It’s Gonna Be McCain/Palin `08
By Doug Mataconis | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, McCain, Republicans
Both CNN and ABC News are confirming that Alaska Govenor Sarah Palin will be John McCain’s running mate:
John McCain has made his vice presidential pick: the Republican contender will tap first-term Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.
The 44-year-old Palin brings working class roots and appeal to female voters, becoming only the second female vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket and a first for the GOP.
Being first is nothing to new to Palin (pronounced PALE-IN). She is the first female governor of the Last Frontier, the 49th state to join the Union in 1959 and the 48th most populous state.
Palin is also the youngest governor in Alaska’s short statehood history, taking office in 2006 amidst attempts by Democrats to turn the reliably Republican state to their column.
Gov. Palin is married with five children, a staunch opponent of abortion rights, and a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.
Despite her strong conservative credentials, Palin is certainly a surprise pick. Not well known outside of Alaska, McCain picked Palin above several more prominent choices including former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and former Gov. Tom Ridge, R-Pa.
Palin’s name had fallen by the wayside over the past several weeks, so her pick is certainly a surprise. It will be interesting to see what impact this has on the race.
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August 29th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Oh boy, stunner. Terrible pick for him.
I will grant you that this provides an opportunity to grab some disgruntled Hilary backers, but how can a 72-year-old man who is campaigning against Obama’s youth and inexperience choose a running made who has been a governor for less than two years, whose only other experience is mayor of some town smaller than my backyard?
This is a man who may not even make it 4 years into a presidency….wow.
Not to mention Palin has corruption charges hanging over her head, has nothing in common with mainstream America, and is virtually unknown.
…but she is cute….
August 29th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Well you’ve got to give the McCain campaign points on blunting the impact of the Obama speech –
Here it is, the day after the biggest, most spectacular political speech in the history of the United States, and what are we we talking about here? You’ve got to scroll down six posts to find anything about the speech.
Also think about all those Romney ads that the Obama campaign probably had produced and teed up. What a head fake.
I just hope she stands up to scrutiny.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:21 am
She is a good pick for McCain for the following reasons:
1) The only knock on Sarah Palin is that she is too inexperienced. Do you think the Democrats will dare to bring that up? Besides, so much of Obama’s rhetoric about McCain is that he represents the “same old politics.” In other words, he is too old. Well, adding youth to the bottom of the ticket diffuses that arguement, and any criticism from the Democrats will further cast light on the fact that an even less experienced politician is at the top of theirs. What experience she does have is as an effective and popular reformer of a historically corrupt state legislature, like a Bobby Jindal; she adds a little change theme to the Republican agenda.
2) She assuages the concerns of the Republican base who feared a Lieberman or Romney.
3) She takes the identity-politics-trump-card out of the hands of Obama and puts it back in play. Will she attract disenfranchised hillary voters? Who knows, but it is clear now that the Republicans are now grooming the first female president. You can stick a fork in Hillary after this convention.
4)She is a total MILF. She has that cute and nerdy, but underlyingly hot, Tina Fey look about her. If she takes her glasses off and lets her hair down she’s a real cougar.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:23 am
gerryf,
Good points, with a nice little sexist twist at the end. But I vaguely recall that one of the campaigns has been educating the electorate for some time now that what the country really needs is not experience, but judgment. Don’t you think you should wait to assess her “judgement” before rendering a conclusion?
BTW – If this becomes a debate whether Palin (VP candidate) or Obama (president candidate) has the most experience, who do you think benefits?
August 29th, 2008 at 9:54 am
sexist…intentional tweak there to emphasize the obvious.
That is the first thing that everyone is going to say about her, admit it. When I told the woman next to me in the office that McCain had picked Phalen, the woman next to me said, “Who?”
I said, “She’s been governor of Texas for two years” and showed her the web page. Her response. “Oh, she’s cute.”
Jimmy, I absolutely agree that Obama cannot knock her for inexperiece–it’s not even an option. But, that has not been Obama’s campaign strategy.
McCain’s and Republican strategy, including immediately following the speech last night, was to accentuate that no matter how pretty (yep, an intentional Phalin reference) the speech, Obama still lacks experience.
So, yes, Phalin eliminates a Dem strategy they never expected to use, but she also neuters a GOP strategy that is basically one of their only two arguments.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:55 am
This pick is very risky – - but I think it’s cool that for the first time in history when the president and vice president won’t be two white guys (well, unless you count Hoover’s VP Charles Curtis, who was mostly Native American). It’s a neat thought that 100 years ago neither Barack Obama nor Sarah Palin would’ve even been able to vote in most places throughout the USA – - and in 2008 one of them will make history.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:56 am
@mw – Calling somebody cute is sexist? Hmmm…
@Jimmy –
Heh, well, since she has a grand total of 1.5 years of governing experience and since McCain is running on the idea that he is experienced, not having a seasoned pick who could step in at a moments notice sort of undercuts the entire theme of his campaign, doesn’t it?
I’m not saying the Biden didn’t undercut Obama’s change message, but you have to concede that it was better for Obama to fill in his gaps with somebody experienced like Biden than it was for McCain to pick somebody younger than Obama with even less experience than Obama to fill in a gap I don’t think he even had.
