Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is McCain's VP- Page 8

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 10:00am

George Bush and Walter Mondale weren't 72 with a problematic medical record. Just sayin'.

I also think the stakes are currently higher. Our country is in more trouble, both at home AND internationally, than in any time I can recall.

It also begs to question John McCain's decision-making abilities, his willingness to see himself realistically, and his concern for safe-guarding the country. As someone or another has already said, this isn't about Palin...it's about McCain.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 10:20am

Roquat, you make a very good point, but I really think this election is a different animal so to speak.

Posted: 8/30/08 at 10:22am

Roquat, I think it's more accurate to say that while a VP choice rarely helps the ticket, it can certainly hurt it- those two examples you cited are eveidence of that.

I found it repulsive that after Palin saying so many horrible things about Hillary Clinton (And the Republican party lambasting her solidly for 15 years) she'd toss out wild praise for Clinton in an obviousl attempt to suck up to the PUMAs.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 12:10pm

Whoa.......

Miss P. I certainly didn't mean to insult you or any other working mother.

*backs slowly out of thread*

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 1:09pm

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 1:22pm

Rasmussen's inital polling response on Palin shows surprising results. Women are much more skeptical than men.

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 1:28pm

I think this was a mistake by Mc Cain. Anyone who was undecided, and didn't want to vote for Obama, may have voted for McCain if he had appointed a more "liberal" candidate. She's so far right, those votes won't be there.

[javero]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 4:02pm

Apparently, God and guns are back on the table thanks to Palin. Reuters article linked below.

How did the GOP appropriate God?

The woman is Huckabee in Chanel which gives me the willies. She is being touted as the party's "salvation".
God, guns and the GOP

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 4:30pm

Here are some more scary tidbits along with the sources (courtesy of MoveOn.org):

1. Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.
2. She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000.
3. Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.
4. She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.
5. She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.
6.How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.

Sources:

1. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13660-574157-3B0ka3x&t=1

2. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13660-574157-3B0ka3x&t=2

3. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13660-574157-3B0ka3x&t=3

4. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13660-574157-3B0ka3x&t=4

5. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13660-574157-3B0ka3x&t=5

"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13660-574157-3B0ka3x&t=6

"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13660-574157-3B0ka3x&t=7

6 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13660-574157-3B0ka3x&t=8

Sueleen Gay: "Here you go, Bitch, now go make some fukcing lemonade." 10/28/10

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 4:32pm

Absolutely scarey woman.

[misschung]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 5:19pm

She is one Philly Cheese Steak away from the Presidency.

to add to that list - isn't she also a hunter? That couldn't possibly sway her decision for Alaskan drilling.

And what is up with her beehive? It's like Vice President porn hair.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 6:32pm

Do you think there's a chance she'll pull a Harriet Myers and drop out?

Or maybe this isn't so much about attracting the female vote as it is about securing the far right. If she serves that purpose and the Republicans win, she can easily be replaced.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 6:41pm

iflit, talk about disenfranchising a lot of voters with that move!!

[javero]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 6:54pm

"Do you think there's a chance she'll pull a Harriet Myers and drop out?"

Nope!!!

I believe that McCain goes into this now planning to serve only one term. He's clearing a path for her to the office of POTUS. McCain has an axe to grind with those that favored Dubya over him. She's a viable successor to McCain in that she's a maverick, young and brings in the God-vote.

A good friend of mine who is a diehard Repub sent me an email this morning with "hell, if she had at least one full term under her belt as governor, I'd prefer her to McCain at the top of the ticket." Even if McCain and she go down in flames this Nov, she must be considered a front runner 4 years out. So far, she doesn't have any national negatives from a GOP perspective and there's no perceptive of her feeling that she owns the party YET.

That in a nutshell is why I believe the GOP will be the first party to put a woman in the White House as POTUS. If he pulls it off McCain will go down in US history as a visionary.

Updated On: 8/30/08 at 06:54 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 7:28pm

Jane Smiley gets to the heart, meat, bone and marrow of the matter in today's post on Huffington.

There is no hands off when it comes to this woman and how she "has it all," including keeping the wife/mother/governor bases all covered so presumably fabulously that the Republican squawking head on MSNBC announced Palid as her "new HERO!" There needs to be serious, fearless digging. That is, if you actually care about women's issues. Yesterday, when JohnBoy was saying he believed a commentator said this woman has it all because her husband is a "stay at home dad," I thought, really? JUST HIM?

