As a yellow dog Democrat, I returned from the Denver Convention full of pride from listening to great speeches by Bill and Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Brian Schweitzer, Tim Kaine and many more. The energy in the Pepsi Center, the panopoly of people from across our great nation gathered together for change we can and do believe in was infinitely moving and created memories I will cherish forever. Finally, as I watched Barack Obama, I saw the promise of the future for our country--as did America.
Of course, I, like many others, was curious to discover who John McCain would pick for his running mate. Imagine the shock and surprise when he announced his choice: Sarah Palin, a little known Governor from Alaska .I spent 4 months in Alaska a few years ago. It is a beautiful state with very few and very particular people. It is definitely NOT the norm, or representative of middle America. To live in Alaska you must like the great outdoors and a long winter. Towns are mostly small and people generally do their own thing.
The pundits are speechless, and trying to be polite. The best quote came from the editor of the Anchorage paper who said that Palin had less experience than Dan Quayle, but he got elected vice president anyway.
And as for balancing a budget, Alaska is the only state that pays you to live there.
The Republicans say Palin has as much experience as Obama. Not so !
Let's compare. This is what they say is inexperienced and unprepared:
Obama: Ivy league undergrad, 47 year old Harvard trained attorney, President of the Law Review who has spent years teaching constitutional law, working as a civil rights attorney and community volunteer, State senator, US Senator and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Palin: 44 year-old mother , undergraduate degree in journalism from Idaho, runner-up to Miss Alaska, mayor of a town of 7000, no national OR international political experience.
Since when does being a mayor of a small suburban town qualify a person to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency of the free world? When does a lack of education in political science, law or business and no graduate level education at all signify the readiness to be commander in chief?
The irony here is that there are many qualified women McCain could have chosen. Think Kay Bailey Hutchison, think Liddy Dole. But he doesn't get it.
Or does he just think independent female voters are stupid? This choice is cynical and disrespectful. If you ever doubted McCain's critical thought process this is a perfect example of why he would be dangerous. Where was the thoughtfulness in this selection of a running mate ? And as for the soccer mom analogy , you can toss that out the window. This woman is a snowmobile riding, gun toting Alaskan version of Annie Oakley. Here's an excerpt from a letter by a woman who lives in Alaska and knows a lot more than we do about Governor Sarah Palin.
The most accurate description of her is red neck. Her husband works in the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and races snow mobiles. She is a life time member of the NRA and has worked tirelessly to allow indiscriminate hunting of wildlife in Alaska, particularly wolves and bears. She has spent millions of Alaska state dollars on aerial hunting of these predators from helicopters and airplanes, dollars that should have been spent, for example, on Alaska's failing school system. We have the lowest rate of high school graduation in the country.
She has been a strong supporter of increased use of fossil fuels, yet the McCain campaign has the nerve to say she has "green" policies. The only thing green about Sarah Palin is her lack of experience. She has consistently supported drilling in ANWR, use of coal-burning power plants (as I write this, a new coal plant is being built in her home town of Wasilla), strip mining, and almost anything else that will unnecessarily exploit the diminishing resources of Alaska and destroy its environment.
When you line Palin up with Biden, the comparison would be laughable if it weren't so serious. Sarah Palin knows nothing of economics (admittedly a weak area for McCa in), or of international affairs, knows nothing of national government, Social Security, unemployment, health care systems - you name it. The idea of her meeting with heads of foreign governments around the world truly frightens me.
In an increasingly dangerous world, with the economy in shambles in the US, Sarah Palin is uniquely UNqualified to be vice president. John McCain is not a young man. Should something happen to him such that the vice president had to step in, it would destroy our country and possibly the world to have someone as inexperienced and inappropriate as Sarah Palin. The choice of Palin is a cheap shot by McCain to try to get Hillary supporters to vote for him. when McCain introduced her today, Palin had the nerve to compare herself with Hillary and Geraldine Ferraro. Sarah Palin, you are no Hillary Clinton.
So there you have it. An offer of hope and change, or a cynical vote for "More of the same?" All I can say is if the McCain -Palin duo is elected the American people will get what they deserve. As for me, I'll be in New Zealand.
Oops. You forgot governor of the largest state in the Union, a bureaucracy with thousands of employees and more than a dozen agencies. What is Obama's executive experience?
George W. Bush attended ivy league schools. He holds a degrees from Yale and Harvard. Obviously this helped make him a great president. NOT.
In all the years that Obama studied law at Harvard and taught law as an adjunct instructor, he never published a single piece of scholarship except for a case note.
Governor Palin did not even know what the role of VP was. She stated that she before she could make that decision she had to know whether it would be good for Alaska. What a small understanding of the world stage.
I feel Senator McCain did a real disservice to Governor Palin. Given more opportunities during the next couple of years, she would probably not be facing these questions today.
2003
- In biggest year of his legislative career, Obama passes legislation requiring police to record interrogations in murder cases, collect data on race of drivers they pull over.
- Palin appointed to Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
2004
- Obama delivers keynote address at Democratic convention, elected to U.S. Senate.
- Palin investigates conduct of a commission member, who ultimately resigns. She later files ethics complaint against state's Republican attorney general, who also resigns.
2006
- Obama publishes "The Audacity of Hope," a book detailing his views on national affairs. Works with Senate Republicans to limit nuclear proliferation and shed light on wasteful government spending.
- Palin elected first female governor of Alaska.
2007
- Obama launches presidential campaign.
- Palin overhauls state ethics laws, pushes to build a natural gas pipeline despite opposition from oil industry.
2008
- Obama wins marathon Democratic primary against Hillary Rodham Clinton and raises record amounts of money
- Alaska legislators probe whether Palin improperly pressured officials to fire her sister's ex-husband, a state trooper.
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1979
- Obama a backbencher on high school basketball team that wins state championship
1982
- Palin captain on high school basketball team that wins state championship
1983
- Obama graduates from Columbia University. Works for a business research company, then becomes community organizer in poor section of Chicago.
1984
- Palin wins "Miss Wasilla" pageant and places second in statewide beauty contest.
1987
- Palin graduates from University of Idaho, works in television sports and family fishing business.
1988
- Obama enters Harvard Law School.
1990
- Obama becomes first black editor of prestigious Harvard Law Review.
1992
- Obama runs Project Vote!, which registers 150,000 new voters in Chicago, then begins teaching law at University of Chicago.
- Palin wins city council seat in Wasilla, an Alaska town of about 5,500.
1993
- Obama joins law firm specializing in civil rights cases.
1995
- Obama publishes "Dreams from My Father," a well-reviewed memoir about growing up in America with an absent African father.
1996
- Obama elected a state senator.
- Palin elected mayor of Wasilla.
2000
- Obama defeated in effort to unseat U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush.
2002
- Obama speaks out against invading Iraq.
- Palin loses Republican primary for Alaska lieutenant governor