My immediate reaction to Palin was dread. I figured that the Republicans no longer needed the "experience" argument against Obama. I worried that perhaps they had the goods on Obama elsewhere on issues such as "character" and "judgment" so that they now could enjoy the luxury of being able to throw one of their core arguments against Obama -- "experience" -- under the bus. (When we think about the impact of the Ayers commercial and the Obama campaign's reported poor response to it, there seems to be grounds for this worry.)
But then I thought more and realized that the choice of Palin in a weird way actually reaffirms the Republican's experience argument about Obama.
The Republicans are saying: Hey, if you are shocked with Palin potentially being a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, now you know how we feel about Obama's potential of actually being directly in the Oval Office!
When the Dems attack Palin as only being a Mayor of a small town and the Governor of Alaska for two years, the Republicans happily turn to Obama's resume--which is not something Dems should want to discuss. Let's not descend into bickering over what level of state office is more important than another because that is precisely what the Republicans want us to do!
When Dems mention Palin's running a commercial fishing company, the Republicans point to Obama's "community organizing." Again, this is not what Obama's campaign should be discussing!
Because once the McCain campaign is done arguing all weekend long about how Palin's record and experience is really no different than Obama's, the Republicans will then turn to their real argument: that when rightly measured up against McCain's record and experience, Obama's resume is alarmingly lacking.
Since nobody knows who Palin is, everybody is watching and wondering -- just in time for the Republican Convention. Brilliant. Almost as brilliant as the Republican's strategically timed announcement of Palin that completely trumped any coverage of Obama's incredible and historical acceptance speech. Just recognize that every person tuning in, Googling, and paying attention to who Palin is, is another new potential Republican vote. That's called reinvigorating the campaign by setting up renewed interest. And they did it even before their Convention.
Indeed, Palin is a strong woman. She is the mother of five children. She hunts and fishes. She walks the talk of her political positions. She is certainly not fast, slick or from Washington. In fact, her appearance and life story may seem comical to many of us snots on the coasts, but there are many people living in between who can relate precisely to a mother/woman/elected official who wears her hair like Sarah Palin. The big point here is that people can RELATE to her.
More to the point, the Republican base LOVES this woman. Any Republican who was biting their tongue to vote for McCain is now jazzed, wowed, and writing checks. Any doubts? Hold your nose, tune into FOX News, and just listen to how happy they are. This is the Republican base that will turn out on Election Day to counteract Obama's college vote. And that is why this race is far from over.
Finally, all this talk about McCain picking Palin to lure Hillary voters ought to stop. First and foremost, Palin stands in direct opposition to many core values of Progressive women --namely the right to choice. Speaking personally, Palin's staunch pro-life stance flat out scares me.
Second, the PUMAs apparently want Hillary to run in 2012. If Palin gets elected with McCain, that makes Hillary's chances in 2012 more difficult since Palin would have VP experience. So forget about any luring of Hillary supporters.
The Obama campaign should keep their eye focused on the ball. They should stop talking about Palin's lack of experience. In fact, they should stop talking about Palin altogether. Commend the choice and move on. Doing anything otherwise is merely playing into the hands of the Republicans.
Not one mention of how important it might be for your favorite candidate to be out there countering this McCain VP pick. Instead you seem determined to caution the Obama Campaign of how to approach it.
Let's hope that one of the only persons that could unhinge this frighteningly archaic Republican VP picks "women's policies" is the woman that you so strongly campaigned for.
If this election is decided on "women's issues" or "pro-life" then we are doomed to repeat the same old battle that never gets resolved and our country is pathetic.
Only a woman can clarify properly to other women how important it is to not continue to fight about our countries future over something that will never be resolved. Well, unless John McCain gets elected and Supreme Court openings start getting filled with "pro-life, anti-women" judges.
Women have the power right now to advance their freedom or set it back fifty years. They can forget about education for their children, universal health care, etc, etc if John McCain and Sarah Palin are elected. Hillary's voice is more important than ever.
And so is Kristen Breitweiser and every other woman that calls out to her to speak out against the Republican ticket and exposing it's "scary" policies that will be thrust upon us.
So fear of his resume isn't an issue despite others' ignorance of it. Palin on the other hand was on the city council of Wasilla, AK, population 5,500 for 4 years, mayor for 6 and Governor of AK for 1.
The constant attempt by people to say "Oh, Obama has no experience" or "Obama has less experience" is absolutely nonsensical. The fact is, he has more experience than two presidential candidates and as much experience as the last two presidents.
