As I am sure we all know by now, John McCain has nominated Sarah Palin to be his running mate in the 2008 presidential election. Since this controversial pick by the Republican candidate came last Friday there has been a firestorm surrounding her qualifications.
1) She was a city council member for Wasilla, Alaska from 1992-1996. (Pop. 9,780 as of 2007)
2)She was then elected mayor of Wasilla from 1996-20023)Finally she was elected Governor of AlaskaWhile she does have executive experience, it's relevance to her vice presidential nomination is non-existent, considering she would be essentially going from a population of approximately 9,780 to approximately 305 million.Even more interesting than her apparent lack of experience is the way with which the conservatives have gone about defending McCain's VP choice.
"I'd also suggest that governor Palin's experience is not significantly less than that of our current President before he entered the oval office." (Alder, Jonathan, National Review)
"But, with what's at stake this fall, conservatism appealing to more people--and a rockstar conservative motivating more people to get to the voting booth--sounds great to me."(Favazza, Katie, Right Wing News)
These arguments in defense of Palin are a mixture of poor thought and hypocrisy. First of all, I am shocked that Conservatives are bold enough to compare Palin's experience to the experience of George W. Bush. This comparison is not flattering to Palin considering that George W.'s overall approval rating has hit a low of 28% for the first time since President Carter's rating hit the same number in 1979.
Finally, the hypocrisy of the second argument is startling. The way that her lack of experience, which has been a major target on Obama's back, was completely overlooked because she is "a rockstar conservative" is completely absurd. Especially due to how McCain has attacked Obama publicly calling him "the biggest celebrity in the world", and then posing the question "Is he ready to lead?". With Palin only "a heartbeat away from the presidency" as Bill Warner put it, shouldn't we be asking the same question of Palin?
Sources:
Alder, Jonathan, National Review, "Palin's Experience- Useful Comparisons", Tuesday, September 2, 2008, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Y2U3ZmMwY2M4OThlOGZhY2U1NTcyMTQ3Mzk0MmNiMDU=
Favazza, Katie, Right Wing News, "Is Palin's Experience Lacking?", September 4, 2008, http://rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/09/is_palins_experience_lacking.php
Jones M., Jeffrey, May 8, 2008, http://www.gallup.com/poll/107128/Bush-Approval-Rating-Down-60-Among-Republicans.aspx
"Obama Campaign Highlights Palin's Zero Experience", http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080829171140.5123i228&show_article=1
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I agree entirely. What was McCain thinking? Or maybe he wasn't thinking. Ever since Palin was chosen, it's been nothing but scandal after scandal coming from Alaska - not only is she inexperienced, but she's vicious as well! And to harp on Obama's inexperience while she's got just as little, and maybe I'd consider it even less - well, the nerve!
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