Sarah Palin (R-AK), VICE-PREZ?

[Guest Jcochran88]

After the announcement the media factories have not said anything about Obama's speech. only talking about Palin, to me that is a brilliant strategic move by McCain it's like they already forgot about him.(Obama) thats a win in my book.

[Guest Bronker]

I heard someone point out, as claims of inexperience erupted, that Palin has more executive experience than obama and biden combined...

Pointing out that they are both merely legislators.

They do have a point.

[strickj]

I heard someone point out, as claims of inexperience erupted, that Palin has more executive experience than obama and biden combined...

Pointing out that they are both merely legislators.

They do have a point.

I want to remember seeing something on Glen Beck that said she has around 10 years experience as an elected official

[GLOCKMEISTER]

she probably does all together.

[fury2neon]

I was voting Barr but I support Palin. She is only reason I would even think about voting for the GOP ticket.

[latisimusd]

My wife who's liberal leaning has been reading up on Palin ever since the announcement and is on board - a first in my home!

Also at work, grocery store, gas station, most people fired up about her (not McCain) and future of conservatives.

[Guest Len]

Additional perspective on Gov. Palin:

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/

I can assure those who have commented that Democrats are not scared of this pick, in fact they are giddy with joy over it. Sarah Palin makes Dan Quayle look like a smart choice. There's lots for a Democrat to love about her:

1) Lack of experience. She actually has significantly LESS experience in govt than Obama. Any Republican argument about Obama's supposed lack of experience is now moot. They can't even make the argument anymore -if they do, all Dems have to say is "Sarah Palin." If something happens to McCain, we are left with someone with 20 months experience in a statehouse and someone who was mayor of a town of 10,500 people. Obama has twice the tenure in the US Senate where he represented millions than Palin has as Alaska's governor, representing less than one million.

2) An ardent pro-life woman is not going to garner the GOP one single female vote they otherwise would not have received anyway.

3) Palin provides no help in key swing states that are 4,000 miles from Alaska. (Think Ohio, Florida, New Mexico, Virginia.)

4) Her youth (she is several years younger than Obama) highlights McCain's age.

5) She has baggage. She's currently under investigation in Alaska for abuse of power. The legislative panel that made the recommendation was full of -you guessed it- Republicans.

Yeah, they're really quaking in their boots over at the DNC...

McCain could easily win this election, but it wont be because of his VP pick.

PS. She looks to have been a pretty decent Governor of Alaska over the last couple of years -implementing some reforms in the ultimate good old boy state. But that's not enough.

[fury2neon]

One thing about Palin's experience over Obama's, she actual did something while in office rather than vote 193 time present like Obama did.

She fought corruption rather than support it as Obama has.

Obama has no record and no accomplishments.

He is a community organizer and that is total of his experience.

He has never run a business as Palin has, he has never made an executive desision as Palin has, I think she is a lot more experienced now than Obama would have if he were elected and serves one full term.

And one other note its about time we had someone in the office that was not an Ivy League elitist, after spending that much time around the intelligentsia the Ivy Leaguers seem to loose all common sense.

Edited August 29, 2008 by fury2neon

[Mike.357]

mudflats said

Obama has twice the tenure in the US Senate where he represented millions than Palin has as Alaska's governor, representing less than one million.

Isn't Obama only like 140 some odd working days into his term? And of those working days how many has he actually been there? How many senate votes has Obama actually not participated in?

5) She has baggage.

As opposed to Obamas baggage? I will accept her wanting her ex-bro-inlaw fired. What sister is not going to do this? Obama, well there are lot of questions about his past and current associations with people that are kinda skeevy.

At least she does have a record, Obama is just offering change, whatever he means by that.

C'mon Len, I was a Democrat. you are going to have to do better.

Edited August 29, 2008 by Mike.357

[Guest Bronker]

Additional perspective on Gov. Palin:

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/

I can assure those who have commented that Democrats are not scared of this pick, in fact they are giddy with joy over it. Sarah Palin makes Dan Quayle look like a smart choice. There's lots for a Democrat to love about her:

1) Lack of experience. She actually has significantly LESS experience in govt than Obama. Any Republican argument about Obama's supposed lack of experience is now moot. They can't even make the argument anymore -if they do, all Dems have to say is "Sarah Palin." If something happens to McCain, we are left with someone with 20 months experience in a statehouse and someone who was mayor of a town of 10,500 people. Obama has twice the tenure in the US Senate where he represented millions than Palin has as Alaska's governor, representing less than one million.

