Palin has probably robbed McCain of the presidency
Dear Sarah Palin,
I don’t know how you do it. I really don’t know how you do it. Everytime I have seen you on TV or read about you in the papers, ever since your speech at the Republican convention, I put my head in my hands. To this day, I have no idea how anyone can honestly take a look at your performance as the Republican VP candidate and say hand-on-heart that you should be helping to run America. I even read today that, despite all your gaffes, mistakes and deceit, some complete lunatics think you should be the Republican presidential candidate in 2012. I think your latest fumbles are worth exploring in more detail, if only to demonstrate how much damage you have done.
At a time of economic difficulties, in which thousands of Americans have lost their jobs and their homes, I would have thought that you and John McCain would be using up every last ounce of energy to show the voters that you have the judgement and the character necessary to lead America through these tough times. I was wrong – oh so very wrong. It has emerged today that not only are independent and undecided voters turning against you, but it was also revealed that the Republican Party has blown $150,000 (£92,000) on your wardrobe since you became McCain’s running-mate. The defence mounted by your party of this appalling lack of judgement was for your spokeswoman to say: “With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it’s remarkable that we’re spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses. It was always the intent that the clothing goes to a charitable purpose after the campaign.” This was presumably meant to placate the American public – “yes, my fellow Americans, I will spend $2,500 every single day making myself look good (including almost $5,000 on makeup) while your homes and jobs disappear, but that’s ok because I’ll give my clothes to charity afterwards.” I don’t know what astonishes me more – the audacity of your campaign to use such an excuse or the fact that a single voter could forgive such behaviour.
I am delighted that the latest NBC poll shows that for the first time, you have a net negative favourability rating among voters and 55% of those questioned don’t think you are qualified to serve as president should anything happen to the ageing McCain. Your lack of experience emerged as the biggest single concern voters have about the McCain ticket, which just goes to show what a terrible choice of VP you were. I remember how some sections of the media turned on Obama when he appointed Biden as his VP because it was such a safe choice, but to me this always made sense. Biden has not stolen the limelight from Obama, Biden’s experience in foreign policy compliments Obama’s determination to focus on domestic policies, Biden is a very solid campaigner, Biden is respected by both parties. What about you? You have stolen the limelight from McCain, you have no experience, your campaigning and media appearances have been dreadful, you are not respected by voters or (as far as I can tell) by other elected representatives. Just yesterday, you re-entered ‘Gaffe City’ when you told an 8-year-old boy called Brandon on a Colorado television station that the VP runs the US Senate, when in fact the VP is merely is on hand to settle a tie-break vote in the Senate. You even went on to say that the VP is “in charge of the United States Senate, so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom.” This comes on the back of having to apologise for comments made on CNN on Tuesday when you implied that some parts of the US are more “American” than others.
Every time I see one of your embarrassing interviews on TV or read about your latest howler, I always ask myself the same question - where’s Biden? And every time, I have the same answer – nowhere. And that’s precisely where he should be. Biden has kept campaigning, along with other big names such as the Clintons, but not once throughout the entire presidential battle has Biden got in the way or deflected attention from Obama. Personally, I think McCain is still in with a shout next month, but regardless of what happens I will be able to say with enormous confidence that you have been an awful VP – and if McCain loses, you will undoubtedly have played a part in his defeat.
Yours sincerely,
A.Tory
Witanagemot Blogs
“Biden has not stolen the limelight from Obama…”
Except in gaffes…
“I always ask myself the same question – where’s Biden? And every time, I have the same answer – nowhere. “
Well, that’s because after his latest episode of foot-in-mouth, he was put ‘on hold’ by his handlers…
“you told an 8-year-old boy called Brandon on a Colorado television station that the VP runs the US Senate “
The VP presides over the senate, her explanation was a reasonably succinct simplification of the role when addressing an 8 year old.
Unlike Joe Biden who doesn’t appear to understand what the Veep does and declared in the debate that the constitution defines the role as being in the executive not the legislature when in fact the constitution says the precise opposite.
