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A) he's not running for the White House (he can't), B) he's too socially liberal to energize the GOP fundamentalist base like Palin and C) he got where he is through a process that was a farce of the electoral process in and of itself. If you might recall, he was running against a motley group that included Gary Coleman of all people.
it seems there are issues to mcains campaign,the same ones the g.o.p always puts out there, if you don't vote republican you are a terrorist loving america hating,godless,heathen,and you are going to hell...same song diffrent year.
Or at the very least you're some limp-wristed pinko communist or something like that if you don't vote Republican.
Fiercely independent here - no McCain/Palin for me. I wasn't taking Obama very seriously until she popped up (I have to say I was impressed with him going up on O'Reilly, facing some fastpitch finally and showing that he might actually have some idea of what he's going to do as president).
As for Palin, if her ticket wins and McCain was to drop dead or otherwise become incapacitated, I don't think she'd have a clue at all.
Wow, this is an excellent point! I did what you suggested and pictured a middle aged white male with the exact qualifications and beliefs as Palin and it seems so obvious what the reaction would have been. It would have been viewed as reckless and a feeble attempt to portray a platform of change.
Wow.
I really think a fair amount of people and the "talking heads" thought the same exact thing about Palin from the get go...it didn't take more than a second to figure out the agenda. Mccain never fooled me.
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine what the Republican nominee for VP would mean to you if he was a male with the same record as Mrs. Palin. It paints a very different picture doesn’t it? Suddenly it doesn’t feel like change at all but just more of the same. Suddenly you’re forced to think about what the Governor’s positions on topics really mean- important topics like the soaring costs of; health care, gas, and college tuition. Does this guy even believe in a woman’s right to choose?! The national debt, you remember, still seems outrageous and you wonder what this upstart could or would do about it if the office of President befell him. Then you might wonder, is this guy really qualified, why’d McCain pick him anyway? The issues that face Alaska aren’t anything like the issues that face me or my family!
I’ve heard a lot about discrimination with regards to the Governor of Alaska lately but if you can’t visualize a man garnering even half as much of your attention then who’s the one discriminating?
Everyone would think he was picking a less experienced version of George Bush to cement the right-wing Neoconservative and Christian Fundamentalist branches of the Republican party. This is what he is doing, but his intent is being clouded by the fact that she is a woman. Picking her was a way to garner support from voters who will vote for a woman simply because she is a woman, and it is a way to dismiss any criticism of her record as "sexism."
I completely disagree. I have seen the Right wing go after Democrats on so many issues that are really "family" matters. I'm sure this would have been a field day if it had been Biden's 17 yr old daughter who was to be an unwed mother.
Historically, haven't VP's always been chosen based on their ability to bring in votes?
Ex: Kennedy loathed Johnson, but needed him to bring in Texas and the southern states.
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine what the Republican nominee for VP would mean to you if he was a male with the same record as Mrs. Palin. It paints a very different picture doesn’t it? Suddenly it doesn’t feel like change at all but just more of the same. Suddenly you’re forced to think about what the Governor’s positions on topics really mean- important topics like the soaring costs of; health care, gas, and college tuition. Does this guy even believe in a woman’s right to choose?! The national debt, you remember, still seems outrageous and you wonder what this upstart could or would do about it if the office of President befell him. Then you might wonder, is this guy really qualified, why’d McCain pick him anyway? The issues that face Alaska aren’t anything like the issues that face me or my family!
I’ve heard a lot about discrimination with regards to the Governor of Alaska lately but if you can’t visualize a man garnering even half as much of your attention then who’s the one discriminating?
A guy with her qualifications would not have been picked. Palin was picked because she is a woman, and secondly, because she has the keys to Alaska oil and gas.
McCain's camp wanted a woman, because Hillary was gone, and they wanted to capitalize on that.
She will also be easy to manipulate, because she is so heady with the power already. A well-seasoned governor wouldn't be so easy.
Listen to what Karl Rove had to say about Governor Tim Kaine when he was on the short list for the Democratic VP position in this Daily Show Clip: Sarah Palin Gender Card | The Daily Show | Comedy Central (broken link)
I think its very telling. If Palin had been a man, I don't believe she would have been chosen. I don't think its the only reason he chose her, but it is one of the reasons.
