There are plenty of reasons why Palin is a bad choice.
Forget the juicy if ultimately irrelevant story of Bristol’s pregnancy, Sarah’s responsibilities as a mother versus her responsibilities as a worker bee, and the horrible MySpace page carried in the New York Post, among other places, where future son-in-law Levi Johnston expresses less than enthusiasm about “birthin' babies” — although that's what happens when one advocates abstinence-only education, it seems. (Why on earth didn’t anyone in the vetting process get the kid to take his page down, or at least clean it up a little?)…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Lisa Solod Warren
Oh, dear, now THAT isn't nice at all!!!!!
See how Palin puts her $$$ where her mouth is???
27 - handyguy
The pro-Palin and anti-Palin arguments have become quite remarkably and relentlessly repetitious and tedious. No one has had much that is significant or new to say since about, um, Sunday?
Some people think Palin is underqualified to be President should the unfortunate happen. We get it.
Others can't wait to rebut that point of view with their opinion that "well, she's more qualified than Obama!" We get it.
We got it the first time, the second time, the 312th time.
In the words of Sen. Obama: "Enough!"
28 - Lisa Solod Warren
Hey Joanne.... vote our conscience. I will, too.
The links to bloggers getting the one-up on tv news was a pat on all OUR backs:) They were just for fun. The links in my piece were to support my thesis.
and I LOATHE and DESPISE Wolf Blitzer. He is no journalist..... I wish he would blow himself up:)
But Campbell Brown acted like a real journalist. I was proud of her and proud to have once been one, which I haven't alwas been, lately.
Good luck making payroll.:)
29 - Mark Saleski
See how Palin puts her $$$ where her mouth is???
irony is about the only thing in politics that isn't ugly these days.
30 - Jordan Richardson
Wolf Blitzer is a cyborg created by CNN to confuse the nation with the multiple screens of The Situation Room. Apparently he can't actually blow himself up, but he can go into Shutdown Mode for hours at a time. That's the best we can hope for.
31 - Lisa Solod Warren
I knew it! I just knew it!
32 - Andy Marsh
It owuld only work for a second Jordan. I'm getting used to it!!!
33 - Joanne Huspek
[sigh] I used to like Wolfie too, back in the day... He was fresh, handsome, and how many dudes do you know named Wolf? I wonder if Michael Moore is free???
Lisa, the more I see of this political season, the more I think I WILL vote my conscience, which may mean writing in Stephen Colbert's name.
The payroll balanced first time! Hallelujah.
34 - Lisa Solod Warren
Congrats, Joanne. Consider, Jon Stewart, I think he's handsomer than Colbert:)
Handyguy: Actually, there is new info coming out all the time, hence my link to a story in today's post. If you are tired, then, for goodness sake, stop reading and stop commenting:)
35 - Joanne Huspek
Thanks, Lisa, just doing my best to keep 85 Michiganders employed...
Oh, yeah. Jon Stewart. I forgot about him. Will he run?
36 - Dr Dreadful
Excuse me but Obama's foreign policy experience consists of giving a speech to 200,000 drunken Germans and stopping to say hi to Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown on the way home...
...Obama, the pres nominee, has a sum total of foreign policy experience that includes giving a speech to two hundred thousand drunk Germans following a free concert...
Obama has spoken to a large crowd of inebriated Germans...
Ah, that old Rovian tactic that if enough people repeat something often enough, it will become true. Still in vigorous health, I see...
So that must have been Obama's body double I watched flying over Baghdad with General Petraeus in a helicopter, then.
And I'll be interested to see the figures which show that all 200,000 of the people who heard Obama speak in Berlin - or even just a significant minority of them, let's not make it too difficult - were drunk.
37 - Arch Conservative
So that must have been Obama's body double I watched flying over Baghdad with General Petraeus in a helicopter, then.
So I forgot one thing. Sue me.
