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Sep. 4th, 2008 02:39 amEDIT: This, kids, is why we don't let Dex write about politics after drinks at the pub. Some slightly more coherent thoughts.
Sarah Palin gave her big speech. She wasn't bad although the expections aren't especially high for her yet. As long as she can deliver the speech without giggling or misprononcing her own name, she's going to get a free pass from the media. I seriously question the writers of the material though. Taking cheap shots at the stage setup of the DNC? Really? That all but screams 'my candidate is bush league and can't handle serious topics'.
As I said before, it's optics. Sarah Palin is a bunch of random elements that plays to McCain's base, but is laughably unequipped for higher office. Yes, the role of the Vice President these days is normally to help deliver a specific region or segment of the voters, but there is an expectation that the choice can also do the job. Palin has less than two years as the governer of the third smallest state in the Union, one that doesn't function like any other state in terms of location, population and relationship with the federal government. Her previous experience was six years as the mayor of a town of less than 9000 people.
She is also the Vice Presidential candidate for the oldest Presidential candidate in history.
Palin is a very daring tactical gamble for McCain, but that's what makes it frightening. It's very much focusing solely on the task of getting elected, without any look at how one plans to govern, and assuming the voters will simply go along with it. And McCain is likely right about that fact. People talk about the idea of the female candidate, the audacious nature of the choice, how it shores up his base and yet, no one seems to be saying much about her capacity to step into the role of the President in case something happens, which oddly enough, is the only real job of the Vice President. Palin isn't so much a bad choice as an irresponsible one, focused solely on the needs of the campaign and not looking a day past it.
Yes, there is a very real argument that if you don't win, it doesn't matter anyway. But there's supposed to be more to the political process than simply winning. Optics, and I don't hold much hope that the average voter is going to see past that.
Sarah Palin gave her big speech. She wasn't bad although the expections aren't especially high for her yet. As long as she can deliver the speech without giggling or misprononcing her own name, she's going to get a free pass from the media. I seriously question the writers of the material though. Taking cheap shots at the stage setup of the DNC? Really? That all but screams 'my candidate is bush league and can't handle serious topics'.
As I said before, it's optics. Sarah Palin is a bunch of random elements that plays to McCain's base, but is laughably unequipped for higher office. Yes, the role of the Vice President these days is normally to help deliver a specific region or segment of the voters, but there is an expectation that the choice can also do the job. Palin has less than two years as the governer of the third smallest state in the Union, one that doesn't function like any other state in terms of location, population and relationship with the federal government. Her previous experience was six years as the mayor of a town of less than 9000 people.
She is also the Vice Presidential candidate for the oldest Presidential candidate in history.
Palin is a very daring tactical gamble for McCain, but that's what makes it frightening. It's very much focusing solely on the task of getting elected, without any look at how one plans to govern, and assuming the voters will simply go along with it. And McCain is likely right about that fact. People talk about the idea of the female candidate, the audacious nature of the choice, how it shores up his base and yet, no one seems to be saying much about her capacity to step into the role of the President in case something happens, which oddly enough, is the only real job of the Vice President. Palin isn't so much a bad choice as an irresponsible one, focused solely on the needs of the campaign and not looking a day past it.
Yes, there is a very real argument that if you don't win, it doesn't matter anyway. But there's supposed to be more to the political process than simply winning. Optics, and I don't hold much hope that the average voter is going to see past that.
