McCain's VP is...

[Darius871]

After spending 100% of my adult life under Bush, by comparison Ford sounds like Washington, Lincoln, both Roosevelts, and every Caesar all rolled into one. I'll settle for just about anything.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
I would have guessed Baltar.

Basically, we're screwed no matter what.

[Darius871]

Originally posted by Lonestar
Basically, we're screwed no matter what.

So Tigh ends up being a Cylon? Thanks for the spoiler *******!

[reismark]

Originally posted by Kidicious
Not only that, but she's just a puppet for the oil companies there.

I wouldn't go that far, Kid. Part of what enabled her to defeat Alaska's incumbent governor was that the incumbent negotiated a sweetheart deal with the three American oil companies for the natural gas pipeline that's being constructed up there. When Palin came into office, she ripped that agreement up and then signed a deal with a Canadian oil company when the American companies cried foul.

Granted, she supports drilling in ANWR, which puts her in league with the oil companies right off the bat, but to call her a puppet is probably an overstatement.

[Kidlicious]

Well I'm not believing for a second that she "took on big oil." She saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. In Alaska the oil companies are very much in control, except that the uncovered scandle (that everone in Alaska knew about anyway) was a incurred cost.

-----

On another note here's a good blog about Palin written by an Alaskan. It sounds like to me that she's just as corrupt as the rest of Alaska's politicians.

What is McCain Thinking? One Alaskanfs Perspective.

gIs this a joke?h That seemed to be the question du jour when my phone started ringing off the hook at 6:45am here in Alaska. I mean, wefre sort of excited that our humble state has gotten some kind of national enodfc.but seriously? Sarah Palin for Vice President? Yes, shefs a popular governor. Her all time high approval rating hovered around 90% at one point. But bear in mind that the 90% approval rating came from one of the most conservative, and reddest-of-the-red states out there. And that approval rating came before a series of events that have lead many Alaskans to question the governorfs once pristine image.

There is no doubt in my mind that many Alaskans are feeling pretty excited about this. But we live in our own little bubble up here, and most of the attention we get is because of The Bridge to Nowhere, polar bears, the indictment of Ted Stevens, and the ongoing investigation and conviction of the string of legislators and oil executives who literally called themselves gThe Corrupt Bastards Clubh.

So seeing our governor out there in the national spotlight accepting the nomination for Vice Presidential candidate is just downright surreal. Just months ago, when rumors surfaced that she was on the long version of the short list, she was questioned if shefd be interested in the position. She said she couldnft answer guntil somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day. Ifm used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that wefre trying to accomplish up herec.h

There is no doubt that Palin has fierce territorial loyalties. When elected governor there was much concern because she came right out and said she would favor her own home town of Wasilla (where she was mayor) and its surrounding environs collectively known as gthe Valleyh while leading the state. And itfs obvious from her statement that Alaska was on her mind when accepting the VP nod (see my emphasis above).

So what is it that wefre gtrying to accomplish up hereh?

Palin is currently in the middle of a controversial gas pipeline project in Alaska. Shefs favored the eTrans Canadaf proposal that will run the pipeline through Canada, in effect shipping US jobs over the border. Many Alaskans, including former governors, have favored the gAll Alaska Routeh.
She is also sueing the federal government over listing the polar bears as a threatened species. The science was even compelling enough to convince the Secretery of the Interior that the bears needed to be listed. But acknowlegement of this issue, and the potential disruption to development on Alaskafs oil-rich north slope spurred Palin to attempt to stop the listing.
Does she want to open ANWR? Yes. Every politician in Alaska wants to open ANWR. Itfs basically a requirement if you ever hope to get elected for anything. Even Mark Begich, the progressive Democrat running against the indicted Senator and Alaskan institution Ted Stevens, is pro-drilling. Thatfs the sea we swim in up here. There are a few anti-drilling folks, but you have to look hard to find them, and work hard to have them admit it.
Will all this wash with voters in the eLower 48Œ? Time will tell.

18 Million Cracks in the Glass Ceiling

It was obvious anyway, but became beat-you-over-the-head-with-a-two-by-four obvious when Palin referenced the eglass ceilingf line, that this choice is a blatant pander to women. I would like to believe that women will actually feel insulted by this. Yes, it would have been historic if Hillary had gotten the nomination. It was historic that she made it as far as she did. Yes, it would be great to have a woman in the oval office, or in the VP slot if they are the right womanca woman who got there with her own drive, grit, determination, intelligence, skill and merits. When youfre hand-picked by a man to win votes simply because you are a woman, that doesnft count, and it doesnft break any kind of ceiling. Would we have had a Stan Palin as our VP pick? No. So choosing a woman because you think her gender will get votes is insulting.

Governor gSqueakycleanhc.or not.

Another focus of Palinfs introduction today was her reform image. Listen to John McCain and youfll hear about a maverick reformer who took on big oil, took on corrupt Alaska politicians, and whose ethics are unquestioned.

