Who does McCain pick?

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by YOhio

Obama and his campaign have already shown a willingness to belittle women.

Also, as if Biden's reputation weren't that he's a lighweight.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

How could they not? McCain's one trump card in this election so far has been experience. McCain has repeated over and over again that Obama just isn't ready to be the next president of the United States.

Then McCain goes out and says that, in McCain's opinion, the person who is MOST qualified to be the next president of the United States, other than McCain himself, is Sarah Palin? How in the world does that make any sense at all? Palin hasn't even finished her second year in state office. All McCain did today is point out that experience, as a measure of who is ready to be president, is overrated. He burned his trump card to the ground.

McCain also picked someone whose strongest and most well-known position is abortion. In so doing, McCain is going to force abortion to once again be a major issue in this campaign, a proposition that is a losing battle for him. He reportedly selected Palin to be VP to lure disenchanted Hillary supporters over to his side. He isn't going to accomplish that with someone as dramatically pro-life as Palin. Many Clinton supporters have operated under the wrong belief that McCain is pro-choice. That mistake won't linger for long with Palin on the ticket.

This is a terrible pick for McCain. She brings with her the Alaskan Republican party scandals (and her own "scandal"), isn't known by anybody outside of Alaska (other than those who really pay attention to politics), and if she makes a single mistake on any major topic, she is quickly going to be painted as the cute beauty pageant queen who looks nice but is ditzy.

Good luck with this one, Republicans.

you know McCain has struck gold when Cali gets in a tizzy like this. mark my words.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

All McCain did today is point out that experience, as a measure of who is ready to be president, is overrated. He burned his trump card to the ground.

I don't expect to see McCain let up on the experience hammer, and I expect it to continue to be effective. "Yeah, well your VP isn't that experienced either!" strikes me as a really weak rejoinder.

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

McCain also picked someone whose strongest and most well-known position is abortion. In so doing, McCain is going to force abortion to once again be a major issue in this campaign, a proposition that is a losing battle for him.

I told you he wasn't hiding his pro-life position.

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

This is a terrible pick for McCain.

Had you said anything else, I would've been worried. I was ecstatic when Obama picked Biden.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

Good luck with this one, Republicans.

Thank you Cali; you're always a good sport.

Your condescending approach to Ms. Palin is a little out of character, or at least seems so for a progressive. ". . . cute beauty pageant queen who looks nice but is ditzy."? Wow.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

". . . cute beauty pageant queen who looks nice but is ditzy."? Wow.

SEXIST. Cali is sexist.

[MikeWaters]

Cali, you are way overthinking this.

A VP pick is nothing more than a demonstration of ones values, and a superficial one at that.

Does Obama really think that Biden the serial plagiarizer is the most qualified human being to be president besides himself? That's a big insult to the Hillary supporters.

By choosing a woman, Biden sends the message that he is not as hard-edged as he appears. That he is a maverick, picking only the 2nd woman to be on a ticket. And we will likely find that she is smart and has sharp-elbows.

She is not going to "inject" abortion into this election. The only way abortion becomes an issue is if he had picked someone pro-choice.

Are there going to be left wingers ripping on her for not aborting the down syndrome baby? I doubt it.

[MikeWaters]

Cali, you are way overthinking this.

A VP pick is nothing more than a demonstration of ones values, and a superficial one at that.

Does Obama really think that Biden the serial plagiarizer is the most qualified human being to be president besides himself? That's a big insult to the Hillary supporters.

By choosing a woman, Biden sends the message that he is not as hard-edged as he appears. That he is a maverick, picking only the 2nd woman to be on a ticket. And we will likely find that she is smart and has sharp-elbows.

She is not going to "inject" abortion into this election. The only way abortion becomes an issue is if he had picked someone pro-choice.

Are there going to be left wingers ripping on her for not aborting the down syndrome baby? I doubt it.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

You are nuts if you think she won't inject abortion into this campaign. That is one of her two pet issues. Clearly Obama thinks Biden is prepared to be the President. If he didn't, he wouldn't pick him. McCain likewise with Palin, and given McCain's age, it has to be something he considered fully.

Yes, I'm nuts then.

Obama is falling right into McCain's trap. McCain is going to use Obama's words against him. He's going to play his criticism of Palin in commercials. "If this is what Obama thinks, how is he even going to vote for himself?"

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

Obama's experience is greater than Palin's. Why would you equate the two? Palin has literally less than two years of service at the state level. Obama had 7 years of service in the state legislature and has 3 years of experience at the national level in the Senate. While I think experience is highly overrated as a factor in elections, McCain has made it a central point of his campaign, and he shouldn't be surprised when it is thrown back into his face.

2 years as governor trumps 3 years in the senate (more like 2 at most). Executive always outweighs legislative experience.

Plus the bar to be the Presidential candidate IS ALWAYS HIGHER THAN THE BAR FOR VP.

Not in your mind apparently. Obama is not running for Rhetoric-in-Chief. If he does, I'll vote for him speechwriter.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

It isn't weak at all. McCain picked Palin because, presumably, he thinks right now she is 100% ready to be the president of the US. How can he conclude that about her but not about Obama? She has less than 2 years of experience at a state level position. This is a losing battle for him now.

Her experience is a weakness, a point I don't think anyone is denying. I simply don't think the experience of the VP is as important as the President, the "heartbeat away" notwithstanding. Nor do I think it will get as much media play.

Thus I don't think Palin's lack of experience hurts McCain anymore than Biden's helps Obama. Flip it around ... what is Obama going to say when his foreign policy judgment is questioned, "Well, that's why I've got Joe. I'll just turn it over to him"?

Veeps help frame issues and change the debate, but people still vote based on the man at the top.