CNN: It's McCain and Palin

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In summary, John McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin is a relatively unknown politician who has only been in office for two years. She is a Republican and is likely to be a strong supporter of the oil industry. The VP debate is likely to be interesting, as Biden is likely to bully Palin.
  • #1
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I don't know too much about her. I watched some youtube video interviews of her and she seems pretty decent. Good talker and educated. Is this an oil play as she could talk about drilling in Alaska? Also a women play? Maybe to steal some hillary supporters?

How will the VP debate turn out? I feel like Biden will bully her?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/29/palin.republican.vp.candidate/index.html
 
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  • #2
McCain said to choose Alaska gov as running mate
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080829/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_veepstakes [Broken]

DENVER - John McCain tapped little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential running mate, two senior campaign officials told The Associated Press on Friday. A formal announcement was expected within a few hours at a campaign rally in swing-state Ohio.

Palin, 44, is a self-styled hockey mom and political reformer who has been governor of her state less than two years. Palin's selection was a stunning surprise, as McCain passed over many other better known prospects, some of whom had been the subject of intense speculation for weeks or months.

At 44, she is a generation younger that Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, who is Barack Obama's running mate on the Democratic ticket.
Well, I had heard that he was considering a woman, and I definitely think that it is a deliberate attempt to attract the female voters who were disgruntled over Hillary Clinton's loss to Obama. Very shrewed move. Makes for an interesting race.

I looked at the list of female governors - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_state_governors_in_the_United_States - and missed her. She's at the bottom of the list since she's the most recently elected.

I don't think it is so much about ANWR, but that will certainly be an issue, as will drilling off-shore. I'm sure McCain and the Republicans will push the decision back to the individual states, since some state governments tend to be more pro-development (tax revenue) rather than be concerned about pollution and environment degradation.

It's also a good way to develop resources for campaign contributions.
 
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  • #3
I must say that the VP choices for both candidates were certainly quite surprising.
 
  • #4
Greg Bernhardt said:
I don't know too much about her. I watched some youtube video interviews of her and she seems pretty decent. Good talker and educated. Is this an oil play as she could talk about drilling in Alaska? Also a women play? Maybe to steal some hillary supporters?

How will the VP debate turn out? I feel like Biden will bully her?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/29/mccain.vp/index.html

Apparently she is a maverick. I wouldn't count on Biden bullying her necessarily, though Biden plays more to classical stereo types of what VP's and Presidents look like. On the other hand I have doubts that McCain will really pick up Hilary votes because of the pick.

My opinion is that I think we should at least sleep better knowing that Mitt Romney has no prayer of ever becoming president.
 
  • #5
I must admit though the prospect (in the event that McCain cannot serve out his term) that the country would be run by an ex-beauty queen makes for interesting plot development material.
 
  • #6
LowlyPion said:
I must admit though the prospect (in the event that McCain cannot serve out his term) that the country would be run by an ex-beauty queen makes for interesting plot development material.

Hey, if the US goes down, I want to go down lookin gooooood :biggrin:
 
  • #7
Greg Bernhardt said:
Hey, if the US goes down, I want to go down lookin gooooood :biggrin:

So what happens now to the ads about Obama being a rock star but is he ready to lead, when McCain chooses an ex-beauty queen, with limited experience running a state as a governor? Does he really value this ready to lead thing seriously if he shows such little regard for it in his own choices?
 
  • #8
McCain has made much of Obama's inexperience - now he's got someone younger with less experience on the ticket. Is he going to get a free pass on that just because of her gender? For all his self-proclaimed foreign policy experience, McCain has never seemed to be able to make accurate distinctions between Shiites and Sunnis, between Iraqi insurgents and al Qaeda, and even between the Iranians and al Qaeda. That's pretty scary coming from somebody who wants to continue current Middle East policies.

Contrasts between Biden and Palin should throw the foreign-policy experiences of these two tickets in high relief.
 
  • #9
Positive:

She will steal a number of Hillary supporters.

