I can’t let the news of the Biden pick go by without noting that Joe Biden on the ticket with Barack Obama is the best argument yet for Sarah Palin on the GOP ticket.Sen. Joe Biden vs. Gov. Sarah Palin
Member of Congress vs. experienced administrator
Pork-winner vs. pork fighter
Washington Establishment vs. Washington outsider
Party insider vs. maverick
Uncharismatic vs. charismatic
“Old” vs. “young”
Unexciting vs. exciting
Hothead vs. cool headUpdate: that last is courtesy of Adam Brickley, who has a brilliant post up on how Gov. Palin would neutralize Sen. Biden, the D. C. attack dog, by making him look like a bratty, mean-spirited jerk (which, with Biden, is exactly what you have to try to do, since that’s the way he usually beats himself). As he points out, she’s done it before.
Man, you make me want Sarah Palin for president. If only she was running…and not McCain.
Obama/Biden leaves a hole wide nuff for a Mack Truck but only with Sarah Palin as the driver!
Anyone else notice that the attributes listed here work in reverse when comparing Obama vs McCain? Since he is actually running for president, doesn’t this logic suggest that we should vote for him?
Doug, I agree completely.
Arches, I don’t. Key differences: line 1, line 2, line 3 (partial), line 4.
Rob,
I concede line two to McCain, but lines 1,3 and 4 are clearly Obama (once upon a time McCain would have got my vote for three and four hands down, but that man we once knew and loved is gone). McCain clearly got the message a few years ago and has been lock step with the President and his big business donors ever since. Part of me thinks that McCain is realizing that his dreams of obtaining the Presidency are slipping away due to age. As a result, he has been far more obliging these last four years than any other time in his storied past. Of course that last part is simply an observation of the man and his transformation over the last four years.
1: Both are members of Congress, and Obama’s never been an administrator at any level. McCain has at least run a Navy squadron–by no means the same as governing a state, but a significant organizational challenge nevertheless.
3: I don’t claim McCain as a Washington outsider–he’s simply been there too long for that. I do, however, say that Obama isn’t, either, for all that he hasn’t been there very long. He’s a creation of the Chicago machine who’s transitioned seamlessly to the Beltway machine.
4: I flat disagree with you; but then, I see the GOP from the inside much more than you do. McCain’s actually bucked Bush 43 rather more than he bucked Reagan, which is why his comment that he’s “always been a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution” met with such skepticism from many on the conservative side.
In particular, if W. had listened to McCain rather than Rumsfeld on how to handle Iraq once we’d toppled Saddam, most if not all of the terrible errors in judgment we saw from 2003 on would have been avoided. I don’t agree with those who claim hubris in our decision to invade; I do agree that the attempt to run Iraq ourselves under Paul Bremer, rather than setting up an Iraqi government ASAP and doing everything possible to get them on their feet, was nothing but hubris and completely indefensible.
In any event, coming back to Palin, I think Doug hit the nub of the argument here. What Sen. Obama needed in a running mate was someone to make people who want to vote for him feel confident in doing so; what Sen. McCain needs is someone to give people who don’t especially want to vote for him, but see him as simply the best available option, a reason to actually want to do so. If he picks Palin, he accomplishes that, because he then has a VP that people can actually want to be president.
So, let me get this right…. He picks Sarah Palin and then we all wait for him to die? I prefer to hope that Obama/Biden’s enthusiasm lives up to the hype.
1.I believe Obama was editor in chief of the Havard Law Review…. I suspect that puts him on par with McCain squadron commander (civil vs military)? Its hard to say, but it might be a push on number one….
3.Obama is a Beltway outsider simply by being a man of color.
4.Honestly, in the first four years of Bush (43) McCain was making life hard for Bush. I know I sound like a nut job, but there was this little get together around the end of his first term and the beginning of Bush’s second term (I remember them waving from the Rose Garden or at least a garden). After that meeting McCain pretty much became a “rubber stamp”. I don’t know what was said, but I suspect this shot at the presidency was floated as a possible reward?
I, too, am not a big fan of Paul Bremer, and absolutely agree with your assessment of the man’s action.
