Palin?

[TexasTiger 14,070]

And you really think Biden is so pure as the wind-driven snow that Palin and McCain won't have any sticky questions to pepper him with?

Palin has gotten rave reviews for ethics reforms in Alaska, whistleblowing on her own party. And like it or not, her being a woman it does blunt a little bit of the novelty of Obama being a minority pick.

I don't know a ton about the woman, but I think it's a tad early to be licking your chops and thinking you're being lobbed a softball.

I'm not going to tear this lady apart yet b/c like you, I don't know much about her other than two years ago, she was part-time mayor of a village of 7,000. But I would like the answer to this question: if G_d forbid some thing were to happen to a potential 72 year old President McCain, is she ready to step in and be the leader of the free world? And if the answer is "yes", what is now the Republican "experience" argument about Obama?

The difference: your ticket isn't Biden-Obama. It's the other way around. And she already has more experience than Obama. As I said above, she's been a mayor and a governor. So she already has more executive experience than Obama. That trumps community organizer and 143 days as a senator before he announced his candidacy.

Well, she has more "executive experience" than McCain, too, so I guess she should top the ticket.

Where do you get 143 days? And which one of you rabid koolaid drinkers hijacked Titan's account?

[Tigermike 3,657]

And you really think Biden is so pure as the wind-driven snow that Palin and McCain won't have any sticky questions to pepper him with?

Palin has gotten rave reviews for ethics reforms in Alaska, whistleblowing on her own party. And like it or not, her being a woman it does blunt a little bit of the novelty of Obama being a minority pick.

I don't know a ton about the woman, but I think it's a tad early to be licking your chops and thinking you're being lobbed a softball.

I'm not going to tear this lady apart yet b/c like you, I don't know much about her other than two years ago, she was part-time mayor of a village of 7,000. But I would like the answer to this question: if G_d forbid some thing were to happen to a potential 72 year old President McCain, is she ready to step in and be the leader of the free world? And if the answer is "yes", what is now the Republican "experience" argument about Obama?

The difference: your ticket isn't Biden-Obama. It's the other way around. And she already has more experience than Obama. As I said above, she's been a mayor and a governor. So she already has more executive experience than Obama. That trumps community organizer and 143 days as a senator before he announced his candidacy.

Well, she has more "executive experience" than McCain, too, so I guess she should top the ticket.

Where do you get 143 days? And which one of you rabid koolaid drinkers hijacked Titan's account?

That's about how long Obama was in the senate when he started his run for president. He and his friend Artur Davis, d, Ala., are of the same narcistic vein. The day after the dims captured the house and the senate, Obama started his run for president. The same day Davis said he would be running for the U.S. Senate for the state of Alabama. He has since cooled his desires. Haven't you heard Davis & Obama were friends at Harvard.

[TitanTiger 21,064]

From the time Obama was sworn in as a senator, to the time he announced he was forming a Presidential exploratory committee, he logged 143 days of experience in the Senate. If you give him until he formally announced he was running, he's got a year. He's been anything but full time on the senate career since Feb 2007.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

And you really think Biden is so pure as the wind-driven snow that Palin and McCain won't have any sticky questions to pepper him with?

Palin has gotten rave reviews for ethics reforms in Alaska, whistleblowing on her own party. And like it or not, her being a woman it does blunt a little bit of the novelty of Obama being a minority pick.

I don't know a ton about the woman, but I think it's a tad early to be licking your chops and thinking you're being lobbed a softball.

I'm not going to tear this lady apart yet b/c like you, I don't know much about her other than two years ago, she was part-time mayor of a village of 7,000. But I would like the answer to this question: if G_d forbid some thing were to happen to a potential 72 year old President McCain, is she ready to step in and be the leader of the free world? And if the answer is "yes", what is now the Republican "experience" argument about Obama?

The difference: your ticket isn't Biden-Obama. It's the other way around. And she already has more experience than Obama. As I said above, she's been a mayor and a governor. So she already has more executive experience than Obama. That trumps community organizer and 143 days as a senator before he announced his candidacy.

Well, she has more "executive experience" than McCain, too, so I guess she should top the ticket.

Where do you get 143 days? And which one of you rabid koolaid drinkers hijacked Titan's account?

That's about how long Obama was in the senate when he started his run for president.

Explain that number better to me or buy a calculator.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

From the time Obama was sworn in as a senator, to the time he announced he was forming a Presidential exploratory committee, he logged 143 days of experience in the Senate. If you give him until he formally announced he was running, he's got a year. He's been anything but full time on the senate career since Feb 2007.

Recheck your calendar and your math.