If Palin can get a couple of thousand cases of free beer I'm sure the Germans will let her give a speech. the if she asks nicely I'm sure Sarkozy and Gordon Brown would allow her to visit with them on the way home. Then all she has to do is got to Iraq, where she has already been, and speak to Patreus and viola...she has just as much foreign policy experience as Obama. If she starts planning after her speech tonight she could have just as much foreign policy experience this time next week as Obama.
Happy dreadful?
38 - Dr Dreadful
Ecstatic.
39 - Arch Conservative
Now if only Obama could somehow manage to get the equivalent to the several years executive experience that Palin h as by this time next week..........
40 - Dr Dreadful
Talk up her experience as a small-town mayor and as governor of a state with a smaller population than most of America's major cities all you like.
As long as I can start calling myself a respected journalist on the strength of the dozen or so articles I've written for Blogcritics over the past year.
41 - Lisa Solod Warren
Dreadful: shhhh. don't play.
42 - Jet
Well, I respect you Doc, even if Archibald doesn't. (:-)
43 - Arch Conservative
Talk up some more of Obama's foreign policy experience, his experience organizing bake sales and pickup basketball games as a community organizazer, his time as a state senator, all of the things he has accomplished in Washington.....just don't talk about his executive experience because he has none in either the private or public sector.
44 - Dr Dreadful
You gotta respect my shameless self-promotion!
45 - Dr Dreadful
Arch, as I've said before several times, I do have concerns about Obama's qualifications too. When he announced his candidacy I thought it was too soon. I've always thought that he was presidential material but felt he needed at least another four years in the Senate before he'd be ready.
He's done a lot over the past year and a half (good grief, has everyone really been campaigning for that long?!) to assuage some of those doubts, though not all.
The point is that concerns about a candidate's lack of experience, while not disqualifying, are legitimate. We have every right to question Palin's resumé, just as she has every right to demonstrate why she is ready to play Laurel to McCain's Hardy. I look forward with interest to watching her attempt to do so over the next few weeks.
(What's that metallic scraping sound? Could it be... Joe Biden sharpening cutlery?)
:-)
46 - Jordan Richardson
I hardly think Palin's executive experiece is something that should be touted as extraordinary.
According to the Daily Sitka Sentinel (10/12/96, page 3), Palin asked all of the city's top managers to resign in order to "test their loyalty to her administration." Palin claimed that she could "see" the loyalty of her top officials by "looking into their hearts." The more cynical local press said that the officials were fired for supporting her opponent.
She also passed a new policy requiring department heads to get the mayor’s approval before talking to reporters.
A quote from the Daily Sitka Sentinel sums up how the situation was perceived at the time:
"Four months of turmoil have followed in which almost every move by Palin has been questioned, from firing the museum director to hiring a deputy administrator at a cost of $50,000 a year to a short-lived proposal to move the city’s historic buildings from downtown. Critics argue the decisions are politically motivated. Palin says people voted for a change and she’s only trying to streamline government." - Daily Sitka Sentinel 2/11/1997, page 13
And let's nevermind the fact that her "executive experience" saw her rack up $20 million in long-term debt in the tiny town of Wasilla.
When pressed by CNN, Republicans could not name ONE example of how Sarah Palin used executive powers to command or direct Alaska's National Guard. I know Cindy seemed to believe that her proximity to Russia helps, but I can only continue to ponder how much her "executive experience" actually means when she's left such a strange trail behind her.
Are Republicans really going to go this route? It seems so.
47 - Arch Conservative
The main point that everyone seems to be missing is that Palin is the VP candidate whereas Obama is the presidential candidate. It's much, much more important to scrutinize the presidential candidates than the VP candidates but as we all know the Obamabots will do anything to having to discusss Obama's lack of experience, his dubious associations or anything else from his past.
