Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama

[metta 0]

Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama

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By Gerard Baker

Democrats, between sniggers of derision and snorts of disgust, contend that Sarah Palin, John McCain's vice-presidential pick is ridiculously unqualified to be president.

It's a reasonable objection on its face except for this small objection: it surely needs to be weighed against the Democrats' claim that their own candidate for president is self-evidently ready to assume the role of most powerful person on the planet.

At first blush, here's what we know about the relative experience of the two candidates. Both are in their mid-forties and have held statewide elective office for less than four years. Both have admitted to taking illegal drugs in their youth.

So much for the similarities. How about the differences?

Political experience Obama: Worked his way to the top by cultivating, pandering to and stroking the most powerful interest groups in the all-pervasive Chicago political machine, ensuring his views were aligned with the power brokers there.

Palin: Worked her way to the top by challenging, attacking and actively undermining the Republican party establishment in her native Alaska. She ran against incumbent Republicans as a candidate willing and able to clean the Augean Stables of her state's government.

Political Biography

Obama: A classic, if unusually talented, greasy-pole climber. Held a succession of jobs that constitute the standard route to the top in his party's internal politics: "community organizer", law professor, state senator.

Palin:A woman with a wide range of interests in a well-variegated life. Held a succession of jobs - sports journalist, commercial fisherwoman, state oil and gas commissioner, before entering local politics. A resume that suggests something other than burning political ambition from the cradle but rather the sort of experience that enables her to understand the concerns of most Americans..

Political history

Obama: Elected to statewide office only after a disastrous first run for a congressional seat and after his Republican opponent was exposed in a sexual scandal. Won seat eventually in contest against a candidate who didn't even live in the state.

Palin: Elected to statewide office by challenging a long-serving Republican incumbent governor despite intense opposition from the party.

Appeal

Obama: A very attractive speaker whose celebrity has been compared to that of Britney Spears and who sends thrills up Chris Matthews' leg

Palin: A very attractive woman, much better-looking than Britney Spears who speaks rather well too. She sends thrills up the leg of Rush Limbaugh (and me).

Executive experience

Obama: Makes executive decisions every day that affect the lives of his campaign staff and a vast crowd of traveling journalists

Palin:Makes executive decisions every day that affect the lives of 500,000 people in her state, and that impact crucial issues of national economic interest such as the supply and cost of energy to the United States.

Religious influences

Obama: Regards people who "cling" to religion and guns as "bitter" . Spent 20 years being mentored and led spiritually by a man who proclaimed "God damn America" from his pulpit. Mysteriously, this mentor completely disappeared from public sight about four months ago.

Palin: Head of her high school Fellowship of Christian Athletes and for many years a member of the Assemblies of God congregation whose preachers have never been known to accuse the United States of deliberately spreading the AIDS virus. They remain in full public sight and can be seen every Sunday in churches across Alaska. A proud gun owner who has been known to cling only to the carcasses of dead caribou felled by her own aim.

Record of bipartisan achievement

Obama: Speaks movingly of the bipartisanship needed to end the destructive politics of "Red America" and "Blue America", but votes in the Senate as a down-the-line Democrat, with one of the most liberal voting records in congress.

Palin: Ridiculed by liberals such as John Kerry as a crazed, barely human, ####### Cheney-type conservative but worked wit Democrats in the state legislature to secure landmark anti-corruption legislation.

Former state Rep. Ethan Berkowitz - a Democrat - said. "Gov. Palin has made her name fighting corruption within her own party, and I was honored when she stepped across party lines and asked me to co-author her ethics white paper."

On Human Life

Obama: Devoutly pro-choice. Voted against a bill in the Illinois state senate that would have required doctors to save the lives of babies who survived abortion procedures. The implication of this position is that babies born prematurely during abortions would be left alone, unnourished and unmedicated, until they died.

Palin: Devoutly pro-life. Exercised the choice proclaimed by liberals to bring to full term a baby that had been diagnosed in utero with Down Syndrome.

Now it's true there are other crucial differences. Sen Obama has appeared on Meet The Press every other week for the last four years. He has been the subject of hundreds of adoring articles in papers and newsweeklies and TV shows and has written two Emmy-award winning books.

Gov Palin has never appeared on Meet the Press, never been on the cover of Newsweek. She presumably feels that, as a mother of five children married to a snowmobile champion, who also happens to be the first woman and the youngest person ever to be elected governor of her state, she has not really done enough yet to merit an autobiography.

Then again, I'm willing to bet that if she had authored The Grapes of Wrath, sung like Edith Piaf and composed La Traviata , she still wouldn't have won an Emmy.

Fortunately, it will be up to the American people and not their self-appointed leaders in Hollywood and New York to determine who really has the better experience to be president.

