Is this the kind of judgment we want in a commander-in-chief? In an apparent effort to woo unhappy Hillary Clinton supporters, Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain has named Sarah Palin, the most inexperienced person imagineable, to be his VP. She is the ultraconservative governor of Alaska, who is just a couple years into her term.
Two years ago, this gun-toting, NRA card-carrying, beauty pageant contestant, and self-described "hockey mom" was mayor of a town less than twice the size of Yellow Springs. Now she is a heartbeat away from the possible presidency of an old man with health problems.
It is also quite possible that she was not fully vetted before being chosen. She is currently under investigation by the State of Alaska for allegedly trying to pull strings to have her ex-brother-in-law fired from his state trooper job over a custody dispute with her sister. Remember what happened when the Democrats, in their haste to shake things up, didn't fully vet Geraldine Ferraro?
In an interesting turn of events, NPR was reporting today that, yesterday, somebody went in and spent hours editing her Wikipedia profile, deleting such items as her Miss Wasilla title and that she was runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant. Immediately after McCain's announcement, your faithful blogger looked up her hometown of Wasilla on Wikipedia and they already had altered the entry to include that their former mayor was chosen as McCain's running mate. What an amazing world we live in.
Other interesting facts about Ms. Palin: She opposes putting Polar Bears on the endangered species list, because she doesn't believe in global warming. She is in favor of drilling on federal lands in Alaska to bolster her home state's economy. She is staunchly anti-abortion rights.
I can't imagine a Hillary supporter falling for this stunt. If you are pro-Obama, you couldn't have crafted a better scenario.
Two years ago, this gun-toting, NRA card-carrying, beauty pageant contestant, and self-described "hockey mom" was mayor of a town less than twice the size of Yellow Springs. Now she is a heartbeat away from the possible presidency of an old man with health problems.
It is also quite possible that she was not fully vetted before being chosen. She is currently under investigation by the State of Alaska for allegedly trying to pull strings to have her ex-brother-in-law fired from his state trooper job over a custody dispute with her sister. Remember what happened when the Democrats, in their haste to shake things up, didn't fully vet Geraldine Ferraro?
In an interesting turn of events, NPR was reporting today that, yesterday, somebody went in and spent hours editing her Wikipedia profile, deleting such items as her Miss Wasilla title and that she was runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant. Immediately after McCain's announcement, your faithful blogger looked up her hometown of Wasilla on Wikipedia and they already had altered the entry to include that their former mayor was chosen as McCain's running mate. What an amazing world we live in.
Other interesting facts about Ms. Palin: She opposes putting Polar Bears on the endangered species list, because she doesn't believe in global warming. She is in favor of drilling on federal lands in Alaska to bolster her home state's economy. She is staunchly anti-abortion rights.
I can't imagine a Hillary supporter falling for this stunt. If you are pro-Obama, you couldn't have crafted a better scenario.
8/31 Addendum:
This from the Boston Globe Website:
In November of 2006, the Anchorage Daily News described Palin's positions on social issues in a story wrapping up the governor's race:
"A significant part of Palin's base of support lies among social and Christian conservatives. Her positions on social issues emerged slowly during the campaign: on abortion (should be banned for anything other than saving the life of the mother), stem cell research (opposed), physician-assisted suicide (opposed), creationism (should be discussed in schools), state health benefits for same-sex partners (opposed, and supports a constitutional amendment to bar them)."
9/1 Addendum:
In press reports today, the McCain campaign is denying that the Palin choice was a snap decision, claiming that she had received serious consideration for months before she was invited to the position last Wednesday and that she was fully vetted.
In a television interview with George Staphanopolis on Sunday, Cindy McCain cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as a factor in Palin's foreign policy experience.
In a television interview with George Staphanopolis on Sunday, Cindy McCain cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as a factor in Palin's foreign policy experience.
More news from the fully vetted Palin:
ST. PAUL (Reuters) - The 17-year-old unmarried daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.
And this from the NY Times:
ST. PAUL: A series of disclosures about Governor Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain's choice as running mate, called into question on Monday how thoroughly McCain had examined her background before putting her on the Republican presidential ticket.
On Monday morning, Palin and her husband, Todd, issued a statement saying that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant and that she intended to marry the father.
Among other less attention-grabbing news of the day: it was learned that Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state's public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years in the 1990 of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Todd Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken-driving charge.
Aides to McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Sarah Palin's background. A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before McCain stunned the political world with his vice-presidential choice.
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