Posts Tagged ‘e-mail’
I genuinely like Sarah Palin.
I don’t mind that picking her was probably a cheap, desperate ploy by John McCain to mine votes from still-fervent Hillary Clinton supporters. That’s politics, the same politics that prevents Obama from calling Clinton out as a divisive, harmful, transparent politician not worth Spider Jerusalem’s tugs.
Naturally, MoveOn didn’t waste any time sending me an smear e-mail. (I got on the list for criticizing their weak criticism of John McCain, and I haven’t bothered to get taken off, yet. I have a voyeur’s curiosity.) Most of their arguments against her were especially weak, and the rest are all a matter of perspective.
She was elected Alaska’s governor a little over a year and a half ago. … She has no foreign policy experience.
Neither did small-state Govs. Clinton and Carter. Neither does Obama, for that matter.
Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage.
Obama’s previous office was in the Illinois state legislature. I don’t hold that against him, either.
Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.
Sounds good to me. Oh, and take a cue from the Associated Press — it’s “abortion-rights” versus “anti-abortion,” not “pro-choice” versus “anti-choice.”
She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000.
The same Pat Buchanan who praised Obama’s convention speech for two straight minutes in 2008, only stopping because some uppity producer off-screen called time. Buchanan ain’t all that bad, people.
Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.
She later clarified this, saying that “alternative views” should be debated, but not part of the curriculum. This is political waffling, but her very first. I’ll give her some slack.
She’s doesn’t think humans are the cause of climate change.
I’m not sure this is the indictment you think it is, MoveOn. A lot of humans outside your inner circle believe this — more than you’d care to admit.
She’s solidly in line with John McCain’s “Big Oil first” energy policy. She’s pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won’t be ready for years.
Wrong. Viable renewables won’t be ready for decades. In the meantime, pushing hard for more oil drilling, or at least seeming to, could lessen the effects of speculation.
She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species — she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.
Read her real reasoning, instead of speculating.
How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.
Considering all the grief you guys give Cheney for being the master puppeteer behind Bush, that Palin and McCain barely know each other is a breath of fresh air for the GOP.
MoveOn should be able to paint anyone as a right-wing nutjob — not that it should, but that’s its speciality — and so that it’s having such trouble staying coherent about Palin is very good news for the McCain campaign.