Negative:

No experience. That will make it hard for McCain to attack Obama on that issue.

Conclusion:

Ok, but not brilliant.
 
  • #10
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  • #11
Given such low expectations about Sarah Palin, then she is sure to exceed expectations.
 
  • #12
My first thought was he's old enough to be her father. Why didn't he pick Sen Kay Bailey Huchinson instead?
 
  • #13
Could it be that Mcain was influenced by a late night episode on the E! channel of Saturday Night Live?
 

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  • #14
LowlyPion said:
Apparently she is a maverick. I wouldn't count on Biden bullying her necessarily, though Biden plays more to classical stereo types of what VP's and Presidents look like. On the other hand I have doubts that McCain will really pick up Hilary votes because of the pick.

My opinion is that I think we should at least sleep better knowing that Mitt Romney has no prayer of ever becoming president.

Definitely good that he didn't pick up Romney! Romney was probably about the only possible VP pick from either party that could have swayed my opinion. In spite of that, I kind of expected Romney to be the pick simply because he could help in three battleground states: Michigan, Colorado, and Nevada.

Palin is a good pick for a lot of reasons. As far as picking up disgruntled Hillary supporters, she'll pick all the ones that either don't take a close enough look to realize she's pro-life or the ones that really don't consider abortion a major issue.

It's a pick surprising enough that it steals a little thunder from the Democratic Convention.
 
  • #15
BobG said:
Palin is a good pick for a lot of reasons. As far as picking up disgruntled Hillary supporters, she'll pick all the ones that either don't take a close enough look to realize she's pro-life or the ones that really don't consider abortion a major issue.
Palin might help McCain with some of the conservatives that are disenchanted with him. The fact that she carried a Down syndrome baby to term instead of opting for an abortion is a pretty strong statement to the pro-lifers.
 
  • #16
BobG said:
Definitely good that he didn't pick up Romney! Romney was probably about the only possible VP pick from either party that could have swayed my opinion. In spite of that, I kind of expected Romney to be the pick simply because he could help in three battleground states: Michigan, Colorado, and Nevada.
McCain doesn't trust Romney one bit - that much was clear from the Primaries. On not picking Romney, I was correct in calling this last week.

Palin is a good pick for a lot of reasons. As far as picking up disgruntled Hillary supporters, she'll pick all the ones that either don't take a close enough look to realize she's pro-life or the ones that really don't consider abortion a major issue.
There's no way they won't realize she is pro-life, I think that will definitely. On picking Palin, I guessed, about 3 months ago, that she wouldn't be interested, but I was wrong.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=1745302&post1745301

Palin is is more than just devoutly pro-life. Her decision to have a fifth baby at age 44 - after an early diagnosis revealed that the child would have Down Syndrome - definitely has the potential to be very polarizing.

http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html [Broken]
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/382560.html [Broken]
 
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  • #17
LowlyPion said:
I must admit though the prospect (in the event that McCain cannot serve out his term) that the country would be run by an ex-beauty queen makes for interesting plot development material.
Hard to not notice a trend with ex-beauty queens.
 
  • #18
To complement their perceived weaknesses, both candidates seem to have picked an opposite within their own party. On the Democratic side, I think the VP would be effective to temper and influence the president. On the Republican side, I don't.
 
  • #19
turbo-1 said:
McCain has made much of Obama's inexperience - now he's got someone younger with less experience on the ticket.

Well, I think there are at least two relevant differences - it's the #2 spot, not the #1 spot, and it's executive experience for an executive office.
 
  • #20
BobG said:
It's a pick surprising enough that it steals a little thunder from the Democratic Convention.

That's today's headlines. A rather dubious reason once it's yesterday's news.

Sadly that's the business as usual of the current Bush-Cheney-Rove administration and their reliance on appearance over substance, while they ply their agenda of enriching the few and denying the endemic problems of the rest of those they are nominally supposed to represent as well.
 