I guess you're right dread...he's done so much in the past year that qualifies him to be pres. he took a helicopter ride with Paatreus. He gave a speech in Gemrany, he said "hope" and "change" 20 million times. He's promised billions of dollars in spending without explaing how he'll fund it. He's satated he will begin arbitraily seizing profits from private businesses. He's claimed having a baby is a punishment. He's campaigned in all 57 states. He's so graciously and miraculously changed his stance on offshore drilling after long deliberation and thoughtful analysis. He's suggested that filling out tires would somehow significantly reduce our energy problem. He's changed his mind on public financing and explained to us all how it really was the best choice. He's had his handlers makeover his wife from "for the first time in my life I'm proud of my country" to the stepford wife we saw at the DNC. He's let his surrogates attack a seventeen year old girl who had the misfortune to find herself pregnant. He's claimed Clarence Thomas was too inexperienced to be a supreme court justice. he's claimed having an opinion on when life begins is above the US president's paygrade. He's built his campaign on change and then picked somoen who's been a Washington insider nearly longer than anyone else ont he planet.
Gee I'm sold.
48 - Jordan Richardson
Let's look at some of these, Arch:
He's promised billions of dollars in spending without explaing how he'll fund it.
Most politicians, if not all, do this. Obama's tax plan outlines where he'll come up with the funding, which essentially results in skimming from the top, tightening corporate loopholes, and taxing businesses and the wealthy more. So whether or not you agree with how he plans to fund it, he has explained how he intends to do so.
He's satated he will begin arbitraily seizing profits from private businesses.
There's nothing "arbitrary" about it.
He's campaigned in all 57 states.
Yeah, and McCain is set up on the Pakistan/Iraq border.
He's suggested that filling out tires would somehow significantly reduce our energy problem.
And only the most ignorant Americans would suggest that filling up the tires properly was the ONLY thing Obama suggested to assist in the energy problem. It's funny, we get advice like that frequently up here in Canada from our government. But for some reason, nobody bitches about it and nobody assumes it constitutes an entire energy policy!
He's had his handlers makeover his wife from "for the first time in my life I'm proud of my country" to the stepford wife we saw at the DNC.
And Cindy doesn't know how many houses she owns and thinks Palin's a good pick because "Alaska is close to Russia." So fucking what?
He's let his surrogates attack a seventeen year old girl who had the misfortune to find herself pregnant.
Would you care to name names? I haven't seen one Obama "surrogate" that has done this. On the contrary, there's that Obama/Muslim rumour that seems to continue to have legs. Are you as equally angry about that, Arch? I would hope so.
he's claimed having an opinion on when life begins is above the US president's paygrade.
It is! What's next? Asking the president why the sky is blue or if Descartes was right?
He's built his campaign on change and then picked somoen who's been a Washington insider nearly longer than anyone else ont he planet.
And? Obama's policies reflect a change from the past eight years. It's not that hard to do and, as per usual, you're taking the idea of "change" far too literally. Why is it that a dumb Canadian can seem to grasp what is meant by campaign slogans but intelligent Americans engaged in their own process seem bound to it like cement shoes?
49 - Jet
Jordan, do you really think he read that? Every single point you make is fact, but trust me on this, he only reads with this right (wing) eye.
50 - Silas Kain
Well, we got what the lobbyists paid for, didn't we? Of the two parties, the only candidate remotely ready to lead the Executive Branch is Sarah Palin. She is the epitome of mainstream America. The sad thing is that her daughter's pregnancy and her own baby take away from the qualities she has to be a President in waiting. Bristol Palin's situation sells newspapers. So forget about seeing informative, relevant headlines above the fold. I watched the estrogen-fest known as The View this morning and heard Joy Behar say that Sarah Palin is under indictment. No one, not even the Dame Barbara Walters herself, corrected that gross misstatement. But, that's what we're reduced to in this country, aren't we? What sells papers and drives ratings matter more than the real issues confronting us today. Where are all the news stories about the extravagant events being hosted by special interests and lobbyists at both conventions? Where are the news reports about how members of Congress hold court, drink liquor and act like they own the rest of us? Sarah Palin is the only candidate who stood up to the establishment. I like that. John McCain once stood for that maverick brand and then he sold his soul to the Rovian Right.
We do have better choices than those presented by both major political parties. Unfortunately folks like Cynthia McKinney and Ron Paul are ignored because their stories just don't sell!
