Obama Palin and the About to Die Argument

If one were to listen to the Democrats over the last couple weeks, you might conclude that Senator McCain is terribly ill just waiting for November or January to keel over. The line of attack is to tell voters that Sarah Palin will be president, and that she is not qualified for that job.

So for a moment lets ignore the morbid, and highly suspect premise of this argument. It's Palin v. Obama. It's a first term Governor v. a first term Senator. Both are short on foreign policy experience. They each have some experience, but not an extensive foreign policy record. Palin wins on executive experience; she's run a state, she has run a town; she's the commander-in-chief of the Alaska National Guard. What's particularly surprising is that Governor Palin has the edge of legislative achievements. This is an area that Senator Obama should win as his experience is almost completely in the legislative branch, yet he has no major pieces of legislation in his name in the U.S. or State Senate. It's not that he has no legislative experience but it is sparse and it is mainly on politically safe issues.

Palin's legislative accomplishments actually eclipse Obama's. She pushed through bipartisan ethics reform bill in Alaska. She passed a tax increase on oil company profits, and she enacted the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) to set up a natural gas pipeline in Alaska. She has taken on her own party in big ways by ousting two entrenched incumbants, resigning her post at the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission as a protest to 'lack of ethics', and opposed the reelection of Republicans Don Young and Ted Stevens because of ethics/corruption charges. Senator Obama does not have a bipartisan record, or a history of taking on his own party in any way.

So if Governor Palin were running for president I would have some doubts about her foreign policy experience, somewhat similar to those I have about Senator Obama's foreign policy experience. However, she's not running for president. Yes, it is possible that she could become president, but on the other hand Senator Obama would definitely be bringing a lack of foreign policy experience to the White House. If Governor Palin did have to take over the Presidency, her vice presidential experience would eclipse any experience Senator Obama now claims to have on foreign policy. The only way the Obama campaign has even the slightest opportunity to win the experience argument against Palin is to convince everyone McCain is on his last legs. Granted no one is guaranteed a particular life span, but this argument is a stretch and rather grim.

It is the team element of the Palin pick that makes McCain/Palin combination so strong. There is legislative and executive experience on the Republican ticket. There is a foreign policy expert, and there is an energy expert, they both have a history of working across party lines and battling corruption, there is military experience, there is 'beyond the beltway' experience. They both have a background and history of reform. On the Democratic side Obama chose an experienced Washington insider, who brings foreign policy experience, but dilutes the message of change. The match is awkward with the experienced candidate in the two slot and the novice at the top of the ticket. This has left the Obama campaign with the 'About to Die' argument leaving another ding in the 'politics of hope' mantra.

Obama Palin and the About to Die Argument

Is McCain/Palin In Obama's Head?

Obama and his campaign have been showing signs of having been rattled by the VP pick of Palin. However, there were signs before the VP selection that the Obama campaign could be rattled. First, the celebrity ad. Outrage, and cries of foul abounded over an ad that basically poked fun at Obama's celebrity and his legions of euphoric supporters. Second, Saddleback. Not the event itself, but the cries of cheating that came from the Obama campaign. It couldn't be that McCain outperformed Obama there must have been foul play. So the Obama campaign screams cheater because Senator McCain wasn't hermetically sealed in in a sound proof pod, or 'cone of silence'. Their reaction was both foolish, and a sign that even minor victories by the McCain campaign could rattle them. However, the pre-Palin kicker is that someone convinced Senator Obama to give a mediocre acceptance speech. What is the one area where Senator Obama has a decisive edge? Speech making; and he under-performed. How that happened should be studied in political science classes in years to come, because forfeiting a strength in any arena is flat crazy.

Then comes the VP picks. Obama doesn't want Clinton, and chooses a candidate to help him appear more experienced so he picks Biden. McCain supporters chuckle as Senator Biden is a legendary 'Gaffe Machine'. Everyone else yawns. Good guy, fairly safe pick, but no one really cares. Then it's McCain's turn. Everyone is predicting Romney or Pawlenty, both safe choices, but again not terribly exciting. The McCain campaign keeps the pick completely secret, and then Palin explodes on the scene. She gave a good opening speech, but there were a lot of questions about her still to be addressed. The Obama campaign immediately took a shot at her, but then retracted the statement as harsh and unnecessary. The media loses its mind. Certainly that's not the Obama camps fault, but their obvious Obama bias and hysterical reaction to Palin does not help their favorite candidate. Clumsily the Obama campaign chimed in with cracks about her experience as a small town mayor, and dismissed her experience as a sitting Governor. This opened the door for Palin to clock Obama on his community organizer experience during her acceptance speech, which was such a powerful speech that it made the media and Obama look foolish for their attacks.

Since then the Obama campaign has struggled to get its bearings. First, Obama acted horrified that Palin challenged his community organizer experience, when he had really set himself up. Then his campaign had a meltdown over Palin's comment that she had pulled the plug on the 'Bridge to No Where'. Instead of criticizing Palin's original support for a different version of the bridge, or questioning what that money should have been spent on after the project was dead, the Obama campaign instead freaked out. They called Palin a liar, they called the McCain/Palin ticket corrupt, yet in the end Palin did pull the plug on the 'Bridge to No Where' and the Obama campaign's over-reaction looked foolish and unstable. Then comes Senator Obama's 'Lipstick on a pig' comment. One can argue intent all day long, however, there is little argument that the comment was incredibly stupid. Particularly, since in the same day he made another comment about a 'stinking fish', and another campaign member also referenced lipstick in a less than flattering way. For someone who is typically graceful in his use of language, "The fierce urgency of now", "We are not red states or blue states, we are the United States", talking about lipstick on pigs after Palin made a lipstick joke during her speech is at best sloppy and out of character.

