(Photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune)
Fox News has confirmed that Alaska Governor is GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s pick for Vice President! It looks like we called it, here at the Orange Juice Blog.
“A Republican source confirms that John McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Campaign officials, however, remain mum this morning,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
“Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a self-styled “hockey mom” who has only been governor for a little over a year, is GOP Presidential candidate John McCain’s choice for Vice President,” according to CNBC.
Who is Sarah Palin? Here is what the Tribune had to say about McCain’s VP nominee:
Palin is the first woman governor of Alaska, elected in 2006. She was also the youngest ever elected at the age of 42. She is the mother of five children, the youngest of whom was born in April and has Down’s Syndrome. She ran on a clean government platform in ’06 to defeat the incumbent Republican Governor Frank Murkowski.
I think this puts the McCain/Palin ticket over the top.
“Who is Sarah Palin”?
Yeah, that’s the same reaction I had.
Would you rather have an inexperienced President or Vice President?
Maybe its just me but I don’t think its such a bad choice.
I would rather have an inexperienced VP over an inexperienced President.
McCain/Palin 2008
I would rather have a leader who’s going to take the country in the right direction.
Obama/Biden 2008
Anybody else feel like she was prolly smokin hot in her teens.
“I would rather have a leader who’s going to take the country in the right direction.
Obama/Biden 2008”
All I have heard are the words Hope and Change with nothing to back them up.
I really don’t think anybody wants a Socialist Government…but if you do Vote Obama/Biden 2008.
A desperate move by a desperate campaign. The key will be the VP debate. All the mainstream political analysts are agreed that she brings nothing to the ticket. In fact, strictly speaking, she takes away from the McCain. A stauch pro-life woman, she will not survive.
I can see the ad now. If McCain is not there, would you trust this individual? Would you trust this individual to make choices for the Supreme Court? Especially since Biden was the long time head of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
One can expect to see the Obama/Biden ticket exploit the lack of experience with their line: Do you really want 4 more years of the last 8 years?
Bad choice (especially when choice is embedded in the fabric of female voters in this country).
End result: 77% Obama/Biden to 23% McCain/Palin.
Done deal.
SCR,
While I generally agree with your line of thinking, your election percentages are just a tad exaggerated. This is still a very evenly divided electorate.
I’d go with 51% Obama/Biden, 48% McCain/Palin, 1% other.
scr gose with far left vern all the time . she is going to grag all the hillary voters who cant stand NOBAMA . good post 6 barry nobama is all about speeches
“End result: 77% Obama/Biden to 23% McCain/Palin”
SCR,
You are crazy. This election will be at the most 5 points either way.
Smart choice by McCain because it steals some of the Obama thunder.
This just tells me that it is “game on”. Lets hope we get a debate about policies and not personalities.
If nothing else, things just got more interesting. As a Clinton supporter I think this shows that Obama should have really considered Hillary seriously. If Hillary was on the ticket the Palin choice would be no big deal.
“great one”, why dont you go burn a cross on a beaners yard.
Looks like McCain pick for VP the next President after his term expires. Way to go.
This shoots down Clinton try in four years, I bet the Demo’s are pissed
I bet that this election has the biggest turn out in a long long time.
Drat how can it be that once again I agree with Sean. Hell keeps getting colder and colder! Kidding but anyways not a Hillary supporter but I do agree.
What a cynical and shallow man McCain must be, to think that he can pick a woman, ANY WOMAN and get the support of women voters. I have news for McCain, women are a wee bit smarter than that [ I hope someone told him that women even drive cars now ]. Sarah Palin, mayor of a town of 9,000 and governor for LESS THAN 2 YEARS and McCain wants to question Obama’s experience! Poor old McCain, we always knew he was dumb, but now even his sanity and judgement are in question.
“Poor old Gramps, we always knew he was dumb, but now even his sanity and judgement are in question.”
Smart move, it is the voters who are not very smart.
How long until Biden steps aside, or tossed under a bus, so Hilary and step in and balance the demo’s ticket.
“SCR,
While I generally agree with your line of thinking, your election percentages are just a tad exaggerated. This is still a very evenly divided electorate.
I’d go with 51% Obama/Biden, 48% McCain/Palin, 1% other.”
