McCain Picks Palin
August 29th, 2008 by Spiteful Lars
Wow. Governor Sarah Palin from Alaska was elected in 2006. And now she’s on the McCain ticket.
I knew nothing about her before the pick, and a quick reading of her wiki reveals only the following:
Life long member of the NRA
Runner up for Ms. Alaska in 1984
Pro-Life
AK is one of the only states with a constitutional ban on gay marriage.
Two terms on Wasilla City Council
Beloved in Alaska (80% approval rating)
Her oldest son named Track is set to be deployed to Iraq in September as a member of the U.S. Army Infantry.
She’s getting ready to speak on CNN. On one hand I’m thrilled that now whoever wins the streak of only white dudes will be broken. On the other hand I’m not sure strategically how Palin could be mistaken for Clinton.
But it will be interesting to see how it all plays out…
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This has OFFICIALLY become the most boring blog in the world!
Then why do you keep coming back?
It’s Official… McCain is Satan incarnate!!!!!!!!
He thinks he can get the female vote because of this!?!?!
Nice to see their resumé’s are so diverse, NOT!
McCain is an ass and this woman is an ass. NOT the type of “track record” we want in a VP Candidate. Just because you can answer beauty pageant questions does NOT qualify you to hold the second most important position in our country. Assholes, the both of them.
dude…. “whomever?” You can only use “whomever” as an object, not as a subject in a sentence, as you did above. Beet….you’re normally such a good writer, what’s up? I’m sorry, normally I wouldn’t even call you on that, but it is just so glaring.
Oh, I just noticed it wasn’t Beet who wrote that. Well, then I don’t have to worry about you, Beet.
I am ashamed to say that she is my mothers best friend and former maid of honor…. She is definitely not in any way, shape, or form capable of handling Alaska affairs, let alone national and international affairs.
Sigh. Who would have thunk it eh? The woman who used to babysit me is now being looked at as our next VP.
Shoot me.
Sigh. I’ll fix whomever. Also, Brittany, I want to see you on CNN! :)
I really think this will effect a lot of Hillary supporters.
This is an absolutely blatant attempt to win over the fence riding Hillary supporters. It is OBVIOUS that McCain did not pick this woman for her track record, and this is a COMPLETE mockery of our political system. McCain is completely using her to win a vote. A while back, someone on here posted a link to McCain’s top sexist rants and it seems ironic to me that a man who publicly called his wife a c**t would chose a female as his second in command. If McCain wins the election, he will drive this country into the ground.
wow. i hate to say it but there are women out there who are truly pissed that clinton did not get her party’s nomination. many of these people have stated prior to this selection that they are considering voting for mccain. you have to wonder if selecting a female candidate might push them over to mccain’s side completely? it’s an interesting move and better, i think, than romney or giuliani would have been.
it puts someone younger, more attractive and virtually unknown on his ticket – several of the qualities that obama has. mccain won’t have ads like he is running against obama with biden criticizing him. he won’t have to defend any national or foreign policy decisions she has made because there aren’t any.
it also allows him to highlight the fact that the gop believes it has always been first when it comes to promoting women into higher offices, e.g. reagan’s nomination for o’connor to the supreme court.
her hardline right wing stances balance out what many of the hardline right wing gop’ers perceive as mccain’s liberal views on immigration, religion and abortion and will help bring that core part of the party to has side.
there are some serious pros to this move for him. the only better move i think he could have made was if he had chosen a women who had similar characteristics, but who is latina. (she may not exist!) that would have caused some real cracks in obama’s base and would have definitely played upon some serious race divisions in our culture – black v. brown.
overall, an interesting move. this campaign might have just become fun for a jaded independent to watch.
Why would that be Lars? Because I posess insider information? Bring it on. =).
I totally agree with you Beet. This is a big WTF. They couldn’t have found a more qualified female for the job?
Lol. I love how people criticize his choice because she is a woman. And Cris to your “beauty pageant” comment. This isn’t someone he picked off the street with a nice smile and five inch heels. There’s a little more to it, sweetheart.
McCain ‘08 ;)
I hate republicans, but seriously, this woman might prove me wrong. She actually does the things she says she’s going to do.
Who from any other party can actually claim that?
