John McCain recently decided on Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. While I must decry his decision, purely out of the irony that he’s just selected someone with more inexperience then Obama, I do have to respect his decision. Palin is only the second female to be selected as a running mate for a major party candidate. The last one was Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and she was Democratic. This marks a turning point then, for the Republican Party. With a party that has been typically dominated by white men, it would seem that a little estrogen might loosen them up a bit!
What I found deplorable though was the media out-lash against Palin as it came to the surface that her 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant. I didn’t know it was possible, but apparently if you want the mainstream media to stop its incessant reporting on anti-climactic hurricanes, bring out a family issue from a vice presidential running mate. (That’s not to say Gustav wasn’t a big hurricane, the coverage, like any, was overblown.)
Barack Obama put it perfectly when the press asked him about his opinions on the matter of Palin’s daughter being pregnant:
“Let me be as clear as possible. I think people’s families are off-limits, and people’s children are especially off-limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president…How a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics, and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that’s off-limits.”
My only significant gripe with Palin is that she is terribly under-qualified for the job of Vice President, let alone President. The Republican Party has argued that she has more executive experience then Obama, but her cumulative amount of experience is troubling. For someone following in the footsteps of the most powerful vice president in history, her lack of experience is a double-edged sword: either putting more responsibility in her hands than most vice presidents have ever had with so little political experience or she could reduce the power of the vice presidency, again out of her lack of experience. As someone who’s avidly against the policies and politics of the Bush Administration, I would prefer the latter.
Here’s how her experience stacks up against Barack Obama’s:
Sarah Palin:
Mayor of the city of Wasilla, Alaska - 1996-2002
Governor of Alaska - 2006-2008
Barack Obama:
Illinois State Senator - 1997-2004
U.S. Senator - 2004-2008
Obama has held more state/national leadership positions than Palin with more cumulative years in those positions than her political experience, he has been overseas on several occasions as a U.S. Senator (she has not), and he has been successfully running a grassroots political movement since 2007, where she was the lucky pick of John McCain’s campaign and the say of McCain supporters had no significant role in the matter. To say that this woman is qualified for the job of Vice President of the United States is preposterous. In making this decision, John McCain has suspended the right to the Republican party of making any further acusations about Barack Obama being inexperienced politically at home and abroad, as well as him being “the world’s biggest celebrity.” According to a recent poll by Rasmussen Reports, Sarah Palin holds a favorable view among 58% of Americans. That’s compared to Obama and McCain, both of which are viewed favorably among 57% of the population. Considering that a week ago, 67% of Americans had never heard of her, this surge in popularity along with the belief by many that the media is treating her unfairly essentially elevates her to the status of a celebrity.
She’s the biggest celebrity in America, but is she ready to lead? I think not.
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Due to large numbers of spam comments appearing on my site in recent weeks, I’ve closed all comments. If you have an opinion on this matter, I do respect it and ask that you send them to my “Spam-alot” e-mail, wildwildmars@yahoo.com. I’ll keep my eyes open for them over the next few days and I’ll post them unedited. Hopefully I’ll have a filter in place soon. Thank you for understanding the situation - Sir Knightly
Update: 5 October - I’ve since reopened this post as well as others following it for comments.