Palin!
For the first time in this entire election cycle (now going into it's third year), I'm excited about the Republican ticket. John McCain has selected Sarah Palin as his VP. Whoohoo!
The biggest problem with the GOP is corruption. This happens to every party that is unchallenged in power for a long time. Remember the Dems in '94? The Gingrich revolution kicked them out but then the Republicans fell under the same spell. Political parties can't survive the impression that they're in office solely for their own personal gain.
Palin took office a few years ago and started rooting corruption out of the Republican party in Alaska. She's campaigned against incumbents in her own party and made clear that principle is more important than power. Elevating her is exactly the message that needed to be sent. Every party goes through rotten patches, this is a big step towards weeding their way out.
Her big minus is that she hasn't been in office for long, only two years. I'd been hoping that she would be the front-runner for the 2012 race but she seems to have grabbed the tiger by the ears. Two things here, first she's at least as experienced as the Presidential nominee for the Dems, maybe more so. Certainly she has more executive experience, though I'm sure Obama has been better briefed on foreign policy. I'll reserve some judgement until I hear her speak.
The second thing is that there is a difference between Pres and VP. If elected, she'll have some time to soak up the foreign policy stuff. Obama would really be in charge 'on day one', as they say. Worst case scenario, she's thrust into the top job very quickly then she'd simply have to lean on the machinery until she figured things out. I belive this would be true of an VP who suddenly takes over.
I think she's a great pick, truly one of the rising stars of the GOP. I've been leaning towards voting libertarian but this might have done enough to bring me back. Sarah Palin!
posted by Peder @ 9:01 PM
2 Comments:
I'm excited about Sarah Palin as VP GOP candidate too! As for international experience, don't forget who her immediate neighbors are: Russia and Canada.
She's young, vibrant, hard-working, mother of five, and definitely has experience in managing natural resources - one of the huge matters on which our country is wrestling.
This posting is one of the reasons I'm impressed with your blog. Not that you like Sarah Palin, but because it seems like you actually knew something about her before she was anounced as McCain's running mate. I know an awful lot of Republicans and it didn't matter if I asked them who Sarah Palin was or who the Governor of Alaska is....they had no idea.
Truth be told, I might not know either if I didn't regularly talk politics with an old military buddy who is stationed in Alaska, and I live in the closest state to Alaska.
That is why I was shocked by the reaction of the Republicans I know. The very day she was announced they were telling me how great she was and I'm thinking...yesterday you told me you never heard of her.
I guess that's not important. When she was anounced, I did have the reaction that yes, it's an obvious pander to the disgruntled Hilary voter, but even if it is, it's good to see the Republican party supporting a woman in such a powerful position. And I admit; I kinda liked some of the things she was doing up there in Alaska.
Since that day I've been very much put off by the way the McCain campaign had to create the myth of Sarah Palin. I have said that I liked some of the things she has done so why did they feel they had to turn her into someone else?
I realize every politician does some resume padding and their supporters do some exagerating. And I don't mean the little stuff, like when you wrote that she took office 2 years ago and it was really closer to 1 and a half. That's just the little stuff.
I don't think it's wise to compare her to Obama. We have heard Obama speak, debate and interview extensively on every subject we can think of, and to be quite frank, he's been brilliant. As far as she is concerned, you just can't say any of that about her. We can basically assume her ideas are inline with the Republican party, but if she's the "maverick" she claims to be, maybe her ideas are not. I know what her plans and views are as a Governor of Alaska, but as president, that's a very different ball of wax.
Despite all that I liked about her as Governor of Alaska, I've been extremely disapointed by her as VP candidate. I still have hope. When this election is over, I'm hoping her selection has a transformative effect on the Republican party, in a way, I still have hope that Sarah Palin will make this geat nation a better place.
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