  • #21
Gokul43201 said:
McCain doesn't trust Romney one bit -

That's because he knows Romney. I'd say not picking Romney shows that he is capable of making good decisions. There's enough insincerity in Washington without having to import his brand of it.

There's no way they won't realize she is pro-life, ...

And she is a member of the NRA. Beauty queen, NRA, pro-life - a real trifecta. I suspect the Hilary crowd will not find enough to like when they get in the booth.

I'd say her choice is more to assuage the concerns of the far right on the moral agenda and to energize their participation as well as bolster his own appearance of sincerely in wanting to change things in Washington.
 
  • #22
In Palin's defense, she's no Dan Quayle.

I reckon with 5 kids, she knows how to spell.
 
  • #23
Defennder said:
My first thought was he's old enough to be her father. Why didn't he pick Sen Kay Bailey Huchinson instead?
See my comment - https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=1850422&postcount=117

Interesting that he didn't pick Lisa Murkowski, who is the daughter of the former incumbent governor Frank Murkowski, who was beaten by Sarah Palin in 2006 gubernatorial election.

Apparently his appointment of his daughter as Alaska's junior US senator (in 2002) did not go over too well in Alaska.
 
  • #24
BobG said:
Definitely good that he didn't pick up Romney! Romney was probably about the only possible VP pick from either party that could have swayed my opinion. .

LowlyPion said:
My opinion is that I think we should at least sleep better knowing that Mitt Romney has no prayer of ever becoming president.

whats wrong with Romney? i think that he would have been a better choice for mccain. or maybe not, just because he's mormon
 
  • #25
proton said:
whats wrong with Romney? i think that he would have been a better choice for mccain. or maybe not, just because hes mormon

Answered your own question.
 
  • #26
Who is this woman Palin anyways. I've never even heard of her before now. He picked her only because she's a woman. Probably so that he could take away some obama votes from hillary supporters. I struggle to believe that any of these women would vote for McCain just to put a woman in the white house, but then again the general public are morons.
 
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  • #27
If it worked for http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/commander-in-chief-geena-davis-president-will-return/"...
 
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  • #28
Cyrus said:
Who is this woman Palin anyways. I've never even heard of her before now. He picked her only because she's a woman. Probably so that he could take away some obama votes from hillary supporters. I struggle to believe that any of these women would vote for McCain just to put a woman in the white house, but then again the general public are morons.

Yes, I agree, his choice had a sexist element to it. And some women (PUMAs, for example) will vote for McCain mostly because of her gender - they're also sexist.

Funny thing, when the struggle for gender equality began many men said women were too emotional, and couldn't be logical in a tough situation. And here we are all these years later, and these PUMAs are, well, too emotional and they aren't being logical after a tough loss, IMO.

I can only imagine how they will feel when the next 1, 2, or 3 Supreme Court nominees are chosen...
 
  • #29
Why don't we just elect a Black Atheist lesbian woman into office so we can finally put to rest all this PC nonsense.
 
  • #30
lisab said:
Yes, I agree, his choice had a sexist element to it. And some women (PUMAs, for example) will vote for McCain mostly because of her gender - they're also sexist.

Funny thing, when the struggle for gender equality began many men said women were too emotional, and couldn't be logical in a tough situation. And here we are all these years later, and these PUMAs are, well, too emotional and they aren't being logical after a tough loss, IMO.

I can only imagine how they will feel when the next 1, 2, or 3 Supreme Court nominees are chosen...

Why do they care so much? WHO CARES if the next supreme court justices have a penis.

Just put someone in there that's GOOD. What the hell do I care if he's black/white/gay/man/woman or any other STUPID criteria.

What's so great about her being a woman? Someone, anyone please give me a valid reason.
 
  • #32
turbo-1 said:
McCain has made much of Obama's inexperience - now he's got someone younger with less experience on the ticket. Is he going to get a free pass on that just because of her gender?
I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about this, but there is very real, practical reason why experience matters less for her: she's the vicepresidential candidate.

