Dissing Palin’s small-town mayoral experience…
…doesn’t strike me as the smartest move on the part of the Obama campaign.
First of all, that’s more executive experience than Obama has ever had. Second of all, it’s been superceded by the fact that she also has some experience as Governor—an executive office of even greater magnitude—and has done rather well. In fact, her tenure as Governor is longer than Obama’s time as Senator before he left the job to begin campaining.
I begin to wonder just how smart Obama’s advisors are (actually, that’s a lie; in fact, I’ve been wondering for quite some time). Dissing small town experience isn’t designed to appeal to those bitter clingers of Pennsylvania or elsewhere. It plays right into the “condescending elitist” charge against the Democratic candidate.
[ADDENDUM: Hillary doesn’t make the same mistake.]
I’ve seen some comments in the MSM calling McCain’s choice as a “Hail Mary pass.” I disagree with that. In football terms, he called for a fake field goal so the defense was lulled asleep and his team made a huge gain. Hail marys come at the end of the contest. Someone may yet have to try that come November. For now, all the buzz is about McCain’s VP choice leading into the RNC and NO ONE is even thinking about Barack at the Parthenon anymore.
Dan: and sometimes Hail Mary passes win games.
It’s a GREAT choice – you’re right, Obama’s guys will get bitten by that experience card.
Biden was such a so-what – this is so clearly the opposite – amazing, really. Gonna be fun to watch.
Hail Mary Pass winning a game – never !! Oh wait I do seem to remember Dough Flutie’s “toss” in the Orange Bowl in 1984. I think the Miami Hurricanes remember that one too. :o)
I can’t stop giggling at Dems calling Palin unqualified.
Once Dems have a chance to reflect, I think they will decide “lack of qualifications” is not a fight they want to have – and partially because the former Mayor of Wasilla is solidly more qualified to hold office than Barack.
Therefore, I predict this is coming to a media outlet near you:
Sarah Palin Unconscious Racist!
Yep: that’s the fight Dems want to have. That’s how they will try and get her: dumb, corrupt, and – especially – unconscious racist. They will pore over her every utterance; they will find what they need to spark an MSM tsunami of Sarah Palin Unconscious Racist … because, doncha know: Alaska is awfully white ….
Dane: actually with Hail Mary passes, I confess I’m way outside my field of expertise. I was thinking not so much of passes in football as those great basketball tosses when, in the final split second, someone heaves the ball from way across the court and it manages to go in.
If the Democrats are smart the best thing to do is ignore her and keep the race about Obama and McCain. Where does the GOP go with their criticism of Obama now is what I’m interested in hearing. If Palin erases the lack of experience/not ready for president argument, what does the GOP have left that plays for uncommitted voters?
She has certainly made things interesting.
Nah, it isn’t a “Hail Mary” pass, nor even a fake field goal.
More like a 4th and 2, on your side of the 50. You want to keep the ball, eat the clock, and keep your defense nice and rested. But what to run? everyone and his brother is expecting the fullback up the middle, or maybe the tailback on a quick hitting trap.
So what play did McCain run? play-action pass. The QB fakes the handoff in the middle, the tight end starts a block, then releases. The secondary bites on the fake, and moves into stuff the run, failing to notice the tight end who’s now running past them, wide open with nothing but grass between her and the endzone. Just loft that pass in there, and you’ve got your first down.
And more.
She is a great choice on merit, with fringe benifits.
the left is so programmed to respond they must be doing twists trying to figure out which command is the primary one for them. the loyal useful idiots will follow the party line, but those who are in it from a special group, will divide. though NOW already made sure to tell them which way to go (leftism first, women second). the pc crowd wont know where to go unless they link bush and mccain, and so forth.
this is going to get interesting… the ayers stuff is heating up too… and once they are past this point, effort to knock them out can work. prior to the conventions, knocking one out hard, would have them select someone else, not win against the opposition for the office.
so now things are going to perhaps get nastier. not that calling the da is not nasty. it sure might get interesting.
Small town USA has always been looked down upon by elitists. But some of the most solid people on earth are found in these-here parts.
This is going to be a most interesting election cycle, perhaps the most engaging in decades.
She’s the closest thing to a human being I’ve seen in national politics since … jeeze, I don’t know when.
I’m on board. Let’s rock.
Since BO’s main claim to fame was his superior judgement on foreign affairs, he should be held to a different standard. A lot of people are going to prefer Palin’s if-it-looks-like-a-duck thinking to postmoden claptrap. They will assume that she will apply that thinking to any problem she encounters.
