McCain’s Biggest Mistake

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His VP candidate choice:

You have got to be kidding. The nation is supposed to take Palin seriously? And by extension take John McCain’s decision making ability seriously? Somebody tell me how I’m supposed to think that this person is in any way qualified? Like most people who feel as I do, this seems like a move towards granting power to a more ignorant, more fundamentalist and more intellectually dishonest person that even the current administration, which has been horrible in the face of major crisis. If you are a fan of Palin, I ask you to answer this: Why do you think she’s so great?

Because the more I get to know her, the worse she seems.

http://www.loadedguntheory.com/blog/director/list/tim.html tthomas48

My father-in-law thinks she’s hot. He appears to be part of the reason that fox news has to have an “attractive” on screen at all times.

My mother likes the fact she’s an evangelical Christian (she also believed that Bush was an evangelical Christian despite the fact that he appears to be United Methodist when he bothers to attend church). But my mother was also a missionary to the Soviet Union so she doesn’t believe Palin has what it takes to deal with Russia. She also doesn’t believe Obama does, so it’s a zero sum game there.
http://www.loadedguntheory.com/blog/director/list/tim.html tthomas48

That should have said “attractive” woman. I have no clue what an “attractive” is.
imjeffp

That’s Tina Fey, right? There’s no way the real candidate for VP could be that vapid, is there? Is there?
dross

I like that Palin is not a Washington insider and hasn’t risen as part of a political machine. I like that she’s not a career politician, which I consider to be an anti-qualification.

Here are the qualifications to be President/Vice President:

Born in the U.S.A.
Thirty-five or older.
Elected by a majority of States

I can see how you can call her a fundamentalist, though I personally don’t think that’s the first prism she views the world through, and I can see how you can call her ignorant, though I don’t agree that the things you think she’s ignorant of are a disqualification, but assuming I cede those points, please defend your “intellectually dishonest” assertion.

And if by “horrible in the face of a major crisis” you mean — no major attacks on U.S. soil in seven years, I agree.

Don’t hate on the VPilf.
calimom

OMG– can you say dumber than a box of rocks? If she is unable to complete an interview in a coherent manner with a network news reporter, how is she going to be able to deal with foreign dignitaries and heads of states? I can’t wait for her to invade Canada. And I can’t wait for the Vice-Presidential debates. That should be good for a laugh. And for all of you out there who are now going to yell, “Sexist! Sexist!”- Please! It has nothing to do with her gender. It has everything to do with her perception of our nations’ well being and future. She’s not right for America. She’s a shoot from the hip, ask questions later kind of person, and that’s not what we need. Level heads need to prevail.
http://frettingthesmallstuff.typepad.com Andreerah

There are so many things wrong with that interview. And I’m sorry, I would prefer not to have a VP who is so ignorant of foreign policy, economic policy, domestic policy, and her running mate’s legislative experience. During the interview, there were times where she looked so utterly confused I thought she’d run off camera or scream MAVERICK! And to say “I’ll get back to ya”. It’s not cute, it’s not attractive and it’s not funny. Please let me wake up and this be all a joke.
mcdonie

Whoops? Compared to what? Certainly pales in comparison to Obama’s gaffe!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDJSVPAx8xc

Give me a break.
dross

“dumber than a box of rocks”

Like George Bush was dumb? And Ronald Reagan?

Well, at least now we know how she’ll be branded. All prominent conservatives are either complete idiots or evil geniuses. Apparently Palin is of the complete idiot variety, like George Bush — the Yale grad, Harvard MBA, fighter pilot, and twice-elected President. Good thing he had the evil geniuses Karl Rove and Dick Cheney working for him.. oh, no, wait…the script says that he actually works for them, right?

If you truly think either Bush or Palin are actually of sub-par intelligence you have OD’d on the kool-aid or you yourself are not too bright.
CK_Lunchbox

I agree that his (and by his, I mean his party’s choice. I don’t think he’s thrilled about it) choice for a VP damaged his credibility. It was a blatant means of pandering for the female vote. I’m suprised this was the best woman they could find in all the GOP, but she is the most extreme in her views which I think was meant to help assuage the far-leaning conservative hard liners weary of McCain’s more liberal views.

I will take issue with your comments contending his level of ignorance, fundamentalism and dishonesty exceed that of the current leader of the free world. Sen McCain has a longstanding record of service to this country which includes denouncing the special interest groups and big business that influence a former business man from my current state of residence. Was the selection of Palin smart? No, but he didn’t start a war in the Middle East he can’t win or crash the economy.

