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Palin: Ready for prime time
Submitted by Kevin Richert on Thu, 09/04/2008 - 10:03am.
I guess voters will continue to debate whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is ready for the Oval Office.
But there's no debating whether she's ready for prime time.
The GOP vice presidential nominee — a Sandpoint native and University of Idaho graduate — delivered a ripping speech at Wednesday night's Republican convention. I'm not sure how much a v.p. nominee's speech can change the dynamics of a close presidential race, but this one has some potential to resonate.
I don't usually dabble in national politics, but I'll cite Palin's Idaho ties and offer a quick take:
• No surprise, but Palin's pointed wisecracks about the Democratic ticket scored big with an Obama-weary GOP crowd. And I suspect they were delivered with just enough humor that they will go over OK with undecided or middle-of-the-road voters.
It's probably my snarky nature, but I had no problem with an edgy speech that jabbed at Democratic nominee Barack Obama's resume and his political rock-star status. Although Republicans should be careful what they wish for; on Wednesday night, Sarah Palin became the GOP's new political rock star, with all the pitfalls that come with it.
• What we saw of Palin's political and personal resume has some appeal, as well. Her executive branch experience, while limited, at least allows her to present herself as someone who has had to set a budget. Her knowledge of oil- and gas-rich Alaska is certainly no liability at a convention where "Drill, Baby, Drill" has become a crowd chant, and it might play with some frustrated voting motorists too. Her life experience as the mother of a soon-to-be soldier also will have some appeal.
• Handed a rare opportunity — the one-time chance to introduce herself to millions of Americans in a high-stakes televised speech — she came across as a genuine person with a genuine personality. She managed to tap into some of that fresh-faced newness that Obama has played to full advantage.
Palin is still going to have to make the case that she has the command of the issues that come with the vice presidency. I didn't hear that Wednesday night, and wouldn't have been realistic to expect it. This speech was Palin's chance to present herself to America and fire up the faithful, and she aced it on both counts.
Palin herself said the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick. This presidential race has a little bit of pit bull in the mix now — and will be more interesting for it.
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Ready for prime time
Some good points KR.
I think the truth is that none of us are ready. I suspect that years in the Senate (McCain and Biden) is probably the best training ground.
But that will seldom give us any new direction. So the pool then goes to governors and CEO's.
Even as an "R" I agree that Biden is more "ready" to step in on Day 2, than Palin....but I'm betting we don't need a Day 2 player.
If Palin, or any VP selection is bright, and grounded in the core beliefs of their party - then they GET ready.
What Sarah Palin will learn in the next 60 days about internation affairs, etc., will be incredible. I would love to have that education.
Should she and McCain win, there will be another 60 days of intense prep before taking office, and unless McCain goes down on day one, she will learn every day in the VP seat.
While far more important than football - this plays out all the time. Some teams draft a talented rookie and plan to use him as the starter and mentor him with a veteran QB (Obama-Biden). Some teams draft a rookie and play them behind their starter (McCain-Palin).
Depending on our politics the question is not "Is/are Obama or Palin ready?" The question is will he/she be ready?
Best Preparation For President?
While mtomlin makes a good point that years in the Senate are a good way to prepare for the Presidency, we've seen that Senators rarely get elected to the Presidency; Governor seems to be the preferred path. (The President we elect this year will be the first Senator to move to the White House since JFK.) That being said, I think that the best actual preparation would be one of the big cabinet posts -- Secretary of State, Defense, or the Treasury; that's where you learn to run the Executive Branch of the federal government. All in all, the person with the best resumes for the White House when elected President or Vice President recently have been Richard Nixon and Dick Cheney -- and we've seen how those guys turned out.
Of course...
Somehow I overlooked appointed offices - and Secretary of State may be the very best prep ground. Thanks BH for filling out the list.
Forgot One Well-Prepared President
Somehow, I forgot the first President Bush; he was probably the best-prepared guy in a long time, and he couldn't win re-election.
Not persuasive
It is incorrect to think that an unknown like Palin can make a persuasive case against Obama because most people have made up their minds about Obama. Pailn has no standing wih the people to make the argument against Obama. In fact, Palin's snark may well be off-putting. Only McCain can make the case against Obama, if there is a case to be made.
Standing?
"Pailn (sic) has no standing wih the people to make the argument against Obama."
I am not quite sure how to take this. Do we now need "standing" to make a political argument? How does one get this "standing." Doesn't it come with citizenship? Or have we truly formalized a ruling class?
Speak for yourself not the people
Not sure what you mean by standing she has as much standing as anybody. For me it is more than refreshing to see someone run for a high office that is not a millionare or a Kennedy or Bush family member or if Hillary doesnt make it will Chelsea be the next in the Clinton family to run. How she does remains to be seen in November but at last we have someone who buys their own groceries and pumps their own gasoline.She is closer to understanding my families problems than some Jet setting millionare who lives in a walled compound,Ala John Kerry,John Edwards, George Bush Sr or the Kennedys. The press has annointed the ruling class already and attacks anyone who doesnt meet their credentials or think like them. No wonder they are having a cow over Mrs Palin. Put a small d after her name instead of a r and they would be orgasmic over her.
