What Palin does for McCain, and to Obama!
POSTED BY: Skywalken
UPDATED: Monday, September 1, 2008 19:10
VIEWED: 1743
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This is the opinion of Ed Morrissey at Hotair.com:
Quote:
Instead of a safe choice, such as closest runner-up Mitt Romney or genial Everyman Tim Pawlenty, McCain took some risk with a relative newcomer to national politics. Palin will inject risk, excitement, controversy, and an unexpected historic note to the Republican convention.
First, though, let’s assess the risk. Palin has served less than two years as Governor of Alaska, which tends to eat into the experience message on which McCain has relied thus far. At 44, she’s younger than Barack Obama by three years. She has served as a mayor and as the Ethics Commissioner on the state board regulating oil and natural gas, for a total of eight years political experience before her election as governor. That’s also less than Obama has, with seven years in the Illinois legislature and three in the US Senate.
However, the nature of the experience couldn’t be more different. Palin spent her entire political career crusading against the political machine that rules Alaska — which exists in her own Republican party. She blew the whistle on the state GOP chair, who had abused his power on the same commission to conduct party business. Obama, in contrast, talked a great deal about reform in Chicago but never challenged the party machine, preferring to take an easy ride as a protegé of Richard Daley instead.
Palin has no formal foreign-policy experience, which puts her at a disadvantage to Joe Biden. However, in nineteen months as governor, she certainly has had more practical experience in diplomacy than Biden or Obama have ever seen. She runs the only American state bordered only by two foreign countries, one of which has increasingly grown hostile to the US again, Russia.
And let’s face it — Team Obama can hardly attack Palin for a lack of foreign-policy experience. Obama has none at all, and neither Obama or Biden have any executive experience. Palin has almost over seven years of executive experience.
Politically, this puts Obama in a very tough position. The Democrats had prepared to launch a full assault on McCain’s running mate, but having Palin as a target creates one large headache. If they go after her like they went after Hillary Clinton, Obama risks alienating women all over again. If they don’t go after her like they went after Hillary, he risks alienating Hillary supporters, who will see this as a sign of disrespect for Hillary.
For McCain, this gives him a boost like no other in several different ways. First, the media will eat this up. That effectively buries Obama’s acceptance speech and steals the oxygen he needs for a long-term convention bump. A Romney or Pawlenty pick would not have accomplished that.
Second, Palin will re-energize the base. She’s not just a pro-life advocate, she’s lived the issue herself. That will attract the elements of the GOP that had held McCain at a distance since the primaries and provide positive motivation for Republicans, rather than just rely on anti-Democrat sentiment to get them to the polls.
Third, and I think maybe most importantly, Palin addresses the energy issue better and more attuned to the American electorate than maybe any of the other three principals in this election. Even beyond her efforts to reform the Oil and Natural Gas Commission, she has demonstrated her independence from so-called “Big Oil” while promoting domestic production. She brings instant credibility to the ticket on energy policy, and reminds independents and centrists that the Obama-Biden ticket offers nothing but the same excuses we’ve heard for 30 years.
Finally, based on all of the above, McCain can remind voters who has the real record of reform. Obama talks a lot about it but has no actual record of reform, and for a running mate, he chose a 35-year Washington insider with all sorts of connections to lobbyists and pork. McCain has fought pork, taken real political risks to fight undue influence of lobbyists, and he picked an outsider who took on her own party — and won.
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We'll see.
The problem with the over-coverage of almost everything (except the issues) during this race is that people get quickly jaded. There is so much speculation and hype ahead of time that the event itself becomes a non-entity. And so much pointless commentary afterwards that what little meaning it might have had gets erased.
***************************************************************
Why, I can feel it fading already.
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Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
The problem with the over-coverage of almost everything...
I agree. That's why I was glad there was a Live Feed from the convention in Denver. I was able to watch and listen to each speaker without all the pundit spin. It is upsetting to try and listen to a speaker when an annoying reporter is putting in his personal opinion.
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Yeah, I guess the name "hotair" is pretty apt.
