Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, is John McCain's choice to be vice-president. A lot of the "pundits" expressed surprise over this. Actually, she was on my short list of possibles -- given the number of disgruntled Clinton voters who were peeved that Hillary was passed over for the veep spot.
She's pro-life, pro-gun, and anti-gay marriage. She does support benefits for gay couples and she's a "hockey mom" as well. She has five children, the youngest, born in April, has Down's Syndrome. She clearly appeals what used to be called the "new traditionalist."
Downsides: She's very pro Big Oil and has no real issues with the rape of her state by unscrupulous developers. Unlike her opponent, Joe Biden, she has virtually no foreign policy experience and the way the event went today it almost seemed as if McCain is setting her up to be his sacrificial lamb.
After last night's speech by Obama, a lot of the Clinton delegates were clearly won over; even some Republicans expressed surprise at Obama's ability to close the deal. Of course, a couple of thousand is not 18 million so we have to see what will happen. But when those cracks in the glass ceiling turn into chards and crumble back down, it may smack into McCain's dream of becoming the oldest President ever. A great choice -- it would have been if there wasn't a recession or a war going on. But Palin will be part of the national dialogue for many years to come. I'm certain of that.
If I was McCain, though, and I really wanted a woman as running mate -- I would have chosen Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, or former Hewlett-Packard chief Carleton Fiorino.
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1 comment:
Sarah Palin has just as much experience as Barack Obama. Maybe more if you consider she has actually run something. Being in the Senate you are not conducting "executive" duties. You are a legislator.
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