Posted on 08/17/2008 5:40:22 PM PDT by Josh Painter
I'm not talking about the mere physical attractiveness of Alaska's governor, though she has been blessed with an abundance of that gift. Palin was a competitor in the 1984 Miss Alaska beauty pageant after being named Miss Wasilla earlier that year, where she also won Miss Congeniality honors.
No, what I'm dicussing here is beauty in the political sense - as in the beauty of what John McCain, if he's smart and willing to make a really bold move, could accomplish by naming Governor Palin as his running mate for the presidential election.
Those making the case for Palin as GOP VP nominee include Jack Kelly on Real Clear Politics, American Spectator's Thomas Cheplick, Bill Krtistol and Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard and Anchorage Daily News columnist William Ruger.
A number of bloggers have added their voices to the chorus in praise of Alaska's governor. Just a few examples can be found here, here and here.
There are websites devoted to promoting Palin for the Republican vice presidential nomination - Sarah Palin for America, Palin For VP, and Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President. There are even web ads made independently on her behalf. You can view them here, here and here.
There no need for me to echo all of the arguments made by those cited here for Sarah Palin. But I would like to add some perspective.
With energy and oil prices at the top of the nation's current domestic concerns, and with energy independence tied closely to national security at a time when Russia, America's old nemisis, is again on the rise, it is critical for McCain to have someone on his ticket who can speak with authority about energy. Palin demonstrates her command of the subject in this video clip from Glenn Beck's TV show.
Also, in one of the most under-reported news stories in recent weeks, Gov. Palin has accomplished a feat which has eluded the U.S. Congress for many years. She has pushed through the Alaska legislature a natural gas pipeline project which will bring new supply and price relief to the lower 48:
On Aug. 1, the same day the call for a vote on drilling began on the House floor, the Alaska state Senate approved a package of measures to license a new natural gas pipeline. House Bill 3001 lets Palin award the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act license to TransCanada Alaska, a pipeline builder that cast a winning bid of five.With the voters seeing nothing being done but congressional bickering on the energy front, Sarah Palin can point to this accomplishment to show that she's a "can do" leader on energy, something no other potential GOP vice presidential nominee can boast of right now. That's what the electorate is looking for, and this would make Palin a valuable asset to McCain's campaign.The legislature had been trying for 30 years to authorize something like this and, up until now, had blown it. Palin got it through. Getting it off the ground, the state says, will be the biggest construction project in U.S. history.
Palin considers the $26 billion project her biggest accomplishment as governor. "It was not easy," she told IBD. "Alaska has been hoping and dreaming for a natural gas pipeline for decades. What it took was getting off the dime and creating a competitive market in Alaska."
The 1,715-mile gas line would stretch from Alaska's North Slope to Fairbanks and down to Alberta, Canada. Then it would take existing gas lines to Idaho. In 10 years, Palin says, the lower 48 states would receive 4.5 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. By 2030, according to Energy Department estimates, Alaska's annual natgas production would quintuple to 2 trillion cubic feet.
But I've saved the best for last. The Democrats can hardly criticize Gov. Palin's resume as being too thin without calling attention to Obama's own limited experience. And that perhaps, is the real beauty of Sarah Palin.
- JP
Sarah Palin
Dawn Wells from Gilligan's Island
I hope this image isn't off limits for posting.
And no one paid any attention to you yesterday.
They could pass for sisters.
We will really will need them in near future...
And rawhide...I would vote for MaryAnn to any... uh...Oh nevermind..Vote MaryAnne...((;O)
John McCain isn’t Miss Congeniality, but Sarah Palin is, now that is a balanced ticket.
“The governor traveled coach with the rest of us working stiffs.”
A few lessons there for the likes of Gore, Clintons, and Hussein. Of course, Gore is the biggest loser because he refuses to fly with the peasants even while pontificating about how jet travel is destroying earth.
Actually they did, and there'd have been more if my case wasn't so far beyond disputing. However, this isn't about me. It's about Sarah Palin, who is no Dick Cheney. But you don't have anything to say in her behalf, do you? So yap and nip at my shins if that's your preferred level of discourse. She's still a lightweight.
Well...my two cents, I see if someone like Palin (a pro-life, pro-NRA, pro-drilling, Conservative) doesn't get the nod then we will have someone in that cockpit you theorize flying that plane on hope and change and being (as the MSM said this morning) 'thoughtful.' I'd take my chances on Palin, Cantor or Jindal waaaay before I would on a President Obama.
Johnny Mac has to pick someone who can take the disgruntled dems away from Obama. Whether anyone on the ticket wants to admit it, a woman running w/JM gives the Hillaryites a chance to vote for a woman. Sadly...that's what this race has come down to.