To hear this guy spin it, the appointment of Palin to the VP slot (instead of "Good job, Brownie," it'll be "Good job, Paly!") effectively removes all the stupid crap side issues from the campaign, so the candidates will actually have to run on the issues! The Republicans will be at a distinct disadvantage in that event--they have no experience in such matters! 
HKCavalier
Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.
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Quote:
What Palin does for McCain
"Uhh, lemme do the math here...
Nuthin, inta nuthin, carry the nuthin..."
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Hello,
The article makes some poignant observations, though the writer clearly has his dog in the race.
My main criticism of the article is this:
"Palin has almost over seven years of executive experience."
How can you have 'almost over' something? You either almost have some amount, have that amount, or you have over that amount.
I don't usually critique grammar, having such bad habits myself, but I'll do it in the case of a pro.
As for Palin... I think I like her better than I like Mccain. I wonder if anyone else feels that way?
--Anthony
"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner
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And for the counterpoint, there's this from Jack Cafferty:
Quote:
John McCain has chosen the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as his running mate.
All we have heard from John McCain for months is, “Barack Obama is too young. Barack Obama is too inexperienced to be commander-in-chief. Who do you want answering the phone in the White House at three a.m.? Blah, blah, blah.”
So what does McCain do? He picks someone to be his running mate who is even younger than Barack Obama and has less experience.
Sara Palin is 44 – Obama is 47. Sara Palin is in her first term as governor of Alaska, a state that has 13 people and some caribou. Obama is a member of the United States Senate from Illinois.
It’s not a big deal, except for this: If McCain wins, he will be the oldest person ever inaugurated for a first term at 72. He has a history of health problems that include bouts of melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer. It is reasonable to consider that McCain’s running mate could be called upon to be our president.
Meanwhile, some may see this as a move for McCain to attract disaffected women who voted for Hillary Clinton and aren’t yet behind Obama. But that might not work for a few reasons: Palin, like McCain, is pro-life. Also, she might be a woman, but she’s no Hillary Clinton.
Mike
"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence[sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero, Real World Event Discussions
I can't help the sinking feeling that my country is now being run by people who read "1984" not as a cautionary tale, but rather as an instruction manual. - Michael Mock
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Hello,
Quote:
All we have heard from John McCain for months is, “Barack Obama is too young. Barack Obama is too inexperienced to be commander-in-chief. Who do you want answering the phone in the White House at three a.m.? Blah, blah, blah.”
I thought the 3AM phone call thing was Clinton's, not McCain's?
--Anthony
"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner
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However it ends, I think Tina Fey will play her in the movie
lol
Lets party like its 1939
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B.O. got a 4 point bounce coming out of the DNC in Denver, WOW! Poor B.O. He got no Mo......what a Ho 
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Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background from MoveOn.org:
Quote:
She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.
Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.
She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000.
Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.
She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.
She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.
How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.
Sheeple go Baaaaarack to sleep. Enjoy your global scamming tax to United Nations Corp and another 50-million abortions, to make room for another 50-million illegal aliens.
One GREAT thing about Palin that no other governor in history can say, is Alaskan residents get PAID over $3,000/year to live in Alaska, funded by oil leases to British Petroleum (which exports most Alaskan oil to Commie China, Japan and Mexico).
That can be done in every state, and by the feds, if the crooks stopped looting $70-Trillion/year from CAFR "pension" funds.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5823209513192072459&ei=Voy5SN
biA5DuqwLwsMTqDA&q=cafr
www.cafrman.com
www.cafr1.com
What's the odds of Palin doing that as VP? ZERO.
The best female candidate, best black candidate (who is actually a US citizen), real anti-war candidate is Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party. And she has a female VP.
http://votetruth08.com
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I think McCain's choice speaks to self confidence :
Obama knows he has a brilliant mind with good understanding, so he feels comfortable picking a really smart experienced guy, knowing that even with all of Biden's gifts he won't outshine him...
But McCain is worried that any other candidate for VP was going to make him look like an idiot... so he picked the very stupidest person to make it into elective office!