Thanks for the complement, Anon 1003am.
My projections are after the debates. Remember-the key debate is the VP Debate. Look at it this way:
1968-Demos go after the Reep VP candidate-
Agnew governor of Maryland
result-Reeps win-Nixon
1988-Demos go after the Reep VP candidate-
Dan Quale-Senator from Indiana
result-Reeps win-Bush 41
2008-Demos may go after the Reep VP candidate-
Sara Palin-governor of Alaska
result-do the Reeps win????-
every 20 years this has been a problemmatic situation for the Demos. Biden can put her down with his eyes closed. We all agree from a strict experiential base. However, how he performs in the debate with her and the perception amongst woman voters will be critical.
I foresee that he will be the attack dog on the campaign trail vs McCain-he wont touch her and the message re Palin will be very simple (and controlled)-mayor of a city of 9000 and a governor of a state with a very small population for less than 2 years-and you trust her with the phone call at 3am in the morning?
Biden as chair of the senate judiciary committee-author of violence against women legislation and expanded police coverage in cities–against what???
The Dems must be very careful hence the focus will be agressive towards McCain (his decision making) and very subtle against Palin.
As most of analysts have been saying, this may have a detrimental impact on McCain. Dont get me wrong-I have liked his independence-I voted for him in 2000 against W. I wrote him in in 2004.
But he is not the same independent Reep that he was in those two campaigns. He has become the prisoner of the fringe religious right (listen to Ralph Reed on NPR today) and this can only lead to defeat.
While it is close right now, it will be interesting to see the polls over the next two days (and you know they are being done as we speak) versus the polls after next week. What I foresee is an ever widening spread between the Dems and the Reeps with the gap becoming ever more pronounced especially in light of the looming mortgage rate adjustments industry wide that are expected at the end of September/October.
The 1000lb gorilla is looming over the Reeps. and they know it.
I agree with SCR this just became a 30 point race. Lets see how quickly McCaine can squander what little good will he has left in the GOP ranks.
“Smart move, it is the voters who are not very smart.
How long until Biden steps aside, or tossed under a bus, so Hilary and step in and balance the demo’s ticket.”
Think-you are saying that the Obama campaign did not anticipate this situation? that McCain would choose a woman as VP-They ran all the scenarios well in advance of this announcement. Their strategy is already laid out and now is implemented.
Remember Hillary has a huge campaign debt. And she will play a key role in the health insurance debate. She will be the enforcer just as Biden will be against McCain.
The Reeps have the Bush Admin as an albatross around their necks. And they cant get out from under it.
Result: Slam Dunk
Art, what a hypocrite you are, “Purdrido’, “Crazy Clownia” and “Space Commander” are okay names, but” Gramps McCain” is JUST TOO MUCH!!!
Thoughts to consider:
“rebuilding the middle class”
“tax breaks for 95% of the electorate–what is left of the middle class and the working poor”
And the spread is going to be????
Sean Says:”If nothing else, things just got more interesting. As a Clinton supporter I think this shows that Obama should have really considered Hillary seriously. If Hillary was on the ticket the Palin choice would be no big deal.”
I dont know what you follow or read, but Clinton was never in play from the beginning of the Obama campaign’s VP deliberations. They had a game plan and stuck to it. She was not in the mix and vetted.
“I dont know what you follow or read, but Clinton was never in play from the beginning of the Obama campaign’s VP deliberations.”
Precisely and that’s the problem. She should have been.
“They had a game plan and stuck to it.”
They have been yelling “CHANGE!!!” and they choose the ultimate Washington insider as their choice for Veep. That’s what you call sticking to their game plan?
jose what time is your reconquista la raza meeting and where so we can call I .C.E
This is certainly at most a 5 point race either way. Palin is smart, attractive, charismatic, young, and yes, inexperienced. Sound like someone else we all know? This is really getting interesting!
SMS
#17 –
You’ve been plugged into the talking heads this fine morning. Everyone is chatting up the 20-year theory and unknown veep selections. Big yawn.
Listen up … it’s been 24 years since a woman
graced a presidential ticket. Kudos to McCain for stepping it up. I think he had to make a bold move and he did.
