Barbara Warner is a former congressional press secretary and White House appointee at the U. S. Commerce Department. She lives in Siloam Springs and writes a monthly column for The Benton County Daily Record.
Posted on 09/12/2008 1:30:58 PM PDT by missanne
This was supposed to be the year that a woman achieved the White House. Problem is, we've got the wrong woman. It was supposed to be the year for a woman of the caliber of Hillary Clinton, tested in the halls of learning, of law, in 12 years in the governor's mansion, in two terms as First Lady, in the policy trenches, in politics, in the media, in the Senate, in foreign affairs and in numerous presidential debates. She's been tested, tested and tested again.
I desperately wanted a woman for president, but not the untested former small-town mayor and beauty pageant princess, Sarah Palin, who got her first passport in 2007, has spent two years as Alaska's governor and was mayor of a town of 7, 025. As I watched Palin at the Republican National Convention describe that big old untraveled world out there as "dangerous," I was left with one feeling: fear. Oh my God, she sounds like a teenager. She's too politically immature, too unschooled, too lacking in depth. I wanted to give her an iPod, not the keys to the White House.
At a time when we need foreign affairs experience the most, we've got a woman who seems more like a neophyte beauty queen ready to answer what she would do about world peace than a serious candidate for vice president, or, God forbid, president if the 72-year-old McCain, who's had two bouts with cancer and almost six years of torture as a POW, dies in office.
There are so many other concerns about the barely vetted Palin that I hardly know where to start. Let's begin with her ethical problems and misrepresentation of herself as a reformer and outsider.
While she claims to have championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress, as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, she hired a lobbyist to annually make the case in Washington to support earmarks to the town totaling $ 27 million. And in her two years as governor of Alaska she has requested nearly $ 750 million in special federal spending (the largest per-capita request in the nation ), according to The Associated Press. While she says she rejected plans for the so-called "bridge to nowhere," she did so only after the plan was ridiculed as such.
McCain's ridiculous claim that Palin has been in charge because she has primary responsibility for national security as commander of her state's National Guard misses the point that governors lose charge of their units to the Defense Department once those units are called to military service.
The "ever-so-thrifty"Palin is also relying upon $ 95, 000 in state taxpayer money to defend herself against attacks that she fired her public safety commissioner because he refused to fire a state trooper who had divorced her sister. They're calling it "Troopergate. "And that governor's jet she put on eBay ? The state had to pull it off and sell it at a $ 600, 000 loss to a brokerage firm.
And let's look at her "family values"record and right-wing credentials. For me they don't come close to making up for her lack of foreign policy experience, but apparently they do for social conservatives who seem only to care that she's anti-abortion and pro-guns.
For this crowd, it matters little whether an asteroid is ready to strike the Earth. As long as Palin is an "avid hunter and fisher, " and even better," shoots machine guns," she passes muster for the chairman of the state highway commission from Siloam Springs and delegate to the Republican convention. In fact, as far as social conservatives are concerned, it doesn't matter if the war in Iraq becomes the war in Iran as long as Palin meets their family values criteria. For these folks, being smitten by Palin is apparently reason enough to vote for McCain for president, even though they don't like him.
The family-values crowd may be comforted by reports that Palin apparently follows the same messianic philosophy as George W. Bush, but that's what got us into trouble in the first place. She was online (her church has pulled the video ) telling ministry students at the Wasilla Assembly of God that the United States sent troops to fight in Iraq on a "task that is from God," according to The Associated Press. During an address last June, she urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $ 30 billion natural gas pipeline in Alaska because it was "God's will."
To such remarks as this, Rob Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said," I miss the days when pastors delivered sermons and politicians delivered political speeches... The United States is increasingly diverse religiously. The job of a president is to unify all those different people and bring them together around policy goals, not to act as a kind of national pastor and bring people to God."
Palin's inexperience impales McCain's presidential aspirations. She needs to spend at least enough time outside this country to get college credit for a semester abroad before vying for such a high-stakes position. Bottom line is, just four in 10 Americans think she has enough experience to be president, according to a Sept. 4 ABC News poll.