No, that’s not the point. No, editing the Harvard Law Review is not on a par with running a Navy squadron. No, Obama’s skin color doesn’t make him a Beltway outsider. And no, McCain hasn’t been a “rubber stamp” during this second term.
To expand that comment a little, now that I have a moment:
1. If you don’t recognize the difference between editorial responsibilities and commanding a squadron of people in a combat situation, I don’t know what to say to you. I will grant that Obama’s stint at the HLR showcased some real gifts of his–but administration is not the point there.
2. Obama’s skin color is in fact part of the reason he is as much of an insider as he is this early on; it’s part of the reason he was given the secret handshake (and the ’04 keynote slot) before he’d even made it to Washington.
3. I will grant you that McCain has, over the last couple years, intermittently started trying to rebuild his bridges with evangelicals. He’s also seen his vote earn an ACU rating some twenty points below his lifetime rating.
Despite the Dems and the allied main stream media’s desperation to see Romney as McCain’s Veep, Mitt is clearly out, with (1) Obama doubling down on the class warfare theme (McCain’s 7 houses) and (2) McCain doubling down with ads showing the hypocrisy of Biden attacking Obama in the pimaries — Romney did way more than that contra McCain.
This leaves only Govs Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty. Pro-abortion Ridge and Dem-Lieberman were never real considerations, despite relentless media goading. Pawlenty’s lackluster TV performances, coupled with Palin pizzazz, the primacy of oil drilling and the ticked off women/Hillary voters, does now portend a McCain/Palin checkmate on the Dems. This is so albeit the Dems and liberal media dare not mention Palin’s name, that is, everyone but…..
And if there’s any question as to Palin being uniquely qualified to more than nullify Biden in debate, see the excellent discussion at palinforvp.blogspot.com.
Team McCain, well done!!!
that’s palinforvp.blogspot.com
One correction: as far as I’m aware, John McCain never commanded a squadron in combat. That’s what I get for writing while half asleep.
Great post Rob, I continue to hope and pray for the GOP Wonder Woman, Sarah Heath Palin…
Hopefully, Team McCain down in Sedona gets the point, but I think they are inclined to Pawlenty.
Rob,
You are correct, McCain never commanded a squadron in combat, and as such, his administration experience is indeed on par if not sub par to Obama’s stint as editor in chief of the Harvard Law Review. It will be nice to have a president that understands and adheres to the laws of this country once again…. Okay, it was a cheap shot, but well earned by Team 43.
The “liberal” media harassed Obama about his vice presidential candidates too, and I’m not even going to repeat what “Fox” or Limbaugh had to say on this issue. We aren’t dipping that low just yet. 🙂
McCain has not so subtly referred to Obama as the anti-Christ, and compared his character to the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton (despite your desire that it not be so, thus far, Obama has shown himself to be a man of integrity). With respect to the Democratic base and many Independents, the view that the Republican party is run by the extremely wealthy at the behest of the extremely wealthy is a powerful notion which from our side of the fence has been demonstrated all too often. It is a vulnerability for McCain and resonates with our core constituency. It also happens to be true.
On the topic at hand, I agree that Sarah Palin would be an excellent choice as a running mate, and would by and large improved the McCain ticket substantially. She would add a substantial bit of class and professionalism to his campaign.
But I agree with the impression that Pawlenty will be the choice. This is McCain’s time and selecting a running mate that looks more like the president than he, just won’t happen. Yes, I will say it, his ego won’t allow it.
The selection of Pawlenty gives the impression that John McCain is taking the young man “under his wing” and grooming him for the future of the Republican Party. I think John likes that personal view versus what Sarah Palin projects with her selection. Just my two cents…..
Sigh, I have an apology to make. What I have written did not necessarily reflect my beliefs correctly, so please let me make a quick adjustment:
McCain has not so subtly referred to Obama as the anti-Christ, and compared his character to the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton — a charge, despite McCain’s teams desire that it not be so, thus far, Obama has shown himself to be a man of integrity whose focus on the issues has thus far been unwavering (something I hope he continues). With respect to the Democratic base and many Independents, the view that the Republican party is run by the extremely wealthy at the behest of the extremely wealthy is a powerful notion which from our side of the fence has been demonstrated all too often. It is a vulnerability for McCain and resonates with our core constituency. There are a large number of people suffering due to the economic downturn and showing McCain as oblivious and incapable of relating to their plight is key to winning a large swathe of our constituency. Unfortunately, in the opinion of a great many people it also happens to be true.
