August 29, 2008
Sarah Palin's refreshing words
Beginning at 16:36 in this video of her speech today when she accepted John McCain's selection of her as his Vice Presidential partner, Sarah Palin said these words:
...I signed major ethics reforms...And I championed reform to end the abuses of earmarked spending. In fact, I told Congress: Thanks, but no thanks, to that Bridge-to-Nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we'd build it ourselves.Well, it's always safer in politics to avoid risk, to just kind of go along with the status quo. But I didn't get into government to do the safe and easy things.
A ship in harbor is safe but that is not why the ship is built.
Politics isn't just a game of competing interests and clashing parties.
The people of America expect us to seek public office and to serve for the right reasons. And the right reason is to challenge the status quo and to serve the common good.
Now, no one expects us to agree on everything, whether in Juneau or in Washington.
But we are expected to govern with integrity and good will and clear convictions and a servant's heart.
Time will tell whether Palin has the ability to play successfully on the national stage. But in terms of an initial impression, Palin made a good one with those refreshing words.
ADDENDUM
Various interviews with Sarah Palin
Listen especially to the first one where she talks about energy issues. I believe Palin has a chance to alter the domestic energy debate during this presidential race. Sounds like she has more experience, judgment, and knowledge on the topic than any of the other 3 presidential/vice-presidential candidates. More on her experience in the following WSJ piece.
Wall Street Journal on Palin Has Long Experience Dealing With Big Oil in Home State.
Dean Barnett on Diminishing Palin: How the left will try.
Bill Stuntz on Palin, Obama, and the Experience Issue.
Bill Kristol on Let Palin Be Palin: Why the left is scared to death of McCain's running mate.
Kenneth Davenport on The Wrong Kind of Woman? NOW's crusade against Sarah Palin.
Fred Barnes on Providential Palin: She may be the one conservatives have been waiting for.
John McCormack on Sarah Palin, Not a Buchananite.
Volokh Conspiracy on Palin and Buchanan, II.
Helen Smith on Why Palin Is a Fantastic Choice: A Vice President Palin would help women in ways that are often ignored.
Jonah Goldberg on Commander of the Alaskan National Guard, Cont'd.
Jonathan Adler on The Alaska National Guard.
Jonah Goldberg on Pivot Palin, Pivot!
Rich Lowry on Fighting for the Middle Class.
NRO editors on The Palin Pick.
Jonathan Adler on Palin and Creationism.
Hot Air on Palin no panic pick: WaPo.
Flopping Aces on Palin's Trooper'Gate: Beating MSM distortions to the truth.
Lisa Schiffren on The Fighter Pilot and the Moose Hunter: McCain’s V.P. pick has electrified the base—for good reason.
John Podhoretz on She's Palin by Comparison.
Dick Morris on Lady is a Champ: McCain takes back the race with an inspired, maverick selection.
Father Raymond J. de Souza on McCain unveils a secret weapon for culture wars.
As to the issue of women in politics, I would say this: We have to get beyond the current politically correct gender silliness. The national debate on the role of women often has the depth of an elementary school playground argument. The horrible quality of that debate seems particularly ironic for some of us conservatives who were huge fans of Margaret Thatcher 25+ years ago and, had she been an American, would have voted for her in a heartbeat. Yet it wasn't her gender which endeared her to us. It was her world view, her ability to articulate that view, and her courage to act on that world view. She was principled, she was tough, and the fact that she was a woman was utterly irrelevant. Irrelevant to her, too, which is something most feminists don't get in today's America. And what will make history record Thatcher as great will not be that she was a woman but that time proved her world view and actions were wise and timely.
In a nutshell, the metrics by which we should measure the quality of any man or woman are their world view, their ability to articulate it, and their courage to act in a principled manner. For the good of our country, we should encourage a never-ending competition between different world views from both men and women. May the best ideas triumph over time.
It is extremely inappropriate at this very early stage to mention Palin in the same breath as Thatcher. But what is appropriate is to point out that there is often an intolerance among many feminists for their sisters who don't tow the politically correct left-wing feminist line. And these women don't see the obvious irony of how intolerant they are of intellectual diversity among even their own gender. I hope Palin stops talking about the glass ceiling because, by doing so, she is playing the game on her opponent's turf. She will do more for advancing the opportunities for other women by being competent and wise, by showing it is possible to play in the political big leagues while holding a different world view. Now that would be true diversity, a diversity which would shake the very foundation of feminist politics! Which is why the Left is so desperately trying to smear her upfront. It is far too early to tell how well Palin will do. She will most certainly be tested in the next 60+ days and let's hope she finds her own distinctive voice like Hillary Clinton found hers in the latter stages of the Democratic primaries.