What’s funny is all those saying she is not qualified…. she’s much more qualified than Obama. Obama wants to change washington yet he choose someone who represents everything that is wrong with washington. He had a real shot if he would’ve picked Hillary but he didn’t even Vett her and that’s just a slap in the face to her and all of her millions of supporters. Obama even said during the debates that he would make Hillary his VP and she said visa versa. He even made a joke about how it’ll make a huge difference though who is the one doing the picking.
I think choosing Gov. Palin was not only really smart but it’s hilarious as fuck.
Lars, you are a total sport! Thank you so much for obliging, it is a much smoother read now. :-)
So, now I can comment on the content….
I spent six formative years living in Alaska – from the time I was 11 until I was 17. I imagine things may have changed a bit since then, but Alaska is still an “outback” kind of place and a real haven for the rugged individual associated with the rightest wing of the Republican party. I’d be interested, Brittany, to hear if you are from Wasilla. I grew up in SE AK and can’t imagine that someone who came from being the mayor of Wrangell, AK just a short time ago could step in as President of the United States.
@ Anonymous Says: August 29th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I agree with you compeltely…. except the rep-hate ;)
Rita-
Of the people who have responded to this post thus far, not one has criticized McCain’s choice simply because she is a woman. Even as someone who is planning on voting for Obama, I would have understood and even felt pride, (being a woman myself) of the fact that a woman could potentially be our next VP. (She is, after all, only the second woman to be chosen to run on a major party ticket as Vice President.) People are not questioning his choice based upon the fact that she is a woman, but rather at how unqualified she actually is. There are many, many other women leaders in this country that would have been perfect for this job-having a laundry list of credentials behind their name. He chose a completely unexperienced, unqualified PERSON. And Cris wasn’t implying that McCain picked her off of the street…I took it as Cris was simply stating that perhaps there are other women in this country that have more solid, POLITICAL credentials than being in a beauty pageant. As the Vice President, it is a realistic possibility that YOU could be the one suddenly running the country-should something happen to the President, (especially one who is 72 years old). I just know that I absolutely do NOT want someone potentially being forced to lead this country when they have not even led Alaska for two years.
I think there’s a little more to it than you know, perhaps.
I have more experience than her with my BA in history…. She knows how to sell herself because she has a BA in journalism. Wow.
Um. Last time I checked Obama has the same experience as Lincoln and nearly the same experience as Clinton. So, how does 2 years as governor in a state that lacks diversity really qualify her again? It’s great that she is tough on social issues that have little impact on American family’s everyday life but what’s she going to do about the midwest and the lack of jobs? How about the housing market which is a mess? How about the fact that my family is middle class and yet, we are having a difficult time and we can’t save for our 3 children to go to college? What is she going to do about that? I could give a rat’s ass if she is a lifelong member of the NRA. I am not but my husband is police officer…. what will she do because I have heard McCain and he isn’t going to do much.
This pick is a game changer. She has more executive experience than Obama, Biden and even McCain. She has strong blue collar roots v. elite Obama. She has an interest in the outcome of the war in Iraq because she has a son serving. She stood up to and is disliked by the Alaskan GOP establishment, so it’s not the same sh*t different day. She may appeal to the disgruntle PUMAS. She’s helped to improve the economy in Alaska and cut property tax. She’s young, so if anything happens to McCan…the GOP would deliver the first female VP. She a genuine speaker. She has been in Washington for 30 years like Biden.
The media should love her. The novelty of Obama is wearing thin. For months, the media was fascinated by its new Christmas toy (the thought of a minority running for office) ….now they have a new toy to play with (a personable qualified accomplished woman who might be the Nation’s first VP).
McCain/Palin 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t understand why Hillary’s supporters would choose to vote Republican. Are they really that upset that they would switch to a party whose ideals are so different from hers?
If her supporters are that petty…it just makes my brain hurt.
Brittany, screw CNN, we want the down and dirty inside info right here. Dish, please! Links to wedding photos would be awesome. Why do you feel she is unfit to lead?
I like ribbit’s stance. This does seem like an unexpected, forward-thinking move from McCain. If the only reason you were sticking with Obama was for the young, not-old-white-man thing, here’s something else for you to consider.
