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August 30, 2008
Smooth move, John McCain.
McCain made his VP choice only yesterday, and it looks like the hangover may be starting even before the party's over:
John McCain was aiming to make history with his pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and historians say he succeeded.Presidential scholars say she appears to be the least experienced, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era.
So unconventional was McCain’s choice that it left students of the presidency literally “stunned,” in the words of Joel Goldstein, a St. Louis University law professor and scholar of the vice presidency. “Being governor of a small state for less than two years is not consistent with the normal criteria for determining who’s of presidential caliber,” said Goldstein.
“I think she is the most inexperienced person on a major party ticket in modern history,” said presidential historian Matthew Dallek.
That includes Spiro T. Agnew, Richard Nixon’s first vice president, who was governor of a medium-sized state, Maryland, for two years, and before that, executive of suburban Baltimore County, the expansive jurisdiction that borders and exceeds in population the city of Baltimore.
It also includes George H.W. Bush’s vice president, Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle, who had served in the House and Senate for 12 years before taking office. And it also includes New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, who served three terms in the House before Walter Mondale chose her in 1984 as the first woman candidate on a major party ticket.
Scholars question Palin credentials (Politico.com)
But let's not forget about all the support and good wishes she'll get from her home state, the 47th largest in the country (its total population is about one-fourth that of Brooklyn).
A reporter for the Anchorage daily, Gregg Erickson, even did an online chat with the Washington Post, in which he revealed that Palin's approval rating in the state was not the much-touted 80%, but 65% and sinking -- and that among journalists who followed her it might be in the "teens." He added: "I have a hard time seeing how her qualifications stack up against the duties and responsibilities of being president.... I expect her to stick with simple truths. When asked about continued American troop presence in Iraq, she said she knows only one thing about that (I paraphrase): no one has attacked the American homeland since George Bush took the war to Iraq."His paper found a number of leading Republican officeholders in the state who mocked Palin's qualifications. "She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" said Lyda Green, the president of the State Senate, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"
Another top Republican, John Harris, the speaker of the House, when asked about her qualifications for Veep, replied with this: "She's old enough. She's a U.S. citizen."
2 Top Alaska Newspapers Question Palin's Fitness (Huffington Post)
And one more, just to give you a preview of her poise and good judgement: here's Sarah's appearance on an Alaskan right-wing radio show, giggling along as the hosts refer to a political opponent of hers as "a cancer" and "a bitch":
"We'd be honored to have you guys."
Nice. Get ready for some real jaw-droppers on the campaign trail.
Wait, wait—one more still. Stewart & Colbert are in top form about this.
