Notes Tagged ‘VP’

Making My Case for the VP

September 4th, 2008
345. 

In case McCain decides to dump Palin in the future, I thought it would be beneficial to lay out my case for the VP slot. I would surely consider taking over for her and think I can match her experience note for note.

Here we go:

  • I currently live 15 minutes from the Canadian border and have for more than 25 years, which means I have extensive foreign policy experience. I’ve even been to Canada – many times! (even the other end – Vancouver!)
  • I was a patrol leader (and later SENIOR patrol leader) in Boy Scouts (I led 10 boys!). Some highlights:
    1. I’ve been to many leadership camps and learned real leadership skills
    2. On one extended camping trip, one of our scouts (not in my patrol) went bat-shit crazy and wielded a knife. (a terrorist!) I made an executive decision to lead my patrol to safety by whisking them away from the danger by ship (canoe) to another island. So I have experience dealing with terrorists, executive experience AND naval experience.)
    3. I led my patrol (sans adult supervision) on a week long trip in Washington, DC at age 12. So I have experience dealing with Washington AND imagine how much better I’d be at it after 20 years!
  • I am a devout family man, with three girls under 2. McCain, that will for sure win the women vote. I mean women LOVE seeing a dad with three little girls – especially when he loves and cares for them so much. It’s SO cute. AND from my experience, people definitely think that having 3 kids under 2 is a LOT of work, so everyone will know I can handle the VP job.
  • Unlike your current partner, I’ve NEVER accepted earmark money. NEVER raised taxes, either.
  • At my acceptance speech, I can be condescending, sarcastic and overtly mean in my criticism of our opponents, so you’ll lose nothing there. It will certainly rally the base!
  • I was an altar boy for like a bazillion years, so you know I have my values in place.
  • I was an honor student for my entire school life. Was a part of Honor Society AND the Gifted and Talented program. So you know I can hang with those smart, elitist libruls.
  • Unlike yourself or really even your current VP, I am as blue collar as they come. Never been rich (and probably never will be) or even made over $100k in a year. I own only one house and have experience creating and managing strict budgets.
  • I was a world class bocce player in 6th grade. I won the championship at my elementary school. I took first place in numerous events on the JV track team. Athletic too? Yup, I’m for real.
  • No scandals. Nope, never fired an in-law. Daughters aren’t pregnant and won’t be for our ENTIRE 12 year run (4 for you and 8 more for me.) Never tried to ban books in the local library (even worked at a library!) Didn’t leave my hometown riddled with debt after I left. Never thought about trying to get New York (yes, I live in NY – imagine if you could turn NY red? I can help!) to secede from the U.S.. And like selecting your current partner, there is no need to go through an extensive vetting process. I am even less known than your current partner AND you’ll find no news stories tucked away in The Google.
  • My wife is a great teacher. How heart warming is that? I mean she has passed up the chance to make the big bucks in the private sector to serve the public AND our children. Not to mention she once was a DIRECTOR at the Boys and Girls Club. That means leadership, executive skills and being a role model. She’d certainly be an asset to our administration. AND like your current, temporary choice, my significant other is on leave from work. Sacrificing for our family.
  • I wrote this all myself. No speechwriters needed and you don’t need to spell words like nuclear just like they sound, when it’s time for me to read them off a teleprompter.
  • And finally, I am a MAVERICK. Ask anyone at my current employer. I’m not afraid to take an unpopular position or say what needs to be said. I pull NO punches!

McCain, hear me out! I think I can do it and I could probably find a few dozen people to back me up when you select me. I can learn on the job (from the master!) and surely be ready on Day One. I’m sure you’d agree, this is an impressive resume.

America first!

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More on Palin

August 30th, 2008
320. 

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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Thoughts on Palin

August 29th, 2008
314. 

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.

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