Gerard Baker is US Editor and Assistant Editor of The Times of London. Email: gerard.baker@thetimes.co.uk

[IAMX 3,055]

Obama: Devoutly kissing AT&T and other corporate ### for funds.

Palin: Devoutly kissing religious fundamentalist ### and oil industry ### for funds.

Seem like voting for the same to me, regardless of their "stances".

[dalegg 143]

Palin creates a little problem for Obama. They obviously cannot use the "experience argument has backfired" line within the campaign because that only points out that there is in fact an experience argument with Obama. Obama's camp doesn't want to say "hey, look if McCain were to die during his Presidency there would only be the experience in the White house with our team if I'm alive." Doesn't work. He'll have to be content with the commentators making the argument, which thankfully for him they are.

Biden cannot really go after this either because if he questions his opponent then its like he's questioning his boss. I think during the debates he probably will though so lets see if we have another famous gaff.

And the whole attacking the female problem is a catch 22 for them also. Clearly they want Clinton's supporters to stay with them and not be swayed by the pretty woman in the mini skirt, but neither Biden or Obama is a good attack dog for this particular opponant. Unfortunately there's only one person who's best suited for that role, and Obama thought he was done with her with her pursuasive speech last week. Will she be up for it?

[dalegg 143]

Palin creates a little problem for Obama. They obviously cannot use the "experience argument has backfired" line within the campaign because that only points out that there is in fact an experience argument with Obama. Obama's camp doesn't want to say "hey, look if McCain were to die during his Presidency there would only be the experience in the White house with our team if I'm alive." Doesn't work. He'll have to be content with the commentators making the argument, which thankfully for him they are.

You know, after pondering that thought for a minute I realize just how brilliant this move was by McCain. At a time when the focus by most political commentators and the media was on "change" vs "same as the past 8 years"- which doesn't favor McCain- the Republicans bring out this running mate who forces the discussion to change to the topic of experience. Talking about Palin's experience in any context brings out the discussion of Obama's experience and now that is all the media is talking about. When the discussion turns from "change" to "experience" that can only favor McCain and the media is playing right into his hands. You have to know that the McCain camp knew this would come up. Now I don't think they were worried about it at all- it's exactly what they wanted!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Palin creates a little problem for Obama. They obviously cannot use the "experience argument has backfired" line within the campaign because that only points out that there is in fact an experience argument with Obama. Obama's camp doesn't want to say "hey, look if McCain were to die during his Presidency there would only be the experience in the White house with our team if I'm alive." Doesn't work. He'll have to be content with the commentators making the argument, which thankfully for him they are.

You know, after pondering that thought for a minute I realize just how brilliant this move was by McCain. At a time when the focus by most political commentators and the media was on "change" vs "same as the past 8 years"- which doesn't favor McCain- the Republicans bring out this running mate who forces the discussion to change to the topic of experience. Talking about Palin's experience in any context brings out the discussion of Obama's experience and now that is all the media is talking about. When the discussion turns from "change" to "experience" that can only favor McCain and the media is playing right into his hands. You have to know that the McCain camp knew this would come up. Now I don't think they were worried about it at all- it's exactly what they wanted!

McCain's choice has all the indications of an impulsive move over one that was well thought out or as calculating as you suggest - he only met with her once, for 15 minutes before making the decision, his staff barely knew anything about her, etc. The announcement was made on Thursday, the day of Obama's acceptance speech and each day afterwards, more information about this relatively unknown politician has surfaced, making it more obvious how little if any vetting was done on her by McCain's camp. If this choice of McCain's turns out to be measured as brilliant (which I personally think is way too early to make that assessment), it will be regarded more as a happy accident rather than a calculating move by McCain beyond the obvious surface qualities she brings to the ticket (female, social conservative who is easy on the eyes).

Edited September 2, 2008 by Jabberwocky

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Announcing McCain's VP pick the day after Obama's acceptance speech was a political move and tv programming move. It gets people talking about his campaign vs. Obama's. For example look at the multiple-threads started on VJ just for Sarah Palin vs. Obama or Biden in the last week. One thing in political science for certain is that unseasoned leaders are tested more than seasoned. Obama's been through the ringer already with Clinton and McCain on the campaign trail and Palin is the new blood on the market so she's getting her's too.

I seriously doubt that McCain's campaign people didn't go through her background with a fine tooth comb and looking at all the strategies before picking her for VP just like any other.

Being the new blood also brings what people find attractive in Obama with the same fighting corruption within the party because they haven't been in long enough to become corrupt argument. Also now that Palin is getting so much attention it takes the heat off of McCain as people are intuitively comparing Palin to Obama instead of Palin to Biden or or more importantly Obama to McCain.

