone else. But not for McCain. In fact this choice throws up many troubling questions. Is he, by the contrast thrown up, conceding that his age and health are worrisome issues and if this is the case does he suggest that she with her inexperience is ready to be president? Will he then back out of his charge against Obama's readiness for presidency? Does he realizing that unpredictability is a negative when running for high office? What other surprises does he intend to pull on the american people when in office? Did he listen to his advisers in this matter or was this another example of his "maverickism" - a shot into the alaskan wild? Will he listen to his advisers in important matters if he is president? How logical is his thinking and can he explain why he chose to jump over more experienced women? So I do agree with you. This choice makes me really question McCain's readiness and competency(not Palin's) to be commander in chief.
Oh my, you certainly stirred the pot haven't you boy. Truthfully, I'm so impressed. To think all these "conservative" robots actually take the time to read an intelligent blog has floored me. Maybe I should re-think my views on the Republicans....nope, I was right the first time they are robots. McCain just put "silly" putty in 18 million cracks.
I saw Maggie's link.. and didn't thank her. I haven't thought of myself as "radical" since the sixth grade when I skateboarded.
some people laugh..some people need an explanation.
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