The strategies and tactis of this election are fascinating. The news of McCain’s VP selection trumped Obama’s acceptance speech on the major TV stations this morning. Wonder what story will lead tonight?
#26 Anon
With all respect, this is not about what the talking heads are saying. Excepting who is saying, the gist of this is the future of this country under either a Democratic or Republican Administration. This country has very serious domestic problems that, if not addressed headon, will greatly affect the future of this country.
It has nothing to do with the composition of the ticket on either side. The debate is on the nature of public policy at the Federal level.
Palin never served in the Alaska Legislature. Period. Do you honestly think an individual, who served as the mayor of a town with 9,000 people has a sense of the urban dynamics and problems in this country?
Let me pose the experiential question a different way: Santa Ana is facing a $26 million deficit; Vallejo has its final hearing on its bankruptcy petition next week; Stockton has a $15 million deficit; Oakland has a $50 million imbalance that it just discovered. Every municipality in California is facing the same concerns.
Many states, aside from California, are faced with similiar situations: google state budget deficits. You will be surprised at the number of states in the same predicament. The next battle is the survival of our cities across this country. Big and Small.
Do you honestly think that a individual with no experience in the Alaska state legislature (are Alaska’s problems even on the same plane as California’s problems) who served as Mayor for a town of 9,000 and additionally served on the city council, can begin to understand, let alone solve the problems faced by municipalities?
I will give her the benefit of the doubt for now. However, I will temper my judgement until after the debates. I have expressed my preliminaries: we shall see in the next few weeks.
To All:
On choice, Palin makes McCain look extremely far left. She frames her position as being pro-choice in that she “chose’ to have her children. Nothing wrong with that. but when you delve below the surface, you see how extreme her position is on a woman’s right to choose. She postulates that there should not be any termination of a pregnancy in the case of rape or incest or in the situation where the health of the mother is jeopardized.
As I said on another Juice string…..Supreme Court choices……? Hmmmm
SMS and All
One has to wonder……..
What are Lisa Murkowski of Alaska (whose father Palin defeated for Governor-he was the incumbent), Kay Bailey Hutchinson (Texas), Elizabeth Dole (North Carolina), Olympia Snowe (Maine), and Susan Collins (Maine) thinking today?????
All are Republicans-All are sitting US Senators-All have experience working with John McCain, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama (and Hillary Clinton).
And last but not least, All are Women…..
Just thinking out loud…………..
#26
Keep needling #27. S/he thinks they have an original idea about the XX year theory
#29
Most enlighted men and women have been “thinking out loud” for the past 24 years. Where have you been?
BTW .. McCain dislikes KBH of TX.
She’s just invoked Executive Priveledge to avoid handing over emails related to having her ex-brother in law fired from the State Police. She’s a timebomb ticking.
SCR, the point that you — and quite frankly most if not all Obama Democrats — fail to acknolwedge is that she, Sarah palin, is a GOVERNOR.
She’s not a legislator. She’s not a Senator (State or Federal). She is an executive. An executive woman who has an 80-something% approval rating in The Last Frontier.
So, Alaska doesn’t have 25 million people like Texas, or 37 million people like California, or 18 million people like Florida and New York.
Alaska has roughly 700,000 people. Not all Republican. Quite a few Democrats and some very strong independents.
Alaska is so far away from the mainstream of Washington that it’s often off their radar. It’s off everyone’s radar — same goes for Hawaii, which by the way, has a very popular Republican Governor as well.
The reason Governor Palin is beloved by a super-majority of Alaskans is because she knows what she’s doing. She does, and is doing, the job that she was elected to do.
This beauty contestant you make fun off has defeated two govenors: former Gov. Murkowski in the primary, and former Gov. Knowles in the general election.
If there was anyone in this country you would need to go to ask input on energy and the economy, it’s Sarah Palin. She’s a mother, a fighter, and an inspiration to not only elected officials who do the job they’ve been elected to do — she’s an inspiration to women everywhere, regardless of what you think.
She doesn’t have 7 or 8 houses. She has 1.
She never campaigned to be McCain’s running mate or the next Vice President. She was chosen because of her strong record on what she’s accomplished and her strong record of service as the Governor of a state that seems like half a world away.