51 - Jordan Richardson
Cynthia McKinney
The wife is voting for her, regardless of any "story."
Of the two parties, the only candidate remotely ready to lead the Executive Branch is Sarah Palin.
Nooooo. They got to you, too?
Honestly, I think the tickets should all be reversed. Palin/McCain and Biden/Obama. And yes, I stole that from Colbert.
52 - Silas Kain
No, they didn't get to me. I looking purely at executive experience. And, like it or not my fellow male homo sapiens (that should cause some Conservatives to have a stroke), a woman with 5 kids and a union husband knows how to run a household far better than most men. I'll give Joe Biden a few points for raising his boys alone for a while but that's as far as I'll go. And, Jordan, your wife is an informed voter. I applaud her.
53 - Arch Conservative
So whether or not you agree with how he plans to fund it, he has explained how he intends to do so.
Yeah he's put a lot of tax the rich, tax those big businesses red meat out there for the left wing crowd but his tax plans cannot possibly cover his healthcare plan alone nevermind all of the other spending he's promised.
There's nothing "arbitrary" about it.
You're right. Once again he's playing soundbite poltics......Demonize the evil oil companies so the weak minded among us will actually think you give a dman about them and will do something for them.
Yeah, and McCain is set up on the Pakistan/Iraq border.
I'm not voting for McCain either.
And only the most ignorant Americans would suggest that filling up the tires properly was the ONLY thing Obama suggested to assist in the energy problem. It's funny, we get advice like that frequently up here in Canada from our government. But for some reason, nobody bitches about it and nobody assumes it constitutes an entire energy policy!
That's right. The rest of his energy plan consists of changing his mind on offshore drilling to reflect the latest public opinion poll, opposing nuclear power on the grounds of safety despite the fact that we already have 100 plants in operation and not one person in the history of this nation has ever been harmed or killed by nuclear power, and raising taxes on the oil companies so that they pass those taxes on to the end user via the price at the pump. yup I sure did leave out a lot about Obama's plan the first time.
"And Cindy doesn't know how many houses she owns and thinks Palin's a good pick because "Alaska is close to Russia." So fucking what?"
I don't recall Cindy McCain on TV every other day running her mouth about the problems of this nation and then having her husband say back off she's off limits afew months back.
Would you care to name names? I haven't seen one Obama "surrogate" that has done this. On the contrary, there's that Obama/Muslim rumour that seems to continue to have legs. Are you as equally angry about that, Arch? I would hope so.
It's no secret that the people doing this support Obama and are only doing it to help him win. it's sort of like when Corsi writes a book bashing Obama and everyone claims McCain is behind it.
It is! What's next? Asking the president why the sky is blue or if Descartes was right?
No it's a cop-out designed to confuse people about your extremist views on the issue in the past.
Why is it that a dumb Canadian can seem to grasp what is meant by campaign slogans but intelligent Americans engaged in their own process seem bound to it like cement shoes?
Maybe because with all the obvious blatant back and forth political pandering that Barry has done anyone on either side of the border can see that there is nothing new or different save his race, about Obama at all.
54 - Jet
I still say the religious right are secretly appalled and shaking in their boots at the mere thought of "President" Palin when McCain "goes to his great reward".
Women belong in the home barefoot, pregnant n' raisin' chidrun, not runnin' no cuntry... that's a man's wark.
55 - Silas Kain
What would Jesus do in this election cycle?
Well, Matthew 21:12-13 sums it up for me:
Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,'but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"
Hmmm. Our 'House' is supposed to be the house of the people. Perhaps the revolution should begin by storming K Street. Now THAT would be great Reality TV! Hey Mr. Murdoch, I smell ratings.
56 - Arch Conservative
Well then Jet. Palin is an affront to the religious right, a group which you obviosly harbor a deep seated animosity toward. So you should support her then right. Sort of an enemy of my enemy kind of thing...right?
57 - Jet
Absofuckinlootly Silas
58 - Jet
NO, but the political right needs the religious right to win elections, so they're kissing each other's asses...
