In an attempt to steal headlines and women votes from Obama, McCain announces his VP pick immediately after the Dem convention and, as I predicted, picked a woman, the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin:
Sen. John McCain has picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, a senior McCain campaign official told CNN on Friday. Palin, 44, who’s in her first term as governor, is a pioneering figure in Alaska, the first woman and the youngest person to hold the state’s top political job. Born in Idaho, she is a longtime Alaskan and a Protestant. Her biography said she arrived in Alaska in 1964, “when her parents came to teach school in Skagway.” She graduated from Wasila High School in 1982 and received a bachelor of science degree in communications-journalism from the University of Idaho in 1987. Her husband is Todd Palin, an oil production operator on Alaska’s North Slope. They have five children, including a son who enlisted in the Army last year.
The speeches from Clinton and Obama have been more stridently women’s rights oriented than in previous Dem convention speeches. I doubt that Palin will demand equal pay for women and other demands espoused by the Dem camp. So, what does this mean for changing women’s lives? Is this a Geraldine Ferraro pick, destined to lose or is this the future of women’s politics in America?
Here are my predictions:
1) Palin won’t be considered a “real” woman by the NOW crowd (as Josh implied by his statement “I doubt that Palin will demand equal pay for women and other demands espoused by the Dem camp.”). Real women are liberals. NOW’s lack of support for Palin will show the world that the organization is based on left-liberal principles, not specifically women’s issues. As a credible potential heartbeat away from the Oval Office, it won’t fly with the usual left-wing suspects. Women’s rights won’t have been advanced by this.
2) Commentators and reporters who have steadfastly refused to seriously address Obama’s appalling lack of executive experience will not give any indication of cognitive dissonance when questioning Palin’s credentials.
3) The same sorts of people who cry “RACIST” when one might opine that Obama’s popularity and success may have something to do with his skin color rather than his meager achievements will have no problem claiming that McCain’s VP pick was based solely on gender rather than merit.
4) What was considered evil and sexist to say about a woman before won’t apply to Palin because she’s a Republican woman.
5) Palin’s children’s sexual orientation may become an issue mentioned in the debates, depending on whether or not Obama and Biden have the slightest smidgen of honor. However, if Palin mentions anytime anywhere in any place that she has a son in the military, she’ll be accused of waving the bloody shirt.
BREAK THE GLASS CEILING !!!
WOW … What a great pick!!! America should elect
McCain & Palin for the Whitehouse in November,
for a return to wholesome American values.
An experienced Governor for V.P. vs. a
community organizer for President … I pick Palin.
No Wright, no Farrakahn, no Ayers, no Rezko,
no mean Michelle, NOBAMA
Dave, I agree with everything you wrote. I’m thrilled with McCain’s pick! Even that British gun-nut, at your place of employment, should be happy with Palin.