Sam Harris on Sarah Palin

[_Thama]

Nevertheless, he has campaigned as a typical (or even hypertypical) Republican, and I couldn't disagree more strongly on Palin. That was a cynical, insulting move.

Huh? It's clear from Republican voter reaction that Sarah Palin was THE BEST choice for the ticket. McCain's base was not happy with his liberal record. He needed a conservative on the ticket and he gave us one. We also got a person who has a strong record of fighting corruption, even within our own party--so I'd say McCain hit a homerun-with one choice, he's energized the Republican base and gained their firm support.

You called it "cynical and insulting" to put Palin on the ticket. I'm curious how you see Obama's choice of Biden. Was it "cynical and insulting" as well?

It was the best choice to shore up the fundamentalist base of the Republican party. It was a piss-poor choice for forming a competent government, and for having a VP in office who had the capacity to be an effective president.

That's why it's cynical and insulting--it was purely a campaign decision, but could have real effects well into the next 8 years. Biden was precisely the opposite choice. He's not very exciting, he's prone to gaffes on the campaign trail (as many here have noted), and his own campaign has flopped miserably multiple times. He is, however, a knowledgeable, stable, effective politician with a skillset in foreign policy ideally suited to the nation's most urgent problems. Biden was a poor campaign decision, but a great governing decision. Should Obama die or resign in the middle of a term, most people here and abroad wouldn't have cause to say "Oh, S***, we're screwed". I don't think we can say the same for McCain.

[_Alter Idem]

Thama said;

It was a piss-poor choice for forming a competent government, and for having a VP in office who had the capacity to be an effective president.

Change "VP" to President, and it's my sentiments exactly for what the Democrats have done. Obama has NO experience, he's a Senator, he has THE MOST extreme left voting record in all Congress. Who picks someone like that to unify an already severely divided country?????

At least the Republican presidential pick is a liberal Republican who might be able to govern as a centrist--but NO WAY is Obama going to be able to unite this country. He is too extreme. Hillary Clinton would have been a much better choice.

Look, you don't like our (Republican) choice and we don't like your (Democrat) choice. I'd say the two parties are even.

[_Alter Idem]

I find it interesting that no one has addressed the latest Biden gaffe. Methinks there's a strong double standard asserting itself. The ticket that clearly lacks experience where it's needed most, and the ticket that clearly is sticking its foot squarely in its mouth is the Democrat ticket. There's no question about that. Partisanship is a funny thing...

They don't know about Biden's gaffes because they aren't reported by the media Obama supporters listen to, so they are blissfully unaware of the mistakes he's already racking up.

The Dude and Sethbag; You think Biden was a great choice...well if you listened to conservative talk shows you wouldn't. They report the gaffes and he's made some bad ones that if Sarah Palin had done the same, she'd have been destroyed by the media scrutiny. The worst was Biden's rant against coal when Obama was running an add in support of it!!! Biden is too cocky. He's not doing his homework because he's so confident in his own abilities. He better develop some humility, or he's going to be a liability to the ticket.

The debates are coming up and the media will have to cover them--gaffes and missteps--on both sides.

[_CaliforniaKid]

Oh yeah, and Kevin, yeah, Palin's religiosity is part of it. ... Ahmedinejad thinks he's doing Allah's will too.

Indeed. Before anyone lets her off too easily, they should consider the words of John Fea:

what disturbs me about the Palin video is her belief that she can know the will of God. How does Palin know that the construction of a natural pipeline is the will of God? How does she know that troops going to Alaska are on a "task that is from God?" This kind of providentialism--and I write as a Christian here-- IS a problem. It displays a certain arrogance on Palin's part--a belief that she can know the mind of a transcendent and unknowable God who only reveals Himself to His creation "in part." (I think of 1 Cor. 13:12 here: We see "through a glass darkly.").

Does Sarah Palin Have a "Pipeline" to God?

