russ_watters said:
Do you have any examples?
Here is one of probably half a dozen seen over the last twenty-four hours.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/08/30/lkl.palin.panel.cnn?iref=videosearch
That doesn't seem to me to be a very probing or complicated question (but a smart pundit should have the obvious answer ready: 'No, but I think the Presidential candidate, not the VP candidate, is the one who needs a few decades of experience').
Given McCains age, his possible replacement is of particular concern. One can argue that Obama doesn't have enough experience, but to argue for the requirement of experience, as McCain did, and then to pick a VP who is neither an intellectual giant nor an accomplished big-league politician - to literally throw a Hail Mary pass with the future of the country - is extremely reckless. Perhaps we will all soon see that McCain had some magical insight - that she is a true phenomenon, like Obama - but at this point the chances of that appear to be vanishingly small.
What is entertaining to me is seeing people who want it both ways. Somehow, for some, Palin's experience is a problem, but Obama's isn't. To me, on the experience issue, Obama's choice is the riskier one (as I explained in my little conversation with cyrus): People will look at the ticket and wonder why the guy with the decades of experience has his name at the bottom instead of at the top. I don't think it will assuage anyone's fears about Obama's experience. Quite the opposite, I think Obama's choice shines a spotlight on his experience problem. Not the only, but a leading one. Why? Was it supposed to be a surprise? Was it a surprise when Obama picked an old white mat as his running mate? I wasn't surprised.
People recognize in Obama a once-in-a-lifetime leader. He comes with a rare and natural ability to inspire people. Given his intellect, his knowledge of the Constitution, his dedication to mostly the right side of the right issues, his rise to power in a powerful state, and esp now, given that he not only took down the Clintons but has also virtually revolutionized modern campaigning - making the contribution process more democratic than ever before - he is given a pass. He is a rare talent like none that I have seen before.
In effect I would have to agree that he doesn't have enought experience, that is, if we were considering an ordinary politician. But Obama is not an ordinary politician. In fact, by all accounts that I've heard, he was effectively drafted. As one Senator told him, [I can come up with a name but need to think about it] ~ "time sometimes selects you, and not the other way around".
Is Palin all that special? I see nothing to suggest this is the case. I do hear unbelievably inflated spin to make her more than she is. For example, McCains wife suggested that Palin has foreign policy experience, or that somehow she gets points, since Alaska is close to Russia. Frankly, some Republicans seem a bit desperate.
I would have bet a decent sum of money that McCain would pick a woman and a relatively young one at that (not that it would have been possible to pick an older one). She's younger than I expected, but I can't say I'm surprised.
Why; just to pick a woman?
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