The think is, Julia, everyone was well aware how gaffe-prone he was before he was chosen. He’s done it so often over the past few, well, decades, it’s not news. The Democrats weighed up the harm he could possibly do for the ticket against the positives. He’s very well liked amongst the ‘blue-collar’ demographic (a demographic that was more in favour of Clinton than Obama), and he has the appearance of foreign policy experience that Obama doesn’t. Plus, he isn’t likely to ever actually run for president so the gaffes don’t matter as much, but even if something did happen to Obama should he be elected, he’s not viewed by most voters as a particularly bad choice to take over.
Now, contrast this with Sarah Palin. Again, she was chosen to shore up McCain’s popularity with a demographic he was having trouble with, but as she’s a new face people didn’t expect her to come out with the howlers she has. As A. Tory points out, she had a disastrous approval rating, with many Americans viewing with dread the possibility she could succeed to the Presidency. If we consider McCain’s age, there’s a significant probability he may not live out a full term. And unlike Biden, there’s every chance she will one day run for presidency.
Maybe it’s just a case of bad luck. In another election year, the tactic would have favoured the Republican ticket, and there’s still time for Biden to blurt out a game-changer. But as it stands her nomination is likely to be viewed as a tactical disaster.
“…he has the appearance of foreign policy experience that Obama doesn’t”
A telling choice of words there…;)
But I shouldn’t be surprised at the DEm’s cynical calculation – for their target audience, appearances (like feelings), are everything.
“people didn’t expect her to come out with the howlers she has”
But as Ross points out, those ‘howlers’ (on closer inspection) don’t always turn out to be howlers. The problem is, the MSM is so far in the bag for the Obama/Biden ticket that things they criticise the Republicans for (non-availability to the press being a glaring example) are overlooked on the Dem side.
And whichever side you root for, that’s bad news…
Academic proof of media bias http://journalism.org/node/13307
To be honest, I’m not convinced by the foreign policy experience of any of the four. But Biden certainly has a strong background as Chairman and long-time member of their Foreign Relations Committee. I don’t know a lot about his actual experience, and what I do know about some of standpoints on foreign policy I personally find questionable, so phrased the sentence accordingly.
Of course, my opinion is utterly irrelevant here. Biden appears to have the experience, Palin appears to be able to see Russia from her house. In this election, how these things appear may turn out to be the whole game.
“But I shouldn’t be surprised at the DEm’s cynical calculation – for their target audience, appearances (like feelings), are everything.”
Whereas the Republicans go by substance, & Palin was chosen for her ability to rapidly adapt to the demands of the VP’s role, as proven by her record of intellectual curiosity, & McCain in no respect had an eye to her image when he chose her.
& then you woke up.
No, Palin was chosen to balance the ticket, to bring on board the undecided Republicans, given McCain’s sometimes odd voting record.
I think she’s done that admirably.
Palin actually said the VP is “in charge of the United States Senate.” That is palpable nonsense even in talking to an 8 year old – teachers wouldn’t even say that in a civics class to 8 year olds. In modern times the VP rarely exercises the role as President of the Senate, instead leaving all matters to the President pro tempore this is partly due to the historical convention that the VP remain impartial in all Senate affairs, including the passage and formulation of legislation, other than to break a tie.
And I can’t believe I have to say this but the VP is in the executive branch. The role of VP is enumerated under Section 2 of the Constitution, the one about Executive Powers. Only the role of President of the Senate is enumerated in Article 1, not the VP. How else have all those VPs exercised executive privileges? And no amount of Cheneyesque bending of the constitution will change that.
“Dem’s cynical calculation” WTF? That’s hilarious.
Only the role of President of the Senate is enumerated in Article 1, not the VP. “
??? That’s like saying that something applies only to the First Lord of the Treasury and not the Prime Minister. As the US constitution says:
” The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote unless they be equally divided. “
If the president wishes the veep to exercise executive functions then that can be done, but the only thing that the Vice President is required to do by the constitution is to preside over the senate.
Palin may well have brought the Republicans on board, but at the expense of moderate voters who have been stunned by her lack of experience, frequent gaffes (far moreso than Biden) and inability to demonstrate basic competence.
