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... I still say that both of our Presidential candidates suck. (And that's in the "wet farts out of dead pigeons" way, not the good way.)
But I gotta admit, after today's perhaps-surprising news, I think our Vice-Presidential choices — or the Republican one, at least — just got a whole lot better. Sarah Palin appears to be sane, honest, and fiscally responsible, and she's not afraid to out corrupt members of her own party. She cleaned house in the Alaska state legislature. Further, it looks as though she stands by her principles, but is willing to calmly accept being overruled or proven wrong, and she's not afraid to publicly change her mind.¹ Her approval ratings in Alaska are frequently in the 90s. When she ran for Mayor of Wasilla in 1996, she made a campaign promise to cut her own salary — and kept it. Then when she ran for Governor of Alaska in 2006, she made a campaign promise to sell the IAI Westwind II executive jet purchased (on state government credit) by the Murkowski administration ... and kept that promise, too.
I mean, DAMN! Can't we, you know, swap the ticket around and make McCain VP? C'mon, folks, our first female President doesn't HAVE to be a Democrat.
[1] "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day." — Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841
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I've been wondering all the Dems I know have been so jubilant about Palin's nomination, like it was the death blow to the GOP ticket.
Although, if we were going to get into the naughty business of veep swapping, I'd like to see Obama/Palin.
I hate Biden.
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Line starts behind me. No cutting!
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"You know, Bush has the lowest approval rating of any President in history - and Congress currently has a 9% approval rating - so technically, the Democrats should've been able to run a fricking tree stump for President and had a shoo-in... yet currently, the polls have Obama & McCain pretty much even. Maybe you're not as clued into what's really going on as you think."
:)
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nice!
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That would positively rock my socks off.
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For starters this (http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/29/palin-corruption-investigation/), if true, is a disturbing abuse of power.
She also appears to be a bit shorter on experience than Obama, especially in the foreign policy area. Sort of a new Dan Quayle.
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(Actually, let me restate that: As noted in that article, she has released tapes corroborating that aides or staffers of hers did pressure the Public Safety Department. She has denied that her firing of Public Safety Commissioner Monegan had anything to do with the issue, and in fact she offered him the position of executive director of the state ABC board. She has further denied that she instigated the pressure, and she took disciplinary action against a staffer who tried to play the family-issue card with Monegan. Time will tell what the truth of the whole thing is.)
I'm sure she's not perfectly squeaky clean. No-one is. Everyone has flaws. But hers seem minor compared to just about any other player on the board.
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Oh, and as for foreign policy experience, she's the governor of a state surrounded by foreign countries. And she's had infinitely more executive experience than Obama, as any number divided by zero equals infinity.
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And DUI in a patrol car ... yeah, this guy was clearly a real credit to the Force. (Not.)
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Well, the Union knocked that down to 5, but still!
The System Works!!!
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Gonna have to do better than that.
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Remember, too, Alaska is a lot closer to Siberia than to any part of the continental United States.
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Running a campaign, where most of the people like and support you, is far different from leading a government, where there are vocal people who oppose you and want you to change. I am not saying Obama can't cut it as president. But, the simple fact is, he does not have government executive experience. (Neither does McCain.)
(I was actually leaning toward Obama until he picked Biden for a running mate. Biden is poison to the issues I care about in government. If you thought King George was bad...)
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I'm sure that Obama was really feeling the love from Hilary Clinton's supporters--not!
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And she's pro-life, like many other people, but unlike Dubya, does not believe that contraception is De Debbil.
Then, she's personally opposed to gay marriage; but she vetoed a bill that would have barred the State from granting same-sex benefits to gay couples, after consulting with the State AG and being advised that it was probably unconstitutional. Now, you can take that as "she only vetoed it because the AG said she had to", but it could just as well be "Wait a minute here, can we even DO this?"
Seems to me she has a clear religious viewpoint, but refuses to allow her religious views to get in the way of doing her job as objectively and fairly as she can. And really, what more can you ask than that?
In which, as she has in the State legislature, she showed herself honest and fiscally responsible. She's now the governor of a state which, to many practical purposes, may almost as well be an independent nation, surrounded as it is by foreign nations, and doing a damned good job of it by all accounts. Meanwhile, Barack Obama has three terms in the Illinois Senate (two of them partial) and one in the US Senate, in none of which he managed to distinguish himself enough to really appear on the radar screen until he decided to run for President.
So what's your point exactly...?
