Category: John McCain
Posted by Libby Spencer on Sat, Aug 30, 2008 at 12:08 PMMcCain gambles on Palin pick
Last week I told you about McCain's gambling problem and noted that you can tell a lot about the candidate's leadership style by the way they he plays for high stakes against the odds. This week we see that analogy in practice with his implusive pick of Palin as VP. This is the most important decision he will make as a candidate and the first real test of his leadership style.
Let's face it. As a 73 year old man who has already survived four bouts with cancer, this choice is important. His VP has a higher probability than usual to be called to step into the role of president. The obvious and safe choice, in terms of the best interests of our country, would have been to tap Tim Pawlenty who had the best balance of qualifications for the job versus the political negatives for the campaign. McCain's advisors counseled that pick, but McCain ignored them because he wanted to shake the campaign up. McCain didn't want to go with the safe pick. So he rolled the dice with this implusive 11th hour choice.
He had met Palin only once weeks ago, prior to making a phone call just last Sunday and offering her the job. His lawyers spent a sum total of three days vetting her credentials. On Wednesday, he met with her for two hours in Sedona and decided she would be perfect for his purposes. He didn't bother to tell Pawlenty he was out of the running until Friday morning and at Friday noon, unveiled his 'maverick' pick to the nation.
I feel almost sorry for Palin. The bloggers have been vetting what little record she has and none of it is good. See the list here. She could well end up having to step down in disgrace. But that's not really the important lesson here.
The real question Americans should be asking themselves is what does this tell us about John McCain? The choice was obviously made for political reasons. Palin was chosen solely because she is woman who personifies the worst nanny instincts of the extreme religious right. McCain hopes to get some media attention, solidify his standing with the fundies and hopes to poach some disgruntled Hillary supporters into his camp. The odds are it will backfire, but McCain loves to dare the odds and play against them.
The bottom line is, McCain is willing to use the same old wedge issue tactics of the last 8 years. He is willing to do anything to win. He chose to gamble away our national security and the future of our country in order to put his personal ambitions first. In the tradition of the Bush administration's double speak, where Clean Air and Clean Water Acts really mean allowing corporations to freely pollute our enviroment, McCain's campaign slogan, Country First means the exact opposite of what it says. With this reckless pick, McCain just put our Country Last.
