![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
McCain has spoken!
Aug. 29th, 2008 11:20 amAnd he has picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. (You can start with all the jokes about how he tapped her later.)
Anyway, the question comes to mind... who? And the other question, why?
As for the who, she's young, she's not a crusty old white guy, and she's only been the Governor of Alaska for the last two years. She does not have major political chops, and so everything that Republicans have been saying about Obama... well, it could also be said about her. (She was, however, the runner-up for Miss Alaska in '84, and she probably looks better in a bikini then 99.4% of the rest of the Republican party. Now, while you are adding the brain bleach after thinking of McCain in a two-piece, I shall continue....)
So, she doesn't have a lot of experience in politics, but that's not nearly as big a detriment to a VP candidate as it is to a Presidential one. She also hunts, ice-fishes, and has a lifetime membership with the NRA, so even though she's a woman, she'll please the pro-hunting and gun-nut crowds. She also seems to have no problems airing the dirty laundry of other Alaskan politicians, including those from her own party, so it continues with the whole "maverick" image that McCain is trying to cultivate.
Politically, she appears independent of big oil in Alaska (which is a major trick) as ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
delwin points out, her husband works for BP and she's for drilling in ANWR, she's pro-life (and pro-death penalty...) and opposes same-sex marriage, but vetoed legislation that would have banned Alaska from giving benefits to partners of gay state employees.
So, that's a bit on the "who" side of things. Now, why?
I mean, let's face it... all the pundits and talking heads were assuming someone like Romney or Huckabee or even Lieberman would get the nod. Hell, the local paper this morning listed the "Top 5" choices, and she wasn't one of them.
So, why?
Well, she does bring something new to the campaign. Let's face it, everyone knows who Romney and Huckabee and all those other guys are. We already know what probably 95% of their positions on things would be. And we also know that, well, most of them wouldn't help the McCain ticket that much. Much as there are claims of Democrats not wanting to vote for Obama because Hillary Clinton got snubbed, there are Republicans who wouldn't vote for McCain if he had chosen Romney (because he's a Mormon) or Lieberman (because he's Jewish) or Huckabee (because he's fucking insane). And no, Guiliani was never in contention. Sorry for the three people who still like that guy, but he wasn't.
Picking Sarah Palin also give McCain a boost in terms of women voters who are undecided, reassures the pro-life crowd, and draws attention away from the fact that McCain is himself, a crusty old white fart. Picking Palin, in fact, could be the smartest thing McCain has done so far in the election cycle. It will also pull attention away from the just-finished Democratic convention, and give the talking heads on the right (and the left, for that matter) something to talk about.
Of course, I fully expect one or more of the group of Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak, Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly to completely lose their fucking minds about this choice, and that meltdown should be fun to watch as well.
Anyway, the question comes to mind... who? And the other question, why?
As for the who, she's young, she's not a crusty old white guy, and she's only been the Governor of Alaska for the last two years. She does not have major political chops, and so everything that Republicans have been saying about Obama... well, it could also be said about her. (She was, however, the runner-up for Miss Alaska in '84, and she probably looks better in a bikini then 99.4% of the rest of the Republican party. Now, while you are adding the brain bleach after thinking of McCain in a two-piece, I shall continue....)
So, she doesn't have a lot of experience in politics, but that's not nearly as big a detriment to a VP candidate as it is to a Presidential one. She also hunts, ice-fishes, and has a lifetime membership with the NRA, so even though she's a woman, she'll please the pro-hunting and gun-nut crowds. She also seems to have no problems airing the dirty laundry of other Alaskan politicians, including those from her own party, so it continues with the whole "maverick" image that McCain is trying to cultivate.
delwin points out, her husband works for BP and she's for drilling in ANWR, she's pro-life (and pro-death penalty...) and opposes same-sex marriage, but vetoed legislation that would have banned Alaska from giving benefits to partners of gay state employees.So, that's a bit on the "who" side of things. Now, why?
I mean, let's face it... all the pundits and talking heads were assuming someone like Romney or Huckabee or even Lieberman would get the nod. Hell, the local paper this morning listed the "Top 5" choices, and she wasn't one of them.
So, why?
Well, she does bring something new to the campaign. Let's face it, everyone knows who Romney and Huckabee and all those other guys are. We already know what probably 95% of their positions on things would be. And we also know that, well, most of them wouldn't help the McCain ticket that much. Much as there are claims of Democrats not wanting to vote for Obama because Hillary Clinton got snubbed, there are Republicans who wouldn't vote for McCain if he had chosen Romney (because he's a Mormon) or Lieberman (because he's Jewish) or Huckabee (because he's fucking insane). And no, Guiliani was never in contention. Sorry for the three people who still like that guy, but he wasn't.
Picking Sarah Palin also give McCain a boost in terms of women voters who are undecided, reassures the pro-life crowd, and draws attention away from the fact that McCain is himself, a crusty old white fart. Picking Palin, in fact, could be the smartest thing McCain has done so far in the election cycle. It will also pull attention away from the just-finished Democratic convention, and give the talking heads on the right (and the left, for that matter) something to talk about.
Of course, I fully expect one or more of the group of Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak, Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly to completely lose their fucking minds about this choice, and that meltdown should be fun to watch as well.