And uncountable legions of 18-35 year old males who have a thing for that librarian look. Something to which your correspondent hisself is not entirely immune. (Pic updated.)
But seriously: History is being made indeed. As a flanking move against dyspeptic and disaffected PUMAs, this choice has a certain tactical charm. A staunch pro-lifer, the Palin choice shores up McCain’s crumbling flanks among evangelicals and others for whom the pro-life plank is non-negotiable. The latter may to a degree offset the former.
Palin is a fresh-faced reformer who is not in the pocket of the good ol’ boy GOP pork barrel network in Alaska – an arrow in the McCain quiver if he follows Carl Rove’s advice and runs against Congress in the fall. Her youth might offset his superannuation better if it didn’t also stand in such stark contrast to it: Assuming a victory in the fall for the 72 year old GOP presidential candidate, the actuarial table admits the not inconsequential possibility of swearing in our first female president sometime in the next four years.
All we need now is a surprise attack from the Cylon battle fleet, and life will imitate art.
Update: Ten things you didn’t know about Sarah Palin, courtesy of US News and World Report. Solid evidence that her pro-life stance is more than just a political pose among them, as is her lifelong membership in the NRA and love of hunting, fishing and snowmobiling.
So, yeah: I’m crushing.
Update 2: I can’t wait to watch Olbermann impale himself on this. He can’t help himself.
Update 3: More executive experience than any of the other three candidates in the game. Which, when you think about it, is more of an indictment on them as inside the beltway senators than adulation for her as a two-years’ governor on the outer arc. The Democrats will attack her on her lack of experience generally and foreign policy in particular – a thing which out to rebound against their man, since he doesn’t have much either and is running for flight lead, rather than dash two.
Did I mention the bit about rifles?
At first I was just going to vote against Obama; then I was really going to vote against Obama and Biden; but now I’m going to vote FOR McCain and Palin.
Finally a real American from a real American family with a son in the Army. I guess McCain comes close, too, even with all those Navy guys in his background.
HF6 – My reasoning, exactly!
Lex -
I think you’ll find that’s a pic of a German girl called Sabine Ehrenfeld.
Oops. We were still working on selling you this man as McCain:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Oskar_Lafontaine.jpg
If you want Sarah Palin to make you tear up, then watch this thank you to the troops from the Governor of Alaska.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0U79Fl9NEk
I also just saw a AK reporter being interviewed on Fox say that she had done more in her 20 months in office than the previous governors did in 12 years. When will the left learn that chair warming isn’t experience and many leaders get a lifetime of experience in just a few months of a challenging command.
#53 Sim – “Lex -
I think you’ll find that’s a pic of a German girl called Sabine Ehrenfeld.”
Yep. Wikipedia states “an image of Sabine Ehrenfeld wearing glasses and a light blue suit jacket started appearing on the various internet sites erroneously stating that is was Republican Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin of Alaska.”
McCain’s’ 11th hour bizarre and panicked selection of someone he has only met once, does not know, and has not adequately vetted, is a result of putting politics ahead of our country’s leadership and it jeopardizes our future at a most critical time. It further exposes the flawed, shoot-from-the-hip without substantive thought of a septuagenarian who apparently prefers babes above experience and proven talent as his second.
OK for my old chasing skirt buddies, maybe; but not for my American President, nor for our future.
Gov. Palin maybe be a fine person. But she carries with her a lot of negative baggage, in addition to being a lightweight that the savage media will feast upon. It all will come out in the coming days. She will be savaged unfortunately, and it will be mostly McCain’s fault – not hers.
It is a poor selection, based upon political rather than statesman-like reasons. But if her strange and panicked, knee-jerk post-DNC convention selection is ultimately successful (beyond any logical comprehension), it not only puts our nation at risk, it opens extremely serious questions as to McCain’s judgment. Is this the best he can do?
Anyone who ever thought McCain put country above politics, should now seriously re-think their position. God help this country.
Thanks for the link JKB. Lets get this scrum started. GO SARAH !!!!
Imagine that! Pick a true conservative and the base goes nuts. Reagan must have been on to something.
