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://faydean.typepad.com faydean

and his turncoat bit with Couric…
Amber

Republicans don’t generally run qualified candidates so much as wildly electable candidates. Of course she’s not qualified. But she sure does have a lot of people who like her lots.
http://faydean.typepad.com faydean

This should make you so proud of your party. I know I’m regretting ever having left it. It was too damn quiet the other day at Republican headquarters locally when a couple of young Dems walked in to ask for some information on the opposing side just so they could consider it. The nice lady there said sure and walked them kindly over to give them some information. Now that I think about it, I guess she really should have just spit in their faces huh? Yes, I think your party was definitely really refined during the decade of peace and love…for sure. I can sure feel the love. See if you can after watching this:

http://www.dequalss.com/wp/2008/09/pro-mccain-march-in-manhattan/#more-5113
http://blurbomat.com blurb

@faydean, ever hear of Kent State?

You’ve made my point for me: Palin is the least experienced VP nominee in the history of the United States. To thrust her onto the stage with so little experience shows horrible judgment. I don’t think she’ll be taken seriously (nor should she) and McCain and his crew made an enormous mistake in choosing her.

We are living in the middle of one of the craziest election cycles ever. People are pissed off. Look at these comments. You can’t have a 15–20 year run in the public sphere; in the White House and Congress as well as on talk radio and not expect some backlash once you gain power and screw it up as the GOP run government has for the past eight years.

Hollywood couldn’t sell a script based on a character like Palin. Until now.
ArmyWife98

My views are different than yours and I almost always vote republican. Not this time. No way. Now how. We are a military family with 4 young children. We barely survive on enlisted pay but we love “our” service to this country. I love that our services provides all of you with the freedom to argue politics. That right is beautiful and our sacrifices as a family are well worth it. We cannot risk Sarah Palin being in charge of the Army, of my husband’s safety, and our very way of life as a military family. Before she was selected as VP I was still conflicted on who to vote for. I have friends who are considering writing in another candidate, “Poke In the Eye With Sharp Stick” is who they would prefer over either candidate. As for me and my soldier, we’re voting Obama. But I will tell you there is a bright side to McCain/Palin winning. Just think of the great humor for the next 4 years! I would stay up late just to see John Stewart for the next 4 years if they (God forbid) win.
ArmyWife98

PS…I said “No way. Now how.” How embarrassing. In my defense, I just took a percocet! LOL!
http://faydean.typepad.com faydean

You have to be kidding me. You, as Biden, apparently don’t know your history very well. These protesters you are sanctifying were actually violent criminals who were not “peacefully” doing anything when the Guard acted. I, for one, would have been very relieved my government called in the group, the ones serving us now overseas in Iraq, to protect a state run university and my hometown from their “peaceful” political dissent. But then again, as the Palin bashers have so patriotically pointed out, the National Guard is not the “real” military. Way to support those men and women who serve and PROTECT our country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings
monicabielanko

Just slogged through the hundreds of comments on Dooce and then waded in over here…

Firstly, am exhausted with all the experience talk. Anymore in Washington “experience” should be a dirty word. Washington done broke and the same ol’ same ol’ just ain’t gonna cut it anymore. If Palin were what she branded herself; “the mini Maverick Washington outsider ready to shake things up” I might like her even though I disagree with everything she stands for. Alas, she isn’t even the mini Maverick. She has no clue what she’s doing and is fumbling her way along… her terror in those interviews is palpable. She’s in WAY over her head as the above interview so uncomfortably demonstrates. Also, if the affable, softball throwing Katie Couric can nail you to the cross during an interview, you’re in big trouble.

For the folks at Dooce who called this a “cut and paste” interview: it isn’t. I work in news — most of that interview is a single shot of Palin stumbling all over herself in her quest to make what may be perhaps the most idiotic point of this election. And that’s saying a lot. Another commenter on Dooce said it takes someone a while to get their “interview legs”. Are you kidding? This is when all her “experience” that the GOP has been yammering about should come into play.. A mayor and most certainly a governor has plenty of “interview experience” fielding tough questions. And with a man running for president that is very nearly a heartbeat away from death you damn well better care about how the V.P. handles herself under pressure and what she knows about the rest of the world and why in f*@# she would defend such an idiotic point about foreign policy, Alaska and Russia. Which is why Mccain’s pick of Palin is so questionable. Dude knows his age is working against him. Especially compared with a young buck like Obama. Instead of choosing a V.P. that could actually do something for America his pick panders to women who he thinks are stupid enough to vote for a fellow vagina. A choice that is a a sad, political stunt much like his suspending his campaign or attempting to postpone tomorrow’s debate.