Understand, I’m probably going to vote for Obama. I don’t agree with everything he does, but I do with most of it. Experience is a soft point for him too, but he made up for it with his VP selection. And read this the article in the LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-onthemedia25-2008sep25,0,6681369.story), the writer wrote pieces on both candidate’s inconsistencies. Both parties are doing whatever they can to get in the Oval Office, which forces me to dig into the issues and not take what’s being said at face value. Based on that, Obama has my vote.

And Yes, Palin is hot in those glasses, but not as hot as Tina Fey!
dross

Vapid? You can argue she’s a lot of things, but vapid isn’t one of them.
paulm

Jon, you’ve got to see this vid: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1831461
calimom

Well, I don’t like Kool-Aid, and I have two bachelor’s degrees and a post-graduate certificate, so I think I’m ok in the intelligence department (all from the same school, FYI– not four different schools in five years).
If she is unable to form a coherent answer when asked to respond to questions ALREADY ASKED, then there’s a problem. And stop with the “I can see Russia form Alaska” statement! That’s like Arnold being a super-star in foreign policy because we can see Mexico from San Diego!
“Dumber than a box of rocks” is a euphamism. I don’t doubt she is intelligent. Nor do I doubt that Reagan (who I kind of liked, btw), Bush, Bush-lite, Cheney, Rove, and the rest of the wrecking crew are intelligent. Scary intelligent because they are able to manipulate facts to fit their agendas (WMDs, anyone? Saddam Hussein? Nothing to do whatsoever with 9/11).
But 8 years of what we’ve had is enough! Something needs to change, cause what’s happening now ain’t working! I fear for my children. How will they ever be able to afford a home? Put their children through college? Save for retirement? One is in college now, the youngest will be on his way next year. Thank god for trust funds set up by their grandfather, because we sure has hell couldn’t afford it. We didn’t even qualify for financial aid because we’re “over the ceiling” (I’d really like to see this “ceiling” they FAFSA people talk about).
I just think it’s time for a change, and I just can’t see McCain and Palin as being a legitimate change for the better.
That’s just my opinion…
dross

calimom,

Reasonable people can disagree on all these issues, even the ones your post seems to think are settled. McCain and Palin wouldn’t be my choices either, were I the only one choosing. What I dislike are the personal attacks on people who disagree, and the name-calling. Dan Quayle spells out “potatoe” on a mispelled que card and he’s a complete idiot, but Barack Obama talks about visiting 57 states and suddenly it’s petty to make fun. It’s all petty. McCain and Palin aren’t the devil incarnate, and neither are Obama and Biden. As a small “L” libertarian, I can tell you that from my perspective they’re not all that different, either. I’ll be voting for McCain because I think he’s the lesser of two evils, figuratively speaking. Not because I’m ignorant, or stupid, or a liar, or the owner of an evil corporation, or any other reason except that in my honest and informed opinion, McCain/Palin are better for the country than Obama/Biden. To some, I can’t hold that view unless I have some deficiency, mental or moral. How about just taking on the issues and not attacking people?
http://everywhereandnowhere.com sean415

@dross: Palin has become an ISSUE in a sense because she would be first in line for one of the most powerful jobs in the world. In every interview (albeit only 3) she’s done, she’s come off as woefully inexperienced, unprepared, and has demonstrated an inability to think/respond outside of the lines she’s been fed beforehand. At this point, it’s pretty apparent that the McCain camp realizes letting her speak without a teleprompter is risky at best. Why else are would they be shielding her like this? Why else would they propose postponing the VP debate? The truth is that the idea of her is much more appealing than her in actuality. She’s an issue…and in choosing her it’s made McCain’s judgement a serious issue and, to me, it demonstrates the same shoot-from-the-hip mentality that we’ve seen from the white house in the last 8 years. As much as it disgusts me, Lieberman would’ve been a much better choice for McCain if he wanted to run on a ‘reform’ platform.
burningriver

First off, VPilf is not really all that great of a nickname. It’s disrespectful to the candidate and the office (assuming anyone still has a shred of respect for the office after Cheney’s “served” in it). I don’t care if Palin is hot, two-headed or looks like Chunk from Goonies. If she can’t express her views on foreign and domestic policy with some degree of intelligence and elocution, I don’t want her anywhere near the Oval Office without an accompanying tour guide.