And should the day come, where she should ever have to step into the room of the Oval Office and sit behind that desk, she will govern with the compassion, the tenacity, and the conviction that she has shown as Governor.
There’s a reason she’s McCain’s VP pick. However, just like Hillary Clinton, the “good-old” boys club that you belong to always seem to believe that women can’t lead, govern, or make tough decsions.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Sen. Clinton would’ve governed with conviction. However, knowing Gov. Palin and what she’s done in Alaska, there’s no doubt in my mind that she will do the same.
Come her speech at the RNC, just as 80% of Alaskans feel, American will fall in love with Gov. Sarah Palin, the next Vice President of the United States.
“great one”, we dont need no stinking meetings! we already know what to do. look around you… we are coming……….
“She’s just invoked Executive Priveledge to avoid handing over emails related to having her ex-brother in law fired from the State Police. She’s a timebomb ticking.”
Really?
Why don’t you share why this out of control ticking time bomb of a cop is not in prison?
Some of his recent antics include:
He tasered his 11 year old nephew.
He got caught drinking on duty behind the wheel of his squad car.
He shot and killed a 1500 pound Moose, cut it up and put in in his freezer OUT OF SEASON.
A bartender called 911 because a severely drunk patron(Mike Wooten) left the bar and took off in a car and when the State Troopers pulled him over and saw who he was they gave him a free ride home instead of a DUI.
Mike Wooten threatened to KILL Sarah Palins father and suggested he might do Sarah Palin too.
I’m sure none of you would report him or try to have him fired.
This is the kind of bullshit nasty politics I’ve grown so tired of.
Thomas –
Nice! The psycho really did all that?!
I think she did the right thing then. Duh. Good for her.
SMS
Yea Sarah… research Mike Wooten and I swear he makes Timothy McViegh seem like a compassionate Christian.
I like the fact that she is willing to get rid of bad apples, even if she is related to them.
Mike Wooten thought he could get away with piss poor behavior due to his relationship with Gov. Palin.
No such luck.
Some folks are just bitter because they are looking at 16 years of Republicans holding the White House.
By then Hillary will be nothing but a distant memory.
JOSE KEEP COMING WE WILL KEEP ROUNDING YOU UP . MOST OF YOU ARE GOING BACK ANY WAY . MAKING OUR JOB A LOT EASIER . HEY WE CAN START IN SANTA ANA AND WORK OUR WAY OUT .
I haven’t been this excited since well since I became of age to vote 19 years ago!
Sophia–
Go and read my posts.
This is an inexperienced city council member/mayor of a city the city of capitola and the governor of a state with a population equal to the city of San Jose in Northern California.
Lets be blunt-her high approval ratings are strictly the result of her getting the oil companies to increase the per Alaskan resident (man/woman/child) annual oil royalty payment by approximately $1500 per year. Its not about executive experience. Because she has none.
The parallel is this:Miguel Pulido rises from mayor of santa ana to vice-president of the US.
She has been in office as Governor for less than 2 years. Her experience as Governor, though lite, is a direct extension of her mayoral reign.
Another way of viewing the comparison is this.
Alaska is ranked 47th out of 50 states when a number of political and social indicators are used. Economically, where would you think that Alaska, in and of itself, would place on the world economic stage?
On the other hand, California is arguably the 6th or 7th largest economy in the WORLD. As Governor of California, Sophia, do you think that the problems that Californians face today are much the same as the problems that Palin faces on an every day basis as Governor of Alaska?
I noted in my initial posts that she was Governor and had not served in the Alaska State Legislature, where the problems of the state are dealt with, in concert with the Governor. Unless I am mistaken, you are making a very strong argument for the continuation of a unitary executive at the Federal level in much the same way and thinking that Bush and Cheney have done for the past 7 years and counting.
As to her houses, whether she has 1 or 7 or 20, I havent mentioned anything in my posts about that.
As to her very twisted logic on choice, that will not play well at all with the majority of American woman voters. And for that matter, American male voters.
As to the houses, she will be judged by the company she keeps and the policies she proposes to the American electorate. He has the houses; she doesnt.
You are being extremely naive in your viewpoint.
