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Worse Than Quayle by Trapper John Fri Aug 29, 2008 at 08:36:03 AM PDT So it's official - John McCain has thrown a Hail Mary and tapped Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. The trad med types are ga-ga about what a game-changing choice Palin is. And they're right. It is a game-changer. The Palin pick takes a race already leaning toward Obama and pushes it further into his corner. Why? Because Sarah Palin is the most unqualified VP nominee in modern history, with the possible exception of Admiral Stockdale. She's worse than Quayle. After his selection in 1988, Dan Quayle was rightly lambasted as a dim, inexperienced lightweight with no real pertinent experience who was named by George H. W. Bush as a gimmick - a case of an old, out-of touch candidate trying to appear relevant by teaming up with a much younger pol. Now, Palin's not Quayle - by all accounts, she's quite bright. But she's fantastically inexperienced, far more so than Quayle was when he was tapped. And she possesses an attribute far worse than Quayle's stupidity - she's a big corrupt wheel in Alaska's big corrupt Republican Party, arguably the most corrupt political apparatus in the United States. We're told that McCain really wanted to pick his old friend Joe Lieberman to run with him, but that Karl Rove and the rest of the elite Republican politburo nixed the idea, and told McCain that he had to take a conservative. And as he has at every step of his campaign, the one-time "maverick" sold out to the venal, icy core of the Republican leadership, and acquiesced by selecting Palin. Palin is really a Republican after Rove's heart - she's a product of the party that produced the indicted Ted Stevens and ethically tarred Don Young, and she's embroiled in a Troopergate scandal of her own, with state investigators looking at serious allegations that Palin abused her office by pressuring the state Public Safety Commissioner to fire "an Alaska state trooper involved in a rough divorce from Palin's sister." Sounds like a woman after Karl Rove's heart. In addition to further associating McCain with the Republican culture of corruption, the Palin pick undermines one of his main anti-Obama narratives. It's going to be laughable to hear McCain assail Obama's supposed lack of experience after naming the first-term governor -- only one-and-a-half years into her term -- of the 47th largest state to be his running mate. Palin lacks any foreign policy experience, and is bereft of even the two core areas of policy expertise that governors are supposed to bring to a ticket -- ag policy (Alaska doesn't have much in the way of traditional agriculture) and urban affairs (Anchorage is the 65th largest city in the US, behind giants such as Corpus Christi). She's easily the least experienced running mate in recent memory, which is pretty scary, given McCain's age and his history of cancer. By picking Palin, McCain revealed his desperation to make a splash to rival the genuine excitement generated by the Obama campaign. But desperation leads to poor decisions -- and McCain's Hail Mary, like most last second desperation moves, is destined to fail miserably. He's smeared himself with the pungent mud of Alaska Republican corruption, while cutting the legs out from one of his most reliable attacks against Obama. And he's presented Americans with the prospect of electing a dangerous neophyte to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, behind a man whose life expectancy is less than two presidential terms. We all expected McCain to pick someone underwhelming to run with him. But we never could have expected a pick worse than Quayle. Yet that's what we got. Thanks, John! (And for those who are certain to point out that Bush-Quayle won in '88 -- do you really think that Barack Obama is remotely close to Michael Dukakis in political skill? No? Didn't think so.) crossposted from dailykos.com
A solid Democrat. Married. One grown daughter. Live in California.
Palin "Qualified"? John McCain says she has management experience. Sure, if running the city of Wasilla, AK population 8,500 is deemed experience . And running the State of Alaska, with a smaller population than the City of Indianapolis hardly qualifies her for much more than Governor of Indiana, if that. John McCain says she has run the Alaska National Guard. Yessir, all 1850 Air Guardsmen and 2150 Army Guardsmen. And they have kept the Russians from coming across the Bering Strait. How about asking her to name the top 10 foreign heads of state. And how about naming 5 foreign heads of state she has interacted with or met? Joe Biden is going to overshadow this woman like the earth over the moon. We will see the first eclipse of a candidate in the history of the U.S. And a heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world? You have got to be kidding me, John. Who advised you on this one, Cindy? by
Richard Oakley (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 6:51:46 PM
And Barry is Qualified? Why? Because he has been deified by the media? Because he has masses of adoring fans? Because he can talk tough and say that the Bush administration has failed to confront the real threats of China, Afghanistan and Russia? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! This is certainly not the way forward. It will continue to bankrupt the American people, if not get us all killed in a nuclear holocaust. McCain has no experience either, unless you consider being a lying, murdering, tax-eater experience. The only person with any real experience in setting this country right is having a counter-convention in St. Paul this weekend. He is not St. Paul *yet) but just Dr. Paul. by
Ferdinand (17 articles, 4 quicklinks, 33 diaries, 238 comments)
on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 7:11:03 PM
Just an ordinary nobody who's glad he took typing in 9th grade.
Bad reflections Of course the ironic, and I guess rather sad commentary on the whole affair, is that Sarah has more executive experience than the other three men involved combined, limited as that experience is. The rest of the crowd has basically spent their relevant time following the lead and wishes of their constituents, fighting over government pork, whereas Sarah has at least had a leadership role, again limited as it is. Alaska is the nation's largest state, and population is not the only consideration, or we'd have no need for the electoral college. She apparently had enough savvy and appeal and good ideas to legitimately unseat infinitely more "experienced" men, and apparently enough courage to go after corruption in her own party, enact ethics reform legislation, all the while mothering four and then five children. Plus the courage and selflessness to not abort a child she knew would have Down syndrome. Whereas Obama apparently gained his relatively brief appointments largely through default, and has sponsored or produced no meaningful legislation or other Senate achievements, other than to use the office as a springboard to the presidency, as did Hillary. I would say that Obama and other critics need to be a little careful about casting aspersions based on experience and qualifications. Those criticisms are likely to reflect badly right back on them. by
Alan Williams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 723 comments)
on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 9:08:44 PM
GET USED TO IT! McCain and his handlers just won the election. Veep Palin is "in". Who would want to see Biden rather than Palin. Case closed. Wolfie understands politics is not cerebral. It is visceral. by
Wolfie (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 33 diaries, 1208 comments)
on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 11:52:13 PM
Retired university professor.
Are you kidding? ''And Barry is Qualified?Why? Because he has been deified by the media? Because he has masses of adoring fans?'' At least, he is an educated man whose bright intellect and sound judgement in foreign affairs are appreciated by quite a few foreign leaders. Just send Miss Barbie Doll to the Middle East and Europe and watch how she will be received--disbelief, discreet hilarity from the elites, and boos and rotten eggs from the crowds. American politics are becoming the laughing stock of the world; it's such an embarrassment to travel or live abroad if you are American these days. Will this madness ever end? by
francine (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 370 comments)
on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 12:24:58 PM
WE ARE THE SONS OF GOD. We are not Americans, nor Afro-Americans, nor Latino-Americans, nor Asian- Americans. We are not some flavor of the week. Nor are we a favor of the meek. We are all children of God and deserve to be loved and love all of our brothers. by
Wolfie (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 33 diaries, 1208 comments)
on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at 7:13:02 PM
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