Impaired Judgment

“If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament and judgment to serve as the next commander-in-chief, that’s a debate I’m ready to have,” said Senator Barack Obama during his landmark acceptance speech in front of 80,000 cheering supporters in Denver.[i]

The Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, failed the first judgment test of the presidential campaign when he selected Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

It could have been worse. Senator McCain could have asked Vice President Cheney to serve another four years.

It’s not like Senator McCain has not displayed poor judgment over and over again for the past seven years. During an interview on the David Letterman show in October 2001, Senator McCain implicated Saddam Hussein in the anthrax attacks.

Senator McCain supported President Bush’s preemptive war on Iraq, therefore he accepted President Bush’s premise that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, had an alliance with Al Qaeda, and was a threat to world peace.

In addition, the Arizona senator has repeatedly stated Iraq is the central front on the war on terror.

Actually, Iraq is not the central front on the war on terror. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are at the epicenter of the war on terror. Our government either refuses to acknowledge the threat, is appeasing Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, or is deliberately ignoring the threat.

During the summer, Senator McCain said, on more than one occasion, Iran is training Al Qaeda and sending them back into Iraq.

It is highly unlikely Iran is training Al Qaeda. Shiite rule Iran. Al Qaeda is a Wahhabi sect that believes Shiites are heretics, and heretics are supposed to be put to death according to the Wahhabi’s strict interpretation of Islam.

Senator McCain argues that off shore drilling will reduce gas prices, but experts agree that it will take ten years for oil to be ready for the market if off shore drilling started today.

Senator McCain’s latest judgment spasm was the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

During the 2000 Republican presidential campaign, Senator McCain was asked if he would accept the nomination for vice president. According to Mr. McCain, “The vice president has two duties one is to inquire daily as to the health of the president and attend the funerals of third world dictators.”[ii]

Strictly using Senator McCain’s job description of the vice president, then Governor Palin is qualified to be his running mate. It is not beyond her abilities to ask President McCain, “How are you feeling today sir?” and attending funerals. Otherwise Governor Palin is not qualified to be the next vice president.

Governor Palin is not exactly sure what are the responsibilities of a vice president. In a July 31, 2008 interview she expressed apprehension about becoming a vice president. “What is it exactly that the vice president does every day?” she asked.[iii] She is politically active and was worried the vice presidency could be a demotion.

However, it is reassuring that Governor Palin has not been aware of Vice President Cheney’s excesses during the past eight years, and has not expressed delight in becoming the next subverter of the United States.

Governor Palin’s political resume is anorexically thin. Mrs. Palin served two terms in the Wasilla city council from 1992 to 1996, then served two terms as mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002. The current population of Wasilla, Alaska is 9,780, or approximately “one twentieth the size of Barack Obama’s Illinois state senate district.”[iv]

Mrs. Palin won the Alaska gubernatorial election in 2006. She has served less than two years in a state with the population of 670,000. In 1992, Republicans argued Governor Clinton was not qualified to be president because he was the governor of a small state. The population of Arkansas in 1990 was 2,350,725.

Governor Palin does not have the foreign policy experience to become president if Mr. McCain is physically or mentally unable to complete the presidential term.

Senator McCain, the Republican Party and the Mainstream Media have spent the last 18 months arguing Senator Barack Obama does not have the experience, or the qualifications to become the next president. The selection of Governor Palin nullifies that argument.

Senator McCain and the Republican Party argue Senator Obama is more of celebrity than a leader, going so far as to compare Mr. Obama with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Mr. McCain undermines the celebrity argument by selecting a contestant to beauty contest as his running mate. Mrs. Palin won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest in 1984, and was second in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant.

It’s like a focus group selected Governor Palin to be the vice presidential nominee. Conservatives and Christian evangelicals are suspicious of Senator McCain’s motives. Mrs. Palin is conservative, Christian, pro-life, opposes embryonic stem cell research, is a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), does not believe pollution is the catalyst for global warming, is against adding polar bears to the list of endangered species, is in favor of drilling for oil in Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWAR), believes intelligent design should be taught in schools, and her children were home schooled. It does not hurt that she is an attractive woman with an attractive family.

Parenthetically, late night comedians will have fun with Senator McCain’s selection, but it would be unfair to dismiss her as a lightweight because of her appearance. Beauty does not equal stupidity. The debate should be about her qualifications, not her looks.

Although Republicans will no doubt in the future argue the Democrats are treating Governor Palin harshly because she is a beautiful woman.

Senator McCain and the Republican Party believe Governor Palin will pull angry Hillary Clinton supporters away from Senator Obama. The Democratic Party convention was picketed by the P.U.M.A’s (Party Unity My Ass).

However, Hillary Clinton supporters who despise Senator Obama were going to vote for Senator McCain regardless of his selection for vice president – including the PUMAS.

The Republicans will counter the inexperience argument by claiming Mrs. Palin’s 15 months experience as governor is more valuable than Senator Obama’s experience as a United States Senator. She has chief executive experience that Senator Obama does not have. Furthermore, Governor Palin is the Commander in Chief of Alaska’s National Guard.

A question the Mainstream Media will not ask is, “As governor of Alaska, how many times have you deployed the National Guard in Alaska, and what where the circumstances that led you to deploy the National Guard?”

The most absurd foreign policy argument in favor of Mrs. Palin is from Michael Barone who wrote, “Alaska is the only state with a border with Russia.”[v]

Another Republican talking point will be that Mrs. Palin is not that far removed from the lives of average Americans, her husband belongs to a union, and her family faces the same challenges other American families are forced to endure. Mrs. Palin has stronger connections to the average American.

The Republicans will argue Governor Palin is a maverick, like Senator McCain, who challenged the Republican establishment in Alaska, and will use her opposition to the “Bridge to Nowhere” as an example.

