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Well, so much for experience. Republican presidential candidate John McCain, having beat up on Barack Obama’s callow youth for months now, has chosen a vice-president who by any standard is far less experienced than the Democratic nominee.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as you may have heard, hasn’t even served a full term as governor of one of the least populous states in the union. And that, as Democrats suggest, undermines McCain’s emphasis on experience as the standard by which this election should be decided.
But surely, Republicans will counter, the stakes are lower for a vice-president, and experience is not so important?
Well, not according to John McCain himself, who in July told our very own Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the ability to take the Oval Office “immediately” was a key consideration. And he wasn’t going to let his choice be determined by identity politics either.
The relevant portion of the interview:
Trib: Do you feel pressured to pick a woman or a minority vice president?
McCain: No, frankly, I hadn’t thought about that.
Trib: What kind of a vice president do you want?
McCain: Someone who shares my priorities and my principles. And also obviously who is ready to take my place at a moment’s — you know, immediately.
Or, you know, not.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 3, 2008.
What I found disturbing is that John McCain’s first wife was a model, his second wife a beauty pageant contestant and now his choice for veep is another beauty pageant contestant. At least she was his second choice, reportedly he wanted Joe Lieberman. But Lieberman didn’t test well with the base (being, you know, a Democrat).
What a delightfully sexist comment from the “party of inclusion”. It’s amazing what people will say when they are scared out of their wits! Would the subject of the nominee’s looks even have been brought up if the VP pick were a man? Doubtful.
I love what people will say when they are scared out of their wits!
What a delightfully sexist comment from someone who supports the so-called “party of inclusion”. But I expect no less…the same people who are “disturbed” about McCain’s personal life will simultaneously argue to the death that it was Bill Clinton’s private business if he wanted to treat a White House intern as a cigar humidor!