Thoughts on Palin
My first reaction to McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin (other than who?), was man that’s desperate – he’s certainly going hard after all those ‘uncommitted’ Hilary supporters. (28% of them in the last poll numbers I saw.)
The more I learn about her, the more I think, while the idea was OK (picking a woman to go after Hilary supporters), the selection was a little odd. Palin is hardcore conservative: anti-choice, anti-gay, creationist, pro-drilling (anti-environmental), pro-NRA, etc. etc. – for the most part, right along party lines. Given that women generally identify themselves as Democrat, McCain is gambling that Palin being a woman will override that, given the run HRC had on the Democrat side. A big risk to take with someone like Palin. It makes me think picking a more moderate woman would have been a better idea. (Condoleezza Rice, anyone?)
And that is not even considering her inexperience (1.5 years as governor of Alaska (!) and prior to that part-time mayor of a small Alaskan town (population less than 10,000.) And she has to debate Biden? Man, that is one tough assignment for such a newcomer. Up-and-comer or no…
Not to mention Palin is involved in an ethics scandal for abuse of power (she allegedly had her brother-in-law fired while he was going through a nasty divorce with her sister.)
And that pretty much wipes out McCain’s argument of Obama not having enough experience to be president. Given his age, do you think voters will trust that someone two years removed from being a part-time mayor of a dinky town will be able to run the country? And that being governor of Alaska (!) is supposed to make up for that? I wouldn’t bet on it.
Over on Politico.com, Ben Smith has a video of Palin wondering what exactly the vice-president does every day.
And that:
She adds that she’d like to ensure that the position is “fruitful,” especially for Alaska.
Other thought I posted on Twitter: I wonder if the media (meaning the talking heads) will be as sexist and misogynistic with Palin as they were with HRC? My bet is no – not by a mile. HRC is a polarizing force, for sure, and given that the most dominant talking heads are for the most part conservative, that means a lot of HRC bashing. (She certainly got her share of un-fair treatment during the Dem primary.)
Well, I’ll end this rant here… I am working on a new project though. It’s my “Why you shouldn’t vote for McCain” compilation page. It’s a work in progress, but given this pick, check out the Women’s Issues section I have up so far… pretty interesting. I’ll be adding to the page on a regular basis, so check back often.
