No way this ends well for one person -- Sarah Palin. Bill Mahar said it well last night -- "She goes from being Mayor Whastit, population 7000 to Governor of Alaska, population San Bernardino." I'm not entirely sure about how I feel on this one, and the whole qualifications thing. Just looking at the Republican side, who was more prepared, Bush or Reagan? Who was the more effective President? However, this pick is odd on so many levels -- I'm just a dumb Irish guy from upstate New York who had to join the Army to get his first pair of shoes, but what the hell? Was it about pandering to women? Gail Collins doesn't think so. Much...
It is conceivable that some people will think John McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate because she is a woman. I know you find this shocking, but I swear I have heard it mentioned.McCain does not believe in pandering to identity politics. He was looking for someone who was well prepared to fight against international Islamic extremism, the transcendent issue of our time. And in the end he decided that in good conscience, he was not going to settle for anyone who had not been commander of a state national guard for at least a year and a half. He put down his foot.
I'm not sure what the hell this is all about -- since she's red meat for the base, what with the intelligent design mandated in Alaskan Zoos, drilling for oil any place any time any how, being pro-life (and in her case, living it herself with her own family, which is a fuckofalot more meaningful than most babbling on the subject by both sides), pro-gun, pro-global warming, pro-third rate education through home schooling and so on, good chance she's was selected as an ideological soulmate...for Tancredo or Brownback. At least when she does the requisite hunting photo, she's look natural and probably drop a fucking elk with one shot. And, to steal a line from an old biker joke, she can probably suck start his snow mobile...
Crusader AXE has never been sure about the whole Washington Insider-Outside nonsense. Make Barney Frank VP, and he'd probably get a lot more done in so far as the VP gets things done. Collins points out that MacDemenia has never thought highly of the position, so maybe this is a bone both to the base who still aren't sure about him, and to all the little ladies out there. I just think it's an example of silliness and cognitive dissonance. I envision her huddled in the basement of the Naval Observatory, freaked out by all the crap coming at her. Is she capable of learning the job? Sure. Is she capable of putting up with the noise, the congestion, the nonsense, presiding over the Senate which is her only constitutional job, the travel, the demands on her family from the First Dude through the kids Dee, Dweezy, Dose, Dip and Track? Does she really want to? Probably not. Frankly, I see this as a continuation of McCain's somewhat disjointed approach to everything -- maybe he's dreaming of some hot woman on woman action with Sarah and Cindy while he and the first dude go trap shooting or something?
As for her, well, I think I'd probably enjoy having coffee with her and the First Dude. She's a lot more authentic a human being than what we're used to. I don't know if she violated her oath of office when she fired the cop who wouldn't fire her brother in law after he tasered his 11 year old daughter. But if she did, have her pay a five-dollar fine for littering and give her the Medal of Freedom. I seem to recall that McCain's concerns about domestic violence really were more along the lines concern for the lasting impact on the perp's career. Joe Biden pushed it. So, maybe Sarah should run as Veep with Biden.
Frankly, the worst thing that could happen to this woman is to win. I'm pretty sure she'd find the experience about like this one, only without the company of Hugh Laurie and John Malkovich.
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