McCain Pre-Palin: Mayors And Governors Can't Handle National Security

When does being a governor or mayor for a short period of time not disqualify your credentials on national security? When you are John McCain and your task is to defend your vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

When does being a governor or mayor for a short period of time ABSOLUTELY disqualify your credentials on national security? When you are John McCain and your task is to defeat primary opponents Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.

Back in October 2007, when McCain's candidacy still appeared dead and buried, the Senator berated the two Republican front runners for lacking the necessary political experience to handle commander in chief responsibilities.

"I have had a strong and a long relationship on national security, I've been involved in every national crisis that this nation has faced since Beirut, I understand the issues, I understand and appreciate the enormity of the challenge we face from radical Islamic extremism," the Senator declared. "I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time."

Fast-forward nearly a year, and the argument McCain made back then is being used against his vice presidential pick today. Only Sarah Palin held the post of mayor of Wasilla for less time than Rudy Giuliani headed New York City. And her gubernatorial stint in Alaska is shorter than that of Mitt Romney's in Massachusetts.

McCain, not surprisingly, has changed his tune. His campaign has suggested that as head of Alaska's national guard, Palin had more national security experience than Obama. The Senator himself went on Fox News and declared:

"I'm so proud that she has displayed the kind of judgment and she has the experience and judgment as an executive... She's been commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard ... she's had judgment on these issues. She's had 12 years of elected office experience, including traveling to Kuwait, including being involved in these issues. I'm so proud she has the experience and judgment as an executive."

And yet, for critics, Palin's interview with ABC on Thursday evening was an apt demonstration of the criticisms McCain raised about mayors and governors back in October. In her first interview since being tapped as McCain's vice president, Palin showed, in some respects, the limitations of her foreign policy capacity. Time's Joe Klein wrote, "A joke... This woman clearly has no idea what she's talking about. What an embarrassment." Unable to define the Bush Doctrine and contradicting McCain on Pakistan, she acknowledged that she had only visited a handful of countries and never met with another world leader. Then, it was her turn to ridicule the lengthy Washington resume that defines McCain.

"Charlie, again, we've got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time," she said to the ABC host. "It is for no more politics as usual and somebody's big, fat resume maybe that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment, where, yes, they've had opportunities to meet heads of state."

Comments

[shelobo]

10:26 AM on 09/16/2008

Palins idea of running a Goverment is a bit far fetched,and based on HER personal vendettas .Palin doesn't appoint people based on their knowledge that's for sure http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?em: When there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood LOVE OF COWS as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency ? When Palin had to cut her first state budget, she avoided the legion of frustrated legislators and mayors. Instead, she huddled with her budget director and her husband, Todd, an oil field worker who is not a state employee, and vetoed millions of dollars of legislative projects ? These actions does not mean Palin has the qualifications to be vice president,or do they ,as a REPUBLICAN V/P she will step right into Cheneys shoes and the shoes will fit perfectly , right down to the hunting experience .

[theantibush]

11:16 AM on 09/15/2008

McCain makes a grab for celebrity over substance in his choice of VP. For the good of the country? No, for the good of McCain. That lying, incompetent twit uses the results of his own incompetence (bottom of his class, crashing several airplanes, and, surprise, getting his butt shot out of the sky) as incidents worthy of hero worship. Welcome an incompetent VP candidate who has war with Russia firmly on the table. America is collapsing from within under the sheer weight of its ignorance.

[shelobo]

10:19 AM on 09/15/2008

Another McHitler story about how McHitler 'used' his power as a senator to cover up certian issues ...http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Whistleblower_breaks_15year_silence_to_allege_0911.html

[shelobo]

10:11 AM on 09/15/2008

Obama just hs been far to 'Nice' he hasn't came out fighting with the ads to discredit all of Palin/McCains 'LIES' it needs to be done and done with honesty .Does McCain even know what his campaign people say/do ? He has NO control over the people who WORK for him that's for sure .McCain ,the man who said he would run a HONEST ,DECENT,ETHICAL campaign has LIED and LIED to Americans.Watch this Video ,the REAL McCain can be seen stomping out of a meeting .http://momocrats.typepad.com/momocrats/campaign_videos/

[justobserve]

08:51 AM on 09/15/2008

Why Obama hasn't got an ad with two McCain with his two contrast comments? He doesn't need anything else. In almost everything, Obama should have videos of McCain saying opposite things.
"DO WE WANT LIARS TO BE OUR PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT? WILL OUR VETS AND ARMY BE PROUD WITH McCAIN-PALIN AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF?"

