McCain Veep Is Woman

[Florestan]

Could you recognize when someone is pulling your leg?

Ah, I thought you really meant something.

[karlhenning]

I don't know what sforzando means, though [he] clearly means something.

[Florestan]

I don't know what sforzando means, though [he] clearly means something.

[Shrunk]

Do you imply that had he chosen another VP, he would have been defeated more severely?

That's strange because I've had the impression that she's been a shot in his own foot.

I'm just speculating.  How can anyone know for sure?  The answer is probably complex, and I'm probably the last person to try understanding, since I find it hard to conceive how someone of the fundamentalist religious beliefs Palin and so many other Republicans espouse could be considered fit to run a garbage dump, never mind a nation.  However, there is a significant number of people who believe that only fundamentalists are qualified for public office.  As baffling as it was to me, I cannot ignore the adoring crowds of tens of thousands that Palin attracted throughout the campaign.

It seems to me that Palin's selection was a purely strategic political ploy, to both counter Obama's strength as the candidate of change and shore up McCain's support among the core Republican evangelical vote.  And, who knows, it could have worked.  As it happens, it appears that it only served to undercut McCain's advantage of greater experience.  But maybe the support of the lunatic Christian right saved him from a complete rout.

[karlhenning]

Fox News - Fox News, mind you - has reported that she thinks Africa is a country. 

http://www.youtube.com/v/wFJr3XRedYU

[adamdavid80]

I have a great difficulty figuring out why McCain chose her. Or was she imposed to him?

the Ny Times Magazine had a cover article the Sunday before the election.  It was his choice, to my surprise, through and through.

[karlhenning]

the NY Times Magazine had a cover article the Sunday before the election.  It was his choice, to my surprise, through and through.

The New Yorker article which Sforz brought up relates that McCain actually wanted Liebermann, but that his advisers warned him "that choosing Lieberman would ignite a contentious floor fight at the Convention." Palin was his choice, but not his first choice.

FWIW

[(poco) Sforzando]

I don't know what sforzando means, though [he] clearly means something.

Is my gender a matter of uncertainty?

[karlhenning]

Is my gender a matter of uncertainty?

For you to say.

[adamdavid80]

The New Yorker article which Sforz brought up relates that McCain actually wanted Liebermann, but that his advisers warned him "that choosing Lieberman would ignite a contentious floor fight at the Convention." Palin was his choice, but not his first choice.

FWIW

I read that one too.  Never was going to happen in a million years.  awful idea, from the base POV.  They wouldn't've generated half the number of votes McCain managed to get had it been a liberal eastcoast Jew whose only place of agreement was iraq  as the VP nominee.

[Bulldog]

There's a decent chance that Palin will soon be in the U.S. Senate.

[Homo Aestheticus]

Fox News - Fox News, mind you - has reported that Sarah Palin thinks Africa is a country. 

[Quote from Swatantra]:

Oh come on, the poor woman was catapaulted onto the world stage in record time!  Half Americans haven't a clue about Europe, Africa or Asia or the Middle East and couldn't name the President of France.

Sarah Palin is your average type of gal, with a good taste in clothes, family values and moose hunting.

[(poco) Sforzando]

There's a decent chance that Palin will soon be in the U.S. Senate.

I would make her ambassador to Africa.

[karlhenning]

There's a decent chance that Palin will soon be in the U.S. Senate.

Much depends, Don, on what you mean by the adjective decent.

[flyingdutchman]

[Lilas Pastia]

It's a good thing nobody asked her about the Middle East. I'm sure her answers would have been worth quoting.

"I love all folks, whether from the Middle East or the Mid-West".
"It's a country I've always wanted to visit".

[Shrunk]

http://www.youtube.com/v/wFJr3XRedYU

What do people think of the ethics of reporters sitting on this story until after the election?  While I understand the importance of protecting your sources, this dangerously ignorant and uninformed person had a realistic chance of being in charge of a nuclear arsenal.  It seems to me the public's right to make informed choices in casting their votes should take priority.  How would we be feeling if this information were only coming out now, but she had won?

OTOH, maybe this would only have increased her folksy appeal to her core constituents.

[Brian]

There's an indecent chance that Palin will soon be in the U.S. Senate.

Fixed.

Also, how pitiful is it that the woman who didn't know Africa was a continent was running on a ticket against an African American?

[Dancing Divertimentian]

What do people think of the ethics of reporters sitting on this story until after the election? 

It stinks, actually. But it just goes to show not all in the mainstream media are what the conservatives contend: loose nut, liberal-leaning puppy dogs.   

[knight66]

The Fox item sounds hardly credible. I read about her thinking Africa was a country, but assumed it an exaggeration. In a US edition of Weakest Link, I heard that answer given to a question asking for the name of a country....the girl answering was a pretty, young blond. I still wonder whether the attribution to Palin can be proved.

Whether or not, she is completely unsuited to hold significant  authority.

Surely George W missed a trick; she would have been the perfect running mate for him.

It will be interesting to see whether the impending stream of mad stories about her will dent her popularity. Somehow I doubt it.

Mike