In contrast to some Dem glass- ceiling bigwigs, she probably even knows that gas is a fossil fuel and that you have to drill for it. She has an up on the Dems when talking about oil as a weapon and the Georgian situation.
Palin’s selection was an absolute masterstroke and will be causing convulsions in the Obama camp all the way to November.
Bottom line: Obama’s not a wartime consigliere.
I really don’t see the choice of Palin as a particularly good one… I can understand how this audience would applaud her; she’s been a good governor (a whole hell of a lot better than our last one).
But honestly, this is just another nail in the coffin for McCain’s support from the religious and the far right. Many hard conservatives still see McCain as a near-RINO (despite the fact that he’s changed all his positions) and Palin does not help that perception. Alaska is indeed a conservative state, but we are in no way conservative as the south and midwest of the lower 48 are. Palin is truly a moderate; that’s why she got elected here.
I’ve heard Palin criticized as a RINO even when she had just started being governor. I think the Republican Party has alienated a lot of its base with this election’s ticket, and although I appreciate the rare attention McCain’s choice has brought my state I can hardly agree that Palin was a good choice.
Whereas Obama’s been a good…uh…uh…what?
gcotharn
They will pore over her every utterance; they will find what they need to spark an MSM tsunami of Sarah Palin Unconscious Racist … because, doncha know: Alaska is awfully white ….
That will be rather difficult to do, given that her husband is 1/8 Native American/ Yup’ik/Eskimo.
Peter,
I disagree. What McCain has really done is energize Catholics and Evangelicals into November polling booths. He needs energized Evangelicals more than he needs moderates and PUMAs. I am an Evangelical, and I promise my peeps will lap up what Sarah Palin is offering.
Then there’s this, from David Brody of CBSNews.com:
Gringo,
I wish you were correct that her husband’s ethnicity will save her from being labeled “racially insensitive” and/or “unconscious racist.” However, based on my observations of how the Dems and the MSM operate, it will not. Soon enough, Governor Palin will face this Katie Couric assertion: “People say your statement was insensitive.”
Does anybody here really think that most people take the Moron Mainstream Media (MMSM) seriously? In polls they have less credibility that used car salesmen.
I would posit that an attack by the MMSM would actually help McCain/Palin. Especially since large numbers of them got caught applauding Obama and most of us know they are in the tank for him.
My hope is that they use the “race card” as much as possible so they alienate as many people as possible. It is quickly becoming a meaningless word and recognized as name calling used to hide a lack of intellectual capacity.
In fact, I would all of the lefts name calling go the same way. Without it most of them are bereft of any intelligence.
As predicted earlier, Obama fatigue is setting in. Palin’s selection as VP candidate seals the deal. Obama will now be a footnote in the history books, alongside Geraldine Ferraro, and the answer to a trivia question for Gen-Zers.
How much better would the Obama campaign have come off had they simply said something to the effect of “we congratulate Governor Palin on her selection to the McCain ticket and look forward to debating her on the issues…etc”? Instead they came off as snarky and petty by immediately calling into question her leadership experience–a fight they absolutely cannot win.
She has more executive experience, where it counts, than does Obonga. In fact, the “executive” experience that he summons is now being investigated by a solid journalist/historian who is determined to set the record straight. Panic in the Obonga camp is palpable.
Sarah Palin is way more than just a pretty face. I am convinced that this move by John McCain demonstrates that John is inside Obonga’s OODA Loop – and John was not a fighter pilot; he flew jets that fired rockets and his job was very dangerous – to take out North Vietnamese anti-aircraft batteries and SAM sites. John has balls of steel and he proved it time and again in the years of his captivity. John McCain sized up the mistakes his opponent was showing him and he drove right into their weakness.
Dean, Soros, and Obonga will regret the double cross they pulled on Hillary Clinton when they reneged on the deal to pay off her campaign debts. I’m no fan of Hillary Clinton, but at least I think she has the quality of forthright ruthlessness and would bare her fangs at our country’s enemies. Obonga would bend over and grab his ankles. He’s a bully and a coward, but he does it in a sneaky way. Plus, what they did to Joe Lieberman of Connecticut is unforgivable. For all of their scummy moves, right now I am laughing my ass off at them.
And Sarah Palin strikes me as an intelligent, principled human being. Her husband is a lucky man and her children should thank the Lord for their good fortune. I hope their son makes it back from Iraq in good shape.