...well at least until after the election.
Actually I'm sort of rooting for McCain to win, after all look at all the political strides gays have made in the last 8 years under Bush!
59 - Jordan Richardson
his tax plans cannot possibly cover his healthcare plan alone nevermind all of the other spending he's promised.
Actually, Obama's health care plan is less costly than the current health care plan. And a single-payer health care plan would be cheaper still.
opposing nuclear power on the grounds of safety despite the fact that we already have 100 plants in operation and not one person in the history of this nation has ever been harmed or killed by nuclear power
Nuclear power does indeed carry with it a significant risk of adverse health effects. And dealing with the waste is also an issue. There is extensive research that I can also provide that describes the issues involving radiation and sex cells, as well as other genetic difficulties. Nuclear power is NOT entirely safe.
Bernard L. Cohen, Sc.D., from the University of Pittsburgh provides information about nuclear reactor incidents and the risks association with radiation.
I would certainly encourage Obama to stick with his stance on nuclear power, although I'm not holding my breath.
I don't recall Cindy McCain on TV every other day running her mouth about the problems of this nation and then having her husband say back off she's off limits afew months back.
Is your implication to say that Michelle Obama was on television "every other day running her mouth about the problems of this nation?" If that is indeed what you are saying, please provide a source. I haven't seen ONE instance of this. If that is not what you are saying, please clarify.
It's no secret that the people doing this support Obama and are only doing it to help him win.
Proof? As to the Corsi book, I don't think McCain is behind it. Even he wouldn't support such a poorly written piece of shit.
No it's a cop-out designed to confuse people about your extremist views on the issue in the past.
What "extremist" position did Obama have on the issue in the past? I hardly characterize what I know of his position as "extremist," so I'll have to, again, ask you for clarification.
Let me just add that I do not support Barack Obama. I also spent quite a bit of time yesterday defending Sarah Palin. The issue for me, whether anyone cares or not, is to question the path of dirty politics. If you are going to critique candidates in your election, at least be fair and be relevant. Do your homework first and don't simply believe a media-represented spin characterization of your political figures.
60 - Silas Kain
Well, Jet, Palin has the right idea on benefits for gay partners. This whole gay marriage debate is a smoke screen for the religious right to scare Americans who don't know any better. You know, there are certain words that are unacceptable like the "n word". That being said, how often do you hear anyone object to the word "faggot" or "queer"? How many people use the term, "that's gay" when criticizing something?
I've hopped on both sides of the fence. Was married to a good woman for a number of years and like most marriages these days, it couldn't survive. Now I lead what most would call a "gay lifestyle". Sure, I have a male partner and we're very happy. Do we want to get married? Not necessarily. However, we expect every right afforded to conventional heterosexual couples be afforded to us in the matters that count, i.e. health care, property and inheritance.
All of this being said, I thought Laura Bush's introduction of her husband was totally gay.
61 - Dave Nalle
Actually I'm sort of rooting for McCain to win, after all look at all the political strides gays have made in the last 8 years under Bush!
Well, as I've pointed out before, purely on the record, Bush is the most pro-gay president or major candidate we've had.
Dave
62 - Jet
God help us
63 - handyguy
Bush's 'record' [barely existent] includes making a nationally televised announcement of his support for a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage, in the run-up to the 2004 election.
The ludicrous prune-face expression he wore while speaking the words only made him seem cynical as well as hateful. I despise him almost as much for that as for Iraq and Guantanamo.
64 - Clavos
And a single-payer health care plan would be cheaper still.
Maybe. But the one we already have is defrauded to the tune of $7 million a day. Every day. All year. Every year. So it's as unlikely to be cheap as Medicare is, if it's to be run by the bumblers and thieves who work for the federal government.
65 - Jordan Richardson
I think, even with the crooks and liars in government, that a single-payer health care system would represent a significant savings for the American people. I'd venture to say that the huge amount of corporate fraud, both with drug companies and HMOs, would easily outweigh any suspected government fraud. And a stopgap in terms of government fraud is simply a public that pays attention and a government that is actually held accountable for their spending.