Setting aside the discussion of qualifications and capabilities for the moment, have either of you seen/heard her speak publicly to a great degree? I have not.
The voters of this country elect their Presidents on appearance and how the candidate makes them feel when they speak. IOW, electibility, not qualifications is realistically what would be more productive for us to be arguing. Sad, but true.
She’s not exactly wet behind the ears. Governor Sarah has 14 years in public service. Among Palin’s accomplishments:
As mayor of Wasilla, a fast-growing Anchorage suburb, she reduced property tax levels while increasing services and drawing in new industry. She was also elected head of Alaska’s conference of mayors.
As chair of the Alaska Conservation Commission (which regulates oil and gas), complained to “[then-]Governor Frank Murkowski and to state Attorney General Gregg Renkes about ethical violations by another commissioner, Randy Ruedrich, who was also Republican state chairman.” Rebuffed, she resigned but then deftly proceeded to drive all three of them out of office, finally triumphantly besting incumbent Murkowski in 2006 by capturing 51% of the vote in a three-way GOP primary. Palin then won handily (and against national trends) against popular former governor Tony Knowles in the 2006 general election. (Campaign slogan: “New Energy for Alaska.”) Risked her entire political career to take on her own party’s entrenched, corrupt leadership, and then thoroughly and effectively cleaned house in the largest state in the Union.
As governor, Palin used line-item veto to cut $268 million from state spending bills in a state where pork projects have been the norm for years. She resisted and made her vetoes stick. That’s the antidote to Bridges to Nowhere! (Which she opposed, by the way; the federal money originally committed to it, she’s now re-directed into more appropriate infrastructure programs.)
As governor, she’s also pushed hard against other entrenched interests, including the energy companies (BP, ConocoPhilips, and ExxonMobil) who hold the lease rights to much of Alaska’s oil and gas wealth. She is a fierce, knowledgeable, and articulate advocate of responsible development of Alaskan resources to benefit not only its own residents who actually pay among the nation’s highest gasoline prices and have the least access to affordable and clean natural gas but also the other 49 states, and she recognizes that this is not just a matter of economic necessity, but ultimately of national security.
As governor, Palin has spoken out and brought suit to prevent radical environmentalists from exploiting the ridiculous naming of the polar bear as an endangered species, showing no hesitation to stand up against them or their fellow tracellers in the federal bureaucracy
Gov. Palin’s 2008 budget slows the growth of her state’s government dramatically. In contrast to Alaska’s recent state budgets, which tended to grow by an eye-popping 14% per year, Gov. Palin’s new budget called for only 4% more general fund spending than the previous year and just 1% more spending on agency operations (at a time when the costs to provide services are skyrocketing).
From her 2008 state of the state address:
“Challenges lie ahead, but let’s look back at the last year and at some accomplishments. In Education, we are shaping a three-year funding plan to finally shift the school debate from perpetual money talk to accountability and achievement! We are focusing on foundational skills needed in the real-world workplace and in college. In Natural Resources, we’ve opened arms to welcome development but only responsibly, or not at all. Thanks to those abundant resources we will be able to provide for the urgent needs of our citizens. In Revenue, Alaskans ushered in a new era of stability with ACES, our new oil and gas appraisal system. It will provide protection even when oil prices aren’t as high as they are now. Ronald Reagan warned, Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets. I agree and thats why we must save our surplus. My administration is proposing $7 billion dollars into the Permanent Fund, Constitutional Budget Reserve, the Education Fund and PERS/TRS debt relief. In Fish and Game, we are managing our fisheries based on science, not special interests. Alaskas predator control program is showing results with greater wildlife populations so more Alaskans can hunt and feed their families the worlds healthiest, cleanest protein on God’s green earth. In Environmental Conservation, our Climate Change Sub-Cabinet has begun working on ways to adapt to impacts and we’re implementing the voter-mandated Ocean Rangers program. In Administration, we redesigned technology for government efficiency and transparency, including our nearly-complete online checkbook, showing Alaskans where their money is spent. We’ve strengthened APOC and added a new investigator. In Transportation, we added another $100 million for a total of more than $600 million for roads and airports to allow private sector growth and progress. Our “Transportation Endowment” will build a better, safer infrastructure and eliminate the threat of an increased gas tax at the pump.