[TitanTiger 21,064]

Sorry, I read that somewhere. It was about a year from swearing in to announcing the exploratory committee. The 143 days was actually days working in the Senate I guess. Either way, I still say 2 years serving as a governor is at least as good, probably better, than one year as a Senator.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

Sorry, I read that somewhere. It was about a year from swearing in to announcing the exploratory committee. The 143 days was actually days working in the Senate I guess. Either way, I still say 2 years serving as a governor is at least as good, probably better, than one year as a Senator.

She's been governor of a tiny government for 20 months-- two years is rounding up. Obama has served almost 4 years as Senator-- more than two years before announcing.

The key experience, according to McCain and most Republicans before today, was foreign policy experience. She has none. She apparently has precious little interest or knowledge about it, either.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

The reaction wasn't so rosy elsewhere. State Senate President Lyda Green said she thought it was a joke when someone called her at 6 a.m. to tell her the news.

"She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president? said Green, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"

Green, who has feuded with Palin, brought up the big oil tax increase Palin pushed through last year. She also pointed to the award of a $500 million state subsidy to a Canadian firm to pursue a natural gas pipeline that's far from guaranteed.

House Speaker John Harris, a Republican from Valdez, was also astonished at the news. He didn't want to get into the issue of her qualifications.

"She's old enough," Harris said. "She's a U.S. citizen."

http://www.adn.com/news/politics/story/510249.html

Frankly, for some of you folks to be so giddy about someone you know next to nothing about is pretty shocking.

[AURaptor 1,137]

Caught me totally off guard, but I'm glad for it. Excellent choice, he just won the election.

Game over !

[Tigermike 3,657]

Sorry, I read that somewhere. It was about a year from swearing in to announcing the exploratory committee. The 143 days was actually days working in the Senate I guess. Either way, I still say 2 years serving as a governor is at least as good, probably better, than one year as a Senator.

She's been governor of a tiny government for 20 months-- two years is rounding up. Obama has served almost 4 years as Senator-- more than two years before announcing.

The key experience, according to McCain and most Republicans before today, was foreign policy experience. She has none. She apparently has precious little interest or knowledge about it, either.

So you are saying that Obama has been present and accounted for on all votes during those four years.

The point Titan was making and you know it, is that Obama may have been in the Senate for four years, but the senate damn sure didn't get four years worth of work from him. How long has he been running?

She's been governor of a tiny government for 20 months-- two years is rounding up.

In your world that doesn't measure up to community organizer does it? Chicago style community organizer, that is.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

The point Titan was making and you know it, is that Obama may have been in the Senate for four years, but the senate damn sure didn't get four years worth of work from him. How long has he been running?

Then make that point.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

Sorry, I read that somewhere. It was about a year from swearing in to announcing the exploratory committee. The 143 days was actually days working in the Senate I guess. Either way, I still say 2 years serving as a governor is at least as good, probably better, than one year as a Senator.

She's been governor of a tiny government for 20 months-- two years is rounding up. Obama has served almost 4 years as Senator-- more than two years before announcing.

The key experience, according to McCain and most Republicans before today, was foreign policy experience. She has none. She apparently has precious little interest or knowledge about it, either.

So you are saying that Obama has been present and accounted for on all votes during those four years.

The point Titan was making and you know it, is that Obama may have been in the Senate for four years, but the senate damn sure didn't get four years worth of work from him. How long has he been running?

She's been governor of a tiny government for 20 months-- two years is rounding up.

In your world that doesn't measure up to community organizer does it? Chicago style community organizer, that is.

Step back from your silly giddiness follow the argument.

[RunInRed 18,113]

A little more about Palin...

Sarah Palin was a small town mayor until less than two years ago. What we don't know about her could fill a book. Here are a few things we're learning about Palin.

Sarah Palin left the finances of her town Wasilla in tatters when she moved on in 2002. She wanted a legacy as mayor, it seems, and pushed hard for the town to build a hyper-expensive sports complex. But Palin screwed the process up badly.

http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/matsu/story...p-8971221c.html

Instead of buying the land for the complex when it was offered, her administration allowed a developer named Gary Lundgren to snap it up. Then Wasilla tried to seize the land from Lundgren through eminent domain. In the end, what with court costs Wasilla paid at least $ 1.7 million for land it could have bought for less than one tenth that sum - if the purchase had been handled properly. For this incompetence, Wasilla is still paying a steep price: higher taxes and cutbacks in services.

http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/...10495927316.txt

On the single most debated issue of our times, the Iraq war, Sarah Palin similarly was out to lunch until as recently as last spring. Shortly after becoming governor, she was asked her views on the surge:

Alaska Business Monthly: We've lost a lot of Alaska's military members to the war in Iraq. How do you feel about sending more troops into battle, as President Bush is suggesting?

