Posted by Seth on Aug 28, 2008 - 12:00 pm
So, with the news that McCain will announce his running mate Friday, I thought it might be fun to run down the prospects, and their pros and cons. So, here we go:
Eric Cantor: U.S. House from Virginia, reliably conservative, and Jewish. Reports are that he has been in discussions with the campaign, and has possibly been vetted.
Joe Lieberman: U.S. Senate, one of McCain’s most prominent backers against the wishes of his party. Matches McCain on the War in Iraq and climate change legislation, but on little else. There’s always a chance that McCain might pull an Abe Lincoln and select a member from another party, though this might sink him among conservatives who have only recently warmed to him.
Sarah Palin: Alaska Governor, a reform Republican in the style McCain wants to be, and to quote pollster Dave Dittman, “The [Alaska] landscape is littered with the bodies of those who crossed [Palin].”
Read more...
Tags:
john+mccain,
mitt+romney,
sarah+palin,
veep+watch,
joe+lieberman,
tim+pawlenty,
colin+powell,
eric+cantor,
conservative+populism,
david+petraeus,
|
Comment
Posted by Seth on Aug 29, 2008 - 09:03 am
News this morning from various sources is telling us that both Pawlenty and Romney are out of the running, there has been speculation in the last few hours that Sarah Palin has been picked to be McCain’s VP.
Marc Ambinder has been reporting on this all morning. His first reports spoke of a plane that left Anchorage yesterday before landing in Ohio at 10:00 last night.
Then this news that a second plane that left from Anchorage and went to Flagstaff, AZ on August 27th, when McCain was rumored to be selecting VP. It then swung through Amarillo, TX (maybe picking up Kay Bailey Hutchinson?) before landing in Ohio at 10:00 last night.
I don’t mean to stir the pot anymore than it already has been, but this news is too exciting for me to not talk about. I’ve always been excited about Palin’s chances and the prospect of having her for VP. Here’s what she brings to the ticket:
She’s a Woman - McCain is very blatantly going after the disaffected Hillary voters that are still uneasy with St. Obama, even after his Sermon on the Mount speech to his subjects.
She’s Pro-Life - McCain sent out a trial balloon over the last few weeks wondering if a pro-choice candidate would be acceptable to the base. Let’s say the balloon didn’t last long. Palin is fervently pro-life, and in fact, just gave birth to a Down-Syndrome child, showing her devotion to her pro-life views.
She’s a reform Republican - Palin was elected Governor by running against the corrupt Republican establishment in Alaska (does this sound familiar?) and beating out Frank Murkowski, the Republican Governor and former Senator. She’s good with political theatrics, and her form of Republicanism is a kind that McCain wants to be part of. It is a kind of Republicanism that our party has to follow in the future if we are to beat out the Democratic Party that is emerging. Again, I’ll elaborate more on what I see this form of Republicanism in a post this Sunday, but Palin is well in line with this reform Republicanism that can win again.
She’s young - Palin is two years younger than Barack Obama. This basically makes the two campaigns opposite on terms of age and experience. The top of the Democratic ticket is a young Senator with a bottom of the ticket a very experienced Senator. Flip that around and you have the GOP ticket; the top has a very experienced Senator followed by a young Governor.
Conservatives need to be excited about this pick. She’s smart, she’s a former Ms. Alaska contestant, and she’s politically adept. Not to repeat myself, but to quote pollster Dave Dittman, “The [Alaska] landscape is littered with the bodies of those who crossed [Palin].” She’s a great choice with the executive experience that Obama lacks, having been governor for two years compared to Obama as four years as a Senator. But even before that she was a City Councilwoman then Mayor of Wasilla, AK, followed by a whistleblowing stint as the Ethics Commissioner for the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission. She resigned from the commission when she saw the ethic deficiencies of her fellow commissioners, including the Chairman of the Alaska Republican Party.
I can’t hide my excitement. I think this could be a game-changer for McCain that could finally put him over the top in the polling if he takes advantage of the strengths of this excellent choice. T-Minus two hours till it’s confirmed.
Tags:
john+mccain,
sarah+palin,
veep+watch,
reform+republicanism,
|
2 Comments
