Three interviews with Palin: The good, the bad, and the ugly
posted at 4:54 pm on August 30, 2008 by Allahpundit
None of them are actually bad or ugly, but even the hint of an unkind word directed at our heroine (heroin?) is enough to get righty readers to click, so there’s your bait. First comes the fluff, from her and Maverick’s sitdown with People magazine. What are the odds that they’d choose a magazine available at every checkout counter in America as a diversion for grocery-shopping moms to introduce the ticket?
What does Governor Palin need to know about working with your dad?
MEGHAN: He likes to get up early in the morning and go. Seems like she likes to do that too. I guess with a baby…
JOHN MCCAIN: … she has to be. (Laughter)
SARAH PALIN: Morning person. Yup. We don’t sleep much. Too much to do. What I’ve had to do, though, is in the middle of the night, put down the BlackBerries and pick up the breast pump. Do a couple of things different and still get it all done…Do you feel ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency?
SARAH: Absolutely. Yup, yup. Especially with a good team around us…What’s on the dinner table most often in the Palin house?
TODD: Our favorite is moose hot dogs, caribou hot dogs. We get caribou, get ‘em ground up and put them into hot dogs. They’re Polish.
Note well the photos. Next comes an interview with Time conducted two weeks ago in Alaska featuring lots of talk about oil and biography, as always, and little talk about anything else — as, apparently, always. I get that her background’s a major asset and the campaign wants to emphasize the personal side of her first to introduce her to voters, but the left’s going to be hammering her soon for having no apparent position yet on Iran and nothing a whole lot more concrete on Iraq than that her son’s serving there and we really need to end our dependency on Middle Eastern oil. For obvious reasons she should start there first, especially now that both campaigns are more or less on the same page anyway. This is gratifying, though:
Did being younger and being a woman gives you a better perspective on politics and government than a more traditional politician?
What’s more of a challenge for me over the years being in elected office has been more the age issue rather than a gender issue. I’ve totally ignored the issues that have potentially been affecting me when it comes to gender because I was raised in a family where, you know, gender wasn’t going to be an issue. The girls did what the boys did. Apparently in Alaska that’s quite commonplace. You’re out there hunting and fishing. My parents were coaches, so I was involved in sports all my life. So I knew that as woman I could do whatever the men were doing. Also that’s just part of Alaskan life.
But the age issue I think was more significant in my career than the gender issue. Your resume not being as fat as your opponent’s in a race, perhaps [but] being able to capitalize on that… being able to to use that in campaigns — I don’t have 30 years of political experience under my belt … that’s a good thing, that’s a healthy thing. That means my perspective is fresher, more in touch with the people I will be serving. I would use that as an advantage. I’ve certainly never been part of a good old boy club. That I would use in a campaign. And that’s been good.
Finally, a quickie with the New Yorker that might surprise you. Like the Time interview, it was conducted two weeks ago; I can’t gauge from ABC’s story yesterday where she thought she was in the running at that point, so it’s hard to tell how much of what she said here was with an eye to how it’d play as VP — specifically, as a maverick VP — and how much of it was off the cuff. You make the call:
[T]he possibility that Obama might win Alaska did not worry Palin: “Turning maybe purple in the state means, to me, it’s more independent, it’s not the obsessive partisanship that gets in the way of doing what’s right for this state, and I think on a national level that’s what we’re gonna see.” And she added, “That’s why McCain is the candidate for the G.O.P.—because he’s been known as the maverick, as the conduit for some change.” In the state’s Republican caucus, McCain came in fourth, trailing Ron Paul. “I always looked at Senator McCain just as a Joe Blow public member, looking from the outside in,” she said. “He’s been buttin’ heads with Republicans for years, and that’s a healthy place to be.”
McCain wanted to shake up the ticket, did he not? Well, there you go. Exit question: What do you suppose the New Yorker’s trying to convey with its conspicuous phonetic spellings of her speech?
Update: Some commenters claim that phonetic spellings are standard practice at the New Yorker. Forced to choose between taking them at their word and cross-checking this with the NY’s pieces on Obama, a lazy blogger eyes his Saturday night schedule and declares: mea culpa.
Blowback
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If you can’t see the fallacy, then by all means vote for the ticket. Progressive populism and democrat aping is not the “experience” and leadership I’m looking for.
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 5:46 PM
It’s the smart deerhunter who wears a bright orange vest, just as it’s the smart poster who puts the “/sarc” tag where it’s needed…lest he get shot.
But you knew that, of course, didn’t you?
ManlyRash on August 30, 2008 at 5:46 PM
McCain needed to energize the base, plain and simple. All the talk about Lieberman or Ridge left an untenable position for him after his brilliant performance at Saddleback. He had to choose this pick perfectly, and he has. Think about all of the options on the table.
Romney, a strong pick, most likely wouldn’t really want the VP slot – especially with Huckabee out there slamming him and considering the way McCain and him went after one another on the trail – and is far better suited for a cabinet position in a the administration, where we’d all rather have him advising McCain daily on economic issues.
Ridge, Lieberman or would have fractured the base even more.
Pawlenty never seemed to be the guy to really inject excitement into the ticket.
So, who was he left to pick from? After learning more about Palin and listening to the fine folks from Alaska who know her better than any of us, I’ve come to the conclusion that McCain was not just being kind on Friday when he said once we got to know her we’d like her as well. Gov. Palin seems to the be one person in this race you don’t underestimate, lest you find your head mounted on the wall of her hunting lodge.
