http://www.tmsfeatures.com/columns/political/liberal/bill-press/25589649.html?articleURL=http://rss.tmsfeatures.com/websvc-bin/rss_story_read.cgi?resid=200809041300TMS_____BPRESS___tt--m-a_20080904(snip)
Like you, I'm sick and tired of robotic Republicans and clueless commentators trying to spin McCain's selection of Sarah Palin in the most positive possible light. It's a bold move, they say. It restores McCain's maverick status. It shows what an independent thinker he is. It's McCain's way of winning all those disillusioned Hillary Clinton supporters. And, besides, Palin is the only candidate on either ticket with executive experience.
Nonsense. It's time for some straight talk. You'd have to be brain-dead or on the RNC payroll to defend McCain's pick of Palin. It's not a bold move; it's a stupid move. Indeed, it's a dangerous move. And it saddles the already-on-life-support Republican Party with the most unqualified vice-presidential candidate since Dan Quayle.
Desperately trying to defend his boss's disastrous choice, McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt put out a statement asserting that Palin has "a record of accomplishment that exceeds, by far, the governing accomplishments of Sen. Obama." Does he really believe he can win this election by insulting our intelligence?
True, technically speaking, Barack Obama has no "executive experience." He's never been mayor of a town of 5,000. Nor has he been governor of a state with more reindeer than people. Yet for four years as a United States senator, Obama has studied, wrestled with, and voted on every national issue from Social Security to health care to education. He has helped chart foreign policy from Iraq to Georgia. And for the last 19 months, as candidate for president, he has been grilled and spoken out on every domestic and foreign issue there is.
How much knowledge or hands-on experience does Sarah Palin have of any of these issues? Zero! Unless, of course, you subscribe to the theory of geographical proximity. As articulated by that master international strategist Cindy McCain, since "Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia," Palin is uniquely qualified to punch out Vladimir Putin the next time he swallows up a neighboring province or two. (snip)
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