Seems a woman in the number two slot is the new hotness, good to see we’re still setting trends, even if ours is a fanta pants.
fliter-
I read the vetting committee for the red teams VP slot was headed by Karl Rove, I’m willing to bet he has done his due diligence, he seems to be an effective operator.
Besides, it’s always been my impression your VP doesn’t really do much of anything important anyway, may as well have someone that’s allright to look at.
Dude, your vice president’s hot…
Filt,
The irony of your post is just killing me.
Negative baggage? Please specify. Lightweight? I don’t believe we’ve had a lighter weight candidate than the junior senator from Illinois. You know the former comunity organizer that after 143 days in the Senate declared for President. Oh please, do pursue a line of argumentation wrt to lack of experience. Especially when Palin, the #2 on the (R ) ticket, has been Govenor longer than the (D) nominee has been in the Senate. Putting the nation at risk? Is that like the Senator from Delaware that declared the surge had failed, before it had even been fully implemented?
Hope and change indeed. One can only hope that the dems will one day change a be a true party of opportunity. Ask Sanda Day o’Connor, Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice, Colin Powell and Gov Palin how Republicans have held them back. The answer may surprise you.
Hey, how come I get moderated?
Damn you Lex, I’m suing for discrimination
I heartily agre with Roachman. Flit, if you have dirt on Sarah Palin (besides the enviros lawsuit being ajudicated), please be a gentleman and tell us.
[sound of crickets chirping at night]
Didn’t think so.
Why, I bet you said the same things about Condoleeza Rice when she was nominated for SecState.
the savage media will feast upon.
Ignoring the rest of the LOL-funny comment, I will simply point out that there is NO SUCH THING as a Republican candidate that the savage [biased] media would not attempt to feast upon. Would you have felt better about another Cheney? Jeb Bush? Really, I think you’re grasping at straws here.
It never ceases to amaze me that the Party of Diversity is anything but, and is often more interested in multi-hued conformity than they are true diversity. Colin Powell, Ms. Rice: actions that speak far louder than the empty rhetoric of the Dems who could only get themselves as far as a man that is every bit as white as he is black.
And here they are now, The Party of Hope and Change dropping fly to rain on the GOP’s nod towards the future: the Hope of a fiscally and socially conservative woman that shines brightly with the true authenticity of the American dream. I’d rather hunt with her than with Cheney or Kerry. Cheney’s aim needs work, and Kerry is just a pompous poseur that would lament the lack of a good brie around the campfire. Nor is the accompanying Change in the typical age/gender of the VP candidate to their liking, quite obviously for the same reason Mr. Powell and Ms. Rice don’t seem to appeal. Their failure to share political beliefs with the Dems makes them non-entities. The Big Tent at work. Tolerance abounds. Ah, the sweet smell of blind, rigid partisanship at work.
It also does nothing to help the abysmal credibility of the Party of Tolerance, Diversity, Hope, and Change to see them attacking Ms. Palin. In fact, the personal myopia demonstrated in the things they are attacking results in a net loss, something I long ago believed to be impossible.
As pretending to work at the computer is my only defense against the inevitable “Honey, you need to mow the lawn” this fine morning, I will add one more thought:
I don’t care a whit about her experience. She’s running for a learning position, not a decision-making position.
Bottom line for me: I share her beliefs. Experience comes with time, but the innate socialist proclivities of her opponents are set in stone and will not change. Obama will be a leftist, redistributionist, appeaser forever. Although one would hope that he would become a better judge of the character of the company he keeps once he himself gets more experience.
The Canadian Skippy made a great point about Palin that is worth considering before all these folks go too ga ga over her:
“The fact is that if Palin was a Democrat, the Republicans would be knocking her fucking teeth out. They would point out that there was another governor with two years experience, but who was responsible for the National Guard, a giant state budget, law enforcement and other executive neatos, too. His name was Jimmy Carter.”
Man’s got a point.
True. But than if she were a Democrat the Democrats would sure be ga ga over her, rather than what they’re saying now…..
On that note, it does seem like the Republican politician women are hotter…. Palin and Condi, versus Hillary and Albright. Strange.