Palin: I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summa...86-30645076_ITM

Try to square that with the troopergate scandal, in which Palin allegedly misused her power as governor by bringing inappropriate pressure for two employees to be fired. What's perhaps most interesting is that Palin appears to have begun misusing power almost as soon as she got any real power.

http://www.adn.com/monegan/story/478090.html

Speaking of inconsistencies, earlier this month Palin praised Barack Obama's energy plan. Here is the cached version of the press release that had been posted at the Governor's website:

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:wbCGTU...p;client=safari

The original document has been scrubbed sometime during the last day (since Aug. 28). ]

[TitanTiger 21,064]

Sorry, I read that somewhere. It was about a year from swearing in to announcing the exploratory committee. The 143 days was actually days working in the Senate I guess. Either way, I still say 2 years serving as a governor is at least as good, probably better, than one year as a Senator.

She's been governor of a tiny government for 20 months-- two years is rounding up. Obama has served almost 4 years as Senator-- more than two years before announcing.

The key experience, according to McCain and most Republicans before today, was foreign policy experience. She has none. She apparently has precious little interest or knowledge about it, either.

My bad. I don't know why I was thinking he came to the Senate in 2006. Regardless. She has executive experience. He has none. Putting her on the ticket does nothing to negate McCain's foreign policy experience edge over Obama. Those are the guys at the top of each ticket. What's Obama's experience, delivering a speech in Germany? She's logged as many visits to the troops in the Middle East as he has.

The difference on the experience question is, the GOP put experience at the top of the ticket, not as a bolt-on after the fact.

[Tigermike 3,657]

The difference on the experience question is, the GOP put experience at the top of the ticket, not as a bolt-on after the fact.

Exactly!

Obama/Biden: A young heartbeat stuffed directly between experience and the presidency.

[TitanTiger 21,064]

I wouldn't say I'm giddy. I'm happy that he chose a social conservative instead of forcing me to abstain or vote for some quixotic third party candidate. I like what I know of her record. It's the first time I've had my interest kindled in his candidacy to any appreciable degree. I think it's a bold pick...definitely out of the box, which is probably what was needed.

This campaign just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

Sorry, I read that somewhere. It was about a year from swearing in to announcing the exploratory committee. The 143 days was actually days working in the Senate I guess. Either way, I still say 2 years serving as a governor is at least as good, probably better, than one year as a Senator.

She's been governor of a tiny government for 20 months-- two years is rounding up. Obama has served almost 4 years as Senator-- more than two years before announcing.

The key experience, according to McCain and most Republicans before today, was foreign policy experience. She has none. She apparently has precious little interest or knowledge about it, either.

My bad. I don't know why I was thinking he came to the Senate in 2006. Regardless. She has executive experience. He has none. Putting her on the ticket does nothing to negate McCain's foreign policy experience edge over Obama. Those are the guys at the top of each ticket. What's Obama's experience, delivering a speech in Germany? She's logged as many visits to the troops in the Middle East as he has.

The difference on the experience question is, the GOP put experience at the top of the ticket, not as a bolt-on after the fact.

I'm really surprised to hear this coming from you. McCain has STRESSED the need for the VP to be prepared to be CIC on day one. Does he believe that? How incredibly cynical and disingenuous. Obama is on the Foreign Relations and Veterans Affairs committee-- a ton of experience? No. But more than her. He has had to grapple with these issues and bear the intensity of the daily spotlight for 18 months- and he was elected by the Dems to represent them. She's appointed. McCain could have picked anyone. He picked her. Why? Is she the person best prepared to govern? Really? The intellectual dishonesty on this thread is palpable. The lack of intellectual and principle consistency on McCain's behalf with this pick is mind blowing. The mayor of Bugtussle has "executive experience." You are vigorously defending someone you know next to nothing about.

Frankly, judgment is more important to me than experience. What is her judgment? I don't know. I'm not sure McCain knows, either. Which speaks volumes about his.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

I wouldn't say I'm giddy. I'm happy that he chose a social conservative instead of forcing me to abstain or vote for some quixotic third party candidate. I like what I know of her record. It's the first time I've had my interest kindled in his candidacy to any appreciable degree. I think it's a bold pick...definitely out of the box, which is probably what was needed.

This campaign just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

I wouldn't say you were giddy, either. There's a bunch of giddiness on this thread, though.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

Editorial: McCain surprises, but is Palin ready?

Relative unknown joins GOP ticket out of the Alaska blue.

Palin's most notable accomplishment as governor may have been to stop last year the so-called "bridge to nowhere" that would have connected Ketchikan, Alaska, to its airport on a nearby island. The proposed $398 million bridge had been awarded more than $200 million in federal funds, and it became a symbol of excessive federal pork-barrel spending.

On Friday, Republican presidential candidate John McCain showed his capacity to surprise the nation's professional political observers. No one in our office vice presidential pool had picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and our guess is that we're not alone among the nation's wagering journalists.