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Man/Woman president really does not matter much to me. As long as they are competent, and tough enough to keep the country out front.
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I fail to see why a beautiful woman cannot be intelligent or effective in government. (Or computers. Like you.)
Being a state governor is about far more than simple population. I can't say it is not a factor, but it is not a major factor. Governors need to lead.
Not everyone will agree (or like) the decisions of the governor. Anyone can blog (or editorialize) about what is happening from their perspective. From my perspective, there is far too much internet blogging and editorial writing, and not nearly enough reporting from a news source that I could trust. I can only form opinion based on objective facts. There are too few of those on the net that are uncolored by political bias for me to begin to form an opinion on the person directly. My impressions will form over the next month or so. My mind is far from made up. (I can't bring myself to vote for McCain, and Biden poisons the well for any chance of support to that camp.)
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But Pageant Beauty -- and by that I mean precisely what I say, achieving and maintaining the kind of appearance that's prized by beauty pageants -- takes up an enormous amount of time. Time that cannot be spent on education or gaining diverse experiences.
Waxing hair, applying make-up just so, getting the nails done, facials, etc., all take a lot of time even for women who are not trying to achieve Pageant Beauty standards. Heck, I had a simple pedicure this weekend and it took over an hour. But to get that air-brushed look without the actual air-brushes, you have got to spend a significant chunk of time Every Single Day. (Not to mention the time it takes to exercise and maintain a girlish figure after five pregnancies.)
Even that "simple bun" hairstyle she was wearing at the press conference probably took more time than you can imagine, to get the appearance of volume and to get it to look non-stiff and yet to stay that way!
And this is a "traditional values" woman with five children, including one with special needs. How much time does she have, realistically, to learn? To travel?
Ask Crunch if she'd be able to go to school right now if she spent as much time on her appearance as is necessary to maintain Pageant Beauty standards.
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Bob Dole used to take almost two hours to get dressed in the morning. Sure, it cut into his sleep, but I have not heard him criticized for not spending enough time doing his elected job. (For his values in that job, sure.) Like writing a physics paper, it takes the time it takes, and you need to get other things done. Call it a personal failing, but I just can't buy that spending time on yourself means that you can't learn something else well.
I also think that practice makes that kind of look much faster to achieve.
I find it vaguely disquieting that her "traditional values" (whatever that means) are used as an excuse to discount her contributions, or ability to serve in office. I would counter that "traditional values" to me implies the integrity that she will devote the time she needs to do the job she says she can do.
My ballet instructor took five days off to have her sixth child. Perhaps not quite the same situation, she owned a business.
Like I said, I have not made up my mind on Palin. I want to hear more objective reporting on what she actually accomplished as Mayor, and then as Governor. The raw facts, and her popularity, that I have heard so far speak well of her ability to lead and be effective. Even the detracting sources tend to agree in the basic facts. I want more context. I generally do not follow Alaska politics.
The real issue in the race for president, is who is running for the strangely shaped office. The VP stuff is just a sideshow. I think McCain is at a disadvantage. Every time he opens his mouth or appears on TV, increases his disadvantage. Definitely not the Republicans finest hour.
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Her approval ratings were considerably lower last week! (They've popped back up again over the last couple of days, as Alaskans are full of pride over one of their own being on the ticket -- I've heard as high as 68% approval for her now.)
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Given the rating of King George (or congress) those numbers are still fantastical. Running on the "Anyone But the Incumbent" produced Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and (I think) Abe Lincoln. So our results are somewhat mixed.
Palin has always seemed to ended up falling in the clover for her political career. I think things will be a lot tougher from here on out. It will be instructive how she reacts.
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I don't know if I find her exhilerating or tremendously frightening. A bit of both, I think. She's a populist muckraker, but she's also anti-abortion, and with some of the excesses seen by others of the religious right. And her environmental record is ... well, she's an Alaskan global warming denier. If I could pick and choose mix-and-match traits and beliefs, damn, I'd be in her camp.
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A similar calculus applies to Palin's religious-right qualities. The religious right has always had trouble with McCain; a religious-right running mate would sweeten the pill for at least some of them.
And of course (as the mainstream media have pointed out) picking someone whose name elicits a universal "Who????" is a good way to reinforce one's reputation as a maverick.
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As for youth and conservatism, well, yeah. I agree.
I apologize for my tone, I had just gotten really sick of people implying that the only qualification she had that led to her selection was two X chromosomes. I read your comment in the worst of all possible lights, but that's my fault, not yours.
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