Alaskans really want to like Sarah Palin. In a state where corruption is the rule, and the same faces keep recycling over and over and over again like a bad dream, a new face, with a promise of reform seemed like a breath of fresh air. Palin defeated incumbent governor Frank Murkowski (father of Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski who he appointed to his own Senate seat when he was elected governor) because he was such an obnoxious, bloviating, downright BAD politician. This staunchly republican state voted with relief, not having to cross over and vote Democratic, but still able to get Murkowski the hell out of office. In the general election Palin swept into office running against a former Democratic governor, Tony Knowles, who was capable but came with baggage. And he represented to Alaskans more of the same, tired old-style politics, and special interests that we have come to loathe.

So, if McCain had made his selection six months ago, the squeaky-clean governor meme would have made a little more sense. But, Sarah Palin is currently under an ethics investigation by the Alaska state legislature. The details of this investigation read like a trashy novel, and I suspect that the players will soon have newfound celebrity on the national stage. Ifll try to explain for all you non-Alaskans who suddenly have good reason to want to know more about Sarah Palin. For those of you not interested in trashy novels, feel free to skip ahead. Here it iscwhat we in Alaska call gTrooperGateh.

Sarah Palinfs sister Molly married a guy named Mike Wooten who is an Alaska State Trooper. Mike and Molly had a rocky marriage. When the marriage broke up, there was a bitter custody fight that is still ongoing. During the custody investigation, all sorts of things were brought up about Wooten including the fact that he had illegally shot a moose (yes folks this is Alaska), driven drunk, and used a taser (on the test setting, he reminds us) on his 11-year old stepson, who supposedly had asked to see what it felt like. While Wooten has turned out to be a less than stellar figure, the fact that Palinfs father accompanied him on the infamous moose hunt, and that many of the dozens of charges brought up by the Palin family happened long before they were ever reported smacked of desperate custody fight. Wootenfs story is that he was basically stalked by the family.

After all this, Wooten was investigated and disciplined on two counts and allowed to kept his position with the troopers. Enter Walt Monegan, Palinfs appointed new chief of the Department of Public Safety and head of the troopers. Monegan was beloved by the troopers, did a bang-up job with minimal funding and suddenly got axed. Palin was out of town and Monegan got goffered another jobh (aka fired) with no explanation to Alaskans. Pressure was put on the governor to give details, because rumors started to swirl around the fact that the highly respected Monegan was fired because he refused to fire the aforementioned Mike Wooten. Palin vehemently denied ever talking to Monegan or pressuring Monegan in any way to fire Wooten, or that anyone on her staff did. Over the weeks it has come out that not only was pressure applied, there were literally dozens of conversations in which pressure was applied to fire him. Monegan has testified to this fact, spurring an ongoing investigation by the Alaska state legislature. But, before this investigation got underway, Palin sent the Alaska State Attorney General out to do some investigative work of his own so she could find out in advance what the real investigation was going to find. (No, Ifm not making this up). The AG interviewed several people, unbeknownst to the actual appointed investigator or the Legislature! Palinfs investigation of herself uncovered a recorded phone call retained by the Alaska State Troopers from Frank Bailey, a Palin underling, putting pressure on a trooper about the Wooten non-firing. Todd Palin (governorfs husband) even talked to Monegan himself in Palinfs office while she was away. Bailey is now on paid administrative leave.

As if this werenft enough, Moneganfs appointed replacement Chuck Kopp, turns out to have been the center of his own little scandal. He received a letter of reprimand and was reassigned after sexual harrassment allegations by a former coworker who didnft like all the unwanted kissing and hugging in the office. Was he vetted? Obviously not. When he was questioned about all this, his comment was that no one had asked him and he thought they all knew. Kopp, defiant, still claimed to have done nothing wrong and said to the press that there was no way he was stepping down from his new position. Twenty four hours later, he stepped down. Later it was uncovered that he received a $10,000 severance package for his two weeks on the job from Palin. Monegan got nothing.

After extensive news coverage about all this nasty behind-the-scenes scandal, which is definitely NOT squeaky clean, Palinfs approval ratings fell to 67%, still high, but a far cry from the 90% number thatfs being thrown around so glibly by the Republicans today. Alaskans are quickly becoming disillusioned once again.

gExecutive Experienceh

Before her meteoric rise to political success as governor, just two short years ago Sarah Palin was the mayor of Wasilla. I had a good chuckle at MSN.comfs claim that she had been the mayor of gWasilla Cityh. It is not a city. Just Wasilla. Wasilla is the heart of the Alaska gBible belth and Sarah was raised amongst the tribe that believes creationism should be taught in our public schools, homosexuality is a sin, and life begins at conception. Shefs a gun-toting, hang eem high conservative. Remembercthis is where her approval ratings come from. There is no doubt that McCain again is making a strategic choice to appeal to a particular demographic - fundamentalist right-wing gun-owning Christians. And Republican bloggers are already gushing about how she has emore executive experiencef than Obama does! Above is a picture of lovely downtown Wasilla, for those of you unfamiliar with the area. Behind the Mug-Shot Saloon (the first bar I visited when I moved to Alaska long ago) is a little strip mall. There are street signs in Wasilla with bullet holes in them. Wasilla has a population of about 5500 people, and 1979 occupied housing units. This is where your potential Vice President was two short years ago. Can you imagine her negotiating a nuclear non-proliferation treaty? Discussing foreign policy? Understanding non-Alaskan issues? Frankly, I donft even know if shefs ever been out of the country. She may egetf Alaska, but there are only a half a million people here. Donft get me wrongc.I love Alaska with all my heart. Ifm just saying.