For the rest of the Republican party I ask this; most of y’all have talked about how Palin’s “Christian values” are paramount (separation of church and what?) and how we aren’t some socialist country and that’s why America is so great.. Like, Jon, I was raised in the dark heart of a religious community.. and the hypocrisy of the religious right continues to stun me. Isn’t one of the base tenets of Christianity to love your fellow man and care for those in need? So how come the GOP is all about every man for himself and tax cuts for the rich? Like Jon and Heather, I’m willing to pay more taxes to help raise the bar for EVERY American.. even though I work my ass off for my money and am barely middle class. Why? Because I care about my fellow man, which is something I thought the religious were so big on. But I guess y’all are busy taking away my right to choose and keeping gay folks from degrading the sanctity of marriage and hunting moose in Alaska… you know, the stuff that affects your daily life… not silly stuff like raising the minimum wage, equal pay for women, healthcare and that pesky economy. So long as the top dogs and Lehman Brothers bail to safety with their golden parachutes all is right with America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

In 5 years Palin will be a joke in the vein of.… well, I was going to say Dan Quayle… but he actually was Vice-President.

Whether or not you think Obama’s got the balls for the job or just an amazing public speaker… at this point — the man’s undeniable ability to move and inspire hundreds of thousands of people like Americans haven’t seen in awhile — that’s a start. Because Americans need and want to feel inspired again. We need a leader who can speechify and raise us up. A steady, community-minded individual who surrounds himself with the country’s experts who can help guide America back on track. Washington is dead and the days of old, white guys ruling Washington should be too.
Becky

faydean, I know you are angry at Democrats, but I have kept up with research and analysis of Kent State for thirty years, and I’m afraid you are under-informed on this one. Nixon’s own commission found the shootings unjustified, and VP Agnew called the events of that day murder.

There were some criminal activities (destruction of property) going on in the town of Kent in the nights previous–not connected to students, and some students foolishly hurled rocks and empty tear gas canisters at the Guardsmen on that day. But of the four people killed, only two had even been part of the protestors. Two were simply walking to class. None of the four were close enough to the Guardsmen to be a threat to them. There was simply no justification that day for firing into a crowd of students. And I say that with full compassion for the Guardsmen, who were also young and untested. My father taught in college ROTC programs during those years, and I can say with certainty that he would never have given an order to fire on students whose only weapons were anger, rocks, and metal canisters. But he was a war veteran, not a young guardsman. That day was a tragic mistake for everyone involved.

Any large group of people can get out of hand (think of riots at sporting events), but the right of dissent and protest is not denied us. It’s part of our freedom. Freedom is not a partisan issue.
dross

I’d like everyone who is so sure about who’s qualified for what to stop and think for a second just what the qualifications for President (and by implication, Vice President) really are. I don’t think that’s a settled question, and all the assertions I see here — no matter how much they’re delivered as if there’s no other possible reasonable opinion — fail to settle that question? What are the qualifications for President?

The Constitution says that you have to be born here, and you have to be 35 years old, and at least 14 years a resident.

Apparently, according to some people, there are some unspoken qualifications that are so obvious they don’t need to be spelled out. They are not obvious to me, so please tell me, and don’t tell me in the negative as in, “Well, I can’t define them but I know Palin doesn’t have them.”

What I look for in a candidate is someone who’s beliefs are as closely aligned with mine as possible. I look for someone who is guided by principle more than by politics. Now, to the qualifications: I just need to know that a candidate who is guided by principle, and whose beliefs are similar to mine has the competence to advance those beliefs and principles.

I don’t consider years in the Senate to be an automatic qualification for President. I don’t consider intelligence to be an automatic qualification, though someone who is not of above average intelligence obviously wouldn’t have the competence to advance the agenda.