She can speak off the cuff, has a terrific wit, is immediately identifiable with millions of American moms and middle class families, not only talks a good game of conservatism but can actually point to her record to illustrate where she put her principles into practice to benefit her constituents. She has more executive experience than most of the VP choices that were vetted, or rumored to have been on McCain’s list, and even after being added to the ticket has more leadership qualifications than either Obama or Biden put together.
I honestly believe that once she starts on the war path, and especially after the Biden-Palin debate, America will see she’s not some uppity new comer with no idea what she’s doing, but rather an extremely smart, strong women who embodies everything conservatives have been complaining McCain lacks over the last 6 months.
smfoushee on August 30, 2008 at 5:47 PM
I honestly believe you are correct.
ManlyRash on August 30, 2008 at 5:49 PM
Key for me is that he picked someone from OUTSIDE of Washington… WAY outside…
I consider him part of the problem… he has been part of the establishment which has sent this country in the wrong direction…
He “says” he is for smaller government… but then has been part of the Congress which presided over the largest expansion of any government in history… with huge power grabs all the way.
But now, he demonstrates to me, with the Palin pick, that he “may” be serious about changeing how Washington works.
I will, at this point, give him the benefit of the doubt.
Romeo13 on August 30, 2008 at 5:49 PM
SCHMIDT YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD!!!!!!
They are gonna do it I called it….
the Republican convention’s theme????
we’re gonna skip the Acropolis and “put country first”
GO GO GO SARAH!
sven10077 on August 30, 2008 at 5:50 PM
This minimizes what a VP pick does. It sets the stage for the Republican party in the future. It’s not just a backup QB issue, it’s the future of the party. Most conservatives were/are worried about McCain destroying the future of the party and are fed that line via media that conservatism is a dying brand. Here he picks one, and base explodes. There is a lesson there for the media and hope for the future of the party.
Spirit of 1776 on August 30, 2008 at 5:51 PM
I am now thinking of banging the RNC’s till as well….
sven10077 on August 30, 2008 at 5:52 PM
Agreed. I’ve posted similar assertions in other threads. I guess this “immigration” issue was the so-called conservative pet-rock-fad of yesteryear. Now the ADD RINO’s have picked up the populist fad. What’s next, Green? Many pundits, analysts, politicians, and dare I say posters, sacrifice their credibility for this temporary tingling sensation.
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 5:53 PM
But it wasn’t sarcasm. It was a joke. Not all jokes are sarcasm, they’re just jokes.
But thanks for telling me, someone who has been here since the beginning, how I should and should not post.
RightWinged on August 30, 2008 at 5:53 PM
It’s true that this VP pick doesn’t make McCain any better of a candidate, and perhaps my excitement is a little Hopey/Changey (in that a lot of her so-called accomplishments are, as of yet, unverified), but if her credentials and conservatism match my first impressions, then I’m more excited about her presidency than I am McCain’s.
hisfrogness on August 30, 2008 at 5:54 PM
Well excuse me for calling a spade a spade.
I will now go off and atone for my sins.
1sttofight on August 30, 2008 at 5:55 PM
We’re talking of “his Maverickness.” This is the same man we’ve always known. Hell he sent feelers to run with Kaptain Kerry. Now, like the whipped dog, we come slobbering up to him ’cause he’s opened the door for us to come in from the cold. Well make sure you tuck your tail in when you go through…. he might be slamming the door behind you.
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 5:58 PM
And the really surprising thing is most live in ‘neighborhoods’, and those enclaves are every bit as provincial and parochial as any small town anywhere in the good ol’ USA.
rockhauler on August 30, 2008 at 5:59 PM
Look any candidate would have face a firestorm of critism.
Jindal would have been called inexperienced. They had plans to slam Mitt for being too rich and out of touch. We wont even mention huck.
Pawlenty would have been a safe pick but would he really have added anything to the ticket ?
William Amos on August 30, 2008 at 5:59 PM
What sins are those? Practically wishing AIDS on a poster who simply made a light joke that echoes what can be heard on any late night show, every evening? Again, you guys just need to lighten up is all. Your desperation to be outraged is a little odd.
RightWinged on August 30, 2008 at 6:00 PM
I seriously doubt that McCain threw his hands in the air and said “What the hell…. Palin”. For the last couple of months, he’s been way ahead of them at every turn… almost as though he’s (his campaign staff) has had a peek at their playbook. Then again, the playbook of the left is always the same, so who needs a peek.
CC
CapedConservative on August 30, 2008 at 6:03 PM
Personally I am thrill not because McCain might be President (He will be a Gerald Ford caretaker type of president) but for the future that Palin represents.
A successful Conservative woman on the NATIONAL stage is something that has NEVER happened in this country. If we break down that barrier and unlock the feminist lock on women that is part of the glue that holds the democratic party together.
Dems win on a coalition of blacks, Labor, Hispanics and Women. If we can weaken one group of that coalition it will cause the whole thing to collapse. Women are the ones we have the best chance with and Palin opens that up.
Thats far better than betting on McCain pandering to hispanics.
William Amos on August 30, 2008 at 6:03 PM
Excellent letter! Thanks for that!
