Sen. McCain picks Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for VP

Sen John McCain has picked Alaska running mate Sarah Palin to be his running mate. She is a little known conservative who beat a well known Democratic former governor in 2006.

www.usatoday.com...

The word that comes to mind is: Surprise!
This choice will definately help him with the conservative base come November. She is very conservative, and that could hurt her chances with women voters who were upset about Hillary. Her inexperience will take away any ammo Sen. McCain was going to use in the election as she has much less experience than Sen. Obama and no foreign policy experience.
I do think this is a bold choice for Sen. McCain, and it will help him win back the conservative vote. I don't think her choice will help him in the swing states. Her choice also is a knock out to Bob Barr's candidacy.

Edited to add:

Either way, this will now be a truly historic election. Kudos to Sen. McCain for thinking outside the box, instead of the choices that were floated around.

What do the rest of you think about this choice?

[edit on 8/29/2008 by kidflash2008]

reply to post by kidflash2008


Well, I just did a quick check and I don't really know what to think.
She has very little experience and not much on the record: ontheissues.org.
She doesn't seem ultra conservative.

I'm not going to bash the pick because it deserves further thought. On the surface it seems an obvious attempt to grab undecided women voters and Hillary stragglers. If that is the major reason it automatically becomes a terrible pick. It will insult millions of women who will see this as a simplistic and condescending attempt to lure them on the basis of gender and not intelligence.

And quite frankly, I can't yet see any other reason. Also, running as the oldest candidate, surely he needed to pick someone a little more experienced.

[edit on 8/29/2008 by schrodingers dog]

reply to post by schrodingers dog


I do know she is quite socially conservative. I also think it is quite surprising he did pick someone with so little experience as this was a major campaign point that he has just lost. I won't bash her, or any other candidates, but I will write down possible negative points that could hinder the main candidates.
My main thing is he has captured the social conservatives (who were going to vote for him anyway), and may scare away moderate voters.

She is quite conservative, opposing alternative fuels, gay rights, choice and the environment. She supports the death penalty, drilling in ANWR, gun rights and prayer in school.

Palin on the Issues

I think McCain and the Republican party probably chose her for the fact that she's a conservative woman, hoping to snag up some Hillary disillusioned. I doubt that will work, but I could be wrong. There were a lot of other people who I believe would have fit the role as well or better, not the least of which was Kay Bailey Hutchison. She's more experienced, that's for sure.

So, she fits into John McCain's desire to find a running mate that agrees with his positions, may bring in some Hillary voters and certainly does show McCain as being "progressive", too. Her public persona is flawless. She is confident, speaks with passion and eloquence (except I did hear her say "Nucular"). I think she will make the perfect addition to the ticket.

There are several concerns. John McCain's age, like it or not, is a factor. If he cannot finish the term, how presidential is she? She did well in her acceptance just now, but what about foreign policy, economic experience and her judgment? She's under investigation for abuse of power. I can't say she'd move into the office with ease, but I don't know.

I'm not sure if it will boost the campaign. I personally think it was a mistake for them, but we'll have to see. I think it all depends on the spin in the next couple months. A lot can happen in that time.

reply to post by kidflash2008


Yes, she pretty much fits the Republican party mold to a tee:

Social issues

Palin is strongly opposed to abortion and supports capital punishment.[30] While running for Governor of Alaska, Palin supported the teaching of creationism alongside evolution in schools,[31] however, she noted she would not use "religion as a litmus test, or anybody's personal opinion on evolution or creationism" as criteria for selection to the school board.[31]

She opposes same-sex marriage, but she has stated that she has gay friends and is receptive to gay and lesbian concerns about discrimination.[10] While the previous administration did not implement same-sex benefits, Palin complied with an Alaskan state Supreme Court order and signed them into law.[32] She disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling[33] and supported a democratic advisory vote from the public on whether there should be a constitutional amendment on the matter.[34] Alaska was one of the first U.S. states to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriage, in 1998, along with Hawaii.[35] Palin has stated that she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment.[10]

Palin's first veto was used to block legislation that would have barred the state from granting benefits to the partners of gay state employees. In effect, her veto granted State of Alaska benefits to same-sex couples. The veto occurred after Palin consulted with Alaska's attorney general on the constitutionality of the legislation.
wiki

She also has a history of fighting unethical government. Other than that no much else.

She seems like a nice enough intelligent strong woman with principles, so I'm not going to knock her either.

