See how appalled The Economist Magazine is about John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin.
The September 4 article starts with the headline:
"John McCain’s choice of running-mate raises serious questions about his judgment"
and goes on to:
"The moose in the room, of course, is her lack of experience. When Geraldine Ferraro was picked as Walter Mondale’s running-mate, she had served in the House for three terms. Even the hapless Dan Quayle, George Bush senior’s sidekick, had served in the House and Senate for 12 years. Mrs Palin, who has been the governor of a state with a population of 670,000 for less than two years, is the most inexperienced candidate for a mainstream party in modern history.
"Inexperienced and Bush-level incurious. She has no record of interest in foreign policy, let alone expertise. She once told an Alaskan magazine: “I’ve been so focused on state government; I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq.” She obtained an American passport only last summer to visit Alaskan troops in Germany and Kuwait. This not only blunts Mr McCain’s most powerful criticism of Mr Obama. It also raises serious questions about the way he makes decisions."
and ends with
"One of the biggest problems with the Bush administration is that it appointed so many incompetents because they were sound on Roe v Wade. Mrs Palin’s elevation suggests that, far from breaking with Mr Bush, Mr McCain is repeating his mistakes."
Let's hope the American public does not buy this irresponsible maneuver.
Showing posts with label McCain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McCain. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Hillary to the rescue?
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
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
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sarah Palin – An Irresponsible Act
I respect John McCain, but I cannot respect his decision to make Sarah Palin his running mate.
She is not qualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and with McCain at 72 years old, there is a good chance the Presidency will fall to her.
Palin is an evangelical Christian, an anti-abortion, anti-feminist woman, anti-gay, anti-gun controls, sometimes pro-creationism, who comes from a state dominated by big oil and intense corruption.
Palin has no national or international experience whatever. Her major responsible job before less than 2 years as governor of Alaska was as mayor of a town of 8,000. She was also Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for a year, so she knows how big oil works.
Her strategic plusses for McCain: She will play well with the evangelicals (who have been falling off the Republican bandwagon) and some of the working class who Hillary spoke to but who have eluded Obama.
The Alaska papers vacillate between “home town girl makes good” and horror at the possibility.
The sleaze factor is back. Why does this remind me of Spiro T. Agnew, for those of you who remember? People who think they can use government to further their personal ends. Google “Palin Trooper Gate” and see what comes up. Palin has been under investigation for pressuring the Alaska Government to fire her ex-brother in law, who is a state trooper, as part of her sister’s nasty divorce.
Will America fall for this? The Hillary people certainly won’t. Sarah Palin is as far from Hillary Clinton as could be.
Mr. McCain, this was irresponsible.
Democrats: Every vote counts!
Bob
Live Abroad? Need to Vote?
We make it easy. See www.votefromabroad.org
She is not qualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and with McCain at 72 years old, there is a good chance the Presidency will fall to her.
Palin is an evangelical Christian, an anti-abortion, anti-feminist woman, anti-gay, anti-gun controls, sometimes pro-creationism, who comes from a state dominated by big oil and intense corruption.
Palin has no national or international experience whatever. Her major responsible job before less than 2 years as governor of Alaska was as mayor of a town of 8,000. She was also Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for a year, so she knows how big oil works.
Her strategic plusses for McCain: She will play well with the evangelicals (who have been falling off the Republican bandwagon) and some of the working class who Hillary spoke to but who have eluded Obama.
The Alaska papers vacillate between “home town girl makes good” and horror at the possibility.
The sleaze factor is back. Why does this remind me of Spiro T. Agnew, for those of you who remember? People who think they can use government to further their personal ends. Google “Palin Trooper Gate” and see what comes up. Palin has been under investigation for pressuring the Alaska Government to fire her ex-brother in law, who is a state trooper, as part of her sister’s nasty divorce.
Will America fall for this? The Hillary people certainly won’t. Sarah Palin is as far from Hillary Clinton as could be.
Mr. McCain, this was irresponsible.
Democrats: Every vote counts!
Bob
Live Abroad? Need to Vote?
We make it easy. See www.votefromabroad.org
Monday, August 25, 2008
Hillary’s tears.
I have to admit, I did not understand the depth of feeling of Hillary’s supporters, their sense that Hillary's loss is not right.
Yes, in public I have said for months, “the Hillary people worked hard for their candidate, so naturally they are disappointed”, and “Hillary has made history by being the first serious woman candidate for the Presidency”, and “Hillary Clinton has earned our respect for her tremendous contributions” and so on and so on. And it was all true.
But I didn’t really GET it. Until I saw the glimmerings of tears this week from women I respect. Until I saw intelligent women threaten to vote for …. well, if not actually to vote for McCain, then just not to vote at all.
I had sexist thoughts (I thought us gay guys were exempt) such as: “She lost. Why can’t they get over it?” and “Why are they changing the rules of the game by talking about the popular vote? It’s irrelevant!” I resented that any candidate would feel “entitled” to the nomination.