4shoes on August 30, 2008 at 6:03 PM
True. But the East Coast is in it’s own little world. And telling me otherwise would tell me you don’t understand the MidWest and the West Coast.
upinak on August 30, 2008 at 6:05 PM
4shoes on August 30, 2008 at 6:03 PM
+1
Spirit of 1776 on August 30, 2008 at 6:06 PM
Well, let’s see. How about…’
1. Five kids and still a rock hot mamma who can kick butt.
2. An entrepreneur.
3. An outdoorswoman, and that means to me that she has a real sense of what real conservatism and multiple use concept means.
4. Independent, in that she was willing and succsessful in bringing corruption into the light and defeating it.
5. An impressive executive. Within the first 20 months of her governorship, she gets a $40 billion plus deal with a contractor and international partner in Canada to bring a natural gas pipeline from the north slope to the lower 48.
6. Has held as high as a 90 plus percent approval rating in a state known for stubbornness and individualism. (much to my approval. It’s like Wyoming in that respect.)
7. Drill now. Drill first. Drill in a way that we can serve both the public and the environment.
8. She believes in America and obviously has taught her children that premise as her son enrolled in the Army on the anniversary of 9/11.
9. More experience in executive matters than anyone else on the ticket. And worthwhile experience, not just gettin’ along experience. Doin’ something with it.
10. She’s small town people. I’m from a small town of 7500. We know the difference between giveaway, getaway, and do it yourself.
Does that make it a little more clear for you?
Tennman on August 30, 2008 at 6:06 PM
William Amos on August 30, 2008 at 6:03 PM
It still boils down to ends/means. Sounds like you agree that McCain panders to hispanics. We know he has pandered to Greens. Also, he’s reached left many times. This is now acceptable? We’re saying: I’ll see your educated, well-spoken black man, and I raise you 1 pretty-educated-intelligent-woman and 5 unaborted children. Is this the state of our political discourse?
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 6:08 PM
I see your cynicism proceeds unabated. I guess in your view there is something unhealthy about actually being happy with a VP pick, granted she has some substantive limitations. This is one more reason I wish Ed Morrisey would go back to Captain’s Quarters. But then, I admit, no one forces me to read your posts.
JDPerren on August 30, 2008 at 6:10 PM
Yes I appreciate your perspective on it. I can enjoy the person, but have issues with the ticket.
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 6:12 PM
“The best indicator of future performance is present and past performance.”
Send_Me on August 30, 2008 at 6:13 PM
McCain is going to be McCain. Is no changing that. I simply accepted that reality.
And I like Sarah for what she stands for not for who she is. Its her beliefs that make her special not her gender.
Letting Obama win to “Give conservatism a boost” is just as much a ends to justify a means as putting Sarah on the ballot. And is much more suicidial.
William Amos on August 30, 2008 at 6:15 PM
Its comments like these that make me think many of you complaining about Palin either had your feelings hurt because your guy wasn’t picked or simply haven’t opened your eyes to the real Gov. Palin. She isn’t just some big-smile, trophy woman pick, and yes her gender most likely played a small part in her being chosen, but after seeing how strong of a conservitive she is, learning of her real humble background, meeting her family and seeing what she did in Alaska from uncovering corruption to fighting against the real RINOs in Juno can you honestly point to another candidate and say they bring the same energy and real American values to the ticket?
Palin is the every-man/woman, and not because she’s from a small town in Alaska and was a PTA mom, hockey mom, has five kids, etc., but because her record shows she sticks to her principles even when against the odds. She doesn’t back down, she doesn’t want to compromise, she IS the all-American girl, and many of us see in her what we see in our own wives, sisters and daughters. She walks the walk, she has executive experience, and best of all she is real change – conservative reform.
When I now vote in Novemeber I’m not going to do so with my fingers crossed praying these promises on the campaign trail weren’t just platitudes to gain my support, when she says something I’m going to believe her. The same was true of GWB, a man of principle, and Americans love that kind of open honesty. Palin will prove she has the intellectual goods and has some time to get up to speed on foreign affairs – she has a great teacher mentoring her – but above all else I can trust Palin to stick to her core conservative values and principles to guide her judgement on the issues.
I can’t say the same for any of the others.
smfoushee on August 30, 2008 at 6:16 PM
He’s got years on you dork.
Apparently your mom spawns ‘em.
The Race Card on August 30, 2008 at 6:18 PM
The rash has spread to your brain. Now you have to wash your underwear.
The Race Card on August 30, 2008 at 6:20 PM
smfoushee on August 30, 2008 at 6:16 PM
Careful sm…. I’m not the one arguing feelings. Again, I don’t have a problem with her biography. People are doing a whole lot of projecting as they’re already rolling Zombie Reagan’s endorsement. She may well live to the hype, but I’m not texting in my vote just yet.
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 6:22 PM
Well, about the last thing I am is worried.
Oh, I don’t claim to know what will happen. I suspect that Palin will wind up winning over the American people and mauling Joe Biden in their debate.
(Here’s a line she can use, too: Well, it’s true that as a governor I haven’t had quite the schooling in the minutiae of foreign affairs that a person would get after decades spent in the Senate. However, I’m sure that I’m going to enjoy learning from my running mate just as much as my opponent is going to enjoy teaching his.)
But what I do know is that Newt nailed what I feel.
I feel for the first time in a damn long time now like my team’s really back on the field.
I like Bush and I respect him, but he’s a Bush. At heart he believes that the government knows more than the people.
So does Barry.
So does Biden.
And yes…so does McCain.
Sarah Pailn does not. Now I don’t know how she’ll will do. She may indeed not be ready for prime time and she may blow it.