Please accept my apologies for the content of my previous post. I can only explain it by saying cutting and pasting is still a skill of dubious quality for me.
IMHO, you ought to apologize for the content of both previous comments, and it has nothing to do with cutting and pasting. You continue to offer the ridiculous equation of running the HLR, not a full-time job, with running a Navy squadron, which definitely is; and as for this
McCain has not so subtly referred to Obama as the anti-Christ, and compared his character to the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton
that has to be the most willful misinterpretation of McCain’s ads that I can imagine.
Oh, and you say,
despite your desire that it not be so, thus far, Obama has shown himself to be a man of integrity
Actually, you have it exactly backwards: despite my desire that it be so, Obama has not shown himself to be a man of integrity. He’s shown himself to be just another Chicago politician, which was deeply disappointing to me.
Rob,
While being a squadron commander is quite an honor but it fails to compare:
"Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988 and at the end of his first year was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review based on his grades and a writing competition.[18] In his second year he was elected president of the Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors.[19] Obama's election in February 1990 as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles.[19] He graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991 and returned to Chicago where he had worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley & Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.[18][20]" — from Wikipedia
Additionally, from the same source:
Obama directed Illinois Project Vote from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers that achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.[22][23]
Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years, as a Lecturer for four years (1992–1996), and as a Senior Lecturer for eight years (1996–2004).[24]
In 1993 Obama joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.[12][25]
"Obama was a founding member of the board of directors of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife, Michelle, became the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago in early 1993.[12][26] He served on the board of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund Obama's DCP, from 1993–2002, and served on the board of directors of The Joyce Foundation from 1994–2002.[12] Obama served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995–2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995–1999.[12] He also served on the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center.[12]"
As for the advertisements, I came to my own conclusions before any commentary was made by the party faithful. They are disgusting examples of personal attacks that neither have anything more substantive than appealing to the ignorance and fears that have become standard amongst the Republican faithful.
As a man of faith I am appalled that you would not condemn the assertion that Obama is the anti-christ as portrayed in McCain's ad. Using the fears of the church to sway votes in despicable and I stand by my comments concerning it. It was shameful and you allowing him to get away with it is tantamount to approval. Shameful.
Furthermore, being selected a squadron commander in a service where your father and grandfather are four star admirals isn’t as impressive as working your way up from nothing IMHO.
In the interest of balance, let’s review McCain’s biography:
Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. There, he was a friend and leader for many of his classmates,[10] and sometimes stood up for people who were being bullied.[5] He also became a lightweight boxer.[5][11] McCain came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel, he did not always obey the rules, and that contributed to a low class rank (894 of 899) which he did not aim to improve.[10][12][13] He did well in academic subjects that interested him, such as literature and history, but studied only enough to pass subjects he disliked, such as math.[5] McCain graduated in 1958.[10]
McCain underwent treatment for his injuries, including months of grueling physical therapy,[53] and attended the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. during 1973–1974.[54] Having been rehabilitated, by late 1974, McCain had his flight status reinstated, and in 1976 he became commanding officer of a training squadron stationed in Florida.[52][55] He turned around an undistinguished unit and won the squadron its first Meritorious Unit Commendation.[53] During this period in Florida, McCain had extramarital affairs, and the McCains’ marriage began to falter, for which he later would accept blame.[56][57] — Please note, he was the commanding officer (which is more impressive).
“McCain decided to leave the Navy. He was unlikely ever to be promoted to the rank of full admiral, as he had poor annual physicals and had been given no major sea command.[61] In early 1981, he was reportedly told that he would be promoted to rear admiral but declined the prospect, as he had already made plans to run for Congress and said he could “do more good there.”[62] McCain retired from the Navy on April 1, 1981[63] as a captain.[64]”
Even the Navy wouldn’t trust him with a major sea command. They relegated him to political errand boy positions.
