The first decision a presidential candidate makes that reveals his or her capacity for good executive judgment is the choice for vice president. Since both candidates have now made their picks, how does this analysis stack up?
Sen. Obama chose Joe “the plagiarist” Biden and received no bounce in the polls. Despite the electoral logic of picking a running mate like Hillary who garnered 18 million primary votes, he chose an old-style, pre-Clintonian, Liberal Democrat from inside-the-beltway. Only five other Senators have been in the Senate longer than Biden and only two are more liberal! That’s hardly an endorsement for change.
It’s assumed that Obama made this pick for two reasons: (1) He and Michelle don’t like the Clintons; and, (2) Russia’s invasion of Georgia put Obama’s weakness of “foreign policy” back in the forefront.
Biden currently serves as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and has a long history of global involvement. Though his experience is quite extensive, one’s quantity of judgment shouldn’t matter as much as one’s quality of judgment.
Most recently, Biden championed a plan for Iraq that would have been disastrous. His idea, which was thoroughly rejected by the Iraqis, involved dividing Iraq into three new countries of Kurdish, Sunni and Shia control. It’s telling- that in today’s Democrat party, this kind of screwball thinking counts for superior foreign policy judgment!
Biden has been rejected by his party in both of his campaigns for president. This year, he couldn’t even get past Iowa where he finished fifth! Why would we suddenly believe now that he’d make a good president?
Perhaps the most revealing aspect about Obama’s choice is how it gives the lie to his mantra for “change” and “no more politics as usual.” Apparently, this rhetoric is as superficial as a Paris Hilton or Britney Spears photo op!
By contrast, Sen. McCain, “the Maverick,” made one of the most exciting and intriguing choices in the history of running mates! Choosing Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin was a brilliant move. This choice emphatically demonstrates why John McCain’s judgment will bring authentic change and reform to Washington D.C.
Gov. Palin is a self-described “hockey mom.” She’s a 44 year-old mother of five, who earned her political success by taking on the corrupt “machine” of her own party! She challenged the previous governor in a Republican primary and won. Showing a McCain- like aversion to wasteful spending, she rejected the infamous, pork barrel project known as “the bridge to nowhere” and sold off the previous governor’s jet on Ebay.
Palin, a former Miss Alaska runner-up, is a committed Christian with prior-leadership in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She’s also a lifelong NRA member who loves to hunt and eat moose! She supports capital punishment, opposes homosexual marriage and believes strongly in creationism.
While in high school, Palin was the captain of her basketball team where she earned the nickname “Barracuda” for her toughness. She led her team to the state championship making the winning free throw on a broken ankle!
Palin is staunchly pro-life, having her last child following a diagnosis of Down syndrome. She’s a military mom with a son soon to be serving in Iraq. Most of all, she’s down to earth with a clear and trustworthy position on energy policies.
Palin began her career on the Wasilla town council in 1992 and was elected governor in 2006 where she immediately began a project to open a natural gas pipeline from the Northern Slope. She doesn’t believe in manmade Global Warming and is very much in favor of drilling in ANWR. Confident in her assessment of Alaska’s true resources, she has sued the Federal Government to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list before it jeopardizes any further energy projects.
Her public support in Alaska is impressive with an approval rating of over 80 percent.
Palin is similar to another underestimated, popular, conservative governor: Ronald Reagan. She once was a sports broadcaster and comes from a western state known for its rugged individualism and love of freedom. She has cut property taxes by 40% and is a reformer who refuses to accept the failings of the status quo establishment.
McCain has done more than show superior judgment with this pick, he has galvanized his base- something many thought impossible! On the day of his announcement, campaign contributions quadrupled. After the second day, a total of ten million dollars had been added to McCain’s coffers, proving that the Palin-choice had indeed energized the base!
The future of America this campaign year may yet belong to those wanting to “break the glass ceiling” with the first woman vice president in U.S. history- America’s own “Iron Lady from the Last Frontier!” (send comments to WFC83197@aol.com, or mail to POB 114, Jacksboro, TN 37757.)
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