She may be a very intelligent person, but I don’t see how she can be a suitable leader if she clams up when asked about foreign policy and her experience dealing with other world superpowers. I come from the school where if you don’t know something, you admit your shortcomings or deficiencies, you learn all you can in that area, and you come back with more understanding and knowledge. To do anything else is dishonest to both yourself and others. Governor Palin hasn’t proven to me that she’s experienced in anything but posturing and bluster.
imjeffp

The McCain campaign: “Experience, experience, experience … awww, fuck it. Change, change, change …”
http://www.blessourhearts.blogspot.com Ms. Moon

Here’s the bottom line for me– Sarah Palin is absolutely not qualified to be the president of the United States. Don’t give me that crap about “Born in the USA” stuff. All that could apply to me too if I could get the votes. BUT– I KNOW I’m not qualified and when Ms. Palin told Charles Gibson that when McCain asked her to be his running mate she didn’t even blink, I knew there was something fundamentally wrong with her.
No one with a grip on reality would make that statement. There are so many things that any thinking person would have to consider before taking on that challenge.
And yes, Jon, you’re right. By extension, this means that McCain is not fit to lead either.
bobsbs

Almost thought that was from Saturday Night Live.
BirdysKnits

Bill Clinton had zero foreign policy experience. Ronald Reagan had zero foreign policy experience. How many of our past presidents has had any foreign policy experience prior to holding office?

Barack Obama’s foreign policy experience is nill, unless traveling on a press tour of Europe counts. Joe Biden has made numerous gaffes during his speaking tours, yet no one in the media is calling him out. Why?

I too am aggravated when other’s of any camp imply that the other side is an idiot and uninformed. I like to think that many of us that read the blogs we do and very informed and have made careful and thoughtful choices based on our beliefs and background.

As for why do I like Sarah Palin? She’s personable, smart, hardworking, and ambitious. I think it is an important part of the team work that should happen in the White House. Besides being second in line to the Presidency, she’s is the deciding vote in the Congress in case of a tie. Okay. There’s not much else she does, aside from help the president when he wants/needs it. As for the looming death of McCain, I think Obama has as much chance of dying in office as McCain. So what sort of VP would Biden make??

The president is not the all power figure folks like to think…the team work of congress and the white house is far more important. Nothing get’s done without congress. Nothing get’s done without the president. And to me: McCain is more willing and eager to work “across the aisle” than Obama has shown in the past.

My 2 cents and some change.
mejawat

I think that just maybe there is a video out there somewhere in internetland showing Obama stammering and not looking the brightest.
Love your photos. Glad that you are open minded enough that we don’t need to agree on politics.

Ron Paul 08
sliceofpink

If not vapid, how about vacuous?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72feetabovesealevel/ michael

People that are OK with Palin as VP seem to use the word personable quite a lot. To me Palin seems bitchy and defensive. What I’ve read of trooper-gate and her time as mayor also trends in the opposite direction of personable.

I honestly don’t get it.
kym b

I get all the “who needs foreign policy?” people out there who say that many who have come before her did not have that experience. Our country, however was not at war when those others started their terms. You know, at war with a foreign country where, um, like some experience outside the hockey rink would be useful. I realize that Obama also does not have oodles of this experience, but he at least is not claiming that he has it because he can see Russia from his house. Plus, Obama has Biden who has met with just about everyone out there. He has dedicated much of his Senate-life to foreign policy. McCain has not done the same with his terms in the Senate. I realize his military record and while that is admirable and he is a hero for what he has endured, that also does not qualify him to lead our country. Some medals and a parade or two, yes; the presidency, no.

Just this last week alone should give an idea of the differences between the candidates. McCain has to shut everything down (which he really didn’t even come close to doing) to focus on one thing and is frantic “no bailout” later “we must bailout”, “the economy is strong”, then later “we are headed into a depression by Monday” and it has been over a year since my campaign manager took money from Freddie Mac. Or was that last month? A year, a month, what’s the difference, right? He is all over the charts. Plus he hasn’t voted on a Senate bill since April so they probably weren’t holding up talks for him. Obama has remained calm, cool, collected and said that as president one will have to focus on more than one issue at a time so let’s keep this ball rolling and figure out all that we need to do. I am thinking a major requirement should be the ability to multi-task. If McCain saw my schedule for this Saturday, he would probably have a stroke.

And OMG, paulm, that video was hysterical. Or terribly disconcerting. I’m not sure which yet.
http://faydean.typepad.com faydean

I can’t for the life of me see why you keep focusing on Palin. I thought your candidate and his opponent were your biggest worry. Anyway, I wrote a lengthy diatribe about why I like Palin…and McCain and the Republican Party (way too long). I can’t decide yet if I will bother posting it on Dooce or not. It is way too long and wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans in terms of swaying any liberal viewpoints.

