Some interesting thoughts on Sarah Palin and John McCain from the newspapers, as she gets ready to give her vice-presidential acceptance speech.
From The San Francisco Chronicle:
The more we learn about Sarah Palin, the Alaskan governor John McCain has tapped as his running mate, the more we wonder about the presumptive GOP nominee’s judgment.
The revelations of the past few days suggest that McCain’s campaign did not sufficiently scrutinize her background before making the surprising pick. Otherwise, it’s hard to imagine that the campaign would allow her to trumpet her opposition to the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” public-works boondoggle as evidence of her reformer credentials – when she supported the project when she was running for governor.
After just the first few days of vetting from the press, here’s what we’ve learned about the 44-year-old Palin: That while it is hard to find solid statements from her on foreign policy, economics or national security, it is easy to find her yet-to-be-explained connection with the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party. She obtained her first passport just last year. She claims to be an energy expert, but she started her campaign by denying the existence of human-caused global warming. Her views on abortion, sex education and gay rights are to the right of the mainstream – which has, apparently, had its intended effect of exciting social conservatives who were heretofore ambivalent about McCain.
Palin is under investigation for ethics violations in connection with allegations that she may tried to get her former brother-in-law fired from his job as a state trooper.
Was McCain so keen to reclaim his “maverick” image that he decided it would be worth the risk of bringing on an unknown who he had only met once? And in a race where McCain’s age has been an issue – he once said he would be sure to pick a vice president who would be ready to lead from the moment he steps into office – does he really expect Americans to be comforted by Palin’s readiness?
Does he even care? Eugene Robinson, in The Washington Post, offers an answer:
We learned last week that John McCain is not who he is — not, at least, who he claims to be. The steady, straight-talking, country-first statesman his campaign has been selling is a fictional character. The real McCain is either alarmingly cynical or dangerously reckless.
You will recall that McCain gave the same prime criterion for choosing a running mate that every presidential candidate gives: someone who is ready to step in as president if, heaven forbid, the need arises. Barack Obama echoed those words before picking Joe Biden, who is about as prepared as a vice presidential candidate could ever be.
You will also recall that McCain and his supporters have been lecturing us about the grave and urgent dangers our country faces — Islamic fundamentalism, the resurgence of Russia and other geopolitical threats. In a menacing world, McCain says, he will keep America safe.
So, at 72 and with a history of cancer, how could McCain choose a vice presidential nominee who has, let’s face it, zero experience in foreign affairs? Being the nominal commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard doesn’t count, unless you think Vladimir Putin is about to order an invasion across the Bering Strait.
At a time when the nation also confronts enormous challenges at home, Palin has, um, slightly more than zero experience in domestic affairs. The reason most people move to Alaska is that it’s different from the rest of the country. Salmon fishing and snowmobile racing are not front-page news in Ohio, Pennsylvania or Florida.
McCain’s political calculation in choosing Palin is obvious. Social conservatives, who had been unexcited by his candidacy, are ecstatic that he has picked a running mate who staunchly opposes abortion, favors the teaching of “intelligent design” in the public schools and generally embraces the agenda of the religious right.
I have my doubts about the other objective of McCain’s gambit: to win the votes of blue-collar women who supported Hillary Clinton. For one thing, these voters disagree sharply with Palin on most of the issues. For another, initial indications are that many women were insulted at the notion that they would automatically swoon over any candidate who happened to have two “X” chromosomes. Republicans tend to have a comically simplistic view of how “identity politics” works. They should recall how African Americans reacted when Clarence Thomas was named to the Supreme Court.
Whatever the political impact, so much for the John McCain we thought we knew. In choosing Palin, he cynically did the kind of thing that his party is always accusing Democrats of doing: He selected a running mate based on her potential ability to appeal to targeted segments of the electorate rather than for her honestly assessed ability to lead the nation should the occasion arise.
The other thing we learned about McCain is that he is willing to take an enormous gamble based on limited information. He only met Palin once before summoning her for a final interview. He realized he needed to shake up the presidential race, and that’s what he did. But we are reminded, if we did not realize it before, that the three things not to expect from a McCain presidency are caution, prudence and a willingness to always put the nation’s interests above his own.
From E.J. Dionne Jr., in The Washington Post:
Conservatives have complained that we barely know Obama. This is nonsense.
Obama has been put through the journalistic wringer since he entered the public
spotlight four years ago. We have been given fewer than 70 days to get to know
Palin.
The New York Times offers this:
Mr. McCain’s supporters are valiantly trying to argue that the selection was a bold stroke that shows their candidate is a risk-taking maverick who — we can believe — will change Washington. (Mr. Obama’s call for change — now “the change we need” — has become all the rage in St. Paul.)
To us, it says the opposite. Mr. McCain’s snap choice of Ms. Palin reflects his impulsive streak: a wild play that he made after conservative activists warned him that he would face an all-out revolt in the party if he chose who he really wanted — Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.
And, the paper added,
For Mr. McCain to go on claiming that Mr. Obama has too little experience to be president after almost four years in the United States Senate is laughable now that he has announced that someone with no national or foreign policy experience is qualified to replace him, if necessary.
But it is this closing statement that really sums it up:
To address those many problems, this country needs a leader with sound judgment and strong leadership skills. Choosing Ms. Palin raises serious questions about Mr. McCain’s qualifications.
Hank Kalet 