Skip to content

Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican pick for VP?

Today Sen. McCain announced his choice of running mate for the office of President of the United States: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska.

Is this some kind of joke? Surely he can not be serious.

Governor Palin’s resume:

- Mayor of a town of 9000 people
- Less than 2 years into her first term as Governor of Alaska

That’s it… nothing more. No experience as a State Representative, no experience in Foreign Policy, no experience dealing with foreign leaders, nothing.

And this is the person that would take over the United States government in case McCain can not finish his term?

To see just how bad this choice really is, we might want to examine the role of the Vice-President:

a) To replace the President should the President be unable to perform his duties. This would unquestionably be during a time of national crisis due to the loss of the President.
b) To serve as a primary adviser to the President.

Is Governor Palin ready to fill either of those roles? Not at all.

A  time of crisis, such as the one that would take place if the President can not fulfill his role, requires a person of extensive political experience, a person that can step in with the full confidence that they can fill that emergency role that has been thrust upon them. Governor Palin does NOT have the necessary experience to take over that role at a national (and arguably international) level, an event that which may never take place, but could also take place a week after McCain’s inauguration.

And what about being an advisor to the President? This is where the choice of Palin at VP is really incomprehensible. How can she advise someone like McCain, with his 35 years of experience in government? So what will her role be? To sit at the back of the room, be quiet, listen and learn?

This choice also raises serious questions about McCain’s overall judgment and the type of people that will surround him.

So why was she chosen? The answer to this is fairly clear: politics. And it makes me openly declare that Senator McCain is putting Political Party above the best interests of his country. Think about it… there are so many people within his political party that are clearly more qualified to become Vice-President, yet he chose Gov Palin.

Gov Palin’s true qualifications:

a) Young - to balance off McCain’s age problem
b) Female - to provide the appearance of ‘balance’ within his party. (Look at the slate of Republican Presidential candidates for the truth about this subject)
c) Anti-Abortion
d) Long term member of the NRA (National Rifle Association)
e) Someone that can not steal McCain’s ‘thunder’ and make him look like a second-rate candidate.

In other words, she was not chosen because of her qualifications to serve as Vice-President, she was chosen because she can appeal to individual specific segments of American Society.She was not chosen because she is the best choice for America, she was chosen because she is convenient to the political party.

We can only hope that the American people see through this hypocritical ruse, and refuse to vote for this ridiculous ticket. That does not mean that they have to vote for the Democratic party if they don’t want to, but they should certainly consider refusing to vote for a Presidential candidate that would show either the bad judgement, or the self-serving reasons, or a combination of both that have resulted in Gov Sarah Palin being placed ‘one heart beat away’ from becoming the ‘leader of the free world’.

Posted 29 August 2008 † Edward § Personal Thoughts § Politics ‡ Comments (1) °

The world shows that America is still loved.

The true sentiment about the Bush administration is spoken, as world leaders embrace “Change”.

July 27, 2008
by Edward Casati

What a week it was.

It was a week in which the world opened it’s arms to what it hopes will be return of the America that they respected and admired. It was a week in which even the most hardened pundits remarked with surprised tones “Hey, they still love America… who would have thought it?”

Barack Obama traveled the world. And at every stop, he was greeted not as the future President of the United States, but as a symbol of the return of the United States as a welcome neighbor in the world community.

At every stop, the world showed that the respect and underlying love for America still remains.

The meetings with the world leaders said in every case: “We can work with the America that you offer, and we look forward to working with the old America that we knew prior to Bush.”

  • - Both the Palestinians and Israelis openly discussed the future where under new American leadership they can work towards some kind of peace.
    - In France, the conservative President welcomed Barack with the words ‘Obama? He’s my buddy!” - these words from a man that the Bush administration lists as their own “buddy”.
    - In England, the Prime Minister announced, during Barack’s visit, that they will be withdrawing basically all troops from Iraq by mid-2009… something contrary to every premise the the Bush administration has been postulating.
    - The biggest sign of change came from Iraq itself, where the embattled government indicated that the main road to peace in their country is the removal of the American troops by around 2010.

It is almost like the presence of Barack Obama amongst them had momentarily lifted a weight from their shoulders, allowing them to speak their minds, free from the fear that the Bush administration provokes throughout the world. We saw and heard, even if for just a moment, the true feelings of the world towards America, and the hidden derision for American policies towards the world under the Bush administration.

The Bush administration has only about 5 months remaining in power, yet it effectively has no power remaining. It has been locked in a room, screaming out at the walls, with nobody listening. The image that comes to my mind when I think about what happened last week throughout the world is that which we have seen often in movies: a new Sheriff arrives in town, removes the old corrupt bully of an old Sheriff, and gives hope to the citizens of the town that the fear that they lived under has been lifted. The citizens of the town represent the countries of the world. The Sheriff still wields the power, yet he is respected for his leadership abilities, not his big guns and threats.

There is “Hope” for a better world. The welcome that Barack Obama received throughout the world last week was not about a welcome to the man, it was a welcome to a different America from what it is under it’s current administration. It was a welcome to a “Hope” that America will again become the shining example of justice and freedom that it had represented before that image was so utterly destroyed during the Bush years.

America was at it’s richest and strongest when it was seen as the respected and admired world leader, and only with a return to that status can America hope to halt the increasingly sharp decline that America has suffered during the last 8 years.

Bringing hope to the world is very good for America… and last week we saw great hope shown by the world.

Posted 27 July 2008 † Edward § Personal Thoughts § Politics ‡ Comments (0) °