Another advantage to this pick is looking down the republican party road politically. Statistically history shows that it will be a Democrat in the white house next. That means all indicators show that Obama will be the next President. This current choice for VP shows that the Republican party has heard and paid attention to what the people of America want and accept. The RP are willing to show they are progressive as the democrats with choosing a female VP now like the DP has done in the past. Not only that they are matching up capability of their VP to the Democratic parties current presidental candidate.

[rebeccajo 14]

Are you people voting for a President or a Vice President?

[symbiosis 0]

There really is no comparison. Illinois is a big important state and Obama was a state legislator for 8 years. He has been senator for four.

Palin was two-term mayor of a town barely big enough to be labeled as such and then less than 2 years as governor of a state that has a population the size of the city of Milwaukee.

[symbiosis 0]

Palin creates a little problem for Obama. They obviously cannot use the "experience argument has backfired" line within the campaign because that only points out that there is in fact an experience argument with Obama. Obama's camp doesn't want to say "hey, look if McCain were to die during his Presidency there would only be the experience in the White house with our team if I'm alive." Doesn't work. He'll have to be content with the commentators making the argument, which thankfully for him they are.

You know, after pondering that thought for a minute I realize just how brilliant this move was by McCain. At a time when the focus by most political commentators and the media was on "change" vs "same as the past 8 years"- which doesn't favor McCain- the Republicans bring out this running mate who forces the discussion to change to the topic of experience. Talking about Palin's experience in any context brings out the discussion of Obama's experience and now that is all the media is talking about. When the discussion turns from "change" to "experience" that can only favor McCain and the media is playing right into his hands. You have to know that the McCain camp knew this would come up. Now I don't think they were worried about it at all- it's exactly what they wanted!

McCain's choice has all the indications of an impulsive move over one that was well thought out or as calculating as you suggest - he only met with her once, for 15 minutes before making the decision, his staff barely knew anything about her, etc. The announcement was made on Thursday, the day of Obama's acceptance speech and each day afterwards, more information about this relatively unknown politician has surfaced, making it more obvious how little if any vetting was done on her by McCain's camp. If this choice of McCain's turns out to be measured as brilliant (which I personally think is way too early to make that assessment), it will be regarded more as a happy accident rather than a calculating move by McCain beyond the obvious surface qualities she brings to the ticket (female, social conservative who is easy on the eyes).

spot on.

[Ban Hammer 13,651]

Are you people voting for a President or a Vice President?

the way things have been lately around here, i'm starting to wonder that too.

[symbiosis 0]

considering McCain is 72 and has a history of cancer and that Obama seems to attract the attention of gun-wielding nutcases, I think we're voting for both.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Article neglects Foreign Policy experience:

• Palin is incumbent governor of a US State which borders on two Canadian subentities (British Columbia Province, Yukon Territory) by land and has maritime border with Russia (Big Diomed Island of Russia is 4 km from Little Diomed Island of Alaska)--inevitably dealing with these involves a minor matter of Foreign Policy
• Obama, prior to Senate campaign had ZERO FP experience (having lived as a child in Kenya and Indonesia DOESN't qualify)

[symbiosis 0]

Article neglects Foreign Policy experience:

• Palin is incumbent governor of a US State which borders on two Canadian subentities (British Columbia Province, Yukon Territory) by land and has maritime border with Russia (Big Diomed Island of Russia is 4 km from Little Diomed Island of Alaska)--inevitably dealing with these involves a minor matter of Foreign Policy
• Obama, prior to Senate campaign had ZERO FP experience (having lived as a child in Kenya and Indonesia DOESN't qualify)

yes, very minor.

[symbiosis 0]

LOL! Palin admits she has no idea what the VP does. What a moron:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMZmXCsg5_Q

[metta 0]

Well, Obama campaign is scared by the Palin pick.

So, in three days, the MSM and left bloggers (surrogates for Obama masquerading as media) throws the kitchen sink in the hope that something will stick. here's an example of HuffPo. So much for folks who are clamoring for new kind of politics:

... TOP GOP GOVERNOR: I'VE HEARD NO DISCUSSION ABOUT REMOVING MS. PALIN FROM THE TICKET ...

'Fringe' Alaskan Secessionist Party: Palin Was A Member... Almost Recalled As Mayor... Directed Fundraising For Indicted Senator's 527... Troopergate Scandal... Calls Iraq A War For Oil... Admits She Hasn't 'Really Focused On Iraq'... Alaska National Guard General: Palin Plays No Role In National Defense... 17 Year-Old Daughter Pregnant... Husband Arrested For DUI...

READ MORE AT HUFFPOST'S SARAH PALIN BIG NEWS PAGE</h5>

Edited September 2, 2008 by metta