As a gay man myself, shouldn’t I understand the feeling that we are always dismissed unfairly when the good stuff gets handed out? Nope. I didn't.
But now I do. It’s not enough to say “Obama won fair and square”. It’s not enough to rely on their reluctance to criticize a black man’s victory. Something more has to be done and said. I think that will happen at the convention this week.
We need to put this behind us and unite for an unabashed victory in November.
Happily, today’s NY Times says we are already starting to. Polls from a week ago suggest that although only 43% of Clinton delegates have decided to vote for Obama at the convention, 80% will support him in the general election, and most of those will do so enthusiastically.
After all, a Democratic victory IS the most important thing. We must start repairing the damage from the Bush years as soon as possible.
I am sure Hillary herself believes that. I don’t think Hillary wants this tension to continue.
The vast majority of Democrats – both Hillary and Obama supporters - are people of principle above all.
I am confident we can heal this wound and go forward to victory.
It has never been more important.
Bob
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
Yes, in public I have said for months, “the Hillary people worked hard for their candidate, so naturally they are disappointed”, and “Hillary has made history by being the first serious woman candidate for the Presidency”, and “Hillary Clinton has earned our respect for her tremendous contributions” and so on and so on. And it was all true.
But I didn’t really GET it. Until I saw the glimmerings of tears this week from women I respect. Until I saw intelligent women threaten to vote for …. well, if not actually to vote for McCain, then just not to vote at all.
I had sexist thoughts (I thought us gay guys were exempt) such as: “She lost. Why can’t they get over it?” and “Why are they changing the rules of the game by talking about the popular vote? It’s irrelevant!” I resented that any candidate would feel “entitled” to the nomination.
As a gay man myself, shouldn’t I understand the feeling that we are always dismissed unfairly when the good stuff gets handed out? Nope. I didn't.
But now I do. It’s not enough to say “Obama won fair and square”. It’s not enough to rely on their reluctance to criticize a black man’s victory. Something more has to be done and said. I think that will happen at the convention this week.
We need to put this behind us and unite for an unabashed victory in November.
Happily, today’s NY Times says we are already starting to. Polls from a week ago suggest that although only 43% of Clinton delegates have decided to vote for Obama at the convention, 80% will support him in the general election, and most of those will do so enthusiastically.
After all, a Democratic victory IS the most important thing. We must start repairing the damage from the Bush years as soon as possible.
I am sure Hillary herself believes that. I don’t think Hillary wants this tension to continue.
The vast majority of Democrats – both Hillary and Obama supporters - are people of principle above all.
I am confident we can heal this wound and go forward to victory.
It has never been more important.
Bob
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Vote From Abroad!
We arrived in America yesterday. It’s great to be here – seeing friends, having fun, talking fast. The best.
But it’s disturbing, as well. Unlike in Europe, where it seems inevitable that Obama will win, here in the US that’s not true at all. It’s a very close race. A Reuters poll today gave McCain a big advantage. In the crucial swing states, it’s neck-on-neck.
If even a small part of what we see here on TV is true, then America is distracted by the issue-of-the-moment (offshore drilling, fears about Russian expansion) and lightening evaluations of Obama’s and McCain’s responses. Should Obama have taken a vacation last week? That was the burning blip. No attention to the things we see from abroad: America’s loss of respect, the decline of the dollar, burgeoning debt, uncontrollable and expensive war, and so forth. The Bush damage that we must repair. And no sense that McCain is Bush redux.
This makes our get-out-the-vote work URGENTLY important. With some 6 million Americans abroad, who vote in every state, we really can make an important difference. Our perspective is valuable.
If you are an American who lives outside the US and have not yet arranged to vote, please do it NOW. Time is running short. If you don’t know how, go to www.votefromabroad.org
This is important.
Thanks,
Bob
But it’s disturbing, as well. Unlike in Europe, where it seems inevitable that Obama will win, here in the US that’s not true at all. It’s a very close race. A Reuters poll today gave McCain a big advantage. In the crucial swing states, it’s neck-on-neck.
If even a small part of what we see here on TV is true, then America is distracted by the issue-of-the-moment (offshore drilling, fears about Russian expansion) and lightening evaluations of Obama’s and McCain’s responses. Should Obama have taken a vacation last week? That was the burning blip. No attention to the things we see from abroad: America’s loss of respect, the decline of the dollar, burgeoning debt, uncontrollable and expensive war, and so forth. The Bush damage that we must repair. And no sense that McCain is Bush redux.
This makes our get-out-the-vote work URGENTLY important. With some 6 million Americans abroad, who vote in every state, we really can make an important difference. Our perspective is valuable.
If you are an American who lives outside the US and have not yet arranged to vote, please do it NOW. Time is running short. If you don’t know how, go to www.votefromabroad.org
This is important.
Thanks,
Bob
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