I think McCain just screwed himself over wildly. His major arguing point against Obama is experience. Palin is a two year governor of Alaska. He can't call Obama's seven years in the Illinois state senate and two years in Congress inexperience anymore without getting called out.
I think it ruins one of his largest arguments against Obama, but he may now get votes from more youths, more women, more mothers (any, especially working moms or ones who have children with down syndrome).
Things could go either way.
I was really shocked as well! This was not the direction I thought he would take.
Let me quote my brother on this. He is very involved in politics (trust me, he has experience). The first quote deals with exactly what you guys were commenting about, the experience thing. The second quote also has some info.
"I understand where you're coming from, but you can't change the fact that Sarah Palin would be in the learning seat, while Obama would be in the driving seat, still learning. To disregard her because she has relatively little experience makes little sense if you go and vote Obama. I would personally rather have the less experienced person as VP, not as Pres.
You also have to look at what experience Obama and Palin have had. Palin has executive experience, unlike all the other three candidates, and for the two years she has been governor she has accomplished a lot. She has passed through landmark ethics bills, brought fiscal discipline and fought corruption effectively. She shut down the Bridge to Nowhere and took on the influence of big oil companies, while pushing for development of new energy resources.
On the other hand, Obama has no accomplishments. He made a great speech, and that started his presidential race. He did not create a bill to change anything, nor did he sponsor any bill that radically changed anything. He refused to vote over 100 times by voting "present". He has said one thing and voted another on things like FISA and Iraq. Obama, has made no accomplishments during his 130 days of senate, compared to Palin's 20 months of being governor."
"I, myself, was and am ecstatic about this choice. Sarah Palin is the perfect choice, as she makes a perfect candidate, and will make a perfect vice president. This is a young lady who has lived by her values, fought corruption and wasteful spending, often when it was her own party doing it. She has fought against her own party when she believed it was best for her state. She is the maverick, much like McCain, that Obama is not. She has the record and experience of bringing change to politics, while Obama only has rhetoric and a few speeches. So the choice is ours to make now, do we want a ticket in the white house that had actually done what they say they will, or someone who has not done so."
Who's going to be taking care of her son, who is suffering from Down Syndrome? Certainly not her. And no, this isn't a "She's a mom, she should make time for her kids" argument, this is a "Her kid has DOWN SYNDROME and needs attention!" argument.
And Spotty, as fabulous as I think your brother's opinions are and do not doubt his experience, I would love to hear your own.
But since we're quoting...
"There is no need to bring up Obama's experience in comparison with Palin, particularly to Hillary supporters. We know that after graduating from Harvard Law School and being editor of the Harvard Law Review, Obama chose executive experience as a community service director over being a Wall Street attorney. He helped the disenfranchised and unemployed with housing and job placement among other deeds of good will. That considerable executive experience is something to be admired in today's economy. Obama then went on to serve in the Illinois State Senate in 1996, 12 years ago, where he supported expanding health care and early childhood education for the poor. While still in office at the statewide level, he spoke eloquently in October 2002 in Chicago's Federal Plaza as an early opponent of the war in Iraq. He noted that a war without clear rationale and without international support would further inflame the Arab world and strengthen recruitment of al Qaeda operatives, a prophecy that came true. [Cinders' note: Believe me, from experience, and speaking with Arabs personally, this is definitely the case.]
McCain's choice of Palin for VP is a demonstration of his lack of judgment in his first opportunity as a presidential nominee. This decision is in clear contrast to the solid judgment shown by Obama in his choice of the well-equipped Joe Bide for his VP. Women who supported Hillary are largely mature and professional and remember how hard we have worked to achieve our rights. We want affordable healthcare for every American. We want job opportunities that include alternative energy development and reduction on foreign oil. We want fulfillment of the American dream of owning one's home. We want to bring our soldiers home from an ill-advised war, and retention of the rights our Constitution guarantees."
"The McCain campaign boasts of her pork-cutting, but up close it looks more like a trim. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. She boasts of rejecting plans to build the notorious "Bridge to Nowhere," a $389 million bridge to an island with 50 residents. But only after she said yes did she say no, rejecting the locally-popular project after it was ridiculed and Congress cut some of the funds. She hung onto $27 million to build the approach road to the bridge."
After watching her interview I was mortified by her lack of knowledge on the most basic of a question. She didn't know what the Bush Doctrine is! I've been a reluctant supporter of Obama but that Palin interview just changed me into an enthusiastic one!
as much as Palin scares the bejeezus out of me, i think it was a genius choice on McCain's part. if we're speaking simply in terms of winning votes, you couldn't ask for a better Republican candidate. i have trouble believing this woman actually exists! i mean, come on, she's a gun-slinging, bible-toting, moose-killing, middle-American hottie with a son in Iraq, a pregnant teen-aged daughter who's practically the Pro-life poster child, and a Down Syndrome baby!! SERIOUSLY!?
