At least Palin strikes me that way, after seeing her at the announcement. She strikes me an engaged, energetic, intelligent, competent person -- all striking opposites to my impression of W. for example. I hope the Obama people realize that. I like her personally, and think a lot of other people would also. I hope Obama doesn't discount the value of that to McCain either.
Granted this is my impression based on seeing her once, but that's the position McCain has put us in, choosing someone so unknown. No, we don't know much about her stance on a variety of major issues, and perhaps McCain is thinking that is a plus too. The fact that she was a teen beauty queen -- irrelevant. W. was a Yale cheerleader. The fact that she has a newborn -- irrelevant, I don't know how she and her husband divide up the child raising duties. She can lead people, she can hold meetings, she can ask questions, she can meet with foreign leaders and engage them -- she has the personal confidence and presence to do that. She can be president. An actor was president, a rich lazy son of president who failed in every private venture he ever tried is president today, and Palin would be a much better custodian of the office than he has been.* Get real.
And frankly, if I lived in a country that had never elected a man as P or VP in two centuries, and Palin were the first man even nominated by the Republicans I might, might, take a second look. And then I'd consider what I really care about.
This is what I care about: Palin in a religious right's and neocon's dream candidate, an absolutist on abortion, rejecting even exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother (however, that's the only intellectually honest position for a pro-lifer to take). Rush loves her. On "Arrested Development" Michael Bluth's dim older brother GOB, once said "I hear the jury's still out on science" and that thinking may qualify him for a high-level cabinet position in a future Palin administration. She believes Intelligent Design should be taught in school. She wouldn't directly answer the question on whether she believes in evolution or not. She believes human activity does not contribute to global warming. I don't want Sarah Palin making judicial appointments. She flipped-flopped on the "bridge to nowhere," apparently she only decided she was against it yesterday. She's qualified enough to be president but I don't want her as my president.
She also, by the way, imposed windfall taxes and the oil companies in Alaska, to bolster the Alaskan state budget, and she called for a time-table for Iraq withdrawal. Those are two great ideas. And, I promise you, you won't hear the McCain/Palin campaign touting those two ideas any time soon.
Barack Obama for President!
*Update: My point here is not that the job of president is easy, or that "W. turned out okay, didn't he?" or any such nonsense, but just that there's nothing magical or supernatural about the position, and human beings, flawed vessels that we are, are the only game in town. God does not appoint the president, nor is there a magic sword buried in a sword somewhere in Georgetown to be pulled out by the rightful one every four years.
civil liberties, Democrats, global warming, Obama, politics, Sarah Palin
