Posted by
Yubaduck on Friday, August 29, 2008 6:55:56 PM
About a year ago, a man visited my blog. He left comments about how great it was, and wrote posts on his own blog about how it was one of the best he had ever seen. Then one day, I wrote a post on Immigration policy he didn't agree with, and he debated a bit. Later, I wrote about my support for Duncan Hunter and he totally disagreed. Then he wrote a post about appealing to the middle and again I disagreed, and basically, I never heard from him again. I took a break shortly after this because I got burned out on every post turning into an immigration debate, and the intense anger on both sides, and when I came back, he was no longer at townhall.
I mention this former townhall blogger, because before he disappeared, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the idea of Palin for President (and later Palin as a VP selection). Before he discussed this, I had never heard of her. While I parted ways with this blogger, and do not even know if he still writes elsewhere, I must credit him in part for what I am about to write because when he supported her last year, even though I had sort of written him off, I did a lot of research about her. I was not one who would have made this selection. I am by nature not much of a big risk taker, and this is a big risk because of her short tenure. Having said that, though, this pick could turn into a great decision and not because Palin is a woman. (Of course that was a factor in her choice, but there are many other reasons to choose her, and that will not be why she succeeds if she succeeds)
Palin has only been a governor for two years. Like Bobby Jindal of Louisiana though, in her short tenure, she has shaken things up. She has been determined to root out corruption, cronyism, and scandal in her state, and has succeeded at this. She has been willing to take on entrenched Republicans who play that game, and to some in Alaska, she is more an enemy to Republican politicians than Democrats. This matches McCain almost too well and might make conservatives uneasy, but read on. She has also cut taxes, cut spending in a big way, and shrunk government. She did however, raise taxes on oil companies. This is something I oppose. I think a part of her decision for this was a sense that since the oil property is on state land, the state deserves some windfall from its exploitation. I can see this logic though I don't agree. Thus on economic issues, she is a spending cutter, waste hawk, and for the most part, wants lower taxes. All qualities I approve of.
On social issues, she is pro life, not just politically, but practically as well. She made a decision to keep a Downs Synrome baby, has been a mother of 5, and in every respect, supports life. She can point to those who demand a woman has a right to choose and say "I chose life for a baby many of you would have terminated, and we have been blessed." She can point to her son if she chooses and say "It is a baby, not a choice." She can shame a proponent of partial birth abortion without saying a word. She opposes gay marriage, but allowed domestic partners to have hospital visitation rights in Alaska. I don't have a problem with this, myself. I believe anyone close enough to a person to want to see them in an ICU deserves to. This does not legitimize marriage for them.
She is an avid supporter of 2nd amendment rights, and from what I read, property rights as well. She has governed Alaska, a state with massive challenges, and done so well. She has shown all the instincts of a conservative because of her fight against the Republicans in Alaska, not despite it. She is also a regular person. Obama went to Princeton. Bush 1 and 2 went to Ivy League Schools, as did Clinton. Palin went to the University of Idaho. (So did I......class of 95...I D AHO Idaho Idaho Go Go Go...yes I am a dork).
Her husband did not ever finish college and had a union job. She is as blue collar as a politician can be. She will connect with regular people (especially in the west) because she is one. She is an outsider, but with 14 years of executive experience. She was a mayor for 8 years, ran an energy board for 4 years, and has been Governor for 2. Obama has little more experience but all of his is legislative (and only 2 years are at the federal level). She is accounted a tough campaigner. She beat 2 entrenched well known politicians in her run to Governor, one from each party.
So what line of attack will Obama and team use? Obviously, they will say she is a token woman. If they do this, the only way to prove them wrong is with a superior grasp of the issues, especially foreign policy. Attacking her experience will be fought the same way. Attacking her in any other way seems to be a no win proposition. I think that for her more than for McCain, the convention speech she gives will have incredible importance. She can't just run as an out of the beltway maverick as McCain did in 2000. She must show she grasps concrete issues like energy policy (which she has experience with in Alaska), economics (which she has dealt with at local and state and private sector levels) and most of all foreign policy. It is in the last of these that she must show that her knowledge has depth, not just from the hip comments.
After all, because of McCains age, this is a far more crucial VP than any other in my lifetime. The last elected VP to actually take offiice was LBJ (Ford was a replacement VP for Agnew), and LBJ was a whole different character than JFK and changed the direction of the country greatly . Conservative and Liberal alike, we want to know that she can handle the reigns should McCain go down in his years as President. She can show us this by her convention speech, her campaigning, and most of all her debates with the "expert" who wanted to make Iraq like Bosnia, Joe Biden.
All in all, McCain took a big chance. I hope it pays off, and I feel confident that she will show us she is ready to lead.