2) An ardent pro-life woman is not going to garner the GOP one single female vote they otherwise would not have received anyway.

3) Palin provides no help in key swing states that are 4,000 miles from Alaska. (Think Ohio, Florida, New Mexico, Virginia.)

4) Her youth (she is several years younger than Obama) highlights McCain's age.

5) She has baggage. She's currently under investigation in Alaska for abuse of power. The legislative panel that made the recommendation was full of -you guessed it- Republicans.

Yeah, they're really quaking in their boots over at the DNC...

McCain could easily win this election, but it wont be because of his VP pick.

PS. She looks to have been a pretty decent Governor of Alaska over the last couple of years -implementing some reforms in the ultimate good old boy state. But that's not enough.

I'd expect no less than such credible, unbiased opinion than one derived from a commentary obtained from a source that leads with "mudflats..." If you're going to be an independent thinker, at least practice being either independent, or a thinker.

[TGO David]

1) Lack of experience. She actually has significantly LESS experience in govt than Obama. Any Republican argument about Obama's supposed lack of experience is now moot.

Realllllly. A list of who's who among the Governor to President list in recent history...

1. George W. Bush

2. Bill Clinton

3. Ronald Reagan

4. Jimmy Carter

Obama's tenure as governor... doesn't exist. I would say that Palin has him beat there. Obama's brief stint as a freshman Senator hardly compares to her 10 year service as an elected official.

They can't even make the argument anymore -if they do, all Dems have to say is "Sarah Palin."

I imagine a lot of Dems will be saying "Sarah Palin" in the weeks to come when asked why they are suddenly voting for McCain.

Obama has twice the tenure in the US Senate where he represented millions than Palin has as Alaska's governor, representing less than one million.

Obama's political career started in what is clearly one of the most corrupt state governments in existance today. He is a product of the Daley machine and evidence that the way to the top in Illinois is by stepping on the backs of others.

2) An ardent pro-life woman is not going to garner the GOP one single female vote they otherwise would not have received anyway.

That's a pretty bold statement but let me help you out. It won't garner them very many votes from pro-choice females, but those voters weren't going to consider a GOP candidate anyway. What it will do is attract quite a few female voters who were otherwise on the fence about the issue and who felt abandoned by the DNC after Hillary dropped out of the lead.

3) Palin provides no help in key swing states that are 4,000 miles from Alaska. (Think Ohio, Florida, New Mexico, Virginia.)

Personal opinion and purely subjective. I think she's going to have way more pull than you anticipate.

4) Her youth (she is several years younger than Obama) highlights McCain's age.

Youthful energy and older experience on the same ticket? Sounds like the same sales pitch the Obama-Biden camp is trying to sell. Except our younger candidate is hotter than your younger candidate.

5) She has baggage. She's currently under investigation in Alaska for abuse of power. The legislative panel that made the recommendation was full of -you guessed it- Republicans.

Clarification: The Republicans who are pissed at her are the Republicans that she blew the whistle on for shady politics. She also won against two other Republican candidates when she took the Governership, so I bet she's not especially popular.

Nothing scares nuveau Democrats as much as a person who is willing to come in, kick ass, take names and clean house.

Yeah, they're really quaking in their boots over at the DNC...

I thought ballet slippers were the official footwear of the DNC.

McCain could easily win this election, but it wont be because of his VP pick.

Sour grapes, my friend. If Obama had picked a younger, hotter running mate you wouldn't be singing this tune.

PS. She looks to have been a pretty decent Governor of Alaska over the last couple of years -implementing some reforms in the ultimate good old boy state. But that's not enough.

She's a member of the NRA. Where's your school spirit, Len?

[latisimusd]

Like I said I have one democrat in the house and she's now in the Palin camp.

I only know what I know and only see and hear what I see/hear - should be a "very interesting" election period.

Safe, long, & happy Labor day to all!

[Guest GUTTERbOY]

Obama's tenure as governor... doesn't exist. I would say that Palin has him beat there. Obama's brief stint as a freshman Senator hardly compares to her 10 year service as an elected official.

Interesting that you compare Obama's current position to Palin's entire career. Turns out that Obama's got about ten years or so as an elected official as well.

