Over on my LiveJournal, I got in a mood and posted a big ol' brain dump on why Sara Palin is not right for the job of VP. It started with my exclamation of disbelief in a VP candidate having an unwed pregnant teen. That's not a good reason to not want her as a VP.
The fact that she has a pregnant teen is clouding the issue. Either side would have jumped on this. Were this Obama's teenage daughter, the right would have cried "an attack on the morals of America". Either way... it shouldn't be a issue.
So let's look at all the other things that should be talked about.
- Palin is under investigation in a nasty conflict involving her sister, a state trooper, an ugly divorce and the firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. Her lawyer is now demanding that the entire case be taken out of the hands of the independent prosecutor hired by Alaska lawmakers, and given over to a state personnel board -- whose three members were appointed by the governor herself. link
- Fellow Republican and Alaska State Senate President Lyda Green, told the Anchorage Daily News on Saturday "She's not prepared to be Governor. How can she be prepared to be Vice President or President?" link
- Sarah's mother-in-law, Faye Palin, echoed the sentiment. "I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain," Faye offered. link
- Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard.. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations. link
- Andrew Sullivan reports that in an interview with Alaska Business Monthly, Palin, confessed "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." link
- From 2003 to 2005 Sarah served as one of three directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group. In July 2008 the senior Alaska senator was indicted on seven counts of corruption. link
- Members of a fringe Alaska secessionist party, AIP, claim Palin was a member in the 90s. link This one looks be debunked (or spun). I think that she was never officially a member. It was AIP member claiming she was a member. She still spoke at their convention and supports them. link
- If Sara Palin wasn't an official member of AIP, her husband was. link
- Palin received millions in earmarks as mayor of Wasilla. Taxpayers for Common Sense combed through the lobbying reports that Wasilla filed when Palin was mayor. It came up with 14 items, totaling slightly less than $27 million. link
- Palin hired a lobbyist who honed his skills under now-jailed Jack Abramoff. link
- An Alaska State Senator reveals the McCain campaign is stalling an investigation of Sarah Palin link so that report doesn't come out right before the election link
- Video footage reveals Palin talking to her church congregation about how her policies are "shaped" by God. link She's a member of the Assembly of God, the Pentecostal denomination known for diving healing, speaking in tongues, and defrauding evangelicals (Morris Cerullo, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Gene Scott, Bill Hamon, Jimmy Swaggart, Karl Strader, Jack Coe, Benny Hinn.... I could on and on.)
- According to CNN, After Campbell Brown asks some hard questions to McCain's spokesman Tucker Bounds, McCain canceled an interview with Larry King. link
- Earlier this year, Palin used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live. link
- She favors teaching creationism in public schools. link
- She didn't even have a passport until 2007. link
- She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. link
- She wants to open ANWR for drilling. link
I am utterly convinced that if she was a man that she would not be considered for the VP spot. She's got a few redeeming qualities as a person (deciding to keep a Down baby, supporting her teenage daughter, etc.), but as a Vice President, she's a worse pick than Cheney.
As for experience, there are arguments to be made from both sides. She does have "executive" experience, yes, but from a state of less than 650,000. All this talk about how this is so different from what Obama had done seems like splitting hairs. As Robert Gibbs said, "if executive experience is truly important on the Republican side, maybe she should run for president and John McCain can be her vice president." See, I believe that McCain, Obama, and Biden have the right experience and education to be President or VP. I just don't agree with McCain's view on the issues. I don't think that Sara Palin has the right experience or education, and I don't agree with her views.
So I agree, please ignore her teenager who got knocked up by a high school drop out. There are many more reasons to not want her as VP.