Sure is shaping up to be an interesting race. Only time will tell with such an unknown, I suppose, but at first blush it seems like an almost comically inappropriate choice. If you think anyone on the Obama side is shaking in their boots about this choice then you’re utterly mistaken. One thing’s certain: the VP debate just became a must-see.
Joe Biden has a but short time to morph from a being rude and nasty boor to becoming a polite and pleasant gentleman — it won’t be easy for him. He wasn’t counting on debating an attractive (very attractive) and smart (very smart) woman.
The Obama side may not be shaking in their boots, but that would be a reflection of their cluelessness. They are not the ones they’ve been waiting for. (Who could possibly say Obama’s line with a straight face?)
But you’re right about one thing: the VP debates will be a must-see. A gaffe-prone, aggressive man (“I have a higher IQ than you do “) versus a young, attractive woman. Goading Biden a bit is an excellent bet to produce a world-class gaffe, if Michelle doesn’t beat Biden to it.
kamper,
Sen Biden has been wrong almost all of the time on foreign policy and defense issues since the late seventies. First, he supported Carter’s support of Khomeini replacing the Shah of Iran. How did that one turn out?
Next, he opposed the planting of the Pershing II’s in Western Europe to counter the Soviet missiles aimed at European cities and defense targets. He also opposed ramping up the defense budget and putting the pressure on the Soviet Union.
Next, he opposed the concept of a missile defense shield, and has continued to oppose it right down to the very present. His reasoning for this is convoluted and violates every application of how to deal with truculent regimes. He favors every downsizing of our military, including cutting the very same weapons systems out of the budget that Obama has said he would axe.
He was also wrong about Iraq and the Surge strategy. And years before that he opposed evicting Saddam Hussein’s Baathist army out of Kuwait.
He opposed our confrontation with the Communists in Central America.
I didn’t like him when I was a Democrat and I don’t like him now that I am a Republican. He is a boring speaker; he lacks originality. As a debater he is over rated.
But, in keeping with the way Obonga and his coterie of backers and power brokers have managed so far, I expect them to underestimate Palin just as they underestimate John McCain. McCain has been tested so often in his life that he understands battle in ways that that long-legged mack daddy will never grasp.
Biden’s “gravitas” is a shallow penumbra.
FredHjr : (Obama) He’s a bully and a coward, but he does it in a sneaky way.
Spot-on, FredHjr.
Bully: what his fans did to Kurtz’s radio time on WGN. Trying to get the DOJ involved re ads about Ayers.
Coward: his numerous flip flops in response to public outcry. “Not the Wright I knew.” As if it took him 20 years to find that out!
Sneakiness.
On at least three different occasions Obama has stated that Bush/McCain/Republicans will try to make voters afraid of him, with regard to his lack of experience and his race. Here Obama is being sneaky: I didn’t say that Bush/McCain/Republicans had made a racist statement, I said they were going to make one.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/07/did-obama-accus.html
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D928S7080&show_article=1
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/06/obama_at_fundraiser_says_gop_w.html
How sweet it is. Sarah Palin is the closest thing to a citizen candidate I’ve seen in my lifetime. She has the backbone and spunk that it takes to stand up to the nattering nabobs of negativity who habituate D.C.
I’ve been supporting and working for McCain and now my support is even stronger. Well done Johnny!
I’m reminded of the chase scene in The Princess Bride wherein the Sicilian declares again and again “It is inconceivable that …” while the Man In Black is gaining on him, and eventually overtakes, defeats, and kills him. The Barracketeers have been handed their goblet laced with iocaine powder; each clumsy hack at Palin will be a long pull at the drink.
Palin did her job well today.
No one’s talking about Obama (did he say something last night?)
Palin acquited herslef very well in her introduction.
McCain raised $3 million today.
Her next test is her convention speech. Then some campaigning and the debate. I think her stock will rise the more the country gets to know her.
SitRep from the Innards of the Enemy Camp: a major Madison Avenue ad agency where I toil daily–the Lefties are buzzing like a kicked beehive over the Palin selection. I heard more sexist remarks in twenty minutes than I’ve heard over the course of ten years: she’s unqualified because she’s too pretty, she gave her kids weird names, she’s a lightweight with no experience, she’s just bait for the droolingly stupid NRA guys, she’s a girrrl, she’s a mommy and a churchgoer, etc.
It got so bad that I was tempted to call them on it, saying they sounded like the old farts they affect to despise and saying just the same things (minus the pretty part) the old farts they despise had said about Hillary.