Here's hoping we find out.

Updated On: 8/30/08 at 07:28 PM

[artscallion]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 7:49pm

Maybe there's hope yet...

PALIN GETS BOOS AND GROANS FOR MENTIONING HILLARY

Updated On: 8/30/08 at 07:49 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 8:08pm

That depends; what were the intentions of the boos? Did the audience feel they were being pandered to, or do they not like Hillary?

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 8:14pm

"That depends; what were the intentions of the boos? Did the audience feel they were being pandered to, or do they not like Hillary?"

My guess would be, that since it was a GOP Rally, that there wasn't a whole lot of love for Hillary in the crowd. Although, it is sort of odd, that booing the mention of Hillary by Republicans at a Republican rally would be something newsworthy. Must have been a slow news day.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 8:34pm

THis really brings out the cynic in me...it's such a baldy calculated move.

It's as if they had a checklist and she basically fit the glass slipper.

Woman...check
pro-life...check
NRA member..check
hunter...check
son being sent to Iraq..check
special needs child...bonus points

Kind of heartless, I know...especially since two of my best friends have special needs kids...but she should be nominated for Mother of the Year, not, as everyone is so fond of saying, a heartbeat away from the Oval Office.


Updated On: 8/30/08 at 08:34 PM

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 8:41pm

It REALLY annoys me that the media is crediting McCain for reclaiming his 'maverick' title with this pick. This decision is anything but. If he had chosen Lieberman or Ridge, that might have qualified as 'maverick' since it would fly in the face of his party, and actually reflect his own wishes. Even if I thought he really believed Palin was the right person for the job, I could respect the choice though I wouldn't agree with it. But he barely knows her; they only met once, and when he called her to offer her the job it was only the 2nd time they had ever spoken. This choice is one of desperation, tokensim, pandering, and gimmickry.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 9:45pm

I LOVE these quotes, not so much for what was said...but for who said it.

"She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" said Lyda Green, the president of the State Senate, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"

"Another top Republican, John Harris, the speaker of the House, when asked about her qualifications for Veep, replied with this: "She's old enough. She's a U.S. citizen."

HUFF POST

Updated On: 8/30/08 at 09:45 PM

[soapguy17]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 10:33pm

I'm in shock. . . .I really considered him the first cool republican like ever. He's progressing into a mess.

[roquat]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 11:25pm

So...McCain gets to look progressive for choosing a woman--a woman who has the same vague (and, I think, bogus) "maverick" status he has (how do we know they're mavericks? Because the word gets forced into every press release about them!). He also gets to soothe the hard-right base who are upset by his record on social issues, because Palin is one of them (NRA, gay rights, abortion, corruption scandal).

Well, the VP debates will surely be interesting. Biden has Palin beaten on experience, but she may be a more persuasive and temperate speaker--it will be hard for him to lay into her without coming across as boorish.

How about this (somewhat farfetched) scenario--I have a friend who keeps insisting that Hillary will run again in 2012 if Obama loses. If she does--and McCain decides not to run again--might we possibly be looking at a female vs. female race in four years (Hillary vs. Palin)?

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/30/08 at 11:34pm

Why is it that any Republican who isn't corrupt is considered a 'maverick' or 'reformer', and any Democrat who isn't corrupt is just called a Democrat?

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 8/31/08 at 2:03am

Patronus, that image cracked me up.

I'm biased but I honestly think this was a big blunder on McCain's part. In Palin's first speech she made it clear that she was going after those 18 million Hillary voters. She basically painted herself as the torch bearer. I'll be damned if Hillary is going to let her get away with that, especially when this woman opposes nearly everything Hillary stands for (and Hill still has 2016). McCain voted AGAINST equal pay legislation... and there is video footage of this woman mocking Hillary!

Really, this woman will only seriously appeal to conservatives (who weren't going to vote for Obama anyway!). Obama still has Biden, who has the blue collar thing going for him.

Also, this woman has NO experience on the national scene. She will blunder and the press will be waiting. Biden, with his 30 years in Washington, who knows many foreign leaders personally, will easily destroy her without seeming sexist. Biden is responsible for the Violence Against Women Act, for crissakes. He's REAL sexist.

This is pure cynicism on McCain's part. Disgustifying and independents aren't falling for it, according to the polls. She even lied about supporting the bridge to nowhere in her first speech!

I'm not saying Dems shouldn't be worried, or we should sit back, but I think McCain REALLY rushed into this one... who vetted her?!