Every candidate has huge gaps in their knowledge, and no candidate ever knows as much about any subject as their advisors in that area. The candidate must be able to discriminate with solid judgment between the differing opinions of the advisors, and must hold the advisors within the bounds of the candidate’s principles.

What prepares you for that? Being a senator for twenty years, or six years? Being a lawyer? A governor? The CEO of a large corporation? A First Lady? A General? How about the CEO of a 250 person organization? A doctor? I can make arguments for and against all of those.

The voters know, or should know by now, what life experiences Palin brings to the job. I don’t think the question of qualification is as obvious as I see here. Using my own personal standard of qualification, putting aside whether I agree with the candidates beliefs or not, I rank order the candidates by qualifications:

1. Obama and Palin about equal.
2. McCain
3. Biden
debooki

Just thought of who would have been a great VP pick; Soledad Obrien!

Better yet, just to see her interview Palin would be priceless!

still, vote Obama
Heather

This article really says it well — without any name calling: http://www.newsweek.com/id/160080/page/1
diezmilpecas

Of course there are unspoken qualifications for those seeking the office of President (or Vice President)–and “dross” has just listed some of them in his last post. The minimum qualifications listed in the Constitution, though, are just that — the minimum.

One of the (many) things I look for in a candidate is the ability to speak effectively off-the-cuff in a calm tone of voice. It makes me think that the person is reasoned, level-headed and thoughtful. This ability allows the person to properly communicate to the public his or her opinions — opinions that have been formed by means of careful consideration of all the facts, all the data, the opinions of advisors and other experts. And this takes great intelligence, emotional and academic. (Anyone can get tripped up by a malfunctioning teleprompter or other technical problem while reading a prepared statement. I’m not referring to these moments.)

I see this speaking ability in Obama and both of the Clintons. Hell, I see it in people like Cheney and Newt Gingrich, whom I do not agree with on most things.

I do not see this ability in McCain or Palin. They are on the attack at all times these days, it seems. Not considering. Not blinking. Not thinking.

And they are not getting my vote.
dross

Heather,

I support Palin, and I just found out from that Newsweek article that I am not very smart, not very educated, and that I am a religious fanatic. These things will come as a very big surprise to my friends and family, both left and right.

I guess technically there was no name-calling, just very lengthy negative descriptions of the assumed beliefs and intellect of any of the pathetic folks who could possible support Palin. Yeah, it was real civil.
ArmyWife98

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I love nothing more than a poster defending their intelligence with misspelled or misplaced words.

Peace.
dross

ArmyWife98,

Well, you sure got me there.

I gess ahm just stoopid cuz I writ kwik and git back to work. I gess ahm, jest a stoopid redneck, like Palin.

That’s petty, and it should be beneath you. I write for a living — I guess I’ll have to tell my boss he’s payin a dumass.
mayiwrite

I’m definitely not studied up enough on politics or as much on the candidates as I would like. It would be embarrassing to try to engage in the battle of the wits here, but every single comment has my rapt attention. I feel fortunate to observe such a respectable discussion.

I won’t be able to vote on November 4. I was hoping to have been fully naturalized by then, but it looks like I’ll miss my turn in the booths by a few weeks. I would probably register as an Independent. I’m one of those who thinks both main parties have the country’s best interests at heart; they all seem really well-intentioned. For me, the reasons behind my slightly-left lean have a lot to do with public (personal) appeal and artlessness and seemed ability just to get things done and to keep promises (somewhat), which would demonstrate some degree of integrity. I like integrity. I wish I had the foresight to see if that’s for real. I really want to believe Obama. It’s hard to be an informed voter these days with all sorts of misinformation to sift through. All the fallacies and wonky correlations even the most lateral thinker couldn’t conjure. I’m not counting people’s logic I can actually follow.

I’m afraid all I have is a blatantly subjective perspective. I’ve wanted to see what Obama could do from the very beginning. Extremely curious, I suppose. I know it’s not the best time to gamble on the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world, but that’s how I see this election. I guess it’s always a gamble, though, especially in such a close race. For reasons I can’t explain yet, Obama has assured me a little bit more than McCain; I feel a little bit safer with Obama. I’ve tried deciding whether I should fight along with McCain or be my brother’s keeper with Obama. Silly to base my decision on convention speeches, but there you have it.

