The attacks on Gov Palin have begun to trickle down to our local columnists. Today's Larry Keeling column is the latest attack piece on her. It contains nothing more than a summary of Democratic talking points attacking Gov Palin. Some of which are down right lies.
You’re Sen. John McCain, and you’re running for president. One of your biggest criticisms of your Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, is his lack of experience. So, what do you do? You ask American voters to put Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. And by comparison to Palin’s lack of experience, Obama now looks like Winston Churchill.
This is ridiculous statement to make at best. One that is easily refuted. The fact of the matter is Palin has 14 years of more relevant experience for being president than Obama.
Worse, you apparently made this selection after the worst vetting job this side of Thomas Eagleton’s shock treatments. For instance, you’ve chosen “Country First” as a slogan. Oops! In a previous life, Palin was a member of the Alaska Independence Party, which advocates secession from the United States.
This is an outright lie and sloppy reporting. Proof that she has been a Republican since 1982 can be found here.
In another previous life, she supported Sen. Ted Stevens infamous Bridge to Nowhere, which she now claims to have been instrumental in stopping. And that big-time reputation for taking on the good ol’ boys of Alaskan politics doesn’t gibe with the fact that she once worked for a 527 group organized by the goodest ol’ boy of all, none other than Stevens himself.
Nice leap of logic. There is a reason that Stevens and a good deal of the Republican good ole boy club in Alaska dislike Palin. It is because she exposed a number of their corrupt practices. Nice try Larry.
Finally, it turns out Palin’s abstinence only approach to sex education didn’t take on her teenage daughter Bristol, who is now with child.
Nothing quite like smearing the daughter of a politician. You stay classy Larry.
Yep, worst vetting job since Eagleton. And the rapidity with which she is becoming a national joke may well mean that she soon joins him in the history book.
No the only joke is you and this vapid piece. One that contains little if any truth. The only thing it does provide is a laundry list of Democratic talking points on Palin. The column is nothing more than a sexist attempt to smear and besmirch an accomplished woman.
By the way, if you’re McCain, in addition to criticizing Obama’s lack of experience, you also have been making a big deal out of questioning his judgment. Well, the New York Times News Service reported that your vetting team didn’t even arrive in Alaska until Thursday, one day before you tried to seize the momentum after the Democratic National Convention by announcing her as your running mate.
One day - if that - of vetting someone you want to be a heartbeat from the Oval Office? Now, that’s some rush to judgment.
Is this the same source you used to find out she was a member of an "independent party"? Because the assertion that she wasn't vetted is a lie as well. The vetting team spent weeks quietly going over her record. Most of the time was spent going through the major state newspaper. They also put her though a thorough question and answer session. What they didn't want to do was go up to Alaska and go through the local Wasilla paper. Mainly because they didn't want to tip their hand about her in advance of the announcement. Again, nice try Larry. Next time try doing some research to learn the facts before regurgitating Democratic talking points.
Gov Palin is a bright, articulate, and attractive woman. Through her own determination and hard work, she has risen from an active PTA member to being Governor of her state. She is a mother of five and and avid sports enthusiast. Don't these sound like many of the traits that liberal Democrats praise in women? I thought they believed that women can be successful in the work place and raise a family. A woman can do anything a man can do. You would think Palin would be the poster child for feminists.
The only problem is Palin is a conservative. She believes in God. She believes an individual doesn't need the government in order to succeed. She believes in lower taxes. She believes in the second amendment. She believes that life begins at conception. In short, she holds views that are anathema to the liberal movement. She makes a mockery of liberal's penchant for "identity politics". And so they must destroy this rising star of the GOP before she undoes many of their liberal cliches.
