I was not looking forward to John McCain's selection of a running mate. Mitt Romney had the pedigree and fiscal knowledge, but he came across to me as just slightly too slick for his own good (to be fair, so does Barack Obama). Other than that, no one in the popular running for Vice President was anything remotely resembling a fiscal conservative.
When John McCain announced Sarah Palin for running mate, I was excited. Unlike many people, I've followed news about Governor Sarah Palin since the 2006 election. She is a fiscal conservative and corruption-fighter. Denver Post columnist and blogger David Harsanyi even calls her the libertarian VP candidate.
Yes, Palin is pro-life and yes, she’s made a huge mistake by supporting windfall taxes on oil companies. But she was a tireless reformer against government waste in a state that is famous for it. She, after all, shut down the Bridge to Nowhere.
Palin sued the Federal government over its outrageous listing of the polar bear as a threatened species. She is an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment. Her views on the Drug War are more reasonable than most in Washington. Her framing of cultural issues is far less divisive and strident than some of what we hear coming from the hard social right.
To a small government advocate like me, Governor Sarah Palin's leanings are quite positive. Her fight against corruption in Alaska created some enemies. Unlike Barack Obama who did the bidding of the Chicago Democrat machine and ignored its institutional corruption, Palin actually fought corrupt Republicans in Alaska, including the chair of the Alaska Republican Party.
One actual meme against her is the "troopergate" scandal. Palin fired Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan for budgetary and performance issues, but Monegan claimed he released since he did not fire Palin's brother-in-law from the Alaska State Troopers. Flopping Aces has a good timeline of the entire "troopergate" story, but it seems that there is no "there" there. Criticisms on her family life, many of them false or sexist, deserve no better rebuttal than that of Betsy Red earlier today.
The one meme that will not go away is the relative inexperience of Governor Palin on the national stage. Jay Cost of the RealClearPolitics Horserace Blog is one of my favorite analysts of political races. His entire essay is worth reading for its in-depth review of the selection of Sarah Palin, but this excerpt sums up the political implications of the pick well.
Here's my take on her qualifications. Historically speaking, she has enough experience to be veep. We can talk about what happens if McCain drops dead on day one, but that sounds tendentious to me - like asking what President Obama would do should Vladimir Putin declare World War III on the day of Obama's inauguration. It sounds smart to people already set upon voting against Obama, but everybody else will probably just roll his or her eyes.
Does this mean her qualifications will be a non-issue? Not necessarily. She has fewer qualifications than most veeps, that's for sure. Her thin resume could hurt her if and only if she performs badly on television. This, and nothing else, is what matters. The people who could vote Republican this year will give her a chance. Jonathan Alter, Andrew Sullivan, and other pro-Obama commentators in the MSM are not going to sway these people, at least not directly. These analysts could frame the persuables' reactions should they decide they don't like her. So, it's up to Palin.
For those who are skeptical that she can pull this off, remember - Obama did! While Obama might be special, he's certainly not singular. Lots of people can give good performances on television, even if they have had little practice. Furthermore, unlike Obama as of a year ago, Palin has already been through a real statewide election. Two, in fact - first against incumbent governor Frank Murkowski, then against former governor Tony Knowles. Obama managed to look so poised without such practice.
The key word for Palin, as it was (and is) for Obama, is poise. She appeared poised at her announcement, which was her most important day. If she appears poised during her nomination acceptance address, poised on the stump, and poised in the debate - her qualifications should be a non-issue, and she'll help McCain deliver his message.
Sarah Palin has the opportunity to introduce herself to the country without dominant liberal media interference. This could be the most watched speech of the convention. Even Mrs. Civil Sense, who does not like politics at all, asked me to record Governor Palin's speech tonight. A positive, energetic speech tonight may not win the election outright, but, at minimum, should put the experience meme to rest.
by Civil Sense
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