From Paul Begala, CNN contributor and Democratic pundit."In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history."
4 comments:
"the most powerful" maybe.
the most "complicated, difficult job in human history"
please.
get over the cult of the presidency.
pick up a copy of Reason.
Palin has executive experience, which Obama has none of. She has actual governing experience, which Obama has none of. She governed in a state that borders two large foreign countries, one of which has grown increasingly hostile and dangerous. She comes from a state that supplies a great deal of energy to the country in the form of fossil fuels, so she can credibly speak on drilling offshore and in ANWR.
She appeals a great deal to the Republican base, which is a group that wasn't necessarily thrilled about McCain's nomination. She has a son serving in Iraq, so presumably knows something about and has a personal stake in winning the war. She's solidly middle-class, so nobody will be asking her how many homes she owns. She and her husband are union members. She walks the walk with her pro-gun and pro-life talk, which is hugely important among the Republican electorate. She took on her own party to address corruption, so she fit's McCain's persona as a maverick, and she's a Washington outsider. And yes, she's good looking, young, charismatic and speaks well.
Face it, Palin addresses all of McCain's needs in a veep pick, needs that Romney, Pawlenty, Crist or Lieberman don't.
Furthermore, claims of Palin's inexperience call attention to Obama's own paper-thin resume, and he's actually running for *president*, not VP.
@eric - Does she have more experience than Romney? Leiberman? Pawlenty? Bailey-Hutchison? THAT is my point.
Was Palin right and prescient and an exemplar of good judgment re: Iraq War? Or was she still mayor of a town of 7,000 people, with no reason to weigh such issues?
@Todd - That's my point; Palin may not have the amount of executive experience of Romney, or the legislative experience of Lieberman, but Romney and Lieberman are both flawed Republican veep candidates. (I voted for Romney in the Republican primary, FYI.)
McCain needs someone who will fire up the base, compliment his maverick persona, as well as have broad experience. While Palin has two years of experience as governor of Alaska and several years of executive experience, that's a lot more than Obama, who's actually *running* for the presidency, not a position that's a "heartbeat away."
You can't call attention to Palin's experience without calling attention to Obama's own lack of experience, which in many ways is less robust than that of Palin's.
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