They also said, rather heatedly, that NO Hillary voter was going to vote for McCain just because he picked this “bimbo.”
But none of their objections was substantive, and there was an edge of anxiety to their energetic discussion: they showed much more animation about the Palin pick than they did about BO’s speech, which is telling.
I think they’re worried.
I see it as a brilliant move by McCain. I agree: she’s “not an old white guy,” which is crucial. She’s attractive, hugely popular in AK, killed the Bridge to Nowhere and sold the governor’s private jet, and is an NRA member.
The “troopergate” issue sounds tissue-thin: I watched the link to the report on the Anchorage station, and I can’t even make out what the great sin is supposed to be. Or, for that matter, what the heck the story is about! I doubt the general public will get wrapped around the axle about it.
I’m pro-choice, a big fan of science, and more of a lib-hawk than a conservative, but I think this pick will play well: McCain is popular with moderate Dems, and has shown that he’s not exactly the fire and brimstone conservative they love to hate; OTOH, Palin is a much more conservative pol, and should appeal to the rightward end of the Republicans. I think he just balanced his ticket.
The selection was .. interesting. I am looking forward to see how it plays out.
As of right now the left is saying this leaves McCain in a position to *not* talk about experience and them in a position to talk about it all day. I can’t see that one working out – the VP role isn’t about experience and never has been (the VP has always been about more cosmetic issues for ages and this one is a clear McCain winner – no way Biden can come across as “good” attacking her nor does he have anywhere the stage presence to simply be better). Even for hard core political junkies the experience level of the VP has never mattered much at all.
However the presidency has been about that and Obama is even worse than she is. The left harping on the lack of experience of his VP pick when she has more than their main person is – well – amusing to say the least.
I also note that the left is trying their best to say she is a RINO just like McCain, but over all I find the hard right quite happy with this (most of us being mroe libertarian). I don’t think this is going to work well either – the hard right has *never* taken their marching orders from the left and painting her as not working in lock step with the hard right only serves to better her with the rest of the people. Fact is she agrees with the hard right more often than not even on the major issues. Most of us aren’t purists and recognize that she is one of the more conservative out there. I’ve heard WAY more carping from lefties about her being a RHINO than I remotely have from even the VERY hard right – I guess those lefties have realized we don’t go to them for our marching orders yet 🙂
IMO the left doesn’t know what to do with her yet and have come out of the gate full steam ahead anyway (anyone surprised at that?). I don’t think the current line of crap will be done very long as it will sink in that it isn’t going to work (and in fact makes them look bad). I don’t know how much damage it will do in the long run, I suspect little as it is too far away for most to pay much attention.
McCain is a frikkin genius.
In one stroke he has brought the freshest of fighters into his corner, and attacked the cognitive dissonance of fence sitters who’ll witness progressive bigotry in all its glory until November.
I’ve been reading blogs and boards all evening, marveling at the cheap irony. Women put 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, and now they’re busy trying to fill them in again.
“Sounds to me like she ought to stay home and raise all those kids she had because she doesn’t believe in abortion. Anyway, he probably only picked her because she’s hot. Plus I heard she slept her way into the mayor’s office.”
I swear, we are our own worst enemy.
I got a test, the Putin test: Who wouldn’t be ripped into fish chum at the first meeting? McCain, check. And, this throwback to another obscure nobody Harry Truman, Palin.
Obama? Don’t make me laugh.
“Give ’em Hell, Sarah”
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WGAS. I’m gonna enjoy seeing her in this election season. She’s like Tina Fey, but without all the hippie gibberish.
Here’s another inane sports analogy. Sorry, but I like to do this. Obama was running down the field for a touchdown, slowed to do some show boating for the crowd, then was tripped by a shoe string tackle delivered by Sarah Palin….AND THE BALL IS LOOSE…RECOVERED BY TEAM MC CAIN!
The issue of experience has always been the McCain sticking point against Obama. Without trying to play their hand at that arguement, McCain is only left with voting with Bush 90% of the time.
McCain has his POW record, Drilling which was a flip he made earlier this election cycle, and his voting record nearly lockstep with Bush.
The Democrats will continue to focus on the weakest end of the McCain/Palin ticket. Which is of course McCain.
Peter Says:
“But honestly, this is just another nail in the coffin for McCain’s support from the religious and the far right. ”
and/or your mental image of what conservatism means is wrong. 🙂