Listen to what Karl Rove had to say about Governor Tim Kaine when he was on the short list for the Democratic VP position in this Daily Show Clip: Sarah Palin Gender Card | The Daily Show | Comedy Central (broken link)
I think its very telling. If Palin had been a man, I don't believe she would have been chosen. I don't think its the only reason he chose her, but it is one of the reasons.
You beat me to the punch! I was going to post that same video in response to DanWolf saying that the right wingers wouldn't have had a field day if Biden had an unwed pregnant daughter - the Bill O clip where he flip flops on the position from Spears to Palin is the point I wanted everyone to see.
Speaking of that, O'Riely says that "as long as society doesn't have to support the mother, father, or baby, it is a personal matter."
Did he forget who is paying for the health care of the Palin children, and ultimately, Bristol's baby? Somehow, I don't think Sarah Palin is turning down the free health care she receives for being governor of Alaska.
Which brings me back to this point - if Joe Biden or Barack Obama had a child who did something that was completely opposite of the platform they were running on, or a law they supported, don't think for one minute that Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Riely and the rest of the angry right wing media wouldn't be jumping all over it calling them hypocrites. If they had picked a running mate so woefully unqualified and tried to justify their "executive experience," they'd be laughed at by every media outlet in the world. Why is it, then that those same criticisms of Palin are painted as "sexist" or "disrespectful?" If we want to talk about people being disrespectful, all we need to do is look at Rudy Giuliani's speech, Sarah Palin's speech, and just about every other speaker's words (except John McCain) from the GOP convention.
You beat me to the punch! I was going to post that same video in response to DanWolf saying that the right wingers wouldn't have had a field day if Biden had an unwed pregnant daughter - the Bill O clip where he flip flops on the position from Spears to Palin is the point I wanted everyone to see.
You must have missed the "for the most part" in my statement. So, I'll repeat it. Yes, some would. Most wouldn't. Assuming that every Republican would slam Biden because of an out-of-context O'Reilly clip is a convenient generalization for you. I agree that O'Reilly came across as hypocritical in his positions on the two families, but he's certainly no "right winger".
Quote:
Originally Posted by slaleman
Which brings me back to this point - if Joe Biden or Barack Obama had a child who did something that was completely opposite of the platform they were running on, or a law they supported, don't think for one minute that Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Riely and the rest of the angry right wing media wouldn't be jumping all over it calling them hypocrites.
Palin's teenage pregnant daughter is "completely opposite" of the Republican platform? How so? While I disagree with your exaggerated statement, I agree that you would hear about Obama/Biden issues on Limbaugh and O'Reilly (and Hannity and other conservative media - mostly talk radio). You will hear nothing negative about Obama or Biden from the talking heads on ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, the Associated Press, or most large newspapers (NY Times, for example). One major difference is that most of those "right wingers" are opinion and commentary, not news broadcasters who claim to be unbiased.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slaleman
If they had picked a running mate so woefully unqualified and tried to justify their "executive experience," they'd be laughed at by every media outlet in the world.
"Woefully unqualified"? Another priceless exaggeration. Please list the exact qualifications for Vice President that Palin is lacking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slaleman
Why is it, then that those same criticisms of Palin are painted as "sexist" or "disrespectful?" If we want to talk about people being disrespectful, all we need to do is look at Rudy Giuliani's speech, Sarah Palin's speech, and just about every other speaker's words (except John McCain) from the GOP convention.
Jabs at the other party were common in both conventions. What exactly did Rudy or Sarah say that was disrespectful?
Along the lines of qualification and media bias, here's an excerpt from a Rocky Mountain News column by Mike Rosen (yikes - a conservative!). He makes a pretty good point:
Not surprisingly, The New York Times thinks Palin is an unqualified pretender to the vice presidency. This is the same New York Times that ran this editorial on July 3, 1984, praising Geraldine Ferraro's nomination for the same office in glowing terms: "Where is it written that only senators are qualified to become president? . . . Where is it written that governors and mayors . . . are too local, too provincial? . . . Presidential candidates have always chosen their running mates for demography, not idealized democracy . . . What a splendid system, we say to ourselves, that takes little-known men, tests them in high office and permits them to grow into statesmen . . . Why shouldn't a little-known woman have the same opportunity?"
Of course, Ferraro and Palin aren't comparable - Palin is a Republican.
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