A word of welcome to the new readers of this blog. Yesterday, I am proud to report, 895 unique visitors stopped in -- most from Google searches leading to my post last Saturday entitled "Look to Alaska, Senator McCain!"In that post, I predicted that the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as Senator McCain's running mate would receive good vibes from the media. Watch CNN for 10 minutes this morning and you will realize that that's not quite the case. It is most disturbing to see the talking heads say Governor Palin "lacks experience."
Fact: Senator Obama was sworn into his first elective office in 1996.
Fact: Governor Palin was sworn into her first elective office in 1992, four years earlier.
Governor Palin was working in the trenches of city government (first as a councilwoman and then as a mayor) for four years in Alaska before Senator Obama became a state senator in Illinois.
As someone who spent five years as a borough councilman, I can tell you that serving as a municipal official is both hard work and valuable experience.
I am very pleased that, if the McCain-Palin ticket wins in November, there would be someone in the White House who has personal knowledge of the many challenges facing local governments.
Finally, a hometown connection:
Later today, Senator McCain and Governor Palin will be visiting my old stomping grounds at the small baseball stadium outside of Washington, PA. The stadium is the home of the Washington Wild Things.
2 comments:
Paul,
I think I would have been far more concerned if CNN had played her up. The more MSM piles on her the more effective I think she becomes. I can not wait till she takes on Sen. Biden in the VP debate. The Democrats had figured out how to triagulate on a Hockey Mom / Moose Hunter/ Beauty Pageant Winner / Female Governor, I love America!
JMJ
Joe
The McCain campaign made a great choice for VP. Palin will likely play a major role in GOP national politics regardless of the outcome of this race, having certain qualities that will naturally make her a media sensation.
That being said, I was much more enthusiastic about Palin before her speech last night. While I admire her background and independent mind-set (she actually referred to Ron Paul as being "cool" last February), the only thing from her speech that struck me was the expansion of nuclear power. She seems to advocate the same militaristic, imperialistic policies that has wreaked havoc on the GOP. A continuation of our current foreign policy is going to be extremely harmful, not merely because of our failing approval ratings abroad,the countless soldiers killed and maimed, and the tremendous strain that our military is facing, but also because of the severe impact it would have on our budget deficit. And yet Palin insists that "victory is within reach." The Iraqis are demanding that we leave by 2011...so no matter what the outcome is of this election, our policy in Iraq shouldn't change much anyway. And victory is a very strong word. We've spend trillions of dollars and have lost 4,000 soldiers. Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator, yes, it should NOT be the responsibility of the United States to remove leaders on a whim. If we are going to spread democracy through warfare, why not start in North Korea, where millions of people are facing starvation because of a dictator that a) has nuclear weapons and b) has threatened the United States. President Bush NEGOTIATED with North Korea, and yet Palin criticizes Obama for wanting to negotiate with Iran without preconditions. Evidently, war will be a first resort for the McCain/Palin administration.
But, I can't vote for Obama. America can't afford universal healthcare. We can't even afford social security anymore. And yet Palin hardly even addressed these issues. I was waiting with bated breath to hear the words "privatization" and "free market." Where is the emphasis on fiscal conservatism? How are we going to reduce the budget deficit?
Ultimately, there is too little substance in convention speeches and debates. People are more concerned with making clever slogans to draw applause than talking about real issues. I'd be better off watching cheerleaders practice...it would be easier on the eyes...
And so, yet again, I will be forced to support a third party candidate...(sorry for the rant, Paul, but I wanted to get my 3.742 cents in...)
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