[golgibody]

11:13 AM on 09/16/2008

YES!! I totally agree!!! McCain is good for contradictions. There are probably lots more out there to be found. The maYor/governor statement would be great and the Karl Rove clips from The Daily Show dismissing Governor Tim Kaine's experience and then lauding Sarah Palin's experience would be awesome. If someone froM the Obama campaign is reading this...GET ON IT!!

[DrCahill]

08:19 AM on 09/15/2008

Anyone for properly vetting Sarah Palin? Well, Democrats did in 2006...
http://mudflats.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/palin-2006-vetting.pdf

[ully]

05:22 AM on 09/15/2008

God bless Mc cain and Sarah!! the real america leader!!Mc cain - Palin2008!!!

[DrCahill]

08:18 AM on 09/15/2008

No, God SAVE America from these two! Enough!!

[justobserve]

08:53 AM on 09/15/2008

Palin to replace McCain in a flash is scary!

[NevadaDem]

01:39 AM on 09/15/2008

John McCain...you might just have a SENIOR MOMENT..and forget you said that...so thank goodness the media has the video to prove it.

[earthcare]

12:50 AM on 09/15/2008

JUST CALL HIM McFLIP-FLOP!!!!!!!

[rosal]

12:35 AM on 09/15/2008

So where are the ads using his own words? We are waiting

[pollyd]

12:09 AM on 09/15/2008

It defies logic and intelligent thought to actually believe that Barack Obama is muslim or has any link at all to terrorism. It is this kind of petty false information that distract the political system from working for the people and from addressing the real and critical issues that our facing our society. Now it is hard to believe, and frankly a little sad, that people would buy in to rumors and propaganda such as this but the last two presidential elections proved that it works. We focus alot of time on the candidates qualifications, as well we should, but I think we need to start focusing on our own qualifications to vote in this election. We all have an obligation to educate OURSELVES on the issues surrounding us so that we can make intelligent and informed decisions, no matter which side of the aisle we would like to see win.

[Begoner]

11:26 PM on 09/14/2008

Senator McCain certainly did a bang-up job on national security when al-Qaeda picked Arizona to set up their first U.S. base in 1986, and then again when the FBI spotted al-Qaeda members taking flying lessons in Arizona circa 1996. And what was Senator McCain of Arizona doing at the time? Handing out "freedom fighter" plaques to Taliban warlords.

Is that what we could look forward to from President McCain?

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a1986alkifaharizona#a1986alkifaharizona
http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a071001williams#a1096ellen
http://www.juancole.com/2008/09/rambo-and-mean-girl.html

[ully]

10:59 PM on 09/14/2008

the best for america future!! Mc cain and Plain!! no doubt!! many trustable sources tell me that Obama so close with terrorist!!

[justobserve]

08:54 AM on 09/15/2008

Many trustable sources told us that McCain is a Russian spy and Palin is his lover!

[theantibush]

11:19 AM on 09/15/2008

ully wrote-
"...many trustable sources tell me that Obama so close with terrorist!!"

And of course these 'trustable sources" remain unspecified.

But I suppose thats good enough for anyone incompetent enough to vote for those two baffoons.

[ully]

10:56 PM on 09/14/2008

the perfect combination!! Mc cain and Palin!! no doubt!!

[thebigthinker]

10:34 PM on 09/14/2008

Jesus was a community organizer.
Pontius Pilate was a governor.

The best bumper sticker!!!!!!!! But how many Americans would know who was Pontius Pilate?

[AzRealProgressive]

03:32 AM on 09/15/2008

Sorry, Jesus was not a community organizer. Jesus had a specific task, and it was not community organizing. And as to Pontius Pilate, name me a governor, who has the power to personally order someone executed. In fact in the western world today, name me a head of a country who has the powe to order someone executed without due process. What a foolish analogy.

[NickOLess]

10:12 AM on 09/16/2008

Actually, I saw it as "Jesus is a community organizer" -- present tense. Makes more sense that way, since many communities organize themselves in the name of Christ. I mean, isn't that the sort of thing McCain means when he speaks of "grassroots initiatives" ?

As for Governors, they can hand out pardons, so in a way, they do have the power over life and death in certain cases. But more to the point, Pontius Pilate didn't order Jesus' death: he merely allowed the conservative power elites in his province to do what they wanted in that case, famously "washing his hands" of the matter.

So it's actually a pretty apt metaphor.