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
You still have not posted a single constructive point to the discussion. Dick Cheney is not going to run with McCain. It seems you do not want to reveal your choice for VP since that would betray your real reason for the vendetta against Palin.
“what qualifies SP to be VPOTUS”
Read posts number 31 and 33 as well as the thread about her yesterday. You’re not fooling anyone. You know she’s a good choice.
Vendetta?
I’ve made my case. Refute it, don’t slime it. Tell us what qualifies Palin to be VPOTUS.
Thanks. Duh, I can’t believe I forgot to check YouTube for vids.
The people who are going to vote for all the right reasons are going to vote for McCain because he is the best choice. What we are left competing for is the dummy vote. Thats the vote from people who vote on things that have absolutely nothing to do with what really matters. By making Palin as VP it would get a lot of those votes because she is a women who men see as attractive and women see as strong. She would get much of the would-have-been Hillary votes. These are not the best reasons to vote for a President, but it is what the dummy voter goes for.
From wikipedia:
The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States."[4] However, unlike the two-election limit imposed on the Presidency by the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, there is no restriction of the number of terms a person can serve as Vice President.
Thus, to serve as Vice President, an individual must be: * a natural born U.S. citizen not younger than 35
* must have been living in the U.S. for at least 14 years[5]
Other than that, our founding fathers put no other restrictions on qualifications to be the vice-president. Anything else is just opinion. I like Palin because she makes the Republican ticket stronger and puts a young conservative in a powerful position.
Lets face it folks, how many Obama voters cast their ballot out of a sense of either 'white guilt' or because 'he is sooo kewl...?'
That she makes the ticket stronger, is opinion.
The Twelfth Amendment [qualifies Palin to be VPOTUS]
If we're to be disingenuous, please define "powerful position." (Is it so described in the Constitution? Or can just anyone qualified per the 12th Amendment handle it?)
You might also want to see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pak-rH0dCeA
in which Gov. Palin says "I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?"
Both this thread and yesterday’s more than makes a case for Palin. How would you strengthen the ticket other than to convince Cheney to run again? Obama is the single most dangerous candidate to ever emerge in this country. With so many states divided by less than 1-2% she is a difference maker - the difference between winning and Obama. You can criticize but you can not come up with an alternative that would constitute a winning ticket, at least not without revealing your true agenda.
Certainly. But saying she isn't qualified is not true. She's qualified. It's your opinion that she wouldn't be any good at the job.
The Twelfth Amendment [qualifies Palin to be VPOTUS] If we're to be disingenuous, please define "powerful position." (Is it so described in the Constitution? Or can just anyone qualified per the 12th Amendment handle it?)
I defined "powerful position" as second in line to the Presidency, a national platform/exposure, and a prominence in world affairs.
You might also want to see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pak-rH0dCeA in which Gov. Palin says "I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?"
After watching it, I think she was making a joke. She was downplaying expectations and she was saying that if she were vice president she would want to be as active and involved as she is as the governor of Alaska.
If you like $4/gal, Thank Congress. If you want $10, Vote No Oilbama.
Well I am sure she will get a lot of support from Alaskans that qualified for the Permanent Fund Dividend that may be a bit over $2,000 this year PLUS the initiative she passed into effect another $1200 to each person added to their PFD.
I suspect there will be a lot of booze, drugs and bling spending coming up in October when we get that money.
I am going to try and not touch my 14 yr. old sons amount of roughly $3200 and get it into a savings account.
Read about this “resource rebate” here; http://www.adn.com/legislature/story/488420.html
Would she do the same to all of America if she was voted in as Veep?
Give each person under certain qualifications something like one or two thousand dollars to off st the higher fuel costs?
Thats basically what she did for Alaskans, and I think for Alaskans ONLY.
Yes, I certainly can criticize. Palin is outstandingly underqualified.
No, I cannot suggest anyone whom I consider a truly excellent choice.
I don't know what you mean by my true agenda, but it sounds rather irrational. I have merely stated the obvious here, and regretted that it needed to be stated. Democrats fall in line behind a charming vacuity; we are supposed to be more judicious.
I'm beating a dead horse now, or swatting flies over it. She's not VP material, and I'm resting my case.
Why hasn’t the beast replied back?
Don’t feel alone, I happen to live in the town she was mayor for and I knew of “other” little dealings that I hope not to see a repeat of in a grander scale if she had the power to do so.
Personally I think the Republican party can find someone better qualified, her history is short, she has no background to me of the sort that would lead me to think that she would be a worthy successor to being the President if McCain was not capable of that position.
Heck martha Stewart would be a better choice.
Hell, she's a lightweight compared to Barack Obama, and that's saying something.
She’s got more executive government experience. You lose. Thanks for playing...
2. Enjoy fuming. You're going to be doing it for four to eight years. I think McCain just won the election.
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