My friend was definitely excited about it and I must admit I was a bit jazzed myself. A few months ago when we were speculating about who would get the nod from McCain we discussed several possibilities but most were eliminated due to one reason or another. My personal favorite was Fred Thompson. Old "Law and Order" has remarkable oratorical skills and has party views that provide a nice balance to McCain's less conservative stances. However, for a party that is regarded as out of touch with the youth, the senior laden McCain/Thompson ticket doesn't make for good marketing material. My second favorite choice was Liebermann. I have always admired Liebermann, even as Al Gore's running mate. But as a lifelong Democrat, his historical positions would put him at odds with many in the Republican leadership. The two potential candidates that got us excited the most were Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal. Both of these Republicans were young, well rounded, ethical and astonishingly smart. They provided the perfect counterpunch to the insipid moronic behavior that comes from the Obama camp. The choice of Palin excited me because she is tough, intelligent and balances out the McCain ticket with youth and an authentic conservative track record. Outside of the fact that she wasn't Mitt Romney, I wasn't surprised by this pick too much.
What did surprise me on the other hand was the reaction by the Democrats and the media to this pick. They univerally panned it. Now I expected them to not like the pick because they've already consumed so much McCain Hater-ade that he could have chosen Jesus Christ himself and they still would have hated the pick. What surprised me was the one thing they used to slam her and that was her "inexperience".
Yeah, I'm laughing too. Where is Alanis Morissette when you need her because isn't this ironic?
No less a luminary than Senator Barbara Boxer herself slammed Sarah Palin as saying she "hasn't even got a single hour" of foreign policy experience. The Distinguished Senator from New York, Mr. Charles Schumer chimed in "“While Palin is a fine person, her lack of experience makes the thought of her assuming the presidency troubling"
B-b-bbut..
And get this statement from the head of MoveOn.org "It’s not only fair, but critical in this case, to ask if she’s up for the job of commander in chief. We just can’t afford a gamble like this with our future."
Wow! I am surprised indeed. That seems exactly the type of criticism that should be levelled at a certain Messianic Presidential candidate. Now I'm the first in line to agree with them that experience matters. But contrary to their points of view, Sarah Palin does not take away the experience argument against Obama. It reinforces it. Big Time.
Sarah Palin's 2 years of experience as the Governor of Alaska and her history as the mayor of a small town in Alaska vastly trump Obama's few weeks as a Senator. Being a Governor means you have to be active and accountable. Paychecks get cut, crisises get averted and lives are saved due to the decisions governors must make. You can't be indifferent and just show up to vote present 90 percent of the time. Don't get me wrong, Senators are vital pieces to our government, but the big decision making is left to senior members who draft critical legislation or who control vital posts on important committees. McCain has exactly that type of senatorial tenure and has been able to accomplish a considerable amount. Obama on the other hand has done nothing. Honestly, he has not been accountable for squat.
I took this point to my Obama friends who exuberantly rejoiced that their candidate was no longer the most inexperienced person on the ticket. "The playing field is level now" they cheered. But I asked them to name me in which way Obama's experience was superior to Palin's? While they could not point me to any specific accomplishment, they could direct me to several speeches where Obama has suggested, inferred or promised to do something great. Therein lies the great contrast. For many things Obama has promised, Sarah Palin has already delivered.
Meditate on this for a bit will you?
- Obama has promised to reform government, but Sarah Palin has actually reformed government eliminating certain earmarks, taking on special interests, the federal government and even her own party.
- Obama has promised to reduce spending, Sarah Palin has already cut programs and spending by $237 million dollars.
- Obama makes lots of promises about getting energy companies to pay big bucks, Sarah Palin has both taken on and cooperated with the oil companies, crafting an energy policy that has produced extra revenue for the citizens of her state.
- Obama talks about lowering taxes, Sarah Palin has lowered taxes both during her term as Mayor and as Governor.
- Oh, and did I mention she controls the National Guard for the only state that borders Russia?
But hey, don't take my word for it. Check out this MSNBC clip, no less, where a pro-Obama Senator attempts to list just one of Obama's vast achievements. I won't give it away, but suffice it to say that the best part is towards the end when you can hear studio members laughing in the background.