McCain had no choice. Period. The other candidates, such as Meg Whitman (ex CEO of EBAY) would have been an interesting choice. The question to you, as an advocate of Palins, is to look at Whitman (Harvard MBA/Princeton degree in economics-net worth of nearly $2 billion) and with a straight face tell me who is more qualified.
Do you know what her policy statement is on education? From C-SPAN, her policy statement as governor of Alaska for education in Alaska is the following: fully fund K through 12.
That is it. Nothing more. Now overlay that upon California. Do you think that addresses the myriad complex educational problems Californians confront on a daily basis. Do you think that she can grasp the enormity of the educational situation?
And now you are advocating that she has the ability to grasp the educational problems encountered by Americans across 50 states?
And all I did was focus one issue. And you want to advocate that she, as an Governor (and an experienced executive) is ready to assume a position one heart beat away from the most powerful position in the world?
Though you may not like to hear it, the practicality of McCains position is that he had no choice but to choose her. He needed to capture the news media on a day after 4 Dem days that captured the electorate. This is an effort to get at the undecided vote in a very stark way.
He needed to get momentum away from the Democratics. Any of the other VP candidates would play right into the Dems-quite possibly the only exception is Tom Ridge who is a Catholic from Pennsylvania (ex Governor) and first head as Secretary of Homeland Security and who is pro-choice in the truest sense-you think he has sufficient executive experience-hand and underscore the prime point of the Dems and Obama=8 is enough.
McCain watched the last four days with his strategists. Behind closed doors, they know they are facing a tsunami of epic proportions. While he is an honorable American and Senator, he knows what he is up against. This appointment, while on its face, captures the interest of the electorate but the bottom line is that she will be under the microscope of the eye of the media and the electorate.
We will see the polling numbers at the end of the week and begin to see the increasing spread. The week after will be critical to both sides. The key will be the VP debates for it will show two aspects: her policy background (and I am sure that they will attempt to brief her intensively in the weeks leading up to the debate) or lack thereof and how Biden conducts himself.
She will garner the sympathy vote to a certain extent. The Obama campaign will stress experience to confront the myriad problems facing all Americans. And then she will extoll her thinking on the issues of the day.
We shall see.
SCR,
My compliments to you for the extremely valuable information you provide in all of your comments. I appreciate the facts you offer to counter the plethora of conjecture.
Thank you!
Longboobs……
Thank you for the nice complement
To those who advocate the candidacy of Sarah Palin
The Alaska State Legislature, through a bipartisan ethics committee, has allocated $100,000 to hire outside personnel and conduct and independent investigation regarding her attempt as governor to fire the head of the Alaska Safety Department (over the Alaska state troopers) because he refused to fire a trooper (her ex-brother in law-acknowledging this guy was not the best) as a result of a bitter divorce that occurred involving her sister 4 years before she became governor.
Final report on the investigation is due in middle of October.
The other amazing fact is that McCain met her ONCE six months ago. Thats right folks–ONCE–Prior to that McCain had never heard of her.
His first choice was Liebermann. A pro-choice addition to the ticket, McCain had to be talked out of this choice because of the divisive impact it would create within Gods Only Party
Vice President Debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden will occur in October
Amazing Fact
February 2008–Governor Palin decries Senator Hilary Clinton—calls her a “whiner”
today–Governor Palin gushes her thanks to Senator Hilary Clinton for cracking the Glass Ceiling 18,000,000 ways–
so who do you think will be the attack dog against Governor Palin…….?
Hmmmm,……Just thinking out loud………
It’s time for a change and Governor Sarah Palin will shake up Washington. Governor Palin is a tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president. She has brought Republicans and Democrats together within her Administration and has a record of delivering on the change and reform that we need in Washington.
Governor Palin has challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources. She leads a state that matters to every one of us — Alaska has significant energy resources and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent.
In Alaska, Governor Palin challenged a corrupt system and passed a landmark ethics reform bill. She has actually used her veto and cut budgetary spending. She put a stop to the “bridge to nowhere” that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars.
As the head of Alaska’s National Guard and as the mother of a soldier herself, Governor Palin understands what it takes to lead our nation and she understands the importance of supporting our troops.
Governor Palin has the record of reform and bipartisanship that others can only speak of. Her experience in shaking up the status quo is exactly what is needed in Washington today.