Qualified or not, Palin’s conservative stance will attract voters who saw McCain as too moderate. And that is truly scary. Personally, I like having rights.
PLEASE, die-hard Hillary supporters: look at the politics, not the gender!!
I have to say, however, that the inevitability of a non-male or non-white person in the white house is pretty exciting.
I’m with Jinx totally here.
I’m ready for change, not just in gender but in the content. I honestly looked into Palin and I feel she doesn’t have enough qualification to be V.P. Like others said, there are so many more women who deserve this. I am a die hard liberal and Obama supporter but she does seem to look good and I do like the “home grown, working mother, husbands in a union type thing. Just my 2 cents
i have to say i’m pretty excited for my personal political career.
i was first runner up for miss california and have a masters in communications. i guess i can run for office now too! yippee!
btw, anyone who has ever competed in a pageant will tell you there is no other venue that will prepare you more to run for political office. those women are vicious backstabbers and will take you out. running for national office will be child’s play for her! ;-)
on a serious note, could mccain’s timing be any better? obama really isn’t getting a bounce from the convention and this nomination is totally stealing his press. for someone who has no flipping idea for whom they are going to vote, this drama is fabulous!
it will be interesting to see how obama handles her inexperience – glass houses and all. i bet biden is sent after her. but anyone that can duct tape her boobs to create clevage and superglue her ass into a swimsuit to prevent a wedgie will totally be able to handle him. hahahahaha!
Two Words: Evil Incarnate
Don’t you think it’s a little early, ribbet, to tell whether or not Obama’s getting any “bounce” from his speech and from the convention? Let’s let things die down from the DNC and from this announcement today. After the RNC is over and we get into debates, we’ll see how things stand. I don’t think you can make a huge distinction with the “executive” business either, Anonymous. Sorry, but almost 2 years as the Governor of AK is not even nearly equivalent to the years of legislative experience Obama had in IL and to his 4 years as US Senator. So yeah, no glass house there! Have you ever been to AK? Seriously, the state is awesomely beautiful, but has a very small population and very narrow issues (environmental mostly, due to the natural resources, including fish, timber and oil). So yeah, that argument won’t stick for any half-way intelligent voters. Sorry. Also, I can’t believe too many Hillary supporters, bitter or not, could be swayed by someone who is so decidedly not pro-choice. If so, then they weren’t true Democrats to begin with.
I ran for president back in 1892 and my running mate was cross-eyed weasel named Jimiminy. Ahhh the good old days.
Well well
McCain isn’t exactly in the best of health…I wonder what’s going to happen if he does get elected and dies during his term. I don’t think this lady is going to do to well. If it was up to her (or McCain for that matter) we’d probably all be carrying guns and shooting gay people in the street…and there would also be a lot of unwanted babies and pathetic teenage mothers when abortion isn’t legal. And then there won’t be any hope of getting universal health care so the country will keep getting worse….and the dollar will keep getting lower, and the unemployment rate will keep getting higher.
Obama being elected is the only possible hope for America to redeem itself for being so terrible for so many years.
hi jojo, we get to write again. i enjoy reading your comments.
pre-convention obama and mccain were in a statistical dead heat. gallup has released its results and obama’s bump in the polls was 6 points. so, yes, there was an increase for him.
my point was that at the 1992 democratic convention, bill clinton’s lead climbed as much as 30 points in some polls. obama was hoping for a bigger bounce than 6 points to pad a lead before the gop convention. he just didn’t get it.
it’s going to be an extremely tight and interesting to watch race.
Well well well, things have gone adult since the Beet is away. Someone tell me… really.. has she been fired because of her twat and piss fetish? New Guys on the block. Don’t be afraid to be a tad bit outrageous and shocking. It goes with the territory, your high school teachers are not watching.
I am minutes into this new news–been under a rock outside the country–Don’t not tell me the Republicans give a care about women. This is a 100% strategy. She has been pulled out of a hat and the stars are still twinkling in her eyes. She has the blissed out look of someone who does not know what hit her.
The remarks above have given me a lot of good info and I have some reading to do. I will never vote Republican. I will NEVER forgive them for destroying this country’s reputation around the world. If you never leave you never hear about it. It is safe to say that 90% of all the people on the globe hate the US government. They call the American people naive, but they really are trying not to say stupid or blind.