I, and all Alaskans will be interested to see how this whole process unfolds. This is definitely a gamble for McCain, and in my humble opinion, a gift to Obama and to Joe Biden who just got thrown a big hunk of red meat for the vice presidential debate.

This is the wedge-issue, desperate fHail Sarahf pass of the McCain campaign.

Now Ifm off to get some Jiffy Pop.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Granted, she supports drilling in ANWR

Yes, we already know she's from Alaska .

Seriously, which serious statewide politician in Alaska doesn't?

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Kidicious
Well I'm not believing for a second that she "took on big oil."

How is favoring more oil drilling an indicator that one is a challenger of big oil business??

[Winston]

Originally posted by Kidicious
here's a good blog about Palin written by an Alaskan.

Yes, it's simply brilliant, except for the fact that it's impossible to read.

[Ramo]

Originally posted by reismark

I wouldn't go that far, Kid. Part of what enabled her to defeat Alaska's incumbent governor was that the incumbent negotiated a sweetheart deal with the three American oil companies for the natural gas pipeline that's being constructed up there. When Palin came into office, she ripped that agreement up and then signed a deal with a Canadian oil company when the American companies cried foul.

Granted, she supports drilling in ANWR, which puts her in league with the oil companies right off the bat, but to call her a puppet is probably an overstatement.

The bigger indicator of being in bed with big oil is that she rejects anthropogenic climate change. He'll, even Bush accepts that premise at this point. She's really right wing.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Winston


Yes, it's simply brilliant, except for the fact that it's impossible to read.

Click the link.

It echos exactly what I said earlier from what I've read -- she got elected by default for not being part of the in-crowd which was hilariously corrupt and inept.

And only two years in office and she's already got her own scandals on-going.

[Ramo]

In that election, both she and another candidate beat the incumbent. Murkowski was a dead man walking.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Darius871
He was clearly comparing state senator with mayor and U.S. senator with governor, not U.S. senator with mayor. I don't see any reason to think think that being a state-level senator involves more executive skills than being a mayor, or even Butt****'s mayor, but you obviously know more about both jobs than I do.

What is the fetish with the idea that having "executive experience" is some prerequisite for president?

There is a reason the President has this thing called A CABINET. You guys see, the President makes policy decisions (which would be based on their knowledge of particualr issues, advice given to them by the team of senior advisors there to give the president ideas or information about how things work), then the enormous Federal bureaucracy split up into multiple departments go and figure out the specifics.

[Darius871]

Originally posted by GePap
What is the fetish with the idea that having "executive experience" is some prerequisite for president?

There is a reason the President has this thing called A CABINET. You guys see, the President makes policy decisions (which would be based on their knowledge of particualr issues, advice given to them by the team of senior advisors there to give the president ideas or information about how things work), then the enormous Federal bureaucracy split up into multiple departments go and figure out the specifics.

Sorry, but I never said "executive experience" is a prerequisite, or even important. It's simply that it involves a skill set somewhat more germane to an executive position than legislative experience does, which is relevant only insofar as it makes me question why a one-term junior senator is supposedly so much more qualified for a higher executive post. On balance they seem about even, especially considering the delegation factor you rightly point out.

Personally, I'd rather see people just be be consistent and maintain that judgment and policy trump experience which would make this all a moot point, instead of hypocritically criticizing Palin on the very same ground that's somehow supposed to be irrelevant to Obama. Why not just focus on policy and be done with this nonsense?

[MarkG]

the digging up of old statements is going well

Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?

Palin: I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy. I am very, very proud of the troops we have in Alaska, those fighting overseas for our freedoms, and the families here who are making so many sacrifices.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/08/palin-surge-wha.html

[GePap]

I would agree with you in the sense that for me policy is the primary issue. I will vote for Obama and not McCain because Obama's policy stances are FAR closer to mine than McCains.

I would add the caveat that the Precidency is not just some sort of management position - the President is both head of Government and head of State, so the policy positions the President make are as critical as the issues of internal management (much of which is taken by Cabinet members). IN that regard, being the mayor of a very small town (dealing with utterly local and parochial situations) and then being the Governor for two years of a territorially large but sparely populated states facing issues not had by other states (Alaska being the only state I know that pays people because it gets so much damned money from the main issue in their economy, resource extraction) is to me less relevant experience than being a legislator from an urban area (more Americans live in places like Hyde Park than Wasalia) in the State legislature of the fifth most populous US State and then being one of 100 Senators, who comprise the Upper House of one of the three branches of the Federal Government (of which the President becomes both main executive and titular Head).