Today the fumbling continues. An ad criticizing Senator McCain's out of date attire from 1982, and challenging his apparent internet ineptitude has to be one of the weakest attack ads put out in years. Maybe that helps him somehow with the youth vote, but he already has the youth vote. Most people over the age of 30 know at some point in their lives they've worn a silly outfit, and/or had a bad hair day. As for lack of internet experience, who cares? It's an odd argument that I can't imagine helps the campaign. The Obama campaign has abandoned their 'new politics' argument for random and silly attacks. It's not just that they're struggling since the Palin pick and the convention, its that they're panicking. They're only down a few points in the polls, the real problem isn't the numbers it's that the McCain/Palin ticket has them completely flustered.

Is McCain/Palin in Obama's Head?

Defending Governor Palin's Church/Religion

The intensely personal attacks on Governor Palin now include attacks on her faith. Some misunderstand her faith, others as Slate did in a recent article, outright attack it. No expert myself on faith or religion, I asked my brother Greg who belongs to a church very similar to that of Governor Palin to clarify what it is and isn’t to be a fundamentalist Christian. Also, following his write up is a part of a write up from Mary McCurry a Roman Catholic who is deeply troubled by the manner in which Governor Palin’s faith has been attacked.

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Greg Morrison - MN
First of all, the author [from the Slate article] incorrectly correlates the term “fundamentalist” with the term “extremist”. To be a fundamentalist, simply means to believe in certain fundamentals. The fundamentals of Sarah Palin’s church can be found clearly on their website. They are few and fairly straightforward. They believe…

1. ...the Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative Word of God.
2. ...Jesus Christ is the only Divine Son of God.
3. ...man is inherently sinful and in need of the grace of God.
4 ...salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from works.
5. ...the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues is given to believers who ask for it.
6. ...in Miracles of Divine healing in response to the prayer of faith.
7. ...in the imminent return of Jesus for all Christians.

While individuals (even Christians) can argue as to whether or not this is a partial, complete, or extended list of fundamentals, the fact is that most Christian faiths believe in some if not all of the above tenets…

…most of the above statements of faith are very much within the “mainstream” of Christianity. Consequently while someone may be a Christian fundamentalist that in no way by itself means that they are by default an “extremist”.

Second, many of the freedoms we enjoy today are possible due to beliefs that are found in the Bible. God over and over again in scripture communicates to man that he has a choice to make (ex: Deut 30:19 I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live.) This particular scripture is an example of the choice that God gives us. To paraphrase this passage, God is essentially saying the following. I’m calling everyone to say that I am giving you the freedom to make a choice. Here are your options; Life and Blessing or Death and Cursing. You choose. By the way I’d choose life if I were you. It is much better.

Are there some individuals who have perverted the truth? Of course. As in any segment of society there are those who do not take the time to learn and understand the truth…

…That being said, I have seen nothing so far that would suggest that Sarah Palin or her Church believe anything outside of the above basic fundamentals.

…It should be understood that to a person of Christian faith (even of the fundamentalist nature) science and God are not incongruous. After all from our perspective, God created both faith and science. Some of the theory’s that lead in our scientific circles may in fact be closer than many might think. For example the Big Bang Theory explains how the Universe came to be from virtual nothingness. To a fundamentalist Christian this is not a new revelation. After all, In the beginning…God said, Let there be light, and (BANG) there was light (Gen 1:1&3).

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Mary McCurry - CA

…First, there is the wide dissemination of verifiably false stories of her claiming that the Iraq war and the Alaska pipeline are God's tasks. Then that she dared to pray in a Church of all places. I watched and listened to the YouTube clip 4 times where she was in her Church and offering support for her son and all our troops going to war. She prayed that God has a plan and that we be part of it. In other words by praying she was NOT stating what God's plan is, but asking God's guidance and strength that we rightly discern His Will and be empowered and protected to carry that out. That is even a step in the 12 Step programs. This is the same kind of praying that goes on in thousands of Churches of many different traditions.

Attacks on her Pentecostal faith and practices like speaking in tongues or rolling on the floor, etc -- It is not enough to just say that she doesn't do that - that's not the point. The point is that whether she does or doesn't millions of intelligent, educated and faith filled people do and there is nothing insane about that. Charismatic Catholics speak in tongues. Many Protestant groups do as well whether labeled Pentecostal or not. Sts Paul and Peter spoke in tongues along with the rest of the crowd at Pentecost. To attack this practice as making anyone unfit for public office is an attack on all religious practice or beliefs.

Defending Governor Palin's Church and Religion

Mike Gravel Defends Sarah Palin from Smears

OMG I'm Watching the First Female Vice President

The test for Governor Palin was to see if she could perform on the big stage. Could she handle the pressure? Could she handle the criticism? Oh yeah! She can handle it. She just crushed her critics, and showed the media for what they are, glorified gossip hounds. While the media sulks, lets look at what was so amazing about this speech. She talked details, no sweeping generalities, but hard facts on current issues. She gave her background and explained how her experience as Governor and as mayor has prepared her for being VP. She addressed her family, and laid to rest the swirl of nasty remarks made over the weekend. She championed small town America, and echoed the theme of service and country. Finally, she destroyed the opposition. From nailing Harry Reed, to shooting down the Obama campaign's message of hope and change as an empty rhetoric that lacked action, to deflating the Obama campaign's attacks on her experience by flipping those remarks onto Obama himself. This speech had it all and Governor Palin knocked it out of the park.

OMG I'm Watching the First Female Vice President