We need a change and I am going to vote for it! That would be Obama
Likewise, ribbet! And I will give you that much…it will be an interesting and unfortunately, tight race. Though, I am loathe to believe any polls out there! Those polls only make me come to the conclusion that we are a nation of complete morons. In my opinion, the choice should be painfully clear and therefore the race should not be so tight.
As a fellow Alaskan -Hi Brittany!- I have to say I am still voting for Obama. Sarah is a fun govenor, but not presidental. I am excited to see her run because she has been knocking it out of the park as far as being a new mom in office goes. She did a press conference where she announced her son (#5) has down syndrome so as not to make it the focus of speculation in the media and then launched into her proposal for the new gas pipeline without letting the media derail her with fluff.
As a girly-girl feminist I can say that I admire her ability to be assert herself even if her track record on choice and lgbt issues makes me weep.
I’m not critisizing his choice because she is a woman, I have issues with the fact that she is a former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience. McCain is old, really old and she would be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
That scares me. I don’t care if the VP was black or white, male or female, they need to have the expierence to lead this country and turn it around.
Also the fact that she’s from an oil state makes me cringe! G1 & G2 are Texans, oil by trade and look at the state that we are in?
We need a progessive, forward thinking team to lead this country and make it what it should be and prepare us for the generations to come.
I wouldn’t trust a woman that wasn’t pro-choice, but that’s only my opinion.
We are in for a bumpy ride kids…… educate yourself on the issues, make a solid decison based on facts and go out and vote in November. If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain about the state of affairs.
Rita, I think you may have misconstrued my comment. I am not criticizing his choice because she is a woman, but because she is not qualified. Period. She is not equipped to run our country. No way. No how. Not in the least. I am just floored at how many Americans have not been paying attention for the past eight LONG years. If you aren’t disgusted, you haven’t been paying attention, and as the Governor of my state said at a convention I attended last weekend, John McCain is the Bush administration on steroids. Enough is enough already! We need CHANGE.
Obama/Biden 08!!!!!
I’m from Delaware and I have always been a Biden fan, that being said, it doesn’t take a genius to see that Palin vs Biden is a no brainer. IT IS NOT man vs woman, it’s the agenda, the expierence and the ability. Anyone, man or woman who turns this into a pissing match about boys and girls really should keep their opinions to themselves. It will only weaken you stand, not strengthen it.
Obama/Biden 2008….. for change in the RIGHT direction!
Amen, Chris!
oops, I mean, “Amen, Cris!” LOL
BRITTANY! If you are telling the truth…why aren’t you telling all of the news companies?!
And I am so sorry for this country if the McCain party is elected. EW
i am a truly undecided independent. i really don’t like either party: i make too much money to benefit from democratic social programs and enough for them to tax the hell out of me. i am a woman and don’t believe that a bunch of old white male republicans have the right to dictate my morality or my uterus.
that said, i appreciate many of the opinions that people have expressed in this blog. i can look at mccain’s track record as a pretty reliable predictor of what his presidency would look like. however, obama is a bit of a mystery.
egg pointed out some interesting problems that the u.s. is facing: specifically the economy: dollar & unemployment (i would add trade deficit) and healthcare.
i’m hoping that the obama supporters might be able to point me to the concrete plans that he has outlined for how he would address these issues. it’s one thing to point out a problem and demand change. it is quite another to be able to come up with and implement a solution. i’m looking for solutions. i am asking this sincerely because one of the best things i’ve read on this blog is lilly’s last paragraph on August 29th, 2008 at 12:08 paraphrased: if you don’t vote, you can’t bitch. i don’t ever want to lose my opportunity to bitch, so i will be voting. i’m just not sure how yet. thanks!
this is a totally stupid pick from a messaging standpoint. McCain’s going to have to throw out all of his talking points on obama because he’s picked someone less experienced to be only a heartbeat away from the presidency. and people say obama lacks judgement?? Biden might not be awesome, but at least he didn’t destroy the message of the campaign!