I'll say one thing for McCain. He likes them significantly younger and beautiful (first wife Carol Shepp, famous swimwear model, whom he divorced for Junior Rodeo Queen of Arizona, Cindy Hensley, after Shepp underwent at least 12 surgeries following a car accident ). Now comes Palin, the potential future president of our country, former Princess of the Fur Rendezvous, Miss Wasilla and runner-up for Miss Alaska.
For the sake of the nation, let's pray fervently she's also the runner-up in this presidential contest. --30-- Barbara Warner is a former congressional press secretary and White House appointee at the U. S. Commerce Department. She lives in Siloam Springs and writes a monthly column for the Benton County Daily Record.
I’ve just emailed the editor .... let’s see! I’ll start writing....please feel free to add your points for me to use too!
She shows her stripes at the end.
What she REALLY can’t stand is that Sarah is BEAUTIFUL, and she’s fresh, she’s probably pretty hip because she has teenage kids. And people like her.
I know Hillary was close to getting her party nomination, but in no way was she a shoe in for the White HOuse. People didn’t LIKE HER.
People like Sarah.
I’m sorry. I think she just claimed that Hillary’s qualified to be president because she was Bill’s First Lady as governor and president. Yes?
That’s sort of like saying Yoko Ono is a great singer, writer and guitar player because she was married to John Lennon.
it’s amazing to me. all of this. my wife has been activated into politics by Sarah Palin and a few of her friends have come alive with interest, thanks to her and their shared values.
First, we already have too many lawyers running this country!
...in 12 years in the governor's mansion, in two terms as First Lady, in the policy trenches, in politics, in the media, in the Senate, in foreign affairs and in numerous presidential debates.
With all of that "executive" experience, she qualifies how? What? No executive experience? She's just been around 'em! Yep! That pretty well qualifies her! double /s
I smell fear...
I think Ms. Warner has confused the word "impale" with "imperil." Does she really mean to say that Sarah Palin has literally skewered McCain's candidacy with a big pointy object?
“a woman of the caliber of Hillary Clinton”
Ha, ha, ha, ha.......missed that one! And I love to shoot and hunt wild boar, big sheep and bambi! My son and I are going to go bear hunt next month!
Barbara Warner is a former congressional press secretary and White House appointee at the U. S. Commerce Department. She lives in Siloam Springs and writes a monthly column for The Benton County Daily Record.
If there is any one who has deep and intimate experience of affairs with foreigners, it would be the Clintons.
"For this crowd, it matters little whether an asteroid is ready to strike the Earth. As long as Palin is an "avid hunter and fisher, " and even better," shoots machine guns,"
"Fisher?" Never heard that one before. I believe the term is "angler."
Fayetteville is a college town and so the local rag sucks up to the metrosexuals.
DF*(U&A(F*HJKASF*(
Can someone start sueing a-holes that continue to take this misquote out of context
Is that all you got? I spent plenty of time overseas, and I'm no more sophistimicated for it. It was fun, though.
“sit back and enjoy the Lib melt down.”
SIT BACK, HELL!
I’m egging them ON!!!
You Go!
People Power!!!
:-D
Hillary Clinton was NOT the Governor of Arkansas. That would be BILL. The main job she was given was “fixing” the Arkansas education system; which she did - all the way from one low notch down to an even lower one. Hillary was NOT the Mayor of any small town, nor dogcatcher, nor even sheriff. Hillary rode Bill’s coattails to the U.S. Senate as the Senator from New York, in which she is serving her second term, and has spent the past term and a half running for President.
What a stream of pure b.s. This partisan, biased, DISHONEST writer is not worthy of attention, but this is the kind of thing that’s going on all over right now. I just received a similary (but mercifully much briefer) idiotic rant on email.
Of course the same people who spew like this about Sarah Palin are usually cult followers of the supremely ignorant, inexperienced, and dishonest leftist, Barack Obama.
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