Sarah Palin: half-baked Alaska

[Kadie]

September 1, 2008

Sarah Palin: half-baked Alaska

McCain's choice of running mate may energise his party faithful but is an enormous tactical risk that reflects poorly on his judgement

For a politician with the nickname of “Barracuda”, Sarah Palin has been downright meek in her first 72 hours on the McCain presidential ticket. She has paid tribute not once but twice to Hillary Clinton. She has remarked, while breakfasting in Pennsylvania, on the pleasures of seeing a new part of the country, and she has been depicted by a senior campaign aide as learning about national security “at the foot of the master”.

This is the woman whom Senator McCain has chosen to help him to “stand up to those who have corrupted Washington” - and, between now and November 4, to take the wind out of Barack Obama's sails by offering Republican and swing voters their own chance to make a bold piece of demographic history.

There is clearly more to Mrs Palin than her gender (and her high comfort level with assault rifles). Even before the profile writers now combing Anchorage and Juneau for colour produce their first detailed findings, voters can be confident that she is energetic, decisive and courageous. It takes all three to confront the vested interests of the oil industry and her own party in solidly Republican Alaska, as she has done.

It is equally clear that her sheer exoticism has injected yet more excitement into a White House contest that was already brim-full of it. But none of this changes the most significant aspect of her selection: this was a nakedly political move that may well backfire on Mr McCain. If it does, he will have only himself to blame.

more...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article4647956.ece

[JaneQPublic]

1. "half-baked Alaska" LOL! (nt)

[Qutzupalotl]

2. Coined it...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6827701&mesg_id=6827873

:)

[Olney Blue]

3. Maybe she can take vice-president lessons from Cheney.

[central scrutinizer]

4. confront the vested interests?

horseshit - merely let them know that there are new bagmen and there is a new drop box for their payoffs. Kind of like one crime family replacing another.

[Cha]

5. The Law of Unintended Consequences shall come

back to bite mcain and miss mooseburger in their collective lying a$$.