Flit – are ya kidding us with this tripe? Talk about the pot calling the kettle…nevermind.
It’s more routinely called a “flip flop” – something Obama supporters are well acquainted with.
Palin is a wise choice. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the Obama campaign – they must be going nuts with how they’ll deal with this. Go after Palin with too much juice and they alienate the entire woman’s vote and the on-the-fence Hillary supporters at the same time.
Sweet. It may be raining here in New England this morning, but life is goooood.
If the man’s point is that Republicans prefer politicians with conservative beliefs and values, I’ll concede the point. While pointing out that it’s so tautologically obvious as to be, you know: Stupid.
The fact is that if Palin was a Democrat, the Republicans would be knocking her fucking teeth out.
If Palin was a Democrat, she’d be paired with a candidate three years older than herself, and half as experienced.
As far as The Republican Attack Machine, they would have learned exactly what Obama is about to: the backlash from attacks on a soccer mom is going to be crippling, especially attacks from the guy that promised a new brand of politics, and I don’t think “Now With Even MORE Bitter and Vile” was the new brand he was speaking of.
He’s also got to be kicking himself for not choosing two-year governor Ted Strickland of Ohio. If Strickland could have delivered Ohio, and from my seat here in the capital city I’m going to say he easily could have, he would have grabbed what will surely be a key state.
There’s no love for Republican administrations in Ohio.
Skippy (s),
“Man’s got a point.”
You are reaching (and so is he) on that one. Pure conjecture arriving at a hypothetical point. How does being a governor with similar length in tenure as a State Chief Executive to one of the worst Presidents in our history make her a “Jimmy Carter”clone?
geo6
One of the first things Cheney did as VP was discuss energy policies with a bunch of oil execs. I would love to be in the room to watch Palin do the same thing. I wonder how they’re reacting to her selection for VP….
“The fact is that if Palin was a Democrat, the Republicans would be knocking her fucking teeth out. They would point out that there was another governor with two years experience, but who was responsible for the National Guard, a giant state budget, law enforcement and other executive neatos, too. His name was Jimmy Carter.”
Man’s got a point.
No, he doesn’t. He’d have a point if Palin were in the running for the position of President.
But she’s not.
Fliterman,
Oh the irony in your comment… Palin has negative baggage? As opposed to 20 some years in a church with an America hating pastor (Rev. Wright), association with an admitted domestic terrorist (Bill Ayers).
Palin is a lightweight? Heh, she has more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined.
BTW, as far as the negative baggage; I’ll echo the other commenters. If you have anything other than allegations speak up.
Jim C
Ultimately, Ms. Palin would appeal to the left, no more than Obama appeals to the right…ideologically, there is little in the way of common ground. Both candidates seem to have selected vps who will shore up the base, not attract new voters from across the aisles.
Ok. I’m scraping off my “F*%k It-McCain ’08″ bumper sticker. Gettin’ the new and improved version. My only worry now is: just how many houses does Sarah own? What with that being real important and all.
Do you count log hunting cabins?
Lex – so you are not a closet BSG fan after all, you’ve come out of that closet….
In this same spirit, She’s a good choice. Even my occasionally left leaning New England family is somewhat impressed. And she’s frakin’ cute too
Other than that, nothing to add here folks – time to go fishing…
Surfcaster-
Stripers or blues?
Plugs, jigs or flies?
This time of year I longed for the mouth of the Merrimack at Newburyport. Loved getting towed out to see on the outoging tide by large bass or blue.
And to stay on topic, I’ll bet Sarah can fillet a King or dress a moose and freeze it afterwards.
SJBill – Stripers. Wouldn’t touch a Bluefish with your pole
(In the sense that I wouldn’t target blues, just basses)
Plugs, Jigs, and live Eels from rocks and ledges.
Haven’t been to the mouth of the Merrimack in a long time but definitely home to monster blues on the drop, and monster bass inside on Joppa
Put 12#s of fillet (one bass, rest released) in the fridge this weekend.
Towed – in a Yak? Out the mouth of the Merrimack? Not on an east wind I assume