So Sarah Palin is John McCain’s choice for VP. Good to see a woman on one of the major tickets, especially with Hillary Clinton’s loss of the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama, but let’s not kid ourselves here: an extra X-chromosome does not a woman-friendly candidate make. Palin has never been shy about calling herself a staunchly pro-life advocate and is a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association. Forget experience (or lack thereof). I’ve admired her as a professional for a long time, since reading about her in a magazine article several months ago that profiled successful, up-and-coming women. She’s smart, capable and obviously charismatic.
But. But. Her very conservative views will do women no favors. Without the fundamental right to control our reproduction, our right to determine what is best for us, our bodies, and our futures, we’ll always be second-class citizens in this country.
She’s quite the wingnut. Hopefully, America will use its brain for once – ha ha – and not vote for those clowns.
Hi Marjorie:She has defied the Alaska GOP establishment on more than one occasion, including defeating the incumbent Governor in the primary 2 years ago. Maybe this is part of her appeal to McCain.As much as she is capable of many things, I just can’t see her presiding over a Senate that includes capable women such as Hillary Clinton and Dianne Feinstein. Never mind the one heartbeat away from the presidency, it’s her practical knowledge of government, on ANY level, that will come into question. I wish her well, but hers is not a position I would wish on anyone.Have a good weekend!
Dear John, greetings! Completely agree. I think she might make a potential <>presidential<> candidate someday, but I fear it’s too soon, and exposing her too early into the brutal scrutiny of a presidential race might compromise her chances in the future. Plus, she’s in the middle of a scandal in her own state surrounding an issue of possible abuse of power.I can’t see that Republicans reluctant to vote for McCain would automatically embrace him because of Palin, if only because she’s such a new face. With McCain at 72, they’ll be thinking, <>Okay, if something happens to him, is she really going to be ready to take up the reins as the most powerful person in the entire world?<> When you have someone like Pat Buchanan questioning her qualifications, you’re not getting off to a good start.The true test will be how she handles the upcoming vice presidential debates. I’m eager to see how she’ll come across, sparring against a super-experienced statesman, policymaker and foreign policy expert like Joe Biden. It might almost be too painful to watch. But then again, I shouldn’t prejudge!Cheers,Marjorie
Dear <>Randal<>, right now the polls are still neck-and-neck, right? I’m hopeful that Obama will win (although he wasn’t my first choice, as you know). The Democrats haven’t done too bad a job, but then we thought Gore was going to win in 2000. I’m so awful at political prognostications, but I would venture to say that Palin will end up as McCain’s downfall. I can’t wait to read the memoirs of any of McCain’s senior operatives and see how they came to this head-scratching decision. It’s only the day after the announcement, and already people are questioning the decision.Cheers,Marjorie