OBAMA 08
@Asta: the women with whom i have spoken have stated that they would vote for mccain this election year, so that they could send hillary up against him in 2012. they think she could take him then especially if it truly is a 4 year extension of the Bush presidency. it is an interesting strategy and one that i’m not so sure that hillary is discouraging. it would be very difficult for her to run and win at the age of 69, if obama wins and serves two terms. hillary is walking quite a tight rope. she has to be just supportive enough of obama so that she can’t be accused of being a reason why obama loses, but she wants this job so bad she can taste it and would love another shot at it in 4 years.
McCain’s pick of Palin as his running mate is a typically cynical Republican ploy that should be viewed as a insult to any voter with an IQ even in double digits. Wait a minute! That’s the IQ range that Republicans prefer for their cadidates for public office. I give you George W. Bush as exhibit “A”.
Why didn’t McCain just go to his local PTA and pick some soccer mom with the faded prettiness of an ex-beauty contestant to be his running mate. This is ALL about her being a woman and the crass, opportunistic methods that Republicans use to win elections. Palin wasn’t picked because McCain believes she is in anyway qualified to be President,but, rather, because he believes he can skim just enough disgruntled women who wanted Hillary on the ticket to push him over the top. Republicans believe in winning at all costs just to see a warm body with a Republican lable sitting in the oval office. It is a sad thing to see a man such as McCain give himself over so completely to the dark side of Republican (Karl Rove) politics.
It is not really that hard to believe, when you consider that McCain cheated on his wife, who had been seriously injured in a traffic accident, and married a woman with a one hundred million dollar beer fortune before the ink on his divorce papers was dry. Behind his perpetually smiling face and his hero image, there may lurk the heart and soul of a real prick.
All you people who are supporting McCain are all ignorant. I bet you were all Bush supporters too and look what great stuff he did for this country! Morons.
Obama/Biden 2008!!!!
I will not reiterate what a lot of the other blog commenter’s have stated about Palin being a bad choice. However for the record, it was an interesting choice albeit a very bad one. To be quite honest, it makes me very happy he made such a ridiculous move…all the better for the Obama/Biden ticket! What I would like to mention: McCain has been riding the Obama lacks experience wave, Obama is not in touch with the average American, etc yet he picked a PERSON (yes, I’m removing gender b/c it’s irrelevant) to be on his ticket which has less experience than Obama and represents a state which is far from a representation of “the average American”. Talk about hypocritical! If we compare apples to apples (i.e. Obama’s experience and Palin’s experience) Obama wins – hands down!
Obama/Biden ‘08!!!!!!!!!!
This move is so Republican. So McCain hopes to rope in Hillary supporters left bitter and abandoned now that Sen. Clinton has joined the OBama brigade simply by choosing a woman candidate (note: this also competes shamelessly with the history-in-making edge of the Obama campaign.)
Sigh.
Why are Republicans so two-dimensional, and why do they consistently insult the intelligence of the American people?
I have to say, Obama was right, “John McCain doesn’t GET IT.”
I swear, these rich, clueless old men and their plastic, brainwashed female counterparts living in ivory palaces (and for those in middle clas bungalows, these could be figurative MENTAL ivory palaces) all their lives think they are (righteous and superior AND) darn clever when, in reality, they’re a joke. A JOKE.
I don’t know anyone who’s REALLY Republican…..I know a lot of people that vote based on moral issues, nearly superstitiously, because their parents do or whatnot, but seriously, Pro Life? Fine. BE PRO LIFE in YOUR OWN LIFE, be whoever you want to be but look at the politics here. Sighhhhh.
McCain (like he cares, but I’ll address him here in some fantastical notion): Hillary supporters are die-hard because Sen. Clinton is foreward thinking and fair and pro-PEOPLE and has totally proven herself a contender…. not because she is “A Woman.” Sigh. I feel like McCain took a phone call from George W. on this one or something. Why can’t they get an idea of who the American people are? This party is seriously making a fool of itself. Antiquated and nearly theatrical. Gross. Good riddens.
OBAMA BIDEN 08.
@ Alan:
Very well stated my firend! You were right on the money and your delivery was of a comedic nature. Loved it! :-)
I’m kind-a with ribbet, I too am an undecided indepentant. Some things I agree with the dems & others with the repubs. It seems to me that both Obama & Palin lack a lot of experiance & that McCain & Biden are both been in Washington forever old white guys.