But, I’ve been reading and watching old interviews all day and I don’t think so. She’ll stumble here and there but dammit I’m rooting for her in a way I have not rooted for a politician since–yes–Ronald Reagan.
So to everyone too freaking scared to see what this might mean…well, I feel genuinely sorry for you.
For me, for the first time in a long time I feel energized by the process and not just interested in it.
My team is FINALLY back in the game.
And for that I thank John McCain.
Typhoon on August 30, 2008 at 6:23 PM
Worry about what? The political viability of the ticket?
progressoverpeace on August 30, 2008 at 6:32 PM
It’s all about character … Gov Palin has it. McCain has it. Obama and bomb thrower Biden, they just lie to your face.
tarpon on August 30, 2008 at 6:44 PM
That should help him in the debates.
TexasDan on August 30, 2008 at 6:57 PM
The problem, though, as I see it, is that from reading your comments, you’ve already written her off. You’re simply expecting her to NOT live up to the hype. And, as much as I appreciate AP much of the time, his ‘worry’ seems to be a case of the same problem.
Why, though? From everything I’ve read, she’s capable, intelligent, articulate, genuine, and truly conservative without being annoying (I can talk to a non-annoying liberal – it’s the folks on both sides that confuse invective for argumentation whom I have a problem with).
That said, I choose to give her the benefit of the doubt. Yes, Romney may have been a more experienced pick, but McCain and Romney working together is something I simply can’t see. Think Jefferson and Adams….
I think Palin will be fine. Could I be wrong? Well, sure – but it’s hers to blow.
And Allah, if you’re going to start taking your ‘worry points from the Democrat’s talking points, you lose something in my estimation.
psrch on August 30, 2008 at 6:59 PM
No, it’s her depth of knowledge on the key issues this country faces. I don’t expect her to know the GDP of Zambia or the coal production of Nigeria.
But does she understand the details of basic issues?
I know, I know, that’s sound snobbish and elitist. But this is not the place for taking chances with candidates. There is nothing to indicate, to me, that she has the substantive understanding of these critical issues.
Again, I admit I sound like a pompous ass.
It’s why – as we all agree – Obama is such a huge risk. The Putins and Ahmadinejads play for real. Like life-and-death real.
Does she have that grasp of the world? She may have. But the chances she doesn’t, it seems to me, outweigh the chances she does.
If she has it, it’s a brilliant stroke. If not, McCain’s cooked.
Deservedly so.
SteveMG on August 30, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Allah, you really don’t have a clue here do you? I know you’re no conservative, but don’t you think McCain was taking a much, much, MUCH bigger risk ticking off the base of his own party???? McCain wasn’t winning, he was limping along almost even with the worst, most liberal pick the Democrats could have come up with.
With Lieberman, the “R” base would not only desert the ticket, but actively work to prevent him getting in and making a third party viable.
With Romney, it would be an experienced, but completely uninspiring choice. It would have been more of the same elitest party crap we’ve come to expect from the GOP over the last several years. The conservatives would remain away because they don’t trust Mitt’s flip-flops / compromises. And McCain would continue to limp along… maybe to lose, or maybe to win. Conservatives would have luke-warm looked at third-party.
With Palin, conservatives finally have someone who isn’t an elitist, with real executive experience, who is more on the right side of issues than McCain is. We now trust McCain more, because he finally acknowledged listening to his base.
I would vote “R” for Palin as VP, but not for any of the others as VP. I was not going to vote for McCain, and now I am. The only way you can claim that Palin was not a good choice is if you don’t care about conservatives and/or you have an agenda.
On the issue of Palin, Ed is right and you are wrong.
dominigan on August 30, 2008 at 7:01 PM
The only thing I’m worried about is a Marxist, Leninist, Alinsky bred career politician becoming the most powerful man in the world. Everything else I can work with.
McCain isn’t everyone’s first choice, or even second. It’s the same with Palin as VP, but neither of them take any shit and they both get things done. If I can agree with McCain on 7 out of 10 issues, that’s not so bad. Its better then the alternative and about as often as I find my self agreeing with our humble corespondent. ;)
liquidflorian on August 30, 2008 at 7:06 PM
She grew up in Alaska during the cold war.
Ivan had plans for Alaska and none of them were good.
I am pretty sure she grasps life and death.
sven10077 on August 30, 2008 at 7:11 PM
That is a misrepresentation of what AP is saying. He’s worried, not angry or pissed about the pick. I mean, he can defend himself, of course, but please consider that when people go off on him in a manner that misrepresents him that decreases the frequency of his interaction in the comments usually. As it would for anyone who gets misrepresented repeatedly.
Spirit of 1776 on August 30, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Sorry, but this doesn’t tell me anything about her understanding of the issues that an Administration faces.
I’m not saying that she doesn’t have that expertise. I’m saying there’s nothing to indicate, for me, that she does.
That’s because the governor of Alaska doesn’t have to worry about such things.
We’ll see. But the risk is far greater than the benefits.
As I see them (rightly or not).
SteveMG on August 30, 2008 at 7:17 PM
To be fair, here’s an excellent essentially pro-Palin piece examining the issue of experience versus accomplishment.
Link
Key point: it’s not her experience that is key; it’s her accomplishments given the opportunities (experiences) she had.
There’s a rather large return on the investments she’s been given to handle. Numerous points for her.
SteveMG on August 30, 2008 at 7:22 PM
I bet Palin knows as much or more about the issues as most of the people who are questioning her experience. Especially in the comment threads of blogs.