However, Governor Palin changed her position on the infamous earmark. In 2006, she was in favor of funding the “Bridge to Nowhere.” Responding to a questionnaire from The Anchorage Daily News, Mrs. Palin said, “I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now — while our Congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.”[vi]

The Mainstream Media will play an important role in Senator McCain’s presidential campaign. Sometimes the media will portray Governor Palin favorably. Sometimes the media will echo the Republican’s talking points. What the Mainstream Media will not do is question or scrutinize Governor Palin experience, qualifications or record in Alaska.

The selection of Governor Palin was characterized as bold by the Mainstream Media. But Senator Obama is risky because he is inexperienced, and the country does not know him and may not feel comfortable with him.

Governor Tim Pawlenty was interviewed on Meet the Press. Tom Brokaw asked Governor Pawlenty if Mrs. Palin was as qualified as Senator McCain’s other potential choices for vice president, Mitt Romney, Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman. Governor Pawlenty did not answer the question. Instead, he said Governor Palin connects with the average American. Mr. Brokaw did not ask a follow up question, nor asked Governor Pawlenty why he did not answer the question.[vii]

During the same broadcast of Meet the Press, Maria Bartiromo of CNBC, one of the few journalists who actually interviewed Governor Palin, said Mrs. Palin was an energy expert. Energy is also a national security issue, therefore Governor Palin is well versed in energy and national security issues.[viii]

The Mainstream Media will be delighted in telling Governor Palin’s story. The media will not discuss her qualifications to be vice president. They will deflect attention to her story, the hockey – mom of five, her eldest son who is in the military and is about to go to Iraq on September 11, a woman who became pregnant in her early 40’s, was informed by her doctors that the baby would be born with Downs Syndrome, but decided to have the baby anyway, a woman who “went into labor and got on an airplane to go back to Alaska. That’s pretty cool,” said NBC analyst David Gregory. “I think there’s a lot of people, men and women, who are going to look at this story and say, ‘This is a compelling person. I want to take a new look at this ticket.”[ix]

The Mainstream Media will continue to reinforce the notion that Senator McCain is a maverick, and the selection of Governor Palin is proof of his maverickness.

By the way, I invented a new drinking game. Anyone who is interested in playing needs to buy a bottle of their favorite hard liquor. In fact, you might have to buy a jug of the stuff. Open the bottle, turn on the television, and select any political talk show. Take a shot every time a pundit or talking head says the word “maverick.” You should have an empty bottle by the end of the hour.

But if Senator McCain really wanted to prove he was a maverick, then he should have selected his first choice, Senator Joe Lieberman. Senator McCain let a focus group overrule his decision. This is just another example of Senator McCain caving in to the right wing of the Republican Party.[x]

In a previous article, I argued the selection of a vice president was important because voters would get an insight in the potential president’s judgment. Senator Obama selected Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. This decision tells me what type of candidate Barack Obama is.

During a Democratic presidential debate, Senator Biden was asked if Mr. Obama was ready to be president. Mr. Biden, with Senator Obama by his side, said no, he was not ready. Senator McCain liked the answer so much, he decided to use it in a negative advertisement against Senator Obama.

An individual with a different temperament, Senator McCain or Mayor Giuliani, would not have selected Mr. Biden as his running mate. Mr. McCain or Mr. Giuliani would have been insulted by Mr. Biden’s answer, and Senator Biden’s political career would have ended.

But Senator Obama displayed sound judgment and temperament. He understood Senator Biden strengthened the Democratic ticket. Mr. Obama did not allow a perceived slight to impair his judgment because Mr. Obama has a sense of security about himself. He is not afraid of what other people think about him because he possesses inner strength.

It is that sense of security, inner strength and good judgment that led him to the decision to grant Senator Clinton her own night at the Democratic convention to celebrate her accomplishments, to allow Senator Clinton’s name be placed in nomination, and give President Clinton his own night as well. The Clintons dominated the news for two nights, and it did not intimidate Senator Obama.

In selecting Governor Palin as his running mate, Senator McCain is insulting the political process. Mr. McCain chose someone who is not qualified to be President of the United States. Senator McCain is pandering to the right wing of the Republican Party, and to women in general.

Or maybe Senator McCain is deliberately selecting a candidate with no record in order to blunt the media’s vetting process. Governor Palin may be another Clarence Thomas. At the time, there were more qualified conservative African American jurists, but President Bush I selected the judge with the least experience. You can’t criticize what you don’t know.

“I know I’m older, and I’m going to choose somebody – the first important thing is that they be ready to be president,” said Mr. McCain.[xi]

Maybe Senator Obama was right about Mr. McCain. It’s not that he doesn’t care, “he doesn’t know…, and John McCain doesn’t get it.”[xii]



[i] Transcript Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech, New York Times, August 28, 2008.
[ii] Meet the Press, August 31, 2008.
[iii] Meet the Press, August 31, 2008.
[iv] Daniel Nasaw, “Just How Small is Wasilla, Alaska Anyway?” Guardian American, August 30, 2008.
[v] Michael Barone, “Palin Will Be Welcomed By Social and Economic Conservatives,” Washington Post, August 29, 2008.
[vi] David Kirkpatrick and Larry Rohter, “Account of a Bridge’s Death Slightly Exaggerated,” New York Times, September 1, 2008.
[vii] Meet the Press, August 31, 2008.
[viii] Meet the Press, August 31, 2008.
[ix] Meet the Press, August 31, 2008.
[x] Elizabeth Bumiller and Michael Cooper, “Conservative Ire Pushed McCain From Lieberman,” August 31, 2008.
[xi] Meet the Press, August 31, 2008.
[xii] Transcript Barack Obama’s Acceptance Speech, New York Times, August 28, 2008.