Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place

Do I hear “uninspired?”  Do I hear “desperate?”  Do I hear “Who?”

There are a few things we can say for certain about Sarah Palin’s role on the Republican ticket: Alaska’s a lock; former beauty queens, a lock; bear hunters, a lock; NRA members, a lock; social conservatives, a lock.  Only problem is McCain had all those constituencies locked in previously.

Here’s the desperation element of this nomination: Palin, in her “maiden” speech appealed to Hillary Clinton’s supporters to move on over to her side to help her break that “glass ceiling:”

“Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America, but it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all…”

Who is she kidding?  Does she think Hillary’s supporters will be suckered into voting for a Republican ornament?  That’s all that Palin will be.  After the past campaign we all know Hillary (though all of us may not be friends of hers) and believe me Sarah, you’re no Hillary.

Or to quote the N.Y. Times:

It was far from clear…whether adding a woman to the ticket would persuade Clinton supporters to come over to the Republicans, given Ms. Palin’s differences with Mrs. Clinton on issues from abortion rights to her positions on health care and climate change. Some women said that the pick could be seen as patronizing…

My wife made an interesting observation–given that John McCain seems drawn to ex-beauty queens (like his second wife, Cindy) reporters should’ve realized Palin would be on the short list.  But the question is: is he taking Palin on a date or is he picking her to be a potential president?  I think he may’ve gotten the two confused.  I can’t imagine that Cindy is terribly happy with John picking an attractive woman as his running mate considering his record going back several decades as a womanizer.

I think Palin’s choice should forever put to rest the charge that Barack Obama has a thin resume.  Palin has been governor of Alaska for less than two years.  Before that, she was mayor of a small-town suburb of Anchorage.  Shouldn’t be a problem for her to hop right into that chair in the Oval Office should she ever need to do so.  Or as the N.Y. Times put it:

Democrats and at least some shocked Republicans questioned the judgment of Mr. McCain, who has said repeatedly on the campaign trail that his running mate should have the qualifications to immediately step into the role of commander in chief.

Republicans are quick to retort that she’s running for vice-president, not president.  But they should remember this:

Mr. McCain’s words on the matter have had more than usual resonance this year because of his age — he turned 72 on Friday, and hopes to be the oldest person ever elected to a first term — and his history with skin cancer.

This passage also reveals the Republicans appear to be in a state of denial about Palin’s qualifications:

Mr. McCain’s advisers said Friday that Mr. McCain was well aware that Ms. Palin would be criticized for her lack of foreign policy experience…

How about for her lack of EXPERIENCE, period?!  The only issues this woman has experience dealing with are ones affecting Alaska.  She knows a little about environmental issues, a little about Native American affairs.  That should take her far in national government.  The Times even infers that until she went to visit Alaska National Guard troops in Kuwait she’d never previously left the country as she had no passport.

Palin reportedly refers to her husband as the “First Dude.”  Let her try that on McCain and see how far that gets her.

Another point my wife brings up is that Palin has a four month old special needs baby.  Keep in mind this is a candidate embracing the family values espoused by evangelical Christians and social conservatives.  I think it’s great for women to be mothers with careers.  But to campaign non-stop for the next four months in which she’s likely to see very little of any of her five children, seems slightly contradictory to these values.

But whatever qualms I may have are more than assuaged by this boosterism from the Republican Jewish Coalition:

“As governor of Alaska, Palin has enjoyed a strong working relationship with Alaska’s Jewish community.

All 6,000 of them.  That settles it.  Anyone who’s given a heksher by a few thousand Alaskan Jews must be ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Oh, and I think Palin’s going to have a little problem in the gravitas department given this dingbat comment:

As recently as last month, Ms. Palin appeared to dismiss the importance of the vice presidency in an interview with Larry Kudlow of CNBC, who asked her about her prospects for the job.

“I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day?” Ms. Palin told Mr. Kudlow. “I’m used to being very productive and working real hard.”

Vice-presidents work hard?  Nah.  Probably less hard than the mayor of Wasila, Alaska.

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Tags: first dude, republican vice presidential candidate, sarah palin

This entry was posted on Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 10:44 PM and is filed under Mideast Peace. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.