And I like and respect McCain. I sense that some of the more dedicated McCain haters feel a threat here. They think that McCain might actually have done something to win the admiration and support of the sore loser wing of the GOP and that makes them uncomfortable. So they need to remind us that this is the same bad old McCain.
The guy won the nomination. Git over it.
I think Palin might well be a risk, but if she were a man with the same credentials, I don’t think that some of her detractors would consider her a risk. Not at all.
And I have been listening to conservatives complain forever about Washington being out of touch and the GOP is just like the Democrats, and regular people never get involved in government. Well, Palin is a regular person. This is what people have supposedly been agitating for.
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:27 PM
And btw, for all the folks who said McCain was not a real conservative and that he panders to hispanics and greenies or whatever. He nominated an honest to God conservative to the status of VP. That means you should give him a thumbs up, not just use it as something else to bitch about.
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:29 PM
so let me see if I can get this straight…
the foreign policy experience of our secondary nominee is as vital if not more so than Mr. “well I may not have any foreign policy experience but I did once stay In Madrassa Inn” leading the ticket…..?
Palin has grasp enough to be in a position to grow into the job.
Lord, people act like McCain is so old decrepit and dying he will barely make it to the podium to be sworn in…..
sven10077 on August 30, 2008 at 7:29 PM
And btw, for all the folks who said McCain was not a real conservative and that he panders to hispanics and greenies or whatever. He nominated an honest to God conservative to the status of VP. That means you should give him a thumbs up, not just use it as something else to complain about.
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:29 PM
“leading the ticket on the other side”
sven10077 on August 30, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Which issues? Are you asking whether she is able to follow complex logic? Or is it a question of whether she has common sense?
As far as I can tell, Obama and Biden have probably never been able to master any math beyond high school algebra (and I suspect the same for McCain) and I could not imagine wanting any of them to take any tests for me. So, I’m not sure what sort of intellectual heights we are looking to, here. Give me a topic you see her possibly not understanding and we can hash it out.
I don’t think so. There’s nothing wrong questioning competence. I’d just like to see the actual question :)
Obama would be sliced and diced by the nasty people of the world and the US would lose quite a lot, if not everything. That’s clear. But so would Noam Chomsky, and the guy is legitimately brilliant.
Again, I’m not sure what level of world knowledge/understanding you’re looking for. To paraphrase Reagan, Biden knows lots of things about the world; they’re just wrong. Bill Clinton couldn’t figure out the first thing about the world after 8 years in the White House, so far as I am able to tell from his statements.
If she has it, great for all! If not, it won’t hurt McCain too much – I don’t think.
progressoverpeace on August 30, 2008 at 7:33 PM
And as VP Palin can become more acquainted with the issues if need be. She is an intelligent woman.
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:34 PM
Well, at least someone is impressed that you’ve “been here from the beginning”.
Buford Gooch on August 30, 2008 at 7:35 PM
Of course I did’t say anything at all about Obama’s credentials. Or lack of them. He has some; and the few he has are awful. He’ll never get my vote.
The issue is whether Palin has the “right stuff” to be VP and, minus a heartbeat, president.
That’s a completely unknown matter. Too much unknown for her to be chosen.
SteveMG on August 30, 2008 at 7:35 PM
Steve:
Nancy Pelosi has a lot more “experience” than Palin and yet she made a trip to Syria to visit a dictator when she knew damn well the President of the United States did not approve of said visit.
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:38 PM
I’d be interested, to pick a topic from the air, in her views of judical review and the Constitution.
Or NATO expansion for Ukraine and Georgia.
Or EU integration and the effect on our trade policies.
NAFTA?
How about the Palestinian-Israeli problem. Jerusalem?
How about her views on McCain-Feingold? Or McCain-Kennedy?
How about the surge? And any deadline on troop withdrawal?
My point is we haven’t got any idea of her views on any of these issues or whether, as governor of Alaska, they even crossed her desk in any way.
SteveMG on August 30, 2008 at 7:39 PM
If McCain had picked Romney, how long do you think it would have been before some reporter ask him how many homes he owns?
If he had picked Huckabee, how many people would have promised to stay home?
If he had picked Pawlenty, how many people would have yawned and said Who cares?
I think one of the reasons McCain picked Palin was that she was the only one in the running that most people on the right seemed to want. And so if she is a risk, it is a risk that a lot of conservatives wanted McCain to take.
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:41 PM
all she has to do is say “I’d vote ‘present’…”
No I get what you’re saying but she was not a candidate it would be improper for her to air those views at this point if they clash with Senator McCain’s….
sorry
sven10077 on August 30, 2008 at 7:42 PM
Terrye:
Sorry, I just don’t know that.
Is she an accomplished person? Definitely. Given the opportunities she’s been given, she’s done well.
But Alaska is a long, long way from Washington.
As I’ve said, I hope she has “it.” If so, it’s great.
My point is that while we don’t know with certainty about any candidate (Romney, Pawlenty et al.), we have, for me, even more uncertainty about Palin.
I think it’s too much of a gamble given the situation that McCain was in.
SteveMG on August 30, 2008 at 7:43 PM
Steve:
Palin is the VP, not the ambassador to the UN.
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:46 PM
Steve;
You just don’t know that??? The woman is the first female Governor and the youngest Governor of Alaska and you just don’t know if she has a grasp of issues we hear about every freaking day?
Do you think she is dumb?
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:47 PM
And I don’t care if Alaska is long long way from Washington or not, it is 2008, not 1848. They have phones and internet and everything there now.