In Labor, weve seen exciting, innovative efforts to grow private sector partnerships in mentoring programs and vocational-technical curriculums, and were training more healthcare providers to meet huge workforce demands. In Health and Social Services, we’re changing the Office of Children’s Services weve so much work to do here. We are improving our assessment process and training to better protect Alaskas vulnerable children. We returned senior benefits to our deserving elders. In Public Safety and Corrections, after years of positions left vacant, we’ve doubled academy recruits. I’d promised to separate wildlife brown shirts from law enforcement blues so 96 brown shirts are finally getting to that stream near you. We’re building public trust by demanding the highest standards of those in public safety. We’re implementing realistic plans to deal with overcrowded prisons, including rehabilitation and work requirements for the 95 percent of inmates who will re-enter society instead of just warehousing them. In Law, we are getting tough on criminals with tougher, defensible sentences. It was a clean sweep for convictions in the Cold Case Unit. Our Civil Division is managing hundreds of legal battles to protect Alaskans’ interests. I commend Law for last year’s needed, comprehensive ethics bill. In Military and Veterans Affairs, we certified hundreds of territorial guardsmen, so those who served finally receive their benefits. We are proudly supporting our brave Alaska Guard as they provide daily search and rescue in our State, and support the War on Terror.
In Commerce, we beefed up consumer protection with changes in banking and securities.
We pushed every agency hard to deliver results. They delivered by slashing the upward trajectory of budget increases from 14 percent down to 4 percent, despite rising healthcare, retirement, and energy costs. Thank you to our Commissioners and staff for their hard work! Our economy is solid. We have a vigorous investment climate with ACES. For 20 consecutive years, the number of jobs in Alaska has grown and we expect 2,000 more new jobs this year.
We’re trickling down state wealth to communities, through a 50 percent increase in municipal revenue sharing. This can provide local property tax relief and local priorities to be met like filling potholes and police positions.
I will propose reducing or eliminating burdensome taxes on our citizens like business license fees and the tire tax. After our citizens, our state treasure is our commonly-owned natural resources. Fifty years ago, our Constitution’s founders established lofty goals and ironclad promises to be self-sufficient and self-determined wise use of resources.
A perfect example of our self-determination is our natural gas pipeline vehicle: AGIA. AGIA’s competitive process is built on Alaskas must-haves. Finally we will have an “open access” gasline so new explorers can produce new reserves, providing in-state use of our gas and careers for Alaskans. Without AGIA’s requirements, we’d be leveraged by a small group of companies. We can’t surrender revenue, judicial process and our sovereignty. AGIA works! A respected pipeline construction company, TransCanada, submitted a proposal that meets all of Alaskas requirements. AGIA cleared the path for our gas to feed hungry local markets and to help secure the country with a safe, stable, and domestic supply of clean energy.
An AGIA license gets the ball rolling on our terms and opens the door to innovative and strategic partnerships. We are reasonable and open to those partnerships that, at the end of the day, will get that long-awaited gas line built.
With this progress, it is with great confidence that I say our future is bright. Industry knows we want responsible development. Anadarko will drill Alaskas first-ever gas- targeted wells on the North Slope. Chevron, FEX, Renaissance many others are exploring. That’s ratification of AGIA’s promise to make investments profitable for industrious explorers. There’s more we can do to help leaseholders, to ramp up development. Our new reservoir study can increase development and we will ensure better, publicly supported project coordination. Besides oil, gas, and mining, we’re advancing tourism, to show the world Alaskas majesty. We’re supporting our tremendous fisheries for 150 years they have been the economic and social heart of our coastal communities. They define and sustain us, and I will not let politics interfere with management-for-abundance of our largest private sector employer.
To cultivate timber and agriculture, we’re encouraging responsible, economic efforts to revitalize our once-robust industries. We can and must continue to develop our economy, because we cannot and must not rely so heavily on federal government earmarks. Instead, let us power up and produce for Alaska and America. We can do this were 50 years old now, and it’s time!”
This is a smart, capable and common-sense lady. She’s changed Alaska politics and Alaska itself for the better. And she accomplished something no member of our federal congress (numerous attempts, all ending in failure) or her state legislature has been able to before her in pushing the natural gas pipeline through in her state.
Sarah Palin is a lightweight compared to a Bobby Jindal or even Heather Wilson.
I sense that you like her. And why not? There’s nothing not to like.
Palin is the best choice we have, imo. I am not sure she wants it, though. Does anyone have info on that?
Sir - the suspect light weight in this discussion is you. You have nothing positive, either today or yesterday, to add to the discussion. Exactly what is your agenda?
Here’s a video of Palin admitting being clueless about vice-presidential duties and saying that being governor of Alaska is a “pretty cool job.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pak-rH0dCeA
In a few years, maybe. Right now, she’s got an infant that needs her more.
There IS nothing positive to add to this discussion. Else you’d be adding it yourself. Go ahead, tell us what qualifies Sarah Palin to be VPOTUS. Omit her beauty and charm and your belief that these would appeal to a broad spectrum of the electorate.
I’ll ignore the ad hominems, another obvious betrayal of a weak position.
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