The 2008 Presidential Election is unique in many ways, but one unusual aspect that has seen relatively little media discussion is the unprecedented importance of the Vice Presidential candidates—particularly Senator McCain’s VP pick, Governor Sarah Palin.
McCain is 72 years old. He has suffered from malignant melanoma, the most invasive and dangerous form of skin cancer. There are also relatively well substantiated rumors that McCain is developing memory problems (see The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, and The Gringo Chronicles, just to name a few sources). Anyone else remember Reagan’s second term?
I do not argue that McCain’s age makes him unfit for office. However, I do believe that voters need to recognize that McCain’s age is not irrelevant to this campaign. McCain is old—in fact, if elected, McCain would be the oldest president ever inaugurated. Old people are more likely to die than young people. Those are facts. The implication of these facts is that McCain’s VP pick is even more important than that of the average candidate because, if elected, McCain’s VP is more likely to have to assume the role of President.
I was certain Mr. McCain would consider all of this when choosing a running mate. I was certain that McCain’s running mate would be someone with the credentials necessary to govern this unwieldy country—someone with both domestic and foreign policy experience. So imagine my surprise when McCain picked a Sandra Bullock wannabe—a gun-toting Miss Congeniality.
I do not doubt that Sarah Palin has done a fine job running Alaska—a state with a total population of 670,000, less than 4% of the population of New York City—for the past two years. Just as I do not doubt that Ms. Palin did a fine job of running Wasilla—population 9,000—before that. I do, however, seriously doubt that Ms. Palin would do a fine job of running the country—population 300,000,000+.
In the spirit of fairness, I feel that I must reveal that I fundamentally disagree with nearly every social position that Ms. Palin has taken. But my doubts regarding Ms. Palin’s leadership potential have less to do with her stances on abortion and gun control than her complete lack of qualifications for office.
Miss Congeniality has absolutely no experience dealing with national concerns. She has represented a very small, homogenous population in an icy, remote part of the country. Whatever else one might say about Baby Bush, at least he had governed a big, mainstream state with a diverse population—Texas is a far more accurate representation of American demographics than Alaska. While Miss Congeniality is probably more than capable of governing Alaska—what with her ability to field dress a moose and all—I’ve yet to see any evidence that this experience has remotely prepared her to take the helm of our country. How would she confront our rising unemployment rate? Our rising deficit? The weakening dollar? The healthcare crisis?
Even if she could somehow manage to handle the details of national domestic policy, how would she handle our place in the global community? While I hate to harp on a topic that the mainstream media has so thoroughly covered, the question has yet to be answered: What exactly are Ms. Palin’s foreign policy credentials?
Republican pundits have come up with a few choice answers. Personally, my favorite answer is from another beauty queen, Cindy McCain: “The experience that she comes from is with what she's done in the government. And also, remember: Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia. So, it's not as if she doesn't understand what's at stake here.” In other words, since Palin’s state neighbors Russia, she must have a thorough understanding of U.S.-Russian relations which, obviously, qualifies her to make all of our foreign policy decisions. Problem: My research indicates that Palin has never been to Russia, spoken with a Russian political leader, or had any direct contact with Russia whatsoever. Oh, and the Cold War has been over for almost 20 years…
Still, this proximity to Russia idea seems to have caught on rather quickly. Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy, and a staunch conservative, wrote a piece somewhat ironically titled “Sarah Palin’s Experience.” He very accurately points out that Palin’s state is adjacent to Russia. He goes on to imagine a world in which U.S.-Russian relations are as tense as ever before: “The targets are not just the relatively weak and formerly enslaved countries on its littoral like Georgia…Moscow has also conducted simulated strategic bombing runs with Soviet-era long-range, nuclear-capable aircraft. These offensive missions are designed to penetrate U.S. northern air defenses in a manner reminiscent of the most provocative of Kremlin behavior during the Cold War.” Ah, the fear-mongering. To listen to Mr. Gaffney, one would think that we are still at the height of the Red Scare. Should I hide under my desk to avoid the nukes?
Gaffney goes on to discuss Elmendorf Air Force Base and its “vital role” in our national defense. He implies that, as governor of a state with an air force base, Ms. Palin would have intimate knowledge of various military operations throughout the world and the workings of our anti-missile systems. If that’s the case, then governors of the 36 other states that host U.S. air force bases would be equally qualified to lead the country. Apparently, Mr. Gaffney sets a rather low standard for foreign policy credentials in a Commander in Chief.
Unlike most neocons, who are happy to compare Ms. Palin’s thin resume to Mr. Obama’s, Gaffney dares compare her foreign policy expertise to Mr. Biden’s: “Her judgment versus Sen. Biden's on the question of whether America should be protected against present and growing missile-delivered threats will be one of the highlights of the vice presidential nominees' debate.” Yes, particularly given the fact that Mr. Biden actually served in government during the Cold War, has strong diplomatic relations with Russia and other former Soviet states, and has served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for several terms. I would imagine that Mr. Biden will make sure that her judgment on such issues will be a “highlight” of the debate.
Perhaps the least well argued point that Gaffney makes is this: “At present, one can only infer Sarah Palin's grasp of the danger posed by today's principal enemy: adherents to the brutally repressive and seditious program the Islamists call Shariah, a program they seek to impose worldwide through violent means and "soft jihad"… A tangible indicator of her views, however, is the enlistment of her eldest son, Track, on the anniversary of 9/11 last year and his imminent deployment to Iraq.” I’ll agree with Mr. Gaffney that “today’s principle enemy” is the threat of terrorism. This has been America's reality since September 11, 2001. However, I prefer not to "infer" what a candidate's grasp of the biggest security threat facing our country might be.
Gaffney argues that Palin must support the war in Iraq as her son will shortly be stationed there. In his article, he implies that this is patriotism at its finest. I respect Ms. Palin for her willingness to see her son fight our never-ending war. Just I respect Mr. Biden for the same action. Though it is a far less well known fact, Mr. Biden's son will also be deployed to Iraq this year.
Despite the right's attempts to paint Miss Congeniality's foreign policy experience in a more attractive light, it would appear that she has much to learn before assuming the mantle of Vice President. In fact, McCain has hastily assembled a crack team of top foreign policy experts to tutor the beauty queen on foreign policy before her debate with Senator Biden. Unfortunately, by "crack team" I am referring to the same team that brought us the idea of pre-emptive strike, the never-ending war in Iraq, and our strained relations with most of our allies. That's right: McCain has chosen former White House advisors to teach Foreign Policy 101.
Given that the McCain campaign has done everything possible to distance itself from President Bush, I find it curious that McCain chose to have his running mate introduced to foreign policy by the very people he professes to disagree with.
Sarah Palin will likely never reside at the White House. However, the very thought that she might sends shivers down my spine.
For more information regarding Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience, refer to the following sites:
US Global Engagement
Washington Post
Mother Jones
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