I think though that I might knock McCain for picking her for the wrong reasons. I'm watching CNN right now and she's already comparing herself to Ferraro and Clinton. It seems that the main reason he picked her IS because she's a woman. That is going to backfire on him BIG TIME.

One thing you can be sure of, is that Hillary is going to try to tear her to bits.

Also I'm looking at her on tv right now and she keeps reminding me of Elaine from Seinfeld.

[edit on 8/29/2008 by schrodingers dog]

I'm rather surprised at this pick. I don't quite understand it at all.

I'm not going to bash the Governor either, as I don't know anything about her other than the links that are being provided on this thread as well as a quick Google search, but this abuse of power controversy she is in the middle of up in Alaska has me shaking my head, if found to be true.

I just don't understand why he picked her. I really hope that it wasn't to just get the female vote, as if that's his strategy with this pick I think he's going to be sadly mistaken.

I would like to add that she could be chosen to groom her for a run in 2012 or 2016. There are not too many Republicans out there who have a huge fan base that are considering a run for president. Gov. Palin would get much experience being Vice President, and could run in 2012 should Sen. McCain decide not to run again. This may be a pick more for survival of the party, than anything else. Other Republicans who ran this year were considered too liberal or had other faults that distanced core members of the party.
She will take more voters away from Bob Barr, and Sen. McCain needs that to happen if he wants to win in November. He can also call his chance at winning truly historic now that he has chosen a woman to be his running mate.

On a lighter note, she does resemble Tina Fey. I wonder if she will pull double duty and impersonate her on SNL.

A good and surprising choice for Sen. McCain.

Originally posted by kidflash2008
I would like to add that she could be chosen to groom her for a run in 2012 or 2016. There are not too many Republicans out there who have a huge fan base that are considering a run for president. Gov. Palin would get much experience being Vice President, and could run in 2012 should Sen. McCain decide not to run again.

Nah, I don't think so. I know we're all scratching our brains a bit to figure this one out but I think you've overstretched on this one.
There's no way that the Republicans have just given up on this election, I just think they made a terrible mistake.

I have to disagree with the buzz about this taking experience out of McCain's arsenal, although I'm quite confident that will become a common conception in the coming days.

Bill Clinton only had 2 years as a governor when he entered the White House (he also had 2 years as a state attorney general, but I suspect the McCain campaign will omit that fact when rebutting any charges of inexperience on her part).

There are several non-chromosomal gimmicks to Palin that McCain might be thinking about in his decision.

1. She can't be attacked on abortion. She decided to carry a child to term despite testing indicating that the child had Downs Syndrome. Attacking Palin on abortion means suggesting that maybe she should have killed her son, who, whatever he was in the womb, is currently a living young man.

2. Her eldest son's army brigade deploys to Iraq on SEPTEMBER 11 of this year.

3. Her "scandal" could actually bring women and business owners to her side (and might even if she were a man). The State Trooper she is accussed of trying to get rid of has himself been accussed of threatening to kills his wife's father, tazering his wife's son, and many other violations, but the a union not only protected his job, but got his slap on the wrist cut in half. A lot of people will hear that and never take second notice of the other side.

www.adn.com...

The accusations are detailed in two thick binders, the result of a nearly yearlong investigation by troopers. When the investigation appeared to stall, Palin -- more than a year before she was elected governor, and about two months before launching her campaign -- pushed trooper commanders to take action against Wooten. At one point, Palin and her husband, Todd, hired a private investigator.

Wooten recently gave his union permission to release the entire investigative file, all 482 pages and hours of recorded interviews.

"The record clearly indicates a serious and concentrated pattern of unacceptable and at times, illegal activity occurring over a lengthy period, which establishes a course of conduct totally at odds with the ethics of our profession," Col. Julia Grimes, then head of Alaska State Troopers, wrote in March 1, 2006, letter suspending Wooten for 10 days. After the union protested it, the suspension was reduced to five days.

Palin is also a harball player, and would probably run a very disciplined cabinet for McCain, which may be important if McCain's age starts to tell on him and ambitious cabinet secretaries start jockeying for power. They call her Sarah Barracuda.
Palin routinely fires anyone who gets in her way and replaces them with someone who will back her play. When the Alaska Creamery Board tried to do something she didn't like (close an unprofitable state dairy), Governor Palin went over head firing the entire Board of Agriculture and Conservation (which in turn appoints the Creamery Board), and saved the dairy... until it ran out of money and had to close anyway shortly thereafter.