She negotiated a multibillion dollar pipeline with Canada. A foreign country.
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:49 PM
but she did NOT organize Chicago..parts of which look a little like Beirut.
sven10077 on August 30, 2008 at 7:50 PM
I mean golly gee, I don’t know for sure what Pawlenty’s views are on Russian aggression in the old Soviet bloc. After all Minn is a long way from Budapest.
Terrye on August 30, 2008 at 7:51 PM
Those are not the issues I was thinking of. For some of these issues, like the Israeli-Palestinian question and Jerusalem, there hasn’t been anyone in power in American who has understood the situation – to this very day – so I’m not sure what you’re looking for there.
Are you asking about Palin’s ability to understand these issues or just her views on them?
progressoverpeace on August 30, 2008 at 7:51 PM
I should not have said no one. Tom Delay understood, and a few others, but that’s about it.
progressoverpeace on August 30, 2008 at 7:55 PM
Well, so you seem to be implying that you know of these things, but that up there in moose ‘n bar country she doesn’t?
I’m sure she’s aware of them all and probably even has opinions on them all.
No. Really. I bet she does.
I’ll also bet that since she’s the undercard, her views on all those things are subordinate to McCain’s.
So I for one will sleep easy for awhile not knowing them.
Typhoon on August 30, 2008 at 7:58 PM
Neither did Barry unless you have a different definition of organizing.
Les in NC on August 30, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Because that’s the “cool kid” thing to do. Look at me! I’m all dressed in black and depressed! Very edgy, very snarky, very “ahead of the crowd”.
TBinSTL on August 30, 2008 at 8:01 PM
*imagine Barry impersonating WC Fields*
Back away son y’bother me….
heh nice catch
sven10077 on August 30, 2008 at 8:02 PM
Excellent Obama impression. Congrats.
Les in NC on August 30, 2008 at 8:04 PM
My thing is that all of this about her experience is lacking as VP but Obama has less. He has 300 foreign policy advisors. How many times do you think 5 people in a room could agree 100% on anything. Imagine 300 different opinions. What do you do, draw from a hat?
Les in NC on August 30, 2008 at 8:06 PM
Yeah, I’m saying that I have no certainty that she has the ability to explain her understanding and the McCain’s administration’s views on, for example, the Palestinian-Israeli issue and the West Bank.
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
I am not – repeat not – saying that she’s “dumb”. But that, as governor of a small state (population-wise), she has not had to think about such issues as policy matters. I have no doubt that she can be great on oil and energy questions. That’s because she’s had to deal with those issues as governor.
But is she able to explain, to grab another example, the McCain Administration’s approach to the Iranian nuclear program?
She may know (she probably does) the basics of such issues; but can she explain what the McCain Administration will do about them and can she defend those policies when they’re attacked?
Since she’s never had to do that, the question is up in the air.
And I’d have the same questions/doubt about Pawlenty.
Not so for Romney et al. since they went through a campaign that tested him on these matters.
SteveMG on August 30, 2008 at 8:26 PM
No, I’m saying as a governor of a small state, she’s never had to explain in detail or defend in detail her views on those issues.
That’s because those issues don’t exactly cross the desk of a governor. Palin, Pawlenty, whoever. (Reagan spent years writing and discussing international matters).
She has to not only know the details of these issues but also be able to explain the McCain campaign’s policies on the matters while at the same time being aggressively challenged by a hostile press and opposition.
She has no record of ever enduring such an assault.
None.
That’s the risk. That having no prior record, she’ll fold.
I certainly hope not. But given the stakes involved, it’s a risk that wasn’t necessary.
SteveMG on August 30, 2008 at 8:30 PM
I’m a paleo-conservative which I know distinguishes me from over 90% on this site. With that in mind, here’s my spin on McCain’s pick for VP. I wasn’t going to vote for McCain, come hell or high water, the reasons are beyond the scope of this comment but start with McCain-Feingold and McCain-Kennedy and go downhill from there. Anyway, the way I see it McCain and his advisers (unlike the Blue Ribbon panel which selected old, white geezer Biden) made an unbelievably adept pick with Sarah Palin for two combined reasons. In one pick, McCain energized or re-activated two bases; the first being true Conservatives (moi) who don’t identify themselves as Republican and secondly, middle of the road/middle class/likely to vote/undecided women. There was no other pick that McCain could have made to satisfy both groups and to boot, he managed to find someone (man or woman) who is truly as far removed from the Beltway as he could possibly find with the exception of Angela Merkel, who is busy right now. Yes, I would have wanted Romney (really Duncan Hunter or Alan Keyes) but Romney wouldn’t have delivered any NE State except possibly NH and there’s a serious question how much new money Mitt would’ve able to raise in one week until the Convention.
As far as I’m concerned, I knew for an absolute fact that Palin was a great choice (beyond my limited analysis) after reading Daily Kos this morning.
sbynyc on August 30, 2008 at 8:30 PM
And Pawlenty, for instance: His experience with any of this has been, exactly, what?
You know, for supposed conservatives here, I see a pretty wimpy bunch. Where is it written in conservative canon that there are any guarantees in life? Where is it written that paying it safe and small is the path to greatness?
Yeah, Palin just might fail. Yeah, she just might walk out onto the national stage and fall flat on her face.
But I’m betting she doesn’t. I’m betting she captivates America. I’m betting she re-energizes the Republican party. And I applaud John McCain in a way I never thought I would for taking the gamble and giving her the chance.
