Reading the Pick
I may be overreacting, but I sensed the faint odor of flop sweat around John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Oh, sure, it was a maverick choice, all right. But what kind of logic did McCain bring to the decision? Nothing that would speak well of him as a president, that's for sure. The New York Times called it a bold move, but it has no other purpose than to be bold. It's a surprise because it's right out of left field, but surprise only lasts for so long. Once she's been in the glare of the spotlight for a couple of days, the surprise will have worn off, and then where will the McCain/Palin ticket be? Pretty much nowhere.
How would Sarah Palin do as president? Who knows? What does she bring to the table? I made fun of McCain for sending his wife to Georgia to do whatever it is she's supposed to do, but I now find myself wondering if Cindy was a better choice of emissary than the new VP candidate would be. Where does she stand on the issues? We know that she's against choice (way against). But what kind of economic policy does she support? Does she want to be in Iraq for 100 years? Is she (or can she in nine weeks become) ready to be president in case the oldest first-time presidential candidate for some reason cannot finish out his term?
Jan Crawford Greenburg related the process McCain used to get to pick Palin. Apparently he looked at all the people he'd been examining closely--Romney, Pawlenty, even Joe Lieberman--and decided that none of them were right. So he grabbed a straw out of the air and came up with someone he barely knew. What does that mean about the kinds of decisions he'd make if he makes it into the White House? "Forget what the research says! I'm my own man! I'm doing what I want to."
1 Comments:
I completely agree with you. This was a brilliant tactical decision, as it sucked all the oxygen out of coverage of Senator Obama's acceptance speech and shifted the spotlight to the Republican ticket. But strategically, it was terrible. Now, the Republicans can't make experience an issue, or they look like hypocrites. Already, I've seen conservatives trying to split hairs so fine they can't be seen with the naked eye -- Governor Palin has more executive experience than anyone, and that's what really counts. These kinds of arguments just don't pass the smell test, especially when the top of your ticket has spent his career as a legislator.
Moreover, if they do keep trying to make experience an issue, it only serves to highlight Senator McCain's age and precarious health. Senator Obama is too inexperienced to be in the White House, but you want to put who a heartbeat from the presidency? I don't think so!
This was nothing more than a desperate hail-mary attempt to woo disaffected middle aged women. But I think Senator McCain is going to find out that the rift between Clinton supporters and Obama supporters was never as wide or as deep as the media have been portraying.
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