That may say something unflattering about political reporting. We think it also says something less-than-reassuring about McCain's decisionmaking.

The Arizona senator himself has said that the most important test of a vice presidential candidate is whether that person is fully qualified to be president on short notice. The fact that Friday was McCain's 72nd birthday underscores that criterion's importance in his administration.

Palin, 44, has been governor of a geographically remote, sparsely populated state for less than two years, and, until Friday, she had a negligible national profile. She manages one of the nation's smallest and most oil-dependent state budgets -- one that, unlike most states, has been running whopping surpluses since oil prices soared.

Her only previous state service was an 11-month stint as chair of the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She was mayor and a city council member for 10 years in Wasilla, population 9,000. She's a former television sports reporter, a participant in a family fishing business, a former Miss Wasilla, a high school basketball star (nickname: "Sarah Barracuda''), a hockey mom and a PTA leader.

Those are the credentials of an active citizen and a beginning governor. The McCain-Palin ticket has its work cut out for it to convince Americans that those credentials meet the presidential readiness test.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editori...QL7PQLanchO7DiU

This sums it up pretty well. McCain is far more reckless than I imagined.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

"What is it exactly that the vice president does all day?" Sarah Palin

Heaven help us.

[TexasTiger 14,070]

I wouldn't say I'm giddy. I'm happy that he chose a social conservative instead of forcing me to abstain or vote for some quixotic third party candidate. I like what I know of her record. It's the first time I've had my interest kindled in his candidacy to any appreciable degree. I think it's a bold pick...definitely out of the box, which is probably what was needed.

This campaign just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

What was needed to govern best, or have a chance of winning?

The Harriet Myers nomination was interesting. And telling. Bush III, now more obvious than ever.

[Tigermike 3,657]

This sums it up pretty well. McCain is far more reckless than I imagined.

Let me see if I have this straight.

Foreign policy and national security are the forte of the executive. The Democrats have nominated a presidential candidate with no experience in either area. The Republicans have nominated a vice presidential candidate with no experience in either area.

Which makes more sense to you?

Under the topic of change, the Democrats nominate two US male Senators, one who is the consummate Washington insider and claim to be outsiders who are going to change Washington. The Republicans nominate a Senator with the reputation of a maverick and the Governor of Alaska with a similar rep who, btw, is female, to take on Washington.

Which sounds more like change to you?

On the subject of experience, the Democrats nominate a man who has been a community organizer, State Senator and, since January 2005, a US Senator to be President. The Republicans nominate as VP a woman who has run a town and run a state for a lot longer than Obama has been in the Senate.

In terms of "what have you done and what have you run" who has the edge?

Not reckless, McCain has chosen someone who could very well re-energize the right at a very critical time in the election cycle. I say well done.

[CCTAU 3,463]

This sums it up pretty well. McCain is far more reckless than I imagined.

Let me see if I have this straight.

Foreign policy and national security are the forte of the executive. The Democrats have nominated a presidential candidate with no experience in either area. The Republicans have nominated a vice presidential candidate with no experience in either area.

Which makes more sense to you?

Under the topic of change, the Democrats nominate two US male Senators, one who is the consummate Washington insider and claim to be outsiders who are going to change Washington. The Republicans nominate a Senator with the reputation of a maverick and the Governor of Alaska with a similar rep who, btw, is female, to take on Washington.

Which sounds more like change to you?

On the subject of experience, the Democrats nominate a man who has been a community organizer, State Senator and, since January 2005, a US Senator to be President. The Republicans nominate as VP a woman who has run a town and run a state for a lot longer than Obama has been in the Senate.

In terms of "what have you done and what have you run" who has the edge?

Not reckless, McCain has chosen someone who could very well re-energize the right at a very critical time in the election cycle. I say well done.

Come on Mike. You know the only question our resident dims even care about is achmed's answer to, "Do you want me to stay like this, or move my head a little."

The rest is just adoration for the black messiah. Anyone that is not with him is just not adequate.

Achmed has not even proven that he could carry this fine woman's jock...and from her record, her's would be a tough one to carry. His? Empty and stale.

[MDM4AU 337]

"What is it exactly that the vice president does all day?" Sarah Palin

Heaven help us.

Serious Question...what is the context of this? I have seen it on a handful of sites, all quoting a Jonathan Alter piece from Newsweek but none give any context other than it was off-handedly made in July to a CNBC anchor.

[TitanTiger 21,064]

I've heard many politicians disdain the office of VP for similar sounding reasons. There really is no official job description. You're essentially there in case the President dies or has to go under for surgery. Other than that, what the VP does is whatever the President asks them to do. They fill whatever role they are asked to fill.

The context was that she went on to say that she was used to being very involved and working hard and wouldn't want to be in a job where that wasn't the case.