Sarah Palin as McCain's Veep

[Faithless]

Interesting choice.  I can't help but think this has to hurt his campaign.  To me it's a too-obvious ploy to try to grab the disgruntled Hillary supporters, and after Obama's speech last night I wouldn't be surprised if there are a lot less of those than there were.

Old guy who might not live through the presidency picks young chick with less than 2 years' experience as governor.  Who's gonna pick up the 3:00 a.m. call?

[Will]

She's got this whole Tiny Fey thing going on.

The funny part? She's clearly a secret Democrat. She stands up to other Republicans, even attacking them and getting them replaced, she believes that climate change is a threat to the planet and does things about it, she believes that gays shouldn't be discriminated against (though she's still against gay marriage)... it kinda sounds like the description of a liberal. Oh, did I mention she publicly admitted that she used to smoke weed?

McCain is headed towards the center at the speed of light because he's finally realized that the conservative right is no longer a viable base after Bush decimated it. The longer the conservative right is ignored, the more power liberals and free thinkers can get. This, my friends, is a good sign.

[Faithless]

Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted by the choice.  Anything that gets us closer to President Obama is a good thing!

[Jolly Sapper]

Linky, linky...  I'm kinda thinking this was a pretty lackluster thing for McCain to do in an attempt to try to take some of the wind outta the sails of the Obama nomination/VP pick/Democrat convention.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/08/29/ready-to-lead-mccain-taps-alaska-gov-palin-as-vp/

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/013077.php

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/013076.php

[Msblue]

I just started reading about her but, from what I understand she a creationist.  

[Whitney]

From an email from www.MoveOn.org (you can get free stickers and buttons from them):

[spoiler:10l1nfmr]Dear MoveOn member,
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 speciesâ€"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. â€"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. â€"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. â€"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.â€"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. â€"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.â€"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. Please pass this information along to your friends and family.
Thanks for all you do.
â€"Ilyse, Noah, Justin, Karin and the rest of the team
Sources:

1. "Sarah Palin," Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin
2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=1366 ... pCG19x&t=1
3. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=1366 ... pCG19x&t=2

4. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=1366 ... pCG19x&t=3
5. "Palin buys climate denial PR spinâ€"ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=1366 ... pCG19x&t=4
6. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=1366 ... pCG19x&t=5
"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=1366 ... pCG19x&t=6
"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=1366 ... pCG19x&t=7
7 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=1366 ... pCG19x&t=8[/spoiler:10l1nfmr]

[Whitney]

She's got this whole Tiny Fey thing going on.

The funny part? She's clearly a secret Democrat. She stands up to other Republicans, even attacking them and getting them replaced, she believes that climate change is a threat to the planet and does things about it, she believes that gays shouldn't be discriminated against (though she's still against gay marriage)... it kinda sounds like the description of a liberal. Oh, did I mention she publicly admitted that she used to smoke weed?

McCain is headed towards the center at the speed of light because he's finally realized that the conservative right is no longer a viable base after Bush decimated it. The longer the conservative right is ignored, the more power liberals and free thinkers can get. This, my friends, is a good sign.

Maybe I'm missing the sarcasim because I don't know who Tiny Fey is...or my sources are wrong....but from what I have read about her, so far, she is about as far right as you can get...anti-abortion rights, pro creationism in schools, anti-environment etc.

Consdiering McCain's age, we almost need to assume the VP will get bumped up to President...as much as I'd like to see a woman in that place of power, I'm a little worried about this one.  We don't need an unqualified female being an excuse for those that are anti-women to say "I told you so" then it be a long time before another woman has a chance to make it to the presidency.  Choosing a woman was a good political move for McCain, but there are a lot of other women who would have been much better picks.

[susangail]

This choice totally shocked me. It seemed to come out of no where but that could have just been me. I'm not sure it could help his campaign much though. It helps the age issue I guess. But I'm not sure the American people can trust her to take control if McCain bites the dust, which everyone seems afraid of because of his age.

The funny part? She's clearly a secret Democrat. She stands up to other Republicans, even attacking them and getting them replaced, she believes that climate change is a threat to the planet and does things about it, she believes that gays shouldn't be discriminated against (though she's still against gay marriage)... it kinda sounds like the description of a liberal. Oh, did I mention she publicly admitted that she used to smoke weed?

From what I've read about her, she seems very right-wing. Will, I'm just curious, where did you read about her liberal side? I only read a couple articles on her so I probably missed something.

[Will]

Apparently I didn't have the whole story on Palin. A friend of mine that own's a web company in Anchorage said that she was a centrist, and cited the weed and such. Now, though, I can see that she's clearly a neo-con... creationist and all.

[curiosityandthecat]

McCain didn't even want to pick Palin. He wanted Liebermann, but when the conservative Right heard that their champion might pick a (GASP) former Dem with pro-choice tendencies, they went haywire. And, voila: Palin for VP.

New York Times story.

[Msblue]

I guess the conservative abstinence only "values" didn't work out so well.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/01/1318541.aspx

[curiosityandthecat]

Okay, this is crass, but I have to say it because it makes me chuckle.



I can't decide if the one on the right is Cindy McCain, or a lost transvestite.

*rimshot*

[Asmodean]

Wasn't there some noise about her daughter being pregnant or something? What does it matter to her being a competent VP if her daughter is pregnant anyways..?

Bleh! I hereby give up trying to understand the US government's workings  

[Jolly Sapper]

Wasn't there some noise about her daughter being pregnant or something? What does it matter to her being a competent VP if her daughter is pregnant anyways..?

Bleh! I hereby give up trying to understand the US government's workings  

Well.. Palin is against sex ed in school for starters.  So there are some grumblings that maybe she isn't the best example of why abstinence only education should be the standard.  

Her teen aged daughter is pregnant but living in what seems like a fairly adequate family situation that lots of other teen mothers don't have.  While Palin was in charge she cut a chunk of funding for an organization whose sole purpose was to provide something like 18 months of assistance to pregnant teens.  So there's some sillyness going on or she's kinda lacks compassion for those who don't want to have an abortion but don't have the support and experience to get through their situation.

The funniest thing that I can think of so far regarding this whole situation, is that for YEARS the conservatives in the US seemed to go outta their way to make things harder for professional women who wanted have a family as well.  Blocking or hindering legislation that was supposed to help working women who have children (subsidizing childcare at work, tax write offs for baby sitters or something) while all the time saying that women needed to choose between professional life/family life and degrading women who wanted to do both and were asking for help in doing so.  So now we're going to see a woman with a large family with two children who might need some special attention (Palin's youngest kid with downs syndrome as well as her pregnant daughter) and now she's putting herself into a situation where she might not be around to as much hands on parenting.  Its odd that suddenly the conservative movement has suddenly embraced what seems like a fairly feminist view.

[Faithless]

Her daughter, Bristol, is indeed five months pregnant, but hey, the father has agreed to marry her, so now everyone is so happy for the young expectant couple...  

I just can't help having visions of large, blue-suited men in dark glasses showing up on the young man's porch late some night with a couple of shotguns...