Because Palin won't ever try to tell McCain what to do....
1. women who were thinking that McCain wouldn't overturn Roe v Wade now have had their noses rubbed in it!
2. environmentalists who thought McCain wouldn't be so bad, now have REALLY had their noses put out of joint!
3. and even economic conservatives are freaked out, because they wanted someone who would give McCain some economic credentials - a lot of them have even said publicly that they are offended by McCain picking this unqualified stupid woman.
4. but evangelicals are thrilled! Yay!
LOL
New Firefly fans should check this out: http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.asp?b=2&t=15816
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I thought he picked Tina Fey for a running mate.
She's 
VPILF
"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." http://www.myspace.com/6ixstringjack
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A dissenting opinion on what she does for McCain and to Obama:
Quote:
ROBERT CREAMER
What McCain's Advisors Tried to Accomplish by Choosing Palin -- Why They Will Fail
Posted August 31, 2008 | 04:35 PM (EST)
By choosing Sarah Palin as the Republican candidate for Vice-President, McCain's all-lobbyist high command showed us three things about their analysis of the state of the race:
* They understand that if the current campaign dynamic continues they will lose. The New York Times' most recent analysis shows 172 electoral votes solidly in Obama's camp, and 79 leaning to Obama. That would leave Obama needing only 19 of the 60 electoral votes they categorize as "toss ups." Obama shows slight leads in most of these "toss up states." Campaigns that are confident in their current game plan don't throw long "Hail Mary" passes like the Palin nomination.
* They have come to agree that the basic premise of Obama's candidacy is correct: that in an electorate where 82% of the voters think the country is on the wrong track, the need for change trumps experience.
* They recognize clearly that the "enthusiasm gap" among their base voters dogs their chances for success. Democrats are mobilized, their base is positively apathetic.
Palin's selection was intended to change the dynamics of the race. It had three goals:
1). First and foremost it was intended to energize the party's grassroots, right wing evangelical base. This is the one goal it might actually help achieve. Early reports show that the selection of the ultra right wing, anti-choice Palin thrilled the James Dobson's of the world and their followers. This will increase the importance of the superb field mobilization efforts the Obama Campaign is developing in the 18 swing states -- and especially Ohio and Michigan. It also reemphasizes the enormous importance of the voter registration efforts being conducted by the campaign and many Democratic leaning organizations.
2). Second, Palin's choice was intended to reframe the McCain-Palin ticket as "pro-change." McCain's high command hoped that in and of itself the appointment of a relatively young, dynamic woman would help reframe the appearance of his candidacy. But here their gambit will ultimately fall flat.
More than anything else voters want change in our economy. They are sick of the status quo because their incomes have dropped and prices have increased. They believe that their kids are staring at a future of less opportunity than their own. They know that this is not the American dream.
The problem is that Palin completely supports the Bush-McCain economic program that in seven and a half years has taken Americans from the most prosperous period in human history to a period of economic stagnation and decline.
And when it comes to foreign policy -- the other area where voters really want change -- she brings nothing at all.
In other words Palin's appointment does nothing to alter the basic dynamics of the race: the choice between more of the same, or the change we need.
3). Finally, McCain's advisers hoped to use the choice of Palin to attract women. But there is a real question whether it will attract a net increase of women voters aside from consolidating the conservative women they would likely have gotten anyway.
Many of the Democratic women who had backed Clinton were positively insulted by the notion that they would back anyone with two x chromosomes, no matter what her positions on crucial issues -- not matter how thin her resume. A Denver Post editorial paraphrased Lloyd Bentsen's famous line from his debate with Dan Quayle: "I served with Hillary Clinton. I know Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a friend of mine. You, Sarah Palin, are no Hillary Clinton." In initial polling from Gallup, among Democratic women -- including many who supported Hillary Clinton - 9% say that Palin makes them more likely to support McCain, and 15% less likely - a net negative of 6%.
Palin will have no appeal among independent women in places like the Philadelphia or Detroit suburbs that aNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME