Obviously the media is covering her a lot, now that the pick has been made, so we’re gradually learning more about her and the repercussions of his pick. Here are some of my favorites:
Dave Winer says a lot of the same things I’ve been thinking, but says them way better than I did yesterday.
Politico examines 6 things the Palin pick says about McCain:
1. He’s desperate.
McCain officials even admit:
“She’s a fresh new face in a party that’s dying for one — the antidote to boring white men,” a campaign official said.“I think we’re going to have to examine our tag line, ‘dangerously inexperienced,’” a top McCain official said wryly.
2. He’s willing to gamble — bigtime.
3. He’s worried about the political implications of his age. (having just turned 72)
4. He’s not worried about the actuarial implications of his age.
5. He’s worried about his conservative base
6. At the end of the day, McCain is still McCain. People may find him a refreshing maverick, or an erratic egotist. In either event, he marches to his own beat.
(JD note: well, he used to at least, before he got serious about his chances to be president… pre-2000 era McCain was respectable.)
A good read, at least.
Think Progress has an article on her maverick-ness: Palin Repeatedly Professed Desire To Renew Federal Funding For ‘Bridge To Nowhere’. So she was for it before she was against it.
The choice stunned some politicians from Alaska. Choice quotes:
“She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?” said State Senate President Lyda Green, a Republican from Palin’s hometown of Wasilla. “Look at what she’s done to this state. What would she do to the nation?”
Anchorage Democratic state Sen. Hollis French said it’s a huge mistake by McCain and “reflects very, very badly on his judgment.” French said Palin’s experience running the state for less than two years hasn’t prepared her for this.
State House Speaker John Harris, a Republican from Valdez, was astonished at the news. He didn’t want to get into the issue of her qualifications.
“She’s old enough,” Harris said. “She’s a U.S. citizen.”
And this surprising news:
Former House Speaker Gail Phillips, a Republican political leader who has clashed with Palin in the past, was shocked when she heard the news Friday morning with her husband, Walt.
“I said to Walt, ‘This can’t be happening, because his advance team didn’t come to Alaska to check her out,” Phillips said.
Phillips has been active in the Ted Stevens re-election steering committee and remains in close touch with Sen. Lisa Murkowski and other party leaders, and she said nobody had heard anything about McCain’s people doing research on his prospective running mate.
“We’re not a very big state. People I talk to would have heard something.”
Which also jives with this post on Firedoglake: McCain Campaign Sending Investigators to Alaska to Check Into Palin’s Troopergate: Did these idiots not vet her?
And finally (for tonight), Palin’s superb leadership as mayor left her former town in a budget crisis that they are still paying for today (six years later), with tax increases and service cutbacks. All due to her wanting to leave a legacy with the town by pushing to build a $15 million sport venue (for a town of 8,500!) – a deal that was badly managed with arrogance and incompetence. [Also, more reflection on her time as mayor, by a long-time resident.]
The more I read about her, I think as people get to know her ideology (she was an avid Pat Robertson supporter for goodness sake!) and her record, I think this pick is going to start looking worse and worse for McCain’s presidential bid. Time will tell, though.
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Tags: 2008, election, mccain, palin, republicans, VP
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