Finally, I will close with a response I wrote in the comments section:
Hey, this is getting fun!I write a simple post noting how Palin's initial impression was positive even as she is unproven on the national stage. That would be called a balanced and understated comment.
And that brings out the MoveOn.org wackos who then call people who disagree with them idiots!! Somebody must be getting anxious. Better be careful in your name-calling though. You wouldn't want to be accused of being sexist and treating Palin like Hillary was treated by other Dems. Or of trying to swift-boat Palin. LOL.
Yes, Andrew Sullivan is so persuasive when he writes: "[Obama] is a man who has spent his adult life thinking serious thoughts about serious issues and having serious conversations about them with other serious, well-informed people." Would Sullivan mean Obama's conversations for the last 20 years with his preacher who openly states his hatred of America? Or would he mean Obama's working directly with an unrepentant terrorist who has said he should have done more to hurt America? Or would Sullivan mean all those "present" votes Obama has done as a legislator? Yes, such heavy and principled thinking indeed. Sounds presidential to me!
Some things never change: All of this reminds me of Bill Buckley's long ago comment that he would rather be governed by the first several thousand names out of the Boston phone directory than the Harvard faculty.
LMAO.
Regardless of what unfolds, good or bad, the bottom line is that this presidential race just got a lot more interesting. And that is good for the country.
1. Palin has more experience than Obama. With her chief executive experience, she is more qualified than Obama to be President.
2. Alaska has a larger population than Vermont, Gov. Howard Dean's old stomping grounds before the left-wing propelled him to the national stage.
3. Ironically, Hillary Clinton really is responsible for Palin's rise.
This has turned out to be a REAL interesting race.
Anthony,
Anyone actually awake this month will see this pick for what it is. A pure political gambit. It demonstrates that McCain cares little for governing. Of course, what in his record would make us think otherwise? He is an attention whore -- a "maverick".
McCain is not serious about this race. This pick was the ultimate flexing of ego. It is a frivolous pick.
Posted by: Pragmatist at August 30, 2008 3:21 AMPragmatist:
Are you sure you didn't just describe Barak Obama's entire purpose of his life? He exists only to become president. He has accomplished nothing beyond being a community organizer. His whole life his "the ultimate flexing of ego."
Posted by: John at August 30, 2008 4:21 AMWhat an amazing pick by McCain!! Gov. Palin brings in a distinguished record of executive experience, running a successful and popular Government in Alaska. An ideal ticket is one where 1 person brings in the Washington experience/foreign policy/national security experience and the other brings in executive/administrative experience. This can be seen from all winning tickets in the past few decades. The republican ticket is the perfect ticket now. She has a record of clean governance, bipartisanship and reducing wasteful spending and is an ideal choice for McCain's VP.
For all those who wish to raise the 'experience' question - do you honestly believe that Gov. Palin is too inexperienced to be President (a post for which, btw, she is NOT running for) despite being the Governor of Alaska for nearly 2 years and a mayor for many years before that, while Sen Obama is experienced enough to be President (a post he is running for)? If you honestly believe Palin is inexperienced, there is now way you could support Obama. Palin brings in executive experience, McCain and Biden bring Washington, foreign policy experience - what exactly does Obama bring in? Neither of the 2.
Also, it is incorrect to see the choice of Gov Palin as a gimmick to pander to the women voters. While that is a bonus, the most important point is that she would be an excellent person for the role of VP in McCain's administration, with the executive experience, to help him run the country effectively. None of us know too much about her, but whatever little Ive heard so far is immensely impressive. I request all voters to give her a fair chance, do some research and find out about her, and you will see that her candidacy is no gimmick.
Posted by: James Downing at August 30, 2008 7:08 AMWell,at least Palin hasn't been attending religious services presided over by an angry bigot for 20 years and she hasn't been associated with a church that gave a lifetime achievement award to a racist hatemonger like Louis Farrakhan.And she hasn't hung out with unrepentant domestic terrorists(oops!Obama has pointed out that ICE agents are terrorists,sorry 'bout that)-Obama is the ONE okay - ONE what I won't say here.
Posted by: joe bernstein at August 30, 2008 1:59 PMSarah Palin's public life is a rebuke to the greedy and insular Washington establishment, Democrat and Republican alike. Her private life is a rebuke to the liberal side of the Democrat party, ie, most of it. A true maverick-y pick.