Speaking personally, I care less about experience than I do opinions. "Experience" in and of itself is a fleeting term, subject to different interpretation by anyone. There are lots of kinds of experience- legislative, executive, business, military, general leadership... and you can bet that 99% of the time, when someone refers to experience in this campaign, they're going to interpret it in the best possible way for the person the like and the worst possible way for the other.

For that matter, if we are going to talk about experience, I care much less about units of time tha I do about achievements. Palin seems to have a pretty good track record of taking on challenges and succeeding, as well as sacrificing her own salary and such for the good of the state.

Anyway, carry on.

[Shima]

I'm still waiting to see all the Obama accomplishments. Keep your change!!!

[NuTcAsE]

I'm still waiting to see all the Obama accomplishments. Keep your change!!!

Me too! At least it someone in Gov. Palins house actually has a REAL JOB. As for the "Hope & Change", I'm afraid We're gonna "HOPE" we have a little "CHANGE" left when he gets through!

[Guest unreconstructed1]

As for the "Hope & Change", I'm afraid We're gonna "HOPE" we have a little "CHANGE" left when he gets through!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBqiee2RM60[/ame]

[fury2neon]

Change, Change, does anyone have any change?

[Warbird]

Len that site can say what it wants. It's pretty funny. Obama still has no experience and people will look at the pres candidates not the VP. It's why Biden adds little, and he actually has as many negatives as Palin. She does have management experience which bama has none at all, zero. Not even as a managing partner of a law firm when he practiced. He is a 1st term senator who has missed over half of the votes he was supposed to make representing his so called millions of citizens. She actually stood up to a corrupt and in her own party and dismantled a political machine of many years. She has guts. Compare apples to apples, experience is on the table still as one would go to the WH and one could go.

And let me tell you this so called cprruption stuff is bunk. This is coming from hold overs of those who had all the power before. She told themn to bring it on she has nothing to hide and that is what they will find. Of course it came from republicans, the old good old boys who want her gone so they can take back over.

She will win far more votes from womenh than Biden will ever give Obama. It kills me when these talking heads have no ability to be objective in the least bit. Most of the time they are so wrong in their spin its unreal. It is already coming back to haunt though, this attitude will only get them isolated fomr the mid section of the country and the elitist crap so often expected of modern liberals. How dare this hick come from the back country and expect to play the game with the ivy league elite.

Come on already. Even her husband will help her pull in union votes from private industry union members.

Oh and Len let me assure you of thise, the dems are nervous with this pick. I talked to several today after the announcement. For one thing they counted on a 12-15 pt jump this week and didnt get it. I told them last week that was absurdly high but they disagreed. Now this comes out today. They are nervous as even if things seemed all rosy at the end of the convention it wasnt. No they were concerned and now they are very concerned.

The moron who wrote that piece has zero political instinct. Probably was a low level staff or volunteer on campaigns yrs ago and thinks they know something.

[Guest db99wj]

This is one thing that I said wow about her.

from wikipedia

Governor Murkowski appointed Palin Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission,[17] where she served from 2003 to 2004 until resigning in protest over what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Alaskan Republican leaders, who ignored her whistleblowing complaints of legal violations and conflicts of interest.[18][3] After she resigned, she exposed the state Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, one of her fellow Oil & Gas commissioners, who was accused of doing work for the party on public time, and supplying a lobbyist with a sensitive e-mail.[19] Palin filed formal complaints against both Ruedrich and former Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes, who both resigned; Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine.[3]

Another thing is her decision and her experience with her son that was born in April with Downs Syndrome. Just her strength, her attitude, deserves the utmost respect and admiration. You might not agree, but I do, because, my son who was born in October last year, 10 months old, had the chromosome test and showed signs that he could possibly have downs. It was only a slight chance, we went through tests, but never knew for sure until he was born. He was born healthy, without downs, but we had already decided that if he had downs or not, he was still going to be loved and cared for, no matter what.

[Warbird]

Interesting that you compare Obama's current position to Palin's entire career. Turns out that Obama's got about ten years or so as an elected official as well.

Speaking personally, I care less about experience than I do opinions. "Experience" in and of itself is a fleeting term, subject to different interpretation by anyone. There are lots of kinds of experience- legislative, executive, business, military, general leadership... and you can bet that 99% of the time, when someone refers to experience in this campaign, they're going to interpret it in the best possible way for the person the like and the worst possible way for the other.