It’s an old old maxim of mine that you can only win as much as you’re willing to wager. Make nickel bets and if you win, you’ll get a bunch of nickels for your trouble.
I can’t claim to know how this will turn out. But I know that now I’m really rooting for a victory, and for the first time in a long time I feel like there’s a person in the battle speaking with my voice.
I’ll take that she might fail. That’s always part of it.
But what I won’t do is whine or worry. All any of us should ever ask is for a chance to be in the battle. And now, at last, we are.
Typhoon on August 30, 2008 at 8:51 PM
cold steel, you’re repeating bullshiite.
Kerry begged McCain to be his veep. McCain politely declined. Period, end of story.
I understand that saying false stuff makes you feel better in bitterly clinging to your MDS, but false is false.
funky chicken on August 30, 2008 at 8:56 PM
+1
funky chicken on August 30, 2008 at 8:57 PM
I said the same thing about Pawlenty above.
Conservatism is based, in no small part, on the tried-and-the true. On tradition. On history. On the past. On the law of unintended consequences. On the limits of man’s intellect. On the duality of human nature.
Conservatism is not about reckless risk-taking. It’s about reasoned and careful consideration.
There is nothing – good or bad – conservative about this selection.
It’s a gamble.
One that McCain didn’t need to take.
Others may disagree. Obviously.
SteveMG on August 30, 2008 at 8:58 PM
With all due respect, it’s the person, not the selection. It’s substance over form. Period.
sbynyc on August 30, 2008 at 9:02 PM
There’s one other thing that I think needs to be said here. I don’t think we realize how much in the minority we are; by that I mean people who analyze and care about politics and elections, left/right, Dem/GOP, Libs/Cons. I think for most people who actually do vote out of a sense of civic duty or whatever, it’s a popularity contest. That’s why when some video shows up stopping people in Times Square, showing them pictures of live and dead politicians, very, very few can accurately identify them. Palin wins the popularity contest and Nobama is a close second, only because she’s newest. Remember, this whole Nobamamania began with a shot of him in a bathing suit in People magazine, that great bastion of political opinion. I’m telling you, I’m not sure McCain is savvy enough to have realized this but in a year that the GOP will be slaughtered in Congressional races, this ticket just might pull it off.
sbynyc on August 30, 2008 at 9:10 PM
I understand where you’re coming from, and as a conservative I believe its the same place many of us have been since McCain won the nomination. I’m not trying to belittle your position, however after reading the initial attacks and negative commentary on the Palin pick I’ve concluded the majority of the Republicans fretting this pick are the same ones who cheered McCain’s run to the middle that ticked off the base in the first place (see Krauthammer’s commentary). And these same pundits haven’t come to the realization that Palin is exactly the kind of person conservatives want in leadership positions within the party; while her lack of national experience has no bearing on how she is a proven and principled conservative with executive branch experience that goes above and beyond all other candidates this election.
My take on your comments where echoed by psrch:
I can appreciate a wait and see stance from many on this site, but I hope those who asked conservatives to keep an open mind and positive attitude when McCain won the nomination will take their own advice now that Palin is the VP pick. She’ll deliver, and do it in a big way.
smfoushee on August 30, 2008 at 9:26 PM
Why do you presume that I would tell you otherwise? Reconsider my previous remarks and you’ll see it hints that even the cosmopolitan east cost city dweller is, in their own little way, just as parochial.
Did you miss Limerick’s remark “wine and cheese meet beer and pretzels”?
I’m waiting for some liberal to challenge Gov. Palin on some obscure liberal presumption and have her reply with something along the lines of ‘have you ever tried to start you car at minus 90 F so you could get to work?’
If it makes any difference I’m as mid west as you can get.
rockhauler on August 30, 2008 at 9:31 PM
My mentioning of that had nothing to do with “impressing” anyone… It had to do with shutting up a couple of overreacting numskulls, one of whom practically wished AIDS on me (which still makes no sense), who flipped out, and accused me of being a troll, simply because I made a mild “McCain is old” joke.
Thanks for playing though, Gooch is it?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gooch
RightWinged on August 30, 2008 at 9:38 PM
sbynyc
Well said..
rockhauler on August 30, 2008 at 9:55 PM
Yes, technically and in reality, Canada is a foreign nation. But, save the Quebec province, Canada is pretty damn similar in many ways to the U.S.
We have a tremendous amount in common with Canada, and certainly much more so than our neighbors to the South…
Just sayin’…
eanax on August 30, 2008 at 10:08 PM
Puhlease, dude. Alaska is the last frontier, but there are PLENTY of folks in the lower 48 who hunt and absolutely understand the “right of hunting.” Gee, I dunno, TED NUGENT comes to mind. Born in Michigan ya know…
eanax on August 30, 2008 at 10:13 PM
It is a big gamble. We’ll see what the vast middle of voters think.
eanax on August 30, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Well said … YOU ROCK !!!
stenwin77 on August 30, 2008 at 10:33 PM
smfoushee on August 30, 2008 at 9:26 PM
I hope I haven’t given the impression that I’ve ever been a Macainiac or a moderate begging for leniency on his behalf. My issues aren’t wholly contained with Palin. Much of my issues are with McCain.
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 10:34 PM
The logic of McCain-Feingold. Thank you for reminding me how one-sided debate can be even within our own ranks. Again, people go hog wild when McCain rings that conservative bell.