Energy!
One thing I hope she pulls out in the future is to promote a national energy CONSERVATION mantra along with the Drill Baby Drill chanting. She is the perfect person to do promote such an agenda.
Sarah is impressive
I was favorably impressed. There are many answers to retrieve from her yet, not least of all her comment about rejecting Congress's "bridge to nowhere." If reporters do not, Joe Biden will dig at that. Initially, though, she is very likable. Her "attacks" are well stated without getting bloody. It should help make the red ticket more palatable if not more entertaining.
MainStreetIdaho
Still
A long way to go on vetting her. Since she came out swinging McCain's campaign needs to allow full access to her instead of insisting the media back off as they have in the last couple days. There are significant questions regarding her qualifications, experience, ties to the very corrupt party in Alaska and their ties to big oil, her own ethics scandal, and her right wing beliefs, like teaching creationism in school.
America has had over a year to evaluate the other candidates. That's a lot of ground to cover in two months.
Why all the emphasis on foreign policy experience?
For all Biden's experience, how's that working for us so far? It seems that we have a plethora of experts that can feed information to the top. I desperately want a president , and vice-president that will take the information provided and decide a course of action that is best for this country! She seems very capable of making that decision TODAY!!
Yeah, she could make the decision today, Cy,
but not without an accompanying scandal or "questions".
If she wanted to deal with foreign affairs...
She could rendezvous in Kamloops, BC with a bunch of HOCKEY PLAYERS.
Not comfortable with what I am learning about Palin
Now that information about Sarah Palin comes to the top I am not liking what I am reading. Yes, she is an exciting candidate and I do enjoy exciting campaigns. When it comes down to the quiet moment in the voting booth, though, I can only hope I am voting for the best candidate not necessarily the cutest and slickest at the podium.
MainStreetIdaho
Don't Worry...
the Republican base still isn't capable of voting for a woman for VP. The men still think their wives / women should stay at home, birth babies and run day care centers for pre-kindergarten kids. The women believe the same. They aren't ready for a woman VP.
She should take crash course in Chicago"community organizing'.
That'd make Palin an expert in foreign affairs like Hussein,huh.Is Ron Ayers going to be Hussein's sec of state,if elected? Ooops,I forgot,Ayers is a "typical white person".Watta joke.
Sarah Baracouldn't
Ya she's cute. Ya she reads well. But as the facts come out we'll see just what kind of fish we have here.
Hmmm, Wasilla budget increased over 60% under her.
Hmmm, she raised taxes and left the town $18,000,000 in debt.
Hmmm, she hired Ted Stevens' ex chief of staff to lobby for earmarked pork.
Hmmm, she wanted to ban books from the library but was rejected by the public (probably some nasty community organizer).
Hmmm, she fired the boss of the State Troopers because he wouldn't fire her brother in law during a nasty divorce. The man she hired to replace him turned out to have a history of sexual harrassment and was let go after two weeks with a $10,000 tin parachute.
Hmmm, she wasn't very interested in Iraq until her boy was going to go there.
Oh, ya, she's fit to be the leader of the free world. She's the best they could find? It's not funny, it's sad.
Balushi overdosed.
Budget experience?
In her 20 months of experience as Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin has chosen not to introduce a budget proposal to the Alaska Legislature. Instead, she has relied upon the unique line-item veto power granted to Alaska's top executive. As mayor of Wasilla, a city of 5,000 during her tenure, she was aided by the appointment of a city administrator. Experience????
Snarky comments
The way sweet Sarah snarks about Obama's community service is disgusting. That was his first job out of college, and he helped hundreds, if not thousands, of people find their way out of hopelesness. Then he got a law degree from Harvard. Isn't that a little better than a journalism degree from the UofI. Give me a break! How many people has sweet Sarah helped since she graduated from college? When mayor, she fired the town's librarian because that person wouldn't censor books in the library. Remember how hard it was to get books censored in Nampa's library?
Now the polls show McCain ahead of Obama (by 1 point), and he has sweet Sarah to thank for that. He couldn't do it himself. She's a pitbull in lipstick alright, and McCain used her to take the bounce out of what Obama would have received from the convention had McSame waited until, say, Sunday to announce, not the following day after the DNC. But I have to give her credit, she made everyone, including McCain, believe she sold the former governor's jet on e-bay. It wasn't - she had to sell it through a broker. She knows how to double-talk like most Republican candidates. If we elect the Palin-McCain ticket, it will be no one's faults but everyone who votes for them.
You know what to do...
Round up folks to become Democrats and don't make a lot of noise. All across the country there have been several grass-roots efforts to recruit voters PERIOD, and the BEST PART is that many of these states will not disclose affiliation numbers!
We have our OWN ACE UP A SLEEVE. It will be used before the hand is folded.
Polls don't mean a thing if you have a doomsday weapon. As Dr. Strangelove taught us, "It isn't much of a doomsday weapon unless everybody knows it is"...
So stop worrying about Flo from Mel's Diner and keep your eye on the sparrow.
Palin: ready for a good caning!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html
Party on Republicans, the keg is nearly dry.