I know, I know. I'm living in a dream world...or a Parliamentary system. It's hard for the "bumblers" in Ottawa to misplace money without getting the noose for it, what with so many prying eyes watching. Just ask Paul Martin.
Currently the U.S. system costs about 40% more per capita than other industrialized countries with a form of universal health care. Other countries with single-payer health care spend anywhere from 50-100% less on administrative costs as well, once again saving American people a significant amount of money.
The government's influence over the health care system is negligible, as one could argue that nobody exercises more control over the patient than the HMOs in the United States. With our system, our medical decisions are made by our doctors and ourselves. There is no insurance company employee figuring out how not to pay us or how not to pay for the procedure and the government doesn't play the same tricks.
66 - Lisa Solod Warren
Jordan, I really don't know why you bother trying to be rational with Arch. I gave up long ago. It's useless.
I do think it is really interesting, though, to see Republicans go on and on about Obama's "lack of experience" when they voted Bush into the White House twice. He was an inept governor of Texas (whose legislature meets every two years), a failed businessman (three times) and a trust fund baby who had never been out of the country. And yet....
BTW, Palin left her tiny city (the meth capital of Alaska, with a 20 million dollar debt). As governor, she was also cited by McCain three times for her pork barrel projects (before he chose her and decided she was his 'soul mate') and she didn't have a passport until last year. And still, you all insist she is better than Obama.
By "Republican" math, I agree with the wags who think she, with her "executive" experience should be at the top of the ticket as she has more experience than either Senator McCain or Senator Obama who have never had that same "executive" experience that you all think is so incredibly important.
I do hope that she never has to negotiate with a foreign country, though, and can just use her "executive" experience here in the USA, should McCain keel over and she have to take over. That is, should she win, which with the poll numbers currently, seems unlikely.
67 - Matthew T. Sussman
"He's campaigned in all 57 states."
Q: Why did Obama want to campaign in 57 states?
A: Because he had to play ketchup in the polls.
Here all week, people.
68 - Lisa Solod Warren
Matthew:
Bada bing bada boom.
You and Jordan need to go on da road.
69 - anon
Let's be honest about the AIP thing for a second, skiping past the fact this line of BS has already been debunked. The AIP supports having a VOTE on secession. Ok, weird but ok.
Obama got his political start in the home of an admitted unrepentant bomb-throwing terrorist. Tell me, which is worse? Having a vote or a body count?
As far as I am concerned, this crap and unadulterated Obama worship makes you a teorrorist sympathizer in my book.
70 - Jordan Richardson
Your book sounds like a piece of shit.
71 - Condor
"Condor: There is plenty of red meat in the story. If you can't see it, then that is your problem." - The author
Time Magizine didn't think so and made the decision not to run... Does that include the rest of Time Warner... I'd have to review their subsidary publications.
It's still a non-story... it's also beginning to resemble murmuring and would be better served one the blogcritics gossip page.
72 - Dr Dreadful
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...
Sarah Palin a breath of fresh air? A wind of change in Washington? Perhaps not... if you watch this video at approximately 13:10.
Take particular note of the way Mrs Palin pronounces the word 'nuclear'.
Kaboom!
73 - Condor
"It's clear if she were a man she never would have been picked." The Author...
Spoken like a true disgruntled feminist. Were you on the Hillary bandwagon. I was, until she brought up the co-president subject when speaking about her (Hillary's) experience. I don't/didn't vote for co-presidents, sorry.
74 - Lisa Solod Warren
Condor, I don't even know to what you are referring at this point..... I was referring to the red meat in MY story.
75 - Lisa Solod Warren
Another nicely done, literate, well reasoned piece on the same subject as several of mine.
Not disgruntled at all. What I meant, and I think it is clear, is that were Sarah a man with the same thin qualifications, she would not have been the choice of McCain (which she wasn't anyway.... she was the choice of his "handlers).