But I did see Palin’s interview. And I saw Biden. Wow. I saw both. But you fail to mention the two big ole blunders Biden made in his interview. How convenient. Well, let me remind you. 1) He turned against his own running mate, your presidential candidate choice, regarding that very tacky ad about McCain not using a computer (McCain has noted a few times he can’t use a computer because his POW injuries limit his ability to type), saying it was “terrible” and that he wouldn’t have done it if he’d known about it. Oh, but he didn’t know about it did he? Nope, later he admitted to not ever even seeing the ad itself. Um, ok.

Then not even two minutes later he came out with this wonder…

“when the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the princes of greed he said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.’”

Well, let’s see here…a compare and contrast on what you see as dumb ole Sarah Palin and your Mr. Biden. Um, 1) FDR was NOT president during the stock market crash in 29, Hoover was 2 ) THERE WAS NO TV in 1929 for the non-existent President Roosevelt to speak on!

And your “experienced” Washington insider has so much MORE brain power than who again? Yes, I see how his vast expertise and experience makes him better than Sarah Palin. He should qualify for MENSA with that noggin.

When Palin told Couric she would get back to her on the McCain legislative history, I found it hard to watch, but only because I could see how Sarah was trying her damndest not to go across the floor to tear out Couric’s throat. Along with the patronizing Charlie Gibson, Couric made sure to keep at Palin…trying to make her look stupid. I know, you’d say “well that’s not hard”. Oh give me an effin’ break, she didn’t say crap to Biden that was anywhere NEAR that berating in terms of intensity, and he couldn’t even make a statement that was accurate. Did Couric stop and “repeat” herself? Nope, of course not. Hell, she doesn’t even probably know FDR wasn’t president during the crash of 29! Or maybe she didn’t want to make him look like a fool. But it was sure ok to try and make Sarah look like one huh? Why? BECAUSE SHE IS A WOMAN. You know. I know it. It has nothing to do with whether or not she’s qualified. It’s the same tone and a treatment any woman would get in a male dominated situation…hell, just going to get your brakes fixed brings about that same demeanor. Horrible that this treatment came from another woman though. But then again, considering Couric herself has been subjected with tremendous scrutiny and insults after being the first nightly female news anchor, I can see why she might have decided turn about is fairplay…spread the love Katie, spread the love. Fair and unbiased sexism. Yay.

Bottom line, I feel so sorry for Sarah. I hope she can withstand this bullshit. I can see it beating her down just from the ferociousness of it…which is sickening and totally uncalled for. Your own wife has admitted time and againt to hating public speaking and being put on the spot to answer quetions in a public forum. She’s a terribly smart lady and funny and charming. But she, herself, has written time and again how this environment makes her a babbling idiot at times. Can you not see after so much being said and done to Palin that they are seriously making it nearly impossible for her to peform with much confidence at this point. I can see it and it’s so hard to watch. She came out confident and strong and now, after three weeks of CONSTANT abuse from the media and liberal propaganda she is wearing down. And, I must admit, that I would not be shocked one bit if she regretted ever agreeing to take this role. I would. She has a family. She had an important job. Could she have ever forseen people treating her this way? Probably not, poor thing. I admire her for her tenacity and her drive. I hate that your party is trying everything they can to beat it out of her. If you succeed, it will be beyond appalling.

But it’s what you dems want isn’t it? For her to be hung out to dry because it’s your only hope of crashing the other party. Whatever. I’ve seen such crap come from the liberals in this election. Enough to make me ashamed to ever admit I once was one. From the party that touts compassion, acceptance, understanding of every fucking special interest group in the world, we get ads about a man not being able to use a computer, PAC ads about his cancer, showing his scars, and accusing him of using his POW status to gain votes. Disgusting. I can’t even begin to list what they’ve said about Palin. And I wouldn’t because I hate to even give it more attention. I think you should be ashamed of your party, bottom line. And I think Hillary (and Bill too) are staying well away from this horrible mess because they KNOW that it’s trash, pure and utter trash. I think Hillary Clinton, who I do not like and would have never thought I would agree with on anything, was right when she said she got an unfair deal in the campaign because she is a woman. And I think you’d be hard pressed to ever get her to say that what they are doing to Palin is anywhere near what she experienced. It is so much worse it can’t even be categorized. And for that, I think she would…and probably will…say that she does not agree or support her party’s role in what’s gone down. Her husband has said as much himself the past few days.

If you are interested in any other of my views (yeah right) see my diatribe about why I support Palin on your wife’s site. And feel free to rant on and on about whatever I wrote. Liberal or conservative, the treatment of this woman is abominable.
http://faydean.typepad.com faydean

Here’s the video of Biden on FDR…

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McCain’s Biggest Mistake