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Palin could be that bridge... to nowhere |
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Written by Sonia Morgan
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Sunday, 07 September 2008 |
In a last ditch attempt to rally the base and win over the women vote, Republican Presidential nominee, John McCain named as his running-mate the virtually unknown small town governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.
There has already been much ado about the situation, continuing speculation of McCain's judgment. They question the selection which in essence passed over other very qualified female candidates (if he needed a female so badly) and male candidates who could have supplemented him in his weak areas. But no, he opted for the gun-toting, self-proclaimed 'hockey-mom' who has been a mayor for a city of a little more than 9,000 people and a governor of 20 months for a state whose population is one of the smallest in the nation.
But this means very little to the Republican base which is now energized, seeing that this 44-year-old vivacious woman, shares many of their pastimes. She's a hockey mom, an avid hunter of bears and wolves, she upholds the idea of 'abstinence only' and to them she is right up there on the 'family values' tip. She is just the thing that McCain needed to bridge the divide... but whether this bridge will lead to the white house is anyone's guess.
It is interesting to hear Republicans defend this choice for the Veep, this "breath of fresh air", seeing that she'll be a breath away from the presidency and would be called upon to be the leader of the free world should Senator McCain, 72 years-old and a skin cancer survivor, become incapacitated. Her fiery speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night has catapulted her into a media darling, and she certainly revved up the base. But the speech, which could be summed up as a hurling of attacks on Barack Obama, twisting of the truth and at times flat out lies from this (again self-proclaimed) pit-bull with lipstick, may not convince us all that she is capable of holding the highest office in the land.
Before getting your knickers in a twist, I am in no way judging her based on her ovaries. Hillary Clinton has those too, and she would have made a heck of a leader. What we are talking about is her far right extremism that opposes teaching sex education in school (which might have helped her 17-year-old daughter who is now 5-months pregnant) and supports the misguided Iraq war as God's mission. Her position on issues are so far removed from Hillary's so, throwing her in the mix to attract Hillary supporters may just be a slap in the face to many of them.
Of course, the McCain camp is touting her as a reformer who stood up against the Good Ole Boys Club and spoke out against the 'bridge to nowhere', in a bid to woo independent voters. With the number of people she has fired (and is currently under investigations for abuse of power) in her stint as Mayor, and the number of lobbyists she has worked with to get money for earmarks and pork barrel spending (she appeared twice on McCain's pork barrel list), she is a part of the Good Ole Boys Club. As for the Bridge to nowhere... she was for it, before she was against it. Sounds familiar?
What the McCain camp and Palin herself failed to tell us is that she does not think that how we treat the environment has anything to do with climate change, she (a woman) is against equal pay for women and she is for drilling our way out of this crisis. Sure, she has executive experience as governor, but so did George Bush and look how well that turned out.
With so many question marks swirling around her head and so many skeletons falling out of her closet (listen to the news) many are wondering if the War Vet vetted this pick. In fact, he met with Palin only once before he chose her. Days after the news of her daughter's pregnancy, more of McCain's vetting team went to Wasilla, Alaska to complete the vetting process.
From the response of the RNC and the media falling all over themselves about it, it might seem like the right pick. But, my question is: what can Palin bring to the table? How will she fare when there is no teleprompter, no adoring Republicans to prop her up and when the media decides to ask her the tough questions about policy, the economy and the huge debt of $22 million that she left as mayor of Wasilla?
Since this is the bridge that McCain has chosen, the right wing is hoping that his gamble pays off and that Palin is not that famous 'bridge to nowhere'. |
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