[_The Dude]

At least the Republican presidential pick is a liberal Republican who might be able to govern as a centrist--but NO WAY is Obama going to be able to unite this country. He is too extreme. Hillary Clinton would have been a much better choice.

Well, my main problem with Hillary was that she wouldn't be able to unite the country because she has a long dirty history and so many personal enemies. I think Obama has a better shot at being a unifier, but maybe not, listening to you and your conservative talk show bias. Some people will never be happy with a Democrat. Oh well.

McCain could be good at unifying if he reverts to his old self after the election. The Republicans certainly could have picked someone worse, I'll give you that. I wish you could say something nice about the Democrats. Even Biden could admit that Obama is so clean that he's like a dream. ;)

They don't know about Biden's gaffes because they aren't reported by the media Obama supporters listen to, so they are blissfully unaware of the mistakes he's already racking up.

Keep it in perspective. Bush's countless gaffes aren't what makes him the worst president in US history. If Biden asks a famous Senator in a wheelchair to stand up and recieve applause, it's just a little "oopsie" really. It's not something that should make us say oh my G_d, this man is going to destroy our country.

The Dude and Sethbag; You think Biden was a great choice...well if you listened to conservative talk shows you wouldn't.

You are right. All it takes is listening to the wrong commentator and suddenly I've changed my mind on a dime. Yeah, Sethbag and I are totally incapable of arriving at a conclusion that differs from what a particular talk show tells us.

The debates are coming up and the media will have to cover them--gaffes and missteps--on both sides.

I suggest you don't let the little gaffes and missteps -- on either side -- keep you awake at night. They can be worth a partisan chuckle but not much more.

[_Mad Viking]

Obama would get my vote, if only he would support Yucca Mountain.

[_Thama]

Change "VP" to President, and it's my sentiments exactly for what the Democrats have done. Obama has NO experience, he's a Senator, he has THE MOST extreme left voting record in all Congress. Who picks someone like that to unify an already severely divided country?????

No experience? Obama has a senate term and a good bit in his state legislature under his belt. It's not a ton of experience, but at least he has a good sense for the national stage. I'm not going to contend that he's likely to know exactly what he's doing on Day 1, but this is someone who graduated at the top of his Harvard Law class and edited the Law Review. In the primary debates, he refused to give simplistic answers to questions on complex issues, and nearly always displayed the capacity to consider issues carefully and intelligently, even if he didn't have a ready policy that would fit into a 20 second slogan. At least he has clearly displayed that he has the capacity to be a good president. Whatever happened to "the best and the brightest"?

As for his voting record, he (like most 1st term junior senators) simply voted with his party. It doesn't speak great things about his bi-partisanship (a point where McCain has a distinct advantage) but it's hardly unusual, either.

At least the Republican presidential pick is a liberal Republican who might be able to govern as a centrist--but NO WAY is Obama going to be able to unite this country. He is too extreme. Hillary Clinton would have been a much better choice.

Look, you don't like our (Republican) choice and we don't like your (Democrat) choice. I'd say the two parties are even.

McCain isn't exactly a centrist either. He 's a conservative who has refused to sacrifice some of his traditionally conservative ideals at the altar of Ronald Reagan, while following his party very closely on the majority of issues. Liberal Republicans are people like Chuck Hagel, Lincoln Chafee and Michael Bloomberg. McCain doesn't fit that bill.

[_The Dude]

Why Joe Biden's gaffes don't hurt him much

[_moksha]

It's clear from Republican voter reaction that Sarah Palin was THE BEST choice for the ticket.

She fits him as well as Spiro Agnew fit Nixon. They were local politicians whose only baggage was back home.




by the way, Palin reminds me of a former Utah politician, Enid Green Waldholtz.

[_Trevor]

in my opinion, Governor Sarah Palin is the right Lady, At the right time, to become the Nation's first Female U.S. Vice President.
I will be happy to proudly vote for Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin.

Did you leave out the passage that discussed her actual qualifications for the position? All I saw was stuff about how she juggles career and family.