I hope the "progressives" smear, slander and libel her every which way - it will move the middle quarter of voters - the ones whose indecision will decide - towards McCain/Palin.
Posted by: chuckR at August 30, 2008 5:56 PMJerzyk is apoplectic over at RIF-I better send him some of my beta-blockers-he is definitely a good early warning sign of the attack plan to come.Our own canary in the coal mine.
Posted by: joe bernstein at August 30, 2008 8:28 PMMake of it what you will (I file it under "too good to possibly be true").
http://www.mahalo.com/Sarah_Palin_Pregnancy_Rumors
Posted by: rhody at August 30, 2008 11:03 PMRhody,
Nice attempt at spreading a smear. I've already heard that one, and there's more than enough evidence to completely rule it out. For one thing, her water broke at a conference with a bunch of other governor's present. In order to pull off what some of the leftist wing nuts are trying to spread, would be on par with faking a moon landing. It's not credible at all. Period.
There more you on the left try to engage in that kind of stuff, the more it's going to come back and bite you in the rear later on.
Posted by: Will at August 31, 2008 2:50 AMAnd unlike Obama, Sarah Palin at least understands that Iran that the threat poses is not "tiny".
There's a reason that she is the most popular governor in the entire U.S. with 80% approval among both Democrats and Republicans.
Will,
Take Rhody's "links" in context. He also posted the link to a website suggesting that John McCain had been brainwashed by the Vietnamese and was intentionally sent back to the US so that Vietnam could control the US.
Suggesting the moon landing was fake would be fairly credible for him.
Posted by: Anthony at August 31, 2008 11:15 AMThe Shock Of Palin
by Andrew Sullivan
31 Aug 2008 10:22 am
Non-movement conservatives may well have this reaction:
I’ve voted a straight Republican ticket every year of my life since 1975, when I first came of voting age, but I was stunned and horrified by McCain’s choice of Palin. I simply cannot even consider voting for McCain after this choice, which speaks loudly of his own selfishness and fundamental frivolousness.
So I was shocked when I turned to the conservative blogs looking for others who shared my dismay and found a celebration going on. They really honestly believe that Palin’s “inexperience” and Obama’s “inexperience” are equivalent. I have had no luck at all in the past 24 hours trying to explain that Obama is quite obviously an impressive man (with whom I disagree on almost every major issue) with extraordinary qualities of organization, discipline and leadership. I see nothing in Palin’s record to suggest that she has any such qualities.
He is a man who has spent his adult life thinking serious thoughts about serious issues and having serious conversations about them with other serious, well-informed people; while Palin quite as clearly has done none of those things. He was the president of the Harvard Law Review; she was the point guard on her high school basketball team.
He has surrounded himself in his campaign with world-class people (with whom, again, I disagree on almost every issue); and though I am doubtless an elitist and snob for saying so, I doubt that she has even met a half-dozen world-class people in her lifetime.
While Obama might do a hundred things as President that I believe are bad for the country, I am confident that he would surround himself with experienced, informed, competent advisors and that he would make no world-destroying blunders. I cannot say the same about Palin and, in view of what this choice reveals about McCain’s character and judgement, I cannot say the same of him either.
The Palin pick says much more about McCain than it does about Palin (all it says about her is that she didn't have the good sense to turn it down). What it says about McCain is that he is more interested in politics than policy, more interested in campaigning than governing, tactical when he should be strategic, and reckless when he should be considered.
He is as big a gamble as president as Palin is as vice-president. This decision was about gut, about politics, about cynicism, and about vanity. It's Bushism metastasized.
- Andrew Sullivan
You people are idiots in your embrace of Palin. Get real. This ticket is going down.
Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.
Huh?
Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:
She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.1
Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2
She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. 3
Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4
She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5
She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.6
How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.7
This is information the American people need to see. Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.
We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here's a sample:
She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK
She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK
As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK
Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK
She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK
I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK
So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.
In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.
In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means.
Hey, this is getting fun!
I write a simple post noting how Palin's initial impression was positive even as she is unproven on the national stage. That would be called a balanced and understated comment.
And that brings out the MoveOn.org wackos who then call people who disagree with them idiots!! Somebody must be getting anxious. Better be careful in your name-calling though. You wouldn't want to be accused of being sexist and treating Palin like Hillary was treated by other Dems. Or of trying to swift-boat Palin. LOL.