One thing is for sure. This campaign just got A LOT more interesting.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Palin’s inexperience will not be an issue because any attack on that is an easy counter against Obama.
Palin CAN afford to learn on the job since she will be the VP, not the President. McCain is not going to anticipate his own death, despite his age and skin-health concerns.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:10 am
This argument cuts both ways and is a net wash. It can be flipped on its head by partisans of both camps and if you are watching the pundits, you can see that is exactly what is happening. For example lets flip your argument:
“… since Obama is running on the idea that the country needs judgment not experience, attacking Palin for lack of experience sort of undercuts the entire theme of his campaign, doesn’t it?”
Except for the fact that if the argument boils down to who has more executive experience Obama vs. Palin, McCain benefits.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Very smart pick, IMO. McCain is sending a strong signal that the young fiscally disciplined reformers (Sarah Palin, Jeff Flake, Jeb Hensarling, etc) are the future of the GOP (because Palin has a very good chance of becoming heir apparent after a McCain administration). Yes, he’s badly undercut the inexperience and celebrity attacks they’ve been using. But conversely, he also just shredded the “Bush III” line of attack from the Dems. It’s clear the new focus is “this is not your father’s GOP.” For starters, the Palin pick clearly indicates we’re not going to get another Cheney “fourth branch” style vice presidency in a McCain administration, precisely because she’s so inexperienced (compare to Bush where Cheney clearly had all the insider knowledge).
Yes, it’s a huge risk due to the “heartbeat” factor. But really, given this is fundamentally a change election McCain had very little choice. A Romney pick would have reinforced the “Bush III” meme. Pawlenty would have been safe but done little for the long term health of the party. Other picks would have sundered the base. I think McCain wisely decided it’s better to take a big risk but inject some vitality into a moribund and thoroughly corrupt party (leading to the possibility of another resurgence ala the post Goldwater revolution) than to play it safe and prop up the corpse for a little longer.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:20 am
The 2008 formula: One inexperienced but progressive candidate on the ticket and one old white guy. You could say the choice boils down to where America wants the progressive choice (top of the ticket or the bottom), and which progressive choice is more attractive (woman or black guy). It reminds me of the conversations ealry in the Dem primary – lots of folks could see Barrack as the VP, but not the other way around. I think we were more comfortable with the experienced candidate on the top of the ticket. If that setiment holds true, Obama is in for a real run for his money. This is exciting stuff. I’m proud that this season a progressive choice was neccessary. It means we’re moving forward. This is a good day for the U.S.
(And when Obama wins it will be a great day for the U.S. – :)
August 29th, 2008 at 10:20 am
McCain spent the last 20 years gaining the respect of moderates and independents—but he may have just abandoned them, with this choice that clearly panders to the hard right, the Evangelicals, the theocrats…
Considering that McCain arguably won the nomination on the backs of independent voters… this was not a very smart move.
Not only a heartbeat away from the presidency… but with the current SCOTUS lineup, also a heartbeat from an attempted overthrow of Roe v. Wade.
JimmiDhimmi: How do you think the “VILF” factor will play for McCain, in the wake of ads with Britney and Paris? Palin might get as much bandwidth on “Perez” as she will on “Powerline.”
Agnostick
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August 29th, 2008 at 10:23 am
On the other hand, maybe McCain just wants to dip his fingers in her wells…
August 29th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Oh boy, what a power play by McCain. Trying to introduce disenfranchised Hillary voters to the red side is a bold move.
Well, here’s something to read while you sift through the mindless commentary on CNN:
http://www.writingfrontier.com/
August 29th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Boy, was I wrong. Here is the first official press release from the Obama camp on Palin:
Are they kicking themselves in the teeth here? I expect McCain will just respond brutally everytime they mention inexperience.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Maybe not by much, but a year and a half as governor of the 48th most populous state and a couple terms as mayor of a town of 9000 is a lot less experience than Obama’s credentials. Even if the only difference is that Obama was pressure tested by the intense primary; Palin was “plucked”. I think the Obama camp’s critisism will stick becuase he’s mostly worked his way out of the “inexperienced” box. We’ll see.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:14 am
@khaki
I’ll repeat – as long as you are comparing Palin’s executive experience to Obama’s executive experience, Obama loses the argument even if you conclude he has more experience. It is the fact that this comparison is even being argued that is deadly to Obama.
That said, your point about being pressure tested in the primary is spot on. Obama, McCain and Biden are all much better candidates for having gone through the wringer and scrutiny of a national campaign. There is just no way to know how Palin is going to stand up under the pressure cooker. She is completely untested at this level of competition, and therein lies the risk. Even she cannot have any idea about what she has gotten into.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:19 am
And she’s already the subject of an ethics investigation back in Alaska.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:40 am
“Palin CAN afford to learn on the job since she will be the VP, not the President. McCain is not going to anticipate his own death, despite his age and skin-health concerns.” – Andres
so wait a second… she can afford to learn on the job? so if McCain is elected and dies of old age or a heart attack 2 weeks in (which is a real possibility and i dont know why we dont hear more about that.. the guy already looks like hes being held up by strings.) then we can have a completely and utterly, in every sense of the word inexperienced president. And for some reason its all fine and dandy because shes a republican woman?
