More Palin

In a refreshing surprise, the NY Times defended the choice of a female mayor and governor for VP pick: “Where is it written that only senators are qualified to become President? Where is it written that governors and mayors . . . are too local, too provincial? . . . Presidential candidates have always chosen their running mates for reasons of practical demography, not idealized democracy. . . . What a splendid system, we say to ourselves, that takes little-known men, tests them in high office and permits them to grow into statesmen. . . . Why shouldn't a little-known woman have the same opportunity to grow?”


No, that was not an endorsement of Sarah Palin. That was from 1984, commending the selection of Geraldine Ferraro as Walter Mondale’s running mate. (HT: WSJ)


“We know she is an Alaskan reformer. We know she is pro-life. We know she was a beauty queen and a basketball star. We know she eats moose burgers. But does Sarah Palin speak in tongues?” (John Fea, in the Statesman online Friday). Why did the Statesman feel this was newsworthy? Geez, the next thing you know, we’ll find out that the VP candidate on the Democratic side believes he’s actually eating the body of Christ during Communion.


Not every conservative feels good about the VP pick: “Obama was sagging because of missteps that reflected the fundamental weakness of his candidacy. Which suggested McCain's strategy: Make this a referendum on Obama, surely the least experienced, least qualified, least prepared presidential nominee in living memory. Palin fatally undermines this entire line of attack. This is through no fault of her own. It is simply a function of her rookie status. . . . McCain was giving up his home turf of readiness to challenge Obama on his home turf of change. . . . Palin's selection negates the theme of readiness.” (Charles Krauthammer, who says she needs to pull an Obama who “showed that star power can trump the gravest of biographical liabilities.” Krauthammer wonders if she can do in 9 weeks what took 19 months for Obama to pull off, though.)


Krauthammer isn’t the only conservative concerned about Palin’s inexperience, but it’s annoying to hear progressives do any more with this than simply insist the attacks on Obama’s inexperience are off the table. But they go further, leaving us with the odd spectacle of those sympathetic to the experience of a first-term Democratic Senator rejecting the experience of a first-term Republican Governor.


Speaking of Experience: “Alaska is harder to govern than a smaller, more settled realm in the Lower 48. With vast distances, large numbers of indigenous peoples and a narrowly based extraction economy — with a handful of giant multinational oil corporations dominating the game — some economists say a country like Nigeria might be an apter comparison.” (“The Unusual Challenges Palin Faced in Alaska” in the NY Times.)



Thus a new applause line: “Being president of Nigeria is sort of like being a community organizer . . . .”



By the way, the Obama campaign was obviously stung by the “community organizer” comments, charging that Palin was mocking civic service. But if you actually listen to her speech, she was reacting to negative media portrayals of her term as mayor (and their initial reluctance to identify her as a present-day Governor instead of simply as a former mayor). People who want to tout one person’s stint as a community organizer as qualification for national office can’t turn around and deny another person’s mayoral experience as qualification for that same national office.


“Politicizing Bristol Palin's pregnancy, though predictable, is nonetheless repugnant and has often been absurd. It may be darkly ironic that a governor-mother who opposes explicit sex ed has a pregnant daughter, but experienced parents know that what one instructs isn't always practiced by one's little darlings.” (Kathleen Parker, reprinted in the Statesman.)


“It's being said that in choosing Governor Palin, Mr. McCain was making a play for disaffected Hillary Clinton voters. . . . Our sense is that the Governor's real political potential lies in her appeal to Reagan Democrats and Truman Republicans, voters Mr. McCain will need in November.” (“Sarah Palin’s Surge”). I agree: I never saw her selection as an appeal to Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, though that was the way many media commentators played it (Gloria Steinem, for a famous example).


Peggy Noonan said Palin’s acceptance speech “left me wondering if this campaign is about to take on a new shape, with the old time conservatism on one side, and a smoother, evolved form of the old style liberalism on the other.” Good summary of the campaign, and the choice it’s coming down to. It’s interesting that McCain in his acceptance speech practically offered an apology for how conservatives had lost their way in the last few years and, if we’ll give McCain-Palin a chance, they’ll turn things around again. Noonan fears, though, that America’s not in the mood for the Reagan-style conservatism any more than what has recently passed for conservatism.



Noonan also warned: “This campaign, this beautiful golden thing with two admirable men at the top and two admirable vice presidential candidates, is going to turn dark.” I agree with the assessment of both presidential contenders and both VP candidates. Sadly, I also fear these next 60 days will turn dark. Believers need to pray not only for the outcome but the process.