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 10:37 PM
The genius of this VP selection is that the Dems were preparing for Pawlenty, Romney or (God help us) Lieberman
Their attacks were all planned. I LOVED Romney but they were ready to chew McCain & Romney to shreds over wealth… It would have worked. I was very worried about it.
He did a knee slam with this pick. They still don’t know how to handle this one. I think it was amazing.
She’s not just a woman – she is Sarah Palin. I’m very impressed.
stenwin77 on August 30, 2008 at 10:41 PM
I get where you’re coming from — but I’m not convinced that defending a foreign policy position is as completely-new-and-different from defending a domestic policy position as all that.
She’s certainly had to aggressively campaign on and defend tax policies, energy policies, fiscal issues, and so on. It’s a much bigger stage now, with much bigger stakes, but the game is basically the same.
Let her start out on her strengths — drilling in ANWR, the Bridge to Nowhere, and polar bears — more than enough meat for her Convention speech.
She’s either “ready for primetime” or she isn’t — and more than anything it has to do with whether the things that make Alaskans like her will carry over to other states.
So far we have exactly one speech to go on — extremely limited data — but the indications are good. I’d guess we’ll know within a week how she plays with the broader audience.
It’s just politically-obsessed folks like us who watched the announcement with baited breath, gasped at John Roberts’s sexist attitudes, and groaned at the amaturish cheerleading squad that warmed up the crowd. (Though in retrospect — what a brilliant contrast to the Grand Event of Obama’s speech the night before…)
Most Americans will begin to meet Sarah Palin over the next week as the Convention unfolds.
ClintACK on August 30, 2008 at 10:42 PM
ClintACK on August 30, 2008 at 10:42 PM
That’s where we introduce our own brand of hope. Even though I can’t stand Huck, he’s a known entity. Even though I love Romney and Thompson, they’re known entities. Taking a flier is a leap of faith.
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 10:54 PM
Pal, you’re not the only one.
McCain’s been playing this game for too long to be making a gamble without a strategy. From what I’ve seen, Palin’s going to make Biden wet his pants, and shrink away. She’s also going to drive Obama nuts.
MadisonConservative on August 30, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Can anyone? I have yet to hear a single person explain how Iran is to be dealt with, except of course for the retards on the left who just want to give in to every Iranian demand. This is the point. You are asking for things of Palin that I don’t think anyone can satisfy. Heck, I don’t even know what McCain plans to do about Iran and I’m not very sure that McCain has even decided. I hope it’s the “Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran” but he has backtracked quite a bit from that sort of reaction.
You’d have the same questions, but the same doubt?
So, tell me, then, what is Romney’s attitude about dealing with Iran? I’ve never heard him explain it.
I understand your doubts about Palin. We haven’t really heard her yet, so we don’t know much about her – though we have some tidbits. But I’m willing to give McCain’s search committee the benefit of the doubt to begin (especially as I have been very impressed with this decision) and I will further refine my attitude as I hear Governor Palin speak.
progressoverpeace on August 30, 2008 at 11:00 PM
I cut off the top part of the quote in my last comment:
progressoverpeace on August 30, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Because McCain has a history of knowing more about what’s best for us: immigration, McCain-Feingold, drilling ANWR, etc.
Cold Steel on August 30, 2008 at 11:05 PM
I haven’t forgotten any of that. Believe me. But amnesty is going to be a huge fight – gigantic – no matter who wins. There’s no way around that. For ANWR, Palin might force a change on McCain. Not by debate, but just because everyone knows that she’s for it and she’s close to McCain. It might rub off on him. The rest of McCain’s problems are what they are. They’ll have to be dealt with as they appear. But each and every one would probably also appear with a B Hussein administration, along with tons of other ones.
progressoverpeace on August 30, 2008 at 11:18 PM
False dichotomy. My issues lie with McCain, not Palin, so much at least.
How are you able to quantify this by saying “small?” How did you come up with “small” versus “some” or “huge?”
A person’s background says nothing about how effective they are as a statesman. How many respected, well-performing individuals have come from rich families? How about GEN Patton? Teddy Roosevelt? “Wild Bill” Donovan? I could go on. I look at their character and leadership credentials, not their economic background.
Duncan Hunter, Bobby Jindal, Mark Sandford.
So why did you mention these ancillary things?
Fair enough.
I’m voting for a President and Vice-President, not a role-model for my kids and wife.
Very, very little. Yes, more than Obama, but I also have more than Obama and I’m not ready. My toddler may be more prepared for kindergarten than a newborn, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready.
McCain drives policy, not Palin.
I must hand it to McCain: he certainly did figure out how to get the conservative vote back on his side.
What about McCain, the guy running for President? T
That doesn’t take away the fact that Bush isn’t that bright, especially in terms of military affairs, education reform, immigration… P
“Will?” OJT is not the preferred method of learning the job of Vice President (or President for that matter.)
So, about that experience?
So, do you apply this to McCain, the guy running for President, as well?
Send_Me on August 30, 2008 at 11:19 PM
Same here.
Send_Me on August 30, 2008 at 11:21 PM
So where does one go to learn the job of Vice President, or President?
Is it not true that the main requirement of that job is understanding human nature? What makes people do what they do, and why they do it? Is that not the definition of politics?
Is there a school one has to attend to be educated in those things?
Everyone knocks Obama’s community organizer experience but what better place to learn how to organize people than to do just exactly that?
What do you think is the job of the VP?
rockhauler on August 30, 2008 at 11:30 PM
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