Oh, and less experience than who, at what? Who has more experience between her and Obama depends on what political experience you choose to count. Overall, though, she's been in public office about twice as long as Obama has.
 
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  • #33
russ_watters said:
I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about this, but there is very real, practical reason why experience matters less for her: she's the vicepresidential candidate.

Why does that excuse not having experience? Do you want the guy one below the CEO not having any experience?

I want the best of the best of the best.

This is like the time G.W. tried to put that woman as a justice who had NO EXPERINCE in anything related to the law, and the congress was like...uh...NO. Just being a woman isn't going to fly, dubya. (I think she was a school teacher or something rediculously stupid)
 
  • #34
russ_watters said:
I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about this, but there is very real, practical reason why experience matters less for her: she's the vicepresidential candidate.
That's true, Russ, but it becomes a bit more of an issue when McCain's advanced age and his recurring battles with cancer figure in. She could easily become a very young, inexperienced president with no track record in national politics, foreign affairs, and macro-economics. A rookie governor from a sparsely-populated state with significant oil revenues might have a bit of trouble gearing up to running the executive branch of the US.
 
  • #35
proton said:
whats wrong with Romney? i think that he would have been a better choice for mccain. or maybe not, just because he's mormon

There's a certain amount of reconsideration of one's past positions done by every candidate when politically expedient, so Romney's downside is a matter of magnitude rather than conceptual. By time Romney was done with his transformation, I was left with the feeling he had no beliefs or principles at all.
 
<h2>1. What is CNN?</h2><p>CNN (Cable News Network) is an American news-based cable television channel that was launched in 1980. It is known for its 24-hour news coverage and is one of the most widely viewed news networks in the world.</p><h2>2. Who are McCain and Palin?</h2><p>John McCain and Sarah Palin were the Republican candidates for the 2008 United States presidential election. McCain was a senator from Arizona and Palin was the governor of Alaska. They ran against Barack Obama and Joe Biden, ultimately losing the election.</p><h2>3. Why is CNN reporting on McCain and Palin?</h2><p>CNN, as a news network, reports on current events and political news. The 2008 presidential election was a significant event in American politics, and McCain and Palin were the Republican candidates, making them newsworthy subjects for CNN's coverage.</p><h2>4. What is the significance of McCain and Palin's partnership?</h2><p>McCain and Palin's partnership was significant because it was the first time a woman was chosen as a vice-presidential candidate for the Republican party. It also brought attention to Palin's political views and experience as governor of Alaska.</p><h2>5. How does CNN's coverage of McCain and Palin impact the 2008 election?</h2><p>CNN's coverage of McCain and Palin, along with other news networks, played a role in shaping public opinion and influencing the outcome of the 2008 election. Their coverage provided information and analysis of the candidates' policies, speeches, and debates, which helped voters make informed decisions at the polls.</p>

1. What is CNN?

CNN (Cable News Network) is an American news-based cable television channel that was launched in 1980. It is known for its 24-hour news coverage and is one of the most widely viewed news networks in the world.

2. Who are McCain and Palin?

John McCain and Sarah Palin were the Republican candidates for the 2008 United States presidential election. McCain was a senator from Arizona and Palin was the governor of Alaska. They ran against Barack Obama and Joe Biden, ultimately losing the election.

3. Why is CNN reporting on McCain and Palin?

CNN, as a news network, reports on current events and political news. The 2008 presidential election was a significant event in American politics, and McCain and Palin were the Republican candidates, making them newsworthy subjects for CNN's coverage.

4. What is the significance of McCain and Palin's partnership?

McCain and Palin's partnership was significant because it was the first time a woman was chosen as a vice-presidential candidate for the Republican party. It also brought attention to Palin's political views and experience as governor of Alaska.

5. How does CNN's coverage of McCain and Palin impact the 2008 election?

CNN's coverage of McCain and Palin, along with other news networks, played a role in shaping public opinion and influencing the outcome of the 2008 election. Their coverage provided information and analysis of the candidates' policies, speeches, and debates, which helped voters make informed decisions at the polls.

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