Would you trust Sarah Palin enough to send her to Moscow and Beijing to represent the US? Gaining that trust, is Palin's test tonight.
It should go without saying that a VP should be qualified to be President, since 20 percent of vice presidents have been forced to suddenly take office in the midst of a presidential term. But it is not just that the VP will be a heartbeat away. They have a job to do now.
The notion, as Senator McCain has said, that the job of the vice
president was merely to check on the health of the president is
severely outdated. While the selection of vice-presidential candidates
may not have much impact on the electorate, the fact is that since the
end of the Cold War the Vice President has had a substantial impact on
governing, especially in foreign policy. It is no longer just a ceremonial office. This is not merely due to the vice presidents' that held office, but to a greater demand on U.S. foreign policy.
With the end of the Cold War and America's rise as the sole superpower, the foreign policy challenges confronting the United States have grown and become more varied. Given the lack of direct authority in crafting domestic policy, it was natural that the Vice President's office adopt a growing role in foreign policy, since the office can speak authoritatively not just on behalf of the entire administration, but on behalf of the entire country. During the Clinton administration, Al Gore chaired a U.S.-Russia commission and was the first American leader to visit China following the Tienanmen Square massacre. Dick Cheney has been dispatched to Pakistan and the Middle East and played a highly influential and independent role in crafting Bush administration foreign policy and in the end created a very powerful and highly unaccountable office. It is very important therefore that these candidates be
properly vetted and asked tough questions.
We face so many challenges, from two wars, to a global financial crisis, to bolstering withering alliances, to managing great power relationships with Russia and China, that it is extremely important to have a VP that is empowered to take responsibility over some of these issues. For instance, it is imperative that a new administration throw itself into the Middle East peace process. But this single issue could dominate an entire year of a Presidency. Obama can charge Biden to take a lead role. But McCain will not be able to do that with Palin. At the very least we need a VP that we can trust to represent the views of the United States to foreign leaders. So again would you trust Palin enough to send her to Beijing or Moscow, or even Brussels? Convincing us that she can do that is Palin's test tonight.