But if Obama (who isnt inexperienced, and im getting really sick of hearing it.. and who has shown better judgement than McCain CONSTANTLY) were to be assasinated or something (god forbid.. we need him), the VP is more than capable of running this country amazingly. And assuming he isnt assainated, well have the amazing judgement of Barack Obama and his intelligent, capable, and experienced VP there to help him find ways to get what needs to be done, done..
“But conversely, he also just shredded the “Bush III†line of attack from the Dems. It’s clear the new focus is “this is not your father’s GOP.†For starters, the Palin pick clearly indicates we’re not going to get another Cheney “fourth branch†style vice presidency in a McCain administration, precisely because she’s so inexperienced (compare to Bush where Cheney clearly had all the insider knowledge).” – crw
so basically the is the reverse of the last 8 years? instead of the president being nothing more than a “good ol’ boy” to win votes with idiots, and the vice president being the brains. this time the president is the brains (and not much of them…) and the VP is a “cute girl” from alaska to win votes with idiots and angry clinton supporters? Does the republican party have any new tactics?
oh and one last thing… if you were going to vote for Hillary and now youre voting McCain, then youre nothing more than an ignorant femminist, yes there are inequalities between men and women that really need to be fixed.. but you dont address them by voting for a woman JUST because she is a woman.. And if you support McCain now thats the only reason you would have voted for Hillary. Because Hillary stands for everything McCain doesnt stand for. if you actually voted on the issues you would know that and would support Obama. Voting for john McCain out of spite for Obama winning the candidacy is the stupidest thing ive ever heard of.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Right. The presidential campaign is “executive experience”. Obama has been managing his campaign (and knocking it out of the park) for about as long as Palin has been governor.
And, yes, $100K has been approved to investigate Palin for trying to get her former brother in law fired (bad) and then firing her subordinate when he refused (omg!). If there’s any fire under this smoke, they’re in big trouble.
August 29th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Told you so.
Obama will continue to hit McCain hard on the experience MESSAGE since McCain has been hitting Obama so hard.
Essentially, McCain has screwed himself when it comes to arguing he’s the most experienced if he has somebody like Palin a heartbeat away.
And with Palin as his Veep, he’s running on the Maverick message now.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
@khaki
C’mon. The investigation is obvious partisan fluff. Easily vetted, if there was anything there, they would not have picked her.
And a shout out to Steeve! To be the first at Donklephant in the post-Palin selection to invoke the favored argument of Obamites everywhere when the infallibility and inevitability of their guru is challenged: – The always compelling and winning argument “If you don’t vote for Obama, you are stupid.”
Correction. That is actually the number 2 Obamite argument. Number one of course being “If you don’t vote for Obama, you are a racist.”
Countdown till we see that next 3..2..1…
August 29th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Palin is still the VP candidate, not the Presidential Candidate. Which would have been more absurd in ‘88: Bush/Quale or Quale/Bush? Its not a wash.
If McCain survives 8 years, Palin would be ready. Obama is not ready now (at least according to what all the democrats said during the primary). What is the greater risk?
Lets not forget, it is still Obama Vs. McCain. We are all interested in the VP candidates now because they were just selected. After 2 more months of campaigning it is still going to come down to those 2, and the VPs will be an afterthought. McCain therefore still has a valid “experience” argument.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Too many doomsday scenarios for my liking.
steeeve, you are assuming a worst case scenario for McCain, as well as one for Obama, but which is more likely? I will say that McCain’s is. Thus, you have inexperience vs. inexperience. Now, how inexperienced is Palin? That we will find out in the oncoming weeks. I doubt she as inexperienced as many would want to believe. Just like how you believe Obama isn’t as inexperienced as many argue.
Regardless, my point still stands. For her position, VP, she can learn on the job. Stop treating her like she were running for president. Her role would only be to cast that deciding vote in the Senate (and to protect the space/time continuum).
August 30th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Governor Palin has more executive experience than any candidate in the election, including Obama, Biden and McCain. She is a great pick. forget the ethics investigation, it’s all smoke and mirrors, and even if she fired that hack for not doing just what she said, who cares? It is her right to fire anyone who crosses her don’t you think? she’s the boss!!!! I don’t want to see the Demos paint her as inexperienced, she did a great job in the PTA WHICH IS AN IMPORTENT ORGANIZATION TO THE YOUTH OF OUR COUNTRY. she’s got all it takes to run this country if Senator McCain happens to be too old and infirm to do his job.
September 8th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
This executive expirience argument is ridiculous. As mayor of Wasilla, AK, she was managing a budget that is smaller than the Ohio State University Student Senate budget. As governor, she inherited a budget surplus. HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO OUR ECONOMIC SITUATION??? And who cares if she fired “that hack”. Well, not only did she fire him, she also fired everyone in Wasilla who was against her, including the chief of police. Also, she asked the librarian as to how she could go about banning books. Abusing executive privelige and limiting free speech reminds me of a former leader. His name was Adolf Hitler.