If...you were putting your country first, would you put an untested small-town mayor a heartbeat from the presidency?No, not an envious Democrat in the Barack Obama camp, but no less than David Frum, former speech writer to President George Dubya Bush, commenting on John McCain's surprise choice as running mate for the White House (from today's Sunday Times).
As the less-than-impressed Frum and other senior Republicans have pointed out, having an relative unknown as VP candidate rather undermines the Republican's own campaign slogan: ‘Country First’.
Few outside Alaska knew Sarah Palin before McCain unveiled her on Friday - including it seems Mr McCain himself!
McCain reportedly met the former beauty queen just once before choosing her as his candidate for Vice-President, in what is arguably the most important judgement call he has ever made.
Whether Sarah proves to be an inspired choice or a costly mistake will be a matter for the voters in November.
But, if 72-year-old McCain becomes President and dies in office, it would be Sarah Palin who would take over the most powerful office on earth and become Commander-in-Chief of US Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. And it would be Sarah's finger on the nuclear button.
Is that why they call America the land of opportunity...?
more later...if we're still here!
14 comments:
SAY NO MORE:
Former U.S. Rep. Denny Smith (R-Ontario) said Tuesday that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama I(D-Ill.) may have wowed a lot of people on the campaign trail, but that did not mean he was ready to lead.
“He’s been wrong on taxes, wrong on the surge. And he won’t even admit he was wrong on the surge,” Smith said via conference call from Oregon. “We ought to make him campaigner of the year. But not president.”
Smith, who is an honorary co-chair for presidential candidate John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) grassroots team in Oregon, also said that Obama’s nomination for president over U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) had left Democrats bitterly divided.
McCain campaign spokesman Rick Gorka also stressed that despite the fact that Obama won the nomination, many top Democrats, including Obama’s running mate, had questioned his ability to fulfill his duty in that role.
“The fact of the matter is Barack Obama is not ready to lead,” Gorka said. “Joe Biden has said that Barack Obama is not ready to lead, and we agree. Hillary Clinton has said that Barack Obama is not ready to lead, and we agree.”
So this is the new politics.
No politics at all.
Phil invites us to consider how far Sarah Palin has enough experience.
But we keep off the subject of her opinions.
Even though some of her extreme opinions, by British standards, are a bloggers delight.
Anon:
Read your clip, thanks which seems to say:
Career Republican and Republican Campaign Spokesman agree Republicans are best...
Surely the news is the fact that other senior Republicans are seriously questioning the judgement of their own candidate...?
brynley:
McCain's choice of Palin is definitely political...
He met this feisty woman just once - some may argue that it shows desperation and an ill-judged attempt to secure the votes of Hillary.
Sarah P will probably do fine in the campaign - the pundits are saying the vastly experienced Joe Biden will eat her for breakfast in the VP debate...
i actually think it will be Biden on the back foot and probably more prone to gaffes, but both of course will be mightily prepared by their teams...
fact remains that if McCain wins, Sarah will be the proverbial one heartbeat away from the nuclear button.
don't quote me, but didn't i read somewhere over the weekend that McCain has already had eight heart scares...?
how many lives does this cat have..?
brynley/anon:
doesn't the selection of Sarah totally undermine the central plank of the Republican message which has been to highlight Barack Obama's relative inexperience?
All this triangulation (as the insiders call it) leads nowhere and cancels each other out.
And it pisses off the voters who conclude that politicians are all the same.
You make hay with the aptitude of your opponents or the experience of your opponents.
But unless they make a series of crashing mistakes people will give them the benefit of the doubt. If you want to score points, go easy on the triangulation and go for the opinions.
There is a further problem in quoting the abominable Mr Frum. While he is entitled to his opinions, of course, most readers of a British Labour blogger would start from the prejudice that Frum has got it all wrong.
so who's your vote for brynley?
Glenrothes?
unfortunately i don't have a vote in Glenrothes...
i also don't have one in the US, and i think that's wrong...
i think we Brits should have a vote in the election for the most powerful office on earth, don't you?
Alex Salmond loves it when you talk dirty like that, Phil.
One word: Cheyney!
I've been at the Republican Convention here in the states and it puts any UK political party conference in the shade. I'm sure you will all be pleased to hear that I'm staying over here to campaign for McCain until November so may god bless you all and may god bless the united states of america.
p/s see my blog for daily news from the republican camp.
Hi Geoffrey,
hope you don't get blown away...
There's more wind coming from Norwich these days.
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