For that matter, if we are going to talk about experience, I care much less about units of time tha I do about achievements. Palin seems to have a pretty good track record of taking on challenges and succeeding, as well as sacrificing her own salary and such for the good of the state.

Anyway, carry on.

LMAO. OK experience for Obama was a short stint as a state senator, where he accomplished very little and did the bidding of the machine. He has never managed anything or anyone. And now he has been a US Senator for less than one term where he has missed most of his voteds and accomplished nothing but running for pres since the day he got there. He has never put himself and his career on the line to stand up for anything!!!

Compare that to Palin who was a mayor of a town, with a staff and budget and a state commissioner and a governor of one of the most wealthy per capita states in the US, where she accomplished many things. She had the guts to put her career on the line for what was right and she has good political principles. She does what she says, she slashed spending, ended boondoggle projects which got fat cats money and gave back tax money.

Yeah you want to compare Palin and Obama on experience thats OK, but she is the pick for VP not Pres. That's the hilarity of it all. Now compare McCain to Obama. Laughable. This isnt about Palin and Obama, but her limited experience makes no less sense than Obama.

And with Palin you will have her runing for what she believes. Obama has to shroud what he believes and his work in public serfvice and office because his record as a far leftist way way outsside of the American norm is simply not pallatable. LMAO..

[Guest unreconstructed1]

I was voting Barr but I support Palin. She is only reason I would even think about voting for the GOP ticket.

I believe that you and I may be in the same boat fury...

[Guest Linoge]

FOXNEWS CONFIRMS PALIN IS THE PICK!!!!!!!!!

FINALLY THEY MAKE A SMART MOVE!!!!!!!!!

Not a McCain fan per se, but a HUGE Palin fan... Read her bio...you will be too!!!!

W00t. And seconded. And all that. Now, at least, I will not be beating my head against the voting booth wall quite as hard when I vote for McCain.

[Guest GUTTERbOY]

LMAO. OK experience for Obama was a short stint as a state senator, where he accomplished very little and did the bidding of the machine. He has never managed anything or anyone. And now he has been a US Senator for less than one term where he has missed most of his voteds and accomplished nothing but running for pres since the day he got there. He has never put himself and his career on the line to stand up for anything!!!

Compare that to Palin who was a mayor of a town, with a staff and budget and a state commissioner and a governor of one of the most wealthy per capita states in the US, where she accomplished many things. She had the guts to put her career on the line for what was right and she has good political principles. She does what she says, she slashed spending, ended boondoggle projects which got fat cats money and gave back tax money.

Yeah you want to compare Palin and Obama on experience thats OK, but she is the pick for VP not Pres. That's the hilarity of it all. Now compare McCain to Obama. Laughable. This isnt about Palin and Obama, but her limited experience makes no less sense than Obama.

And with Palin you will have her runing for what she believes. Obama has to shroud what he believes and his work in public serfvice and office because his record as a far leftist way way outsside of the American norm is simply not pallatable. LMAO..

Sounds like you agree with me, in that time in office is essentially meaningless compared to what a person actually did in office.

[Warbird]

Sounds like you agree with me, in that time in office is essentially meaningless compared to what a person actually did in office.

Yes, I think time in office is often overrated. Or the type of time in office. Being a US Senator for 3 yrs doesn't equate to being a gov for 2. However, if someone had been a successful businessman for years, running companies or a company and been a US Senator for two, then they have previous mgt to fall back on. The job of a legislator especially the senate is far less than that of a governor. That's why I laugh my a(^ off all day at these Obama minions talking about her lack of experience when he has even less.

Heck Eisenhower was never in office before, but we knew and in a public way, that he knew how to manage and lead and delegate.

[Guest GUTTERbOY]

I keep reading folks just piling on her about the lack of experience, and I think it just proves my point- that when it comes to rhetoric like this, the term is a nebulous one whose exact definition is ever fluid. I guess it's easy to call her less experienced than Obama when you carefully craft your definition of experience to include legislative service, but not executive office time.

I just read where someone was saying how Palin will get eaten alive in a debate with Biden. The clip posted earlier of her on Glenn Beck shows me that she's coherent and well-spoken, and I hope like hell she disassembles Biden in front of the nation.

I'm actually looking forward to the debates, especially with the veep candidates.