And so the attacks begin. She is not ready to be president they claim! She is just a country bumpkin. Let's examine this statement. What skills and experience are necessary for a president? I would make the argument that four skills are important for a president. The skills are executive experience, foreign relations experience, military experience, and political experience. Executive experience is needed to run any large organization successfully. Having experience dealing with foreign governments is another important skill. One must be able to deal with people from different cultures and different styles of government to be a successful president. Military experience provides insight into being commander and chief. It provides real world experience that makes it easier to understand and work with Pentagon generals. It also provides a basic understanding of combat. The final necessary skill is political skill. The ability to work within the political system and to be able to communicate effectively with the public.
It is my belief that any serious presidential aspirant should have experience in at least three of these areas. Now let's look at Sarah Palin and see how she stacks up in these four areas. First executive experience. She spent six years as a mayor of a small city and two years as Governor of the state of Alaska. That means she has spent eight years creating and meeting a budget, managing employees, and delivering services. The fact that she has an 80 percent approval rating means that she is probably doing a good job at it. An 80 percent approval rating also means she has good political skills. If you don't think so then you can ask Gov Beshear about it.
What about foreign policy expertise? This is a tough one to get. Unless you have worked for an administration in the State Department, Defense Department, or CIA, it is a difficult expertise to gain. McCain and Biden both have it by spending 20 plus years in the Senate working on foreign relation committees. At the same time, I would also argue that Governors do have some experience in foreign relations. Take Kentucky for example. We are land locked in the middle of the country, yet Gov Beshear has already gone to Japan to work on creating jobs. Is that not foreign relations experience? Gov Palin has a state that borders two foreign countries. She has had to work with the Canadian government to be able to build a pipeline to the lower 48 states. While it is only foreign policy experience on a smaller scale, it is experience that can easily be applied to a job in the oval office.
When you look at the skills of being a governor, it is easy to see why so many of them and not Senator's move on to being president of the United States. By definition, they are a mini-version of role of president.
What about military expertise? Palin has little expertise in this area. Yes she is head of the Alaskan Guard and yes she has a son in the military, but she doesn't have much in the way of direct military experience. Even so, she still has experience and skill in at least three of the areas necessary to be president. On top of that, she isn't running to be President of the United States. She is running for Vice President. A position that will allow her to strengthen her experience in areas where she is weaker.
Let's compare her to Obama on these issues. What executive experience does Obama have? Community organizer? What foreign relations experience does Obama have? A speech he gave in Germany? He has never even called a meeting of his subcommittee on NATO oversight. He only went to Iraq when McCain embarrassed him into going. What about military experience? He has none. But he does have a lot of political skill. He can read a speech from a teleprompter better than any of the major presidential candidates. But having skill in only one out of four areas is not exactly a ringing endorsement for his candidacy. The argument could be made that she is a heck of a lot more qualified for the office than he is.
Heck she is more accomplished that he is. She at least took on the corrupt elements of her party in Alaska. Did Obama do the same while in Chicago? Nope. In fact, can anyone name a major accomplishment from Obama other than graduating from Harvard? In the state legislature he voted "present" numerous times. He served in the U.S. Senate one year before beginning his run for president. In that time he never authored one piece of legislation or worked across the political isle to get anything done like McCain has.
Remember Sarah Palin is running for Vice President! If the Democratic ticked were flopped and Biden was at the top of the ticket and Obama was at the bottom of the ticket, do you think anyone would be talking about Biden's choice of an inexperienced Obama? No, he would be praised for bringing on youth and bringing energy to the ticket. Praised for tapping a rising star within the party. Remember the Kerry-Edwards ticket 4 years ago? But when the GOP does it, it is something that is really bad for the country. Give me a break.
With the failure to attack her on experience, they are left with nothing but personal attacks. Attacks about how she is a bad mother. Attacks on her oldest daughter. It is really sickening to watch as the Democrats put a lie to all of the crap that they espouse. In the mean time, I can't wait until Palin speaks tonight. She has the chance to shine. A chance to show America who she truly is without the filter of the media. A chance to show she is as dynamic a personality as Obama. A chance to make these attacks blow up in the face of the Democrats. An opportunity in which I believe she will make the most of.
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