|
John McCain’s announcement that Sarah Palin would be his running mate was met with shock and mixed reactions. In a matter of days, she went from relative obscurity to the spotlight of international focus. Republicans were both outraged and elated. Democrats were thinking that McCain just handed over the Presidency to Obama. Washington circles were completely surprised. The rest of the nation, we were asking “Who is Sarah Palin?
hunter, a pilot, against gay marriage and a lifetime member of the NRA. She is even widely praised for her decision not to terminate her pregnancy upon hearing the news that her youngest child would be born with Down syndrome. Her conservative ideologies are the only thing that will get her voters. Typically social conservatives vote for a candidate based solely on their values, as opposed to voting for a candidate with real experience and policies that will help better our nation. Therefore, Sarah Palin could have a chance.
John McCain’s announcement that Sarah Palin would be his running mate was met with shock and mixed reactions. In a matter of days, she went from relative obscurity to the spotlight of international focus. Republicans were both outraged and elated. Democrats were thinking that McCain just handed over the Presidency to Obama. Washington circles were completely surprised. The rest of the nation, we were asking “Who is Sarah Palin?
Why did John McCain pick Sarah Palin? Palin, the 42 year old Governor of Alaska (a state with more reindeer than people), is an evangelical Christian and a social conservative. Her political career is limited to city council member and Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. During her short stint as Governor, she has mainly focused on energy policies. She is widely known for her support of drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, which McCain himself opposes. Have I mentioned that she has absolutely NO foreign policy experience? So, why did McCain pick Sarah Palin? One reason is that social conservatives love her! For months there has been a grassroots movement online to push her as Vice President. Palin is every social conservatives dream. She wants to overturn Roe v. Wade; she is a hunter, a pilot, against gay marriage and a lifetime member of the NRA. She is even widely praised for her decision not to terminate her pregnancy upon hearing the news that her youngest child would be born with Down syndrome. Her conservative ideologies are the only thing that will get her voters. Typically social conservatives vote for a candidate based solely on their values, as opposed to voting for a candidate with real experience and policies that will help better our nation. Therefore, Sarah Palin could have a chance.
The second reason (and most ridiculous reason) why McCain picked Palin to be his running mate is to make a desperate attempt to reach out to Hillary supporters. Palin was even quoted saying: “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 can shatter the glass ceiling once and for all”. The women of America can shatter the glass ceiling, but not with you Sarah Palin. The only similarity between Clinton and Palin is that they are both women, they could not be further from each other on issues. Why in hell would Hillary supporters vote for Palin? How insulting to the women of this country. The man running for President of this country is completely undermining our intelligence by naively assuming that women would vote for Palin simply because she is a woman. He thinks that since we loved Hillary, we will jump on the Sarah bandwagon. If McCain truly wanted to reach out to Hillary supporters, he would have better luck with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson or Senator Olympia Snowe, women, with actual experience (Gasp… what a thought!).
For months and months, like a broken record, we had to hear McCain call Obama “too young” or “inexperienced”. Undercutting his own message, I guess McCain decided that inexperience gets more votes, because Palin is younger and less experienced than Obama. When McCain announced that he was looking for “a mate who can best help me shake up Washington”, he was not kidding. Washington is not only completely shaken up, but Washington is confused. Palin is one of the least experienced people to run for Vice President…in history! Given McCain’s age and health history, it is a huge possibility that Palin could be President. A hunter/pilot with no foreign policy experience and Governor of Alaska could be OUR NEXT PRESIDENT. Not a huge departure from our current President, but absolutely ridiculous when you look at our choices.
|