Now, people try to piecemeal and bend the rules and change the metrics in order to come up with scenarios in which Obama is inexperienced, but these are both dishonest and expressly backward, which is why no one undermining his experience ever actually talks about what his experience is.
But, you're perpetuating a myth! The point is the experience argument against Obama is bogus. Obama's educational credentials dwarf that of McCain and Palin combined. With that intellectual accuity, Obama can made quick and wise decisions by critical thinking. Contrarily, McCain and Palin will have to double-check with the potential de facto President/VP Leiberman, if they win, to make any decision. What will happen if Leiberman is out of the country in a crisis. By you comparing Palin to Obama, you are insulting everything Obama has accomplished. If McCain had the same upbringing as Obama, would he be running for President today? If Palin and McCain lived in Chicago, will they be in Obama's position today? In fact, Michell Obama is more qualified than Palin to be VP or President. The fact that Palin is a governor of Alaska does not qualify her to be VP. "In the land of the blind, one eyed man is the king"- In the land of White majority, overflowing with dumb Evangelical so-called Christians, even Jeffrey Darmer will be more qualified than Obama!
give these campaigns too much credit
two more years experience and this is ok
but this is a mistake
and as one person said here
the Clinton's will definitely go out 100%
they want Hillary to be 1st female president
and if this works out or not her profile is high enough
with no gaffes could be the Nominee in 2012
spliting the woman's vote and the President in 2012 or 2016
Clinton's best alternative is for Obama to get elected
get health care with a concession on mandates or symbolic one
a couple of other pieces of Legislation
and beat out the field of
Mark Warner
Corzine
any possible emerging Governor of California or New York
and Bill Richardson
I was such an admirer or yours during the 9/11 hearings --
Amazing you have so misjudged Sen Obama and continue to post inaccurate and poor information
The Obama campaign response to the Ayers ad was so strong that the 527 stopped running the ad in several states. The Obama rebuttal commercial ran more than the original slanderous ad. The Obama campaign also filed a legal injunction against the ad as it was false and they were going to sue the 527 for slander.
Yet you refer to this as the "Obama campaigns poor response"?
Kristen: you are a PUMA - and for that I feel very sorry for you
Sadly, you reveal yourself in every post and as the one true thing you write - Sarah Palin - heaven forbid - would likely be Pres or at least VP in 2012 - should McCain/Palin win
Luckily - and with no help from you - that will not happen
As a purported Hillary supporter what you should feel is insulted that McCain even thinks Sarah Palin holds a candle to the very accomplished Sen Clinton
However, I think Obama's campaign is well beyond knowing this has to be handled carefully and absolutely in a manner that never excludes the big picture, which is his best chance at keeping the momentum he now has so strongly.
A lack of experience that is not combined with serious, qualified talent for real leadership and the best interests for the nation at heart is like a rope... Rope that will prove to be just enough for McCain and crew to hang themselves with...
Just watch...
What a load of rubbish! I think we do need to examine Palin very closely because this is a woman whose experience does not match up with Obama's, or Biden's or that of any of the other VP contenders of either party. A mere two years ago she was making decisions regarding her village's dogcatcher and local trash pick-up. Certainly, she will appeal to the redneck, low-information voters and there's nothing we can or could have done about that. In fact, they would probably like her even better if she was, in fact, less intelligent than she appears to be. It is impossible to deny that we have a cultural appreciation for ignorance.
But, more importantly, we need to blast McCain's "record and experience" because he ain't all that! The guy's been using his POW and maverick status to great effect for years as his decisions undermined the nation militarily and economically. It's time to call him to account.
he has already been called sexist for existing and having the audacity to run his campaign better then anyone else.
I would leave her to the press, 527, and democratic women
why bother
if she were qualified we wouldn't be still talking about it on 3 days after it
and while were not talking about Obama's speech
were not talking about McCain either
if she doesn't do interviews soon then the press and the dems will pounce
she is an up and comer but McCain has set this woman up to fail
Her RELEVANT experience is much much much less than Barack's and let's not even come close to falling into the Republican trap here.
The real question is what knowledge (not just gained through experiences)/judgment/character traits are relevant to leading this country and have been demonstrated by the candidate. Sen. Obama has gone through the last 20 months demonstrating his leadership and vision to the American people. He has been nominated by his party over a group of people that had more "experience" in elected office (or proximity to it) of some kind.
However, she should be asked questions about her knowledge, experience and character, just like Hillary and Barack were, to demonstrate her ability and readiness to lead. The questions should be as tough as they were for Hillary, and Joe Biden should hesitate to push her for adequate answers on issues.