Experience is still on the table, and the McCain/Palin ticket is hoarding it all up, asking Obama/Biden to pass them the butter and biscuits.
This is a great pick. "Victory is Ours!"
6 comments:
Great post!!
Palin is electric, yes. But no, victory is NOYT ours. BHO & Joe Biden have found their voice now and are driving home their themes efficiently and, in Biden's case, convincingly, to the voters who are Democrat inclined -- this year a majority. My guy Big Mac will have his hands full combating them. Fortunately he has a lot going for him, as we all know. But by no means is victory asured for him. By no means. This will be a very tight election -- at best.
Pleas note this. I've now heard Ms. Palin deliver her stump speech three times. The exact same speech, 90 % of it. At O'Fallon, MO today she also talked at length about Hurricane Gustav -- and went on and on and on and sounded quite on automatic pilot the longer she went on. Then she talked about Alaska state government -- not exactly what many of us give two hoots about, no ? (Yes, I know, the McCain guys want to showcasae her "executive experience." Fellas, it ain't working.) She has a LONG, LONG way to go if she hopes to command one of those big rallies Big Mac is now doing. Mitt Romney, for example, sounded MUCH better on the same MO stage. Biden in Dublin, Ohio, meanwhile, had it all. Talk about connecting with people -- dialoguing with them !
I want to hear Sarah Palin start DIALOGUING with a McCain rally of 15,000 people. So far I've heard no such except her kudos to Hillary -- which got booed in PA and which she has now dropped from her speech. NOT good...
It's no secret here that I was (ad remain not a fan of Sarah Plin as VP. But now comes The New York Times Sunday edition reporting that John McCain chose Sara Palin on purpose. Yes, for her reformist credentials, especially her readiness to challenge corruption in Alaska's epublican party too; yes, that her reformism re-emphasized his own desire NOT to be seen as the "wizened old voice of experiemce" but as the NEW voice of reform in Washington. ut, more to my point, the NY TImes said tha Big Mac and his advisers were of the opinion that the Experience argument --which I felt was a WINNING one -- was beginning to fade fast, if for no other reason than the very intensity and length of the campaign was giving BHO quite a bit of experience and thathe was looking readier every day.
Big Mac thus decided that he had better, himself, re-position his campaign, in his own time and by his own means, rather than having to do it while under attack and pressure from the Democrats. And thus the Palin pick. It was suggesed that had Big Mac remained committed to the Experience / Reainess campagn, he would darn well have picked Joe Loieberman or Tom Ridge no matter the objections from those in the party who have never supported him in anything.
My faith in Big Mac's readiness to take command of himself, fully, and to not be pressured by his enemies is restored if this NY Times report is true, and it makes sense to me that it is.
I just hope that Sarah Palin can handle the complexity of issues that she will have to address; that she ends up not looking like Annie Oakley from yokel-ville, an image that her rather dorky stump speech (and her voice cnjures up more often than I find comfortable. And that's not even to mention her many moose-country positions on hot button issues, great in caribou country but how will they play in the lower 48 ?
Oh well. It is what it is. Big Mac really is Barry Goldwater meets Teddy Roosevelt -- cowboy conservative, take-no-prisoners reformer, and ebullient death-defying warrior, and for me that's a good thing; but is it an electable thing 100 years after TR left office ?
There is no comparing Obama's lack of experience with Sarah Palin's record. The democrats better come up with something else. They are desperately grasping at straws.
Oh thank you, thank you for posting that clip link! I really needed a good laugh. The deer in headlights look was priceless!
Massmouth - give the woman a chance to get up to speed. She was thrown into the national spotlight less than 100 hours ago and you expect her to have a new speech ready for every occasion? Let's withhold judgment for at least a week or so.
I don't think it's fair to continue to trivialize her for "moose-country positions". It sounds almost as condescending as the infamous "clinging to guns and bibles" rhetoric. Do you need to be reminded that much of the "lower 48" is rural?
I do agree the election will be tight unless someone trips and falls hard between now and November. Unfortunately, without an unlikely landslide, a McCain victory will probably ignite charges of a Right Wing Fix and we'll be counting hanging chads again.
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