Over the next 60+ days, you’re going to hear a lot about experience from both presidential candidates. You will continue to hear from the McCain camp that Barack Obama is dangerously unqualified to be president because of his lack of experience. You will hear the same from Democrats about Sarah Palin. Although it does seem funny to me that they are comparing their presidential candidate to our vice-presidential candidate. Does this mean that they admit that Obama is underqualified?
Before they launch into their attacks against Governor Palin, maybe they should examine the kind of minefield that they could be entering:
(Via Culture11.com)
- Palin has more executive experience than Obama himself (having run a company, a PTO, a town and then Alaska).
- WARNING: Bring up the experience issue at your own peril.
- SAMPLE: “When Senator Obama started his first run for local office I was already a two-term mayor. If you simply count the years of experience, I win, frankly.”
- Palin has more direct military experience than Obama and Biden combined having served as Commander of the Alaskan National Guard:
- WARNING: Don’t fuss with military issues. Be cautious around foreign affairs.
- SAMPLE: “Alaska has a shared border with Canada and shared Islands with Russia. Illinois and Deleware…mmm… not so much. I’ve actually commanded hundreds of military volunteers in person not just from a DC hearing room.”
- Palin is pro-life in ways that other just aren’t. Namely, the pro-life decision she made was real.
- WARNING: Don’t even bring up the word “abortion” around her
- SAMPLE: “Since everybody’s worried about my experience I’d like to know how Senator Biden might react if he were in my shoes. Abortion isn’t just some idealogical issue for me… I’ve had the face the very real decision. So I ask you, Senator Biden, what would you do if your family faced a similar choice?”
(Read more after the leap)
- Palin solidifies the so-con vote by demonstrating unquestionable social conservative values (it doesn’t hurt that she has 5 kids)
- WARNING: Don’t come even close to using motherhood as a leverage against her qualificaitons
- SAMPLE: “I believe I’ve given birth to 5-times as many children as Sentaors Obama and Biden combined.”
- Palin taps into the Hillary vote giving a voice to mothers and women across the country when Obama wouldn’t even vet her.
- WARNING: Don’t imply that the Palin pick was just a play to women or even remotely hint at chauvinistic overtones
- SAMPLE: “Are you saying that women shouldn’t be excited about this opportunity? Are you saying that there isn’t a glass ceiling.
- Palin was a former sportscaster and journalist
- WARNING TO THE PRESS: She’s one of your own.
- SAMPLE: “Hey George, like you, I’ve had a foot in politics and a foot in journalism. My timing was just opposite of yours. I realized that journalism is great and all but real change comes through sacrifice and service.”
- Palin was a beauty pageant contestant so she could pay for school with the scholarship
- WARNING TO NOW: Don’t diss her pagaent story until you actually hear it
- SAMPLE: “I entered the beauty pagaent because sports scholarships for women in the 1980s were almost unheard of. So sue me.”
- Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA and use to hunt elk
- WARNING: Biden, avoid your terrible history on the 2nd right amendment .
- SAMPLE: “Like Senator Obama, I agree with and I’m proud of the recent Supreme Court decision. I’ve been a hunter all my life. In fact when my parents found out about Senator McCain’s decision they were on a caribou hunting trip. I think my dad is like many people in this country as he follows this heated debate: he said: ‘I’d rather go moose hunting than be involved with politics.’ Sometimes, so would I.”
- Palin fought corruption in an AK GOP party that was (and still is) full of it
- WARNING: Careful around the “ethical” issues
- SAMPLE: “Like Chicago politics, Alaska politics can sometimes get dirty. In my case I fought my own party tooth and nail for substantive change. I’ll let voters decide what Barack Obama did in Chicago.”
- She’s a true outsider who’s likable, young, articulate, devout, down to earth.
- WARNING: Don’t much about trying to stick the DC inexperience on her.
- SAMPLE: “You know, some reporters were shocked and amazed that I have never appeared on any Sunday political talk shows. I think many Americans would accord that as a medal of honor.”
All of these items show serious head pounding variables that the Democrats and the liberal media must take into account. But were’ not done. Consider also:
- Palin is a former union member, her spouse is still union member
- She knows the energy and oil issues like the back of her hand (or her husband’s hand who actually worked on an oil rig)
- Palin has actually BEEN to the Alaska Wildlife Reserves
- Palin is a conservative environmentalist and outdoorsman who understands the issues well
- Palin owns one home
- Palin has left the MSM stammering to find information about her
- Palin has left the Obama campaign stammering to find information about her
- Palin can tell you what the price of milk is
- Palin cut costs across the board in Alaska
- Palin got rid of the “bridge to nowhere”
- Palin has put Biden back in a box
- The expectations game plays in her favor
I will agree with the author of the list that Palin has a much to prove on the national stage, but she’s gotten the base excited and the Democrats scratching their heads trying to figure out how to attack a woman without being jerks.
“Palin has more executive experience than Obama himself (having run a company, a PTO, a town and then Alaska).”
A PTO? Wow! I was secretary-treasurer of a club at my school, does that make me qualified to be vice president?
Also, Alaska has less people than the entire area of Brooklyn. Plus you know how many people live in Wasilla.
Yeah, it would be a sorry thing to have the top of the ticket be even less experience than that, wouldn’t it?
mikeyc252, I do think that the Republicans need to be careful not to overstate the experience that Palin does have (i.e. the PTO and CinC of the Alaska National Guard doesn’t do that much for me either).
However, the areas that she does have experience are adequate enough–and I would even say, good. I think trying to minimize her experience by saying that the number of people in the jurisdiction was too small doesn’t really work. In many ways, being Governor of Alaska may be more relevant experience than being Governor of most other states because they deal with similar complex fiscal issues as the Federal Government (particularly with the oil industry).
More than that, the key for Palin is not the time that she has spent in public service (or even private leadership)–even though her public service time is more than Obama’s. The key is that Palin has had more results (things like eliminating corrupt projects; lowering taxes in a level of government that requires lowering expenditures to do so; and digging out corruption from government) than Obama has had. And that is from the Republican’s VP candidate. The Dems are trying to pass off less experience than that for their Presidential candidate.
This is a losing issue for the Dems, but it seems to be all that they have.
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