All I know is our economy is crumbling, and I have this unfounded fear of China buying us out, and would we be able to vote then, if our government caves in on itself? Might as well deport me now.
sherri

28
faydean Says:

September 25th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
This should make you so proud of your party. I know I’m regretting ever having left it. It was too damn quiet the other day at Republican headquarters locally when a couple of young Dems walked in to ask for some information on the opposing side just so they could consider it. The nice lady there said sure and walked them kindly over to give them some information. Now that I think about it, I guess she really should have just spit in their faces huh? Yes, I think your party was definitely really refined during the decade of peace and love…for sure. I can sure feel the love. See if you can after watching this:

Faydean: Not all dems. are like that, just like all Repubs. are not like that. I have a personal experience with the GOP, btw I’m a Dem., I live in Ohio, and the county I live in is mostly Repubicans, a 10 to 1 ratio. I have a Obama sticker on my car, and I pulled into my local Walmart and some very “christain” people said I was evil, and a babykiller lover, I was going to burn in Hell, I could go on and on. The sad thing is, my 3 kids were with me, and by the time I got into the store they were crying, and asking why those people were being bad.

If you are going to show how bad the Dems are take a good look at the Repub. party they like making little kids cry. That is me lumping all Repubs. together, I believe thats wrong of me.
burningriver

God, Sherri: I’m so sorry you had that experience. I live in Ohio as well. I won’ put a bumper sticker on my car because I’m afraid of that kind of treatment.
http://faydean.typepad.com faydean

Sherri,

I am very sorry for those ignorant people treating you like that. And you are right, that not all of any group are “one way”. My point in posting that video was to show that when Democrats are in the majority, as a group, they can be very intolerant and just plain mean to those that oppose them. I consider that kind of display very facist…just as I would a huge group of fundamental Christians attacking women at an abortion clinic. I just find it very rare that liberals ever admit that as a “group” they are in fact very, very intolerant to other people’s views and beliefs. I don’t like it from either side, I’d just like some honesty. I’m an antheist, yet a conservative. I’m pro-choice, yet fine with an anti-abortion viewpoint, I am accepting of homosexuality, but I will vote for a party that doesn’t necessarily share my view. I know there are dems that are anti-abortion, who are very religious and who may not agree that homosexuality should be governmentally supported in some way. You rarely hear about those people those. It’s like the democratic party makes sure to stiffle another variance in it’s “hard care” platform of socially liberal views. I like McCain because he is a moderate. He doesn’t agree with his running mate, who is more conservative than him. I find that refreshing. I’d just like some self reflection on both sides. And that includes from Obama!

Basically, I think social issues should be eliminated from the entire discussion. In my dream world, that would be the case. But alas, we live in this one…so I pick my battles. I want less government and less taxes and have made my choice accordingly until a true third party can be formed to represent my views. I so miss Dr. Ron Paul right about now!!!!
habitual

She is dangerous for a numberof reasons, including her ignorance. Additionally, someone with that degree of ego and narcissism will never hold this country’s best interest in mind, but their own.

She is an Alaskan, first and foremost. She knows very little, and cares very little for the lower 48. She introduced herself by saying “I“m proud to be an ALASKAN”. She has been repeatedly documented speaking to and attending Alaska Separatist meetings. If she is in the VP role, she will hold U.S. taxpayers captive, including those that voted for her, to Alaska’s natural resources under the guise of “domestic products (oil/gas)” and reducing our dependance on forgeign oil. But if we are held captive by an Alaskan Separatist, there is no bargaining chip. No OPEC. No NATO. No Allies. Just a bunch of Paul Bunyan types getting rich off lower 48 taxpayers. When you hear “drill baby drill”, picture your tax bill skyrocketing and Alaskans renovating their homes with movie theaters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eniG9l_7its&eurl=http://www.jedreport.com/2008/10/sarah-palin-palling-around-wit.html

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McCain’s Biggest Mistake