I wanted to ignore John McCain's nomination of Sarah Palin for Vice President out of reverence for last night's speech. But the move deserves at least 10 quick observations:
- There are 3 types of vice president, and before Al Gore there was only 1. Gore was a trusted adviser, in the room when many key decisions were made. His opinion mattered. Dick Cheney ran the country. Before 1992, vice presidents had two functions: don't embarrass the administration and don't get in the way. Joe Biden is a pick in the Gore mold, Sarah Palin is a pick in the Charles Curtis mold.
- For those of you familiar with sports and gambling: The over/ under on the number of words John McCain ever says to Sarah Palin in his entire life: 95
- It was a political move, and that's OK, we understand that. But what is inexcusable, is that yesterday John McCain chose a woman whose experience outside of 2 years as governor was as mayor of an Alaskan village of 9,000. Yesterday also happened to be Sen. McCain's 72nd birthday.
- Say what you will-- Sarah Palin is not a bad looking lady.
- The idea that women will vote for John McCain because he put a woman on the ballot is deeply offensive.
- The notion that Sarah Palin can be compared to Hillary Clinton is insulting.
- I guarantee those glasses are fake.
- The GOP wanted a woman, but they also wanted someone who would satisfy the right-wing (pro-life, "unsure" about global warming). So, it's no wonder they had to search so far, wide and weird to find someone to fit the bill.
- Barack Obama has shown faith in Americans' ability to see beyond ploys, and willingness to choose optimism in the face of doubt. Meanwhile, John McCain has made the exact opposite wager.
- The number one criterion in choosing a VP, by definition, is whether or not the individual can be an effective president if necessary. Barack Obama's case for superior judgment was made a whole lot easier yesterday.
1 comment:
How much time did J. Mac spend vetting Governor Palin? I'm betting the media will go through that life - they're doing it as I write this - like the bums go through garbage. She better not have had an abortion, lost her virginity before marriage (or have it confirmed so), received any government funds outside of a tax rebate, or anything that will make the McCain campaign seem like it didn't do its homework. The only skeleton in the proverbial closet that can be useful is if she's "been with" a brother. (For our foreign friends, that means Black American.)
As for the wager, I'm going with the over. She's too good looking to say fewer than 95 words to.
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