It’s interesting that Julia raised the point about Biden being kept away from the frontlines after his gaffes, because that is EXACTLY what the Republicans should have done with Palin once the numerous cracks began to appear. Sadly they didn’t, and she has ended up doing far more harm than good IMHO.
I would have liked to have seen more of Biden, where was he?Would it be anything to do with his gaff making, from the last one I heard if Obama gets in it will cause world war 3 just to test him , I think I would prefer Palin at least she is visable.
Ross – actually it only requires a basic understanding of the law. The sentence clearly states who the President of the Senate is. It does not say what the vice president is which is in Article 2. Also note the 25th Amendment to Article 2, Section 1.
Surely the main purpose of the VP is to provide a fall-back president, if needed. In other words, a spare president. A replacement.
If so, the qualities that one should look for in the VP candidate should be that they are either (a) a carbon copy of the presidential candidate or (b) an inoffensive person suited to the caretaker role of keeping the White House warm and tidy until a new (elected) president turns up.
Whatever her merits (or lack of), Palin seems to fit (c) None of the above.
Maybe the GOP have done something a bit like the Democrats in 1984, put up a female candidate for an unwinnable election to make themselves look inclusive? Absolutely perfect gesture politics.
“Also note the 25th Amendment to Article 2, Section 1.”
What in particular should I note about it? It is a description of how the Vice President should succeed to the role of President if the President is incapacitated. That doesn’t prove your point about the VPs constitutional role being executive rather than legislative. Under your reasoning the Speaker of the House must also be part of the executive because they are also in the line of succession to the presidency.
“In modern times the VP rarely exercises the role as President of the Senate…”
Ah. I didn’t realise that if you seldom exercised a constitutional role, you therefore lost it when the ‘modern times’ clause set in….
“Under your reasoning the Speaker of the House must also be part of the executive because they are also in the line of succession to the presidency.”
There’s a scary thought….!
JuliaM you are fighting the minutiae while seemingly overlooking the fact that Palin was a Theo Walcott moment for McCain. Not nearly ready enough for the world stage
According to whom..?
Sorry, but I’m afraid, for a supposedly ‘classless’ society, a lot of the media and pundit reporting on Palin had a whiff of the ‘Not our sort, my dear, if you know what I mean…’ to it.
Still, ultimately, it’s up to the voters, I suppose.
You may wish to have a look at this survey:
https://www.psychsurveys.org/brietruesdell/2008elections
It takes a good while.
I identified myself as an economic centrist & a social liberal, a frank foe of McCain who is lukewarm towards Obama, etc. etc.
I used to interact with some students from NYU & they are pretty much as good as it gets intellectually, though I didn’t particularly like them
Oh, that’s the one that ‘Freeborn John’ was encouraging his visitors to take, isn’t it?
Yes, I took it – not sure what value it has if it’s including non-US responses though.
Hey – at least she sommands some respect from the US media:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=N6ya39slPgs
)
And what a good-natured sport she proved herself to be.
A far cry from Obama’s ‘Can’t I just eat my waffle?’ and Hold on a second, sweetie…’ peevishness.
Oh yeah… the inability to discern the difference between *telling* a joke and *being* the joke is also a tad worrying!
I thought it proved what a good-humoured sport she was – quite different from Obama’s ‘Can’t I eat my waffle?’ and ‘Hold on a second, sweetie…’ peevishness…
You can usually tell a person’s character under pressure – those two incidents tell me quite a bit about Obama’s character I don’t care for.
A brief explanation on the US constitution and why I (and Governor Palin) are correct about the role of the Vice President and Doug (and Joe Biden) are wrong:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/opinion/27reynolds.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Actually, you may be suprised to find Governor Palin very well liked and respected by scores of intelligent American women. She has endured the nastiness of the press for months and is still going strong. By the way Joe Biden trumps her soundly in his ability to consistently deliver one ‘gaffe’ after another. This may explain why he has done only one media interview (the ill fated Barbara West bit) in more than a month while Sarah has soundly executed 7 in the past two weeks. Obviously, there are not enough handlers for Crazy ole Joe- you think they’d do SOMETHING with that $604 million.
Marie Lawler
A Lawler