Yes, Andrew Sullivan is so persuasive when he writes: "[Obama] is a man who has spent his adult life thinking serious thoughts about serious issues and having serious conversations about them with other serious, well-informed people." Would Sullivan mean Obama's conversations for the last 20 years with his preacher who openly states his hatred of America? Or would he mean Obama's working directly with an unrepentant terrorist who has said he should have done more to hurt America? Or would Sullivan mean all those "present" votes Obama has done as a legislator? Yes, such heavy and principled thinking indeed. Sounds presidential to me!
Some things never change: All of this reminds me of Bill Buckley's long ago comment that he would rather be governed by the first several thousand names out of the Boston phone directory than the Harvard faculty.
LMAO.
Regardless of what unfolds, good or bad, the bottom line is that this presidential race just got a lot more interesting. And that is good for the country.
Posted by: Donald B. Hawthorne at August 31, 2008 12:40 PM"Palin has more experience than Obama." A BIG white lie, folks.
Opposing McCain-Palin is NOT sexist, or elitest. McCain had the choice of many women to nominate as his VP. Here are three perfectly good examples: Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas, all eminently qualified to be VP or President. There are 4 Republican female governors- M. Jodi Rell of CT has four years experience and is popular, Hawaii’s Linda Lingle is its first female & first Jewish governor, and has 4 more years of experience as a governor than Sarah Palin.
Susan Collins would have made great sense; she has Senate experience in foreign policy and intelligence oversight. And she is a maverick of sorts. But, hey, there’s a problem. She’s pro-choice! Ooops. Enter Palin.
If McCain wanted a maverick, he could have chosen Chuck Hagel (decorated military) but ooops! Hagel is against the Iraq war. Darn. Then there’s Colin Powell, maverick of sorts (maverick wannabe). But no.
No, the choice had to be anti-abortion. Therefore: MCcain’s brave maverick pick.
McCain panders to women & to the far right.
As a (woman) friend just wrote me:
“Not only does Palin have no experience, but she is ultra-conservative. Scary proposition.”
I repeat: ultra-conservative. More conservative than some of the regular columnists here at Anchor Rising. More conservative than most Republicans. Who did you support in 2000? Buchanan like Palin did? Time to get off the Palin bandwagon.
Posted by: Richard at August 31, 2008 12:49 PM
Regarding the alleged Palin-Buchanan smear:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/08/sarah_palin_not_a_buchananite.asp
Regarding the alleged troopergate issue in Alaska:
http://www.floppingaces.net/2008/08/29/palins-troopergate-beating-msm-distortions-to-the-truth/
Keep trying, MoveOn.org wackos!
For a more balanced perspective:
http://www.law.upenn.edu/blogs/dskeel/archives/2008/08/palin_obama_and_the_experience.html#more.
LOL-Vietnam wants to control the US?They want to sell us shoes and dental floss.that's about it.
Posted by: joe bernstein at August 31, 2008 2:34 PMRichard, your needle is stuck. You've pasted that comment from Andrew Sullivan's blog under three different topic threads.
While Anthony had the best response to it elsewhere, I would add that an anonymous comment by an unidentified (and therefore most probably un-) conservative carries little weight with anyone other than alarmed members of the Other Party.
Posted by: Monique at August 31, 2008 4:37 PM Assuming the story put out today by the McCain campaign is the correct one...
It's heartwarming to see that her political ambition outweighs her daughter's privacy.
I want to see the guardian of moral values explain this one Wednesday night.
And if anybody saw McCain mouthpiece Tucker Bounds get his lunch handed to him tonight by Campbell Brown (NO, not Matthews or Olbermann) trying to explain his way out of the pick...
Rhody,
So far you've attempted to suggest that John McCain acted as traitor while he was a POW, spread lies about Sarah Palin's daughter being the mother of one of Sarah's children and are now attacking Palin for being the mother of a pregnant 17 year old.
I'd love to hear YOUR definition of "moral values". I suppose libel, slander and character assassination are virtues in your book?
There have been two positive outcomes from the personal attacks from people like yourself and those found on the Daily Kos.
First, John McCain raised $10 million immediately after the news about Palin came out. Second, the bounce that Obama received from the DNC convention was virtually erased overnight.
The average American is tired of such political venom and "politics as usual".
I do give Barack Obama some credit on one point, though.
After seeing how the American public reacted to the attacks from folks like yourself, Obama is now condemning and dissociating himself from anyone who makes such attacks and has vowed to fire anyone on his campaign involved in them.
Perhaps Obama's reaction comes because his mother was only 18 when he was born. Or perhaps it is because Obama saw the backlash against his campaign that resulted from the left's venomous and sexist attacks against Palin.
Either way, Obama's decision to ostracize those engaged in these negative attacks was the right one.