Edit to add link

[edit on 29-8-2008 by The Vagabond]

reply to post by The Vagabond


Ok, she's a strong accomplished woman, let's not make her out to be Laura Roslin.

Like I said earlier I don't see any specific issue that would preclude her from being a good vp. The problem with this choice lies more in the reasoning behind it. As she has already started comparing herself to Clinton and Ferraro it seems an obvious and superficial attempt to collect the Hillary vote. That will insult many many women and I think will backfire on McCain. Seems and smells like a panic move to me.

[edit on 8/29/2008 by schrodingers dog]

Originally posted by The Vagabond
2. Her eldest son's army brigade deploys to Iraq on SEPTEMBER 11 of this year.

9/11? I'm sure that's nothing but a coincidence.

I kept thinking that Mitt Romney was going to be chosen, so this came completely at random to me. I know absolutely nothing about this person, so I'll have to research about her before I make any judgments.

Originally posted by SonicInfinity
9/11? I'm sure that's nothing but a coincidence.

Yeah, I'm sure somehow she talked the entire army into setting a specific date of deployment for an entire brigade just for that reason.

Please.

This woman is exactly what McCain needed and it is driving a lot of Obama supporters nuts. The American people are going to fall in love with this woman once they get to know her.

reply to post by The Vagabond


Thanks for the additional information on that scandal. With those facts coming to light I think that the issue is justified, and it's very possible that she could gain some supporters from the issue, if the Democrats want to play that card.

And you know they will. The don't know any better.

They will try and make it an issue that she is not "experienced". Which will only hurt Obama in two ways.

First, because Palin has more executive experience that Obama himself does, and has had to make decisions that directly effect a large group of people. Secondly, it will only deflect the issue of experience back to Obama, which is not good for him.

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
Ok, she's a strong accomplished woman, let's not make her out to be Laura Roslin.

Actually I think most of the features that I mentioned are BAD things. She is more of a demographic-boost candidate than a capable candidate, and her style as a policy maker is ruthlessly unilateralist, in a way that reminds me as much of Nixon as it does of the current administration.

reply to post by schrodingers dog


I did not state that McCain is giving up on 2008. I just stated that she is being groomed for a future White House run. The reasoning is there are very few Republicans who have 100% support to get the party behind them. She is a relative unknown, and in today's climate is a very good plus.

The Vagabond: I do think she will turn off many women who are pro-choice. On the other hand, her story of raising her kids is very inspiring. I am pro-life, but it is not the litmus test on my vote. It does make me take a good look at Sen. McCain again.

In her records she appears to be one to compromise to get things done. I think she is a plus for his campaign. As I stated, Bob Barr was going to get at least 6% of the vote. He will now get less than 1% as Gov. Palin will appeal to the fickle conservative base. I think she will take some of Clinton's supporters, and this will help Sen. McCain in some battleground states.

reply to post by The Vagabond


That is why she can learn so much as Vice President. I think it is a great choice to keep the Republicans in the game for the next few elections.

reply to post by The Vagabond

Originally posted by The Vagabond
Palin is also a harball player, and would probably run a very disciplined cabinet for McCain, which may be important if McCain's age starts to tell on him and ambitious cabinet secretaries start jockeying for power. They call her Sarah Barracuda.
Palin routinely fires anyone who gets in her way and replaces them with someone who will back her play.

Oh, ok. I was replying to what you said above, I thought you we praising her.

The whole thing very very strange. I keep seeing Republicans on TV unprepared and surprised by this decision. We've been told McCain picked a couple of days ago yet the whole thing looks awkward and last minute AND reactionary.

Anyway, at least this will give him a lock on the Inuit vote.

[edit on 8/29/2008 by schrodingers dog]

reply to post by schrodingers dog


All the pundits are talking about this choice. I think Sen. McCain knew Sen. Obama was going to knock his speech out of the ball park. He made the choice earlier to confront this and make people talk about the upcoming GOP convention.
This is a great choice for Sen. McCain.

reply to post by kidflash2008


We shall see, we don't have to decide now if it's a good decision or not. It will play out with the American voters and then we can assess if it was a good choice or not. At this stage all we can do is spin it. It's just too soon. And at the end of the day, notwithstanding all the daily histrionics on ATS from both sides, I have to believe that the people will ultimately vote on the issues that affect them the most.