It weighs on me. Sarah Palin, with little substance but high TV ratings, is distracting the national debate.
Selecting her was a political stroke, but also an act of singular irresponsibility by John McCain. She is clearly not qualified to be a heartbeat from the Presidency of the United States, especially when in John McCain’s case that heartbeat would be that of the oldest president we ever elected.
But there it is. The cameras like her. The public seems to be attracted.
This election will not be decided by the votes of people who, like me, are passionate and follow every day’s news. We decided whom to vote for years ago.
The election will be decided by the 5-8% of Americans, many in swing states, who will make up their minds in the final weeks. And they seem to like looking at Sarah.
The Democratic Party needs a specific strategy to attract these relatively uninformed, relatively uninterested voters. They are important.
In my view, we have to fight fire with fire.
Only one person can take on Sarah: that’s Hillary.
In order for the Democrats to win, Hillary should go to blows (figuratively) with Sarah Palin, day-by-day, state by state, from now until the election. Hillary has to show clearly that Sarah is no Hillary, and use her appeal to working class voters to compete with Sarah’s.
Joe Biden cannot do it. With Sarah, he will have to walk a tightrope. A man cannot be tough on a nice lady and win, no matter how abhorrent her thoughtless politics might be. He cannot appear to bully her. It won’t help that Joe is hugely more qualified and knowledgeable on the issues than Sarah. That will just make it an unfair fight, and attract sympathy to her.
This is important.
Bob
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I was told about a cartoon yesterday. Ms. Palin was on the phone sitting at a desk. The caption was "No honey, you have to take care of the kids tonight, I have to learn the Launch Codes."
I can't be certain of this, but this winter outside of Tuscon I was able to go into the bowels of a decomissioned very large (MinuteMan?) nuclear missle silo. The guides were all volunteers who had been the monitors of the silo during the Vietnam war.
They showed us enough to see how a nuclear missle could be launched. Two people verify the authenticity of a Launch Code, turn two very ordinary keys with locks just far enough apart to theoretically keep one person from turning them both at the same time. Once they are turned at the same time, one of the two presses one of three buttons, numbered 1,2,3. Pressing any of those sends the missle with its nuclear warheads (yes plural) to destroy a very large area which is unknown to those who launch.
The total number of people in the control room is theoretically always 3.
It was not clearly specified, but implied, that the Launch Code that they confirm is given by one person, the President of the United States.
I told my partner last night that if Ms. Palin gets into the White House and by reason of ill health of McCain has such control, there will simply be no place to hide.
Of course McCain himself could do this also. The point is that as far as I can tell it is a one person operation. Maybe the person asks for consultation, maybe not.
Thomas Merton, in a book called EMBLEMS IN A SEASON OF FURY wrote about this. He said that if a nuclear war happens it will happen because the person who declares it believes it is == dare I say it == God's will and good and necessary for everyone.
I thought I was frightened under Nixon. I thought I was frightened under Regan. I thought I was frightened under Bush.
I have never been as frightened as I am right now.
Bill W
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