One, you may have served, but you don’t seem to know much about the Navy. Two, what source exactly are you using for McCain’s biography? To my knowledge, McCain did in fact have an admiral’s star coming when he chose to go into Congress instead. Three, none of the stuff you cite re: Obama in any way addresses my point: editing HLR his senior year in no way compares as administrative experience to running a Navy squadron.
And four, I don’t care whether you were spoonfed that ridiculous and irresponsible interpretation of the McCain ad or whether you came up with it yourself, it’s still ridiculous and irresponsible twaddle. If you ever decide you want to know what that ad was actually about, it’s the exact same thing that Doug was reacting to here. To accuse McCain of “calling Obama the Antichrist” when his ad used none of the biblical or cultural imagery associated with the Antichrist, but did use biblical and cultural messianic imagery, which points in a completely different direction, is willfully wrongheaded. I would suggest that you not try to parse unaided a culture you clearly do not understand.
why are you arguing with this guy? he's clearly made up his mind & has no interest in allowing himself to be confused with the facts… he's decided that Obama's great and McCain's bad, and every data point that comes along is going to be evidence for one or the other of those, no matter how hard he has to hammer the square peg into the triangle-shaped hole…
I think that’s overstating matters.
Also, I’ll just assume Wikipedia is the source for the McCain bio, which is OK for mundane stuff, but questionable in this sort of case. Certainly your dismissive commentary bears little relationship to the reality of the case (neither the War College nor VT-7 qualify as “political errand boy positions,” for starters–that’s Pentagon duty).
I will say, though, as one follow-up comment on the “messianic” ad–even properly understood, it’s a reasonable question as to whether the ad should have been made and aired. Personally, I think the subject was entirely appropriate, but I don’t like the way the ad approached it.
Rob,
The anti-christ assertion in two ads by the Karl Rove consulting team for Senator John McCain was based on concepts put forth in the popular “Left Behind” series. It is apparent that you are unfamiliar with the reference so I encourage you to head over to Beliefnet.com and read Steven Waldman’s excellent article on this.
A simple google search on Obama and anti-christ will certainly provide you with ample proof that this ad was irrationally well received. If you want, I can link a large number of blog, and articles (similar to yours I might add) that are spreading the anti-christ rhetoric.
As to your assertion that I am ignorant to the workings of the Navy, I served honorably in the Navy for six years (USS Horne). Something I suspect that you have not done. As alluded to earlier, my family has a deep and long standing history with the both the Navy (with the exception of me, all aviators), Marines (one grunt and an aviator) and Army (Vietnam grunt). As a family, we have always answered the call of our country to serve (something we are quite proud of actually). Therefore it is my conclusion that my view on the matter is probably far more informed than yours…. His activities as a commanding officer might nudge him over Obama, but it has been rather difficult to ascertain what exactly his role was during that time frame. There are repeated comments that he was suffering from his experience as a POW and from a devastating car crash during this time; the latter producing long term physical injuries. I will actually continue to do research, not to beat this point into the ground, but because it is interesting.
The biographical material was lifted directly from Wikipedia and can be easily verified by you. But the information presented is available on a host of other websites as well. I chose Wiki for its general ease of use, familiarity by most people, and its general lack of a political agenda.
As to the comment by the previous poster, this is a blog. The whole point of a blog is to encourage discussion, dissension, and communicate ideas.
As stated some time ago, I am not particularly impressed by Obama/Biden, but my disgust for the arrogance of the current administration is profound enough that I will fight tooth and nail to prevent another four years of it. The Democrats refer to Senator McCain as McSame, and thus far he is (unfortunately) “staying the course”?
Okay, we have strayed quite a bit off topic here so let’s wrap this up a bit.
First off, a correction of sorts. I had misread and incorrectly identified Sen. McCain as having been in a car crash after returning to the states from Vietnam. It was his first wife that had been involved in that car crash. She sustained pretty substantial injuries in the crash which occurred (if I understand the time line correctly) right before McCain returned from Vietnam. What he did to her was pretty despicable given this information, but at least he owned up to his mistakes…. I’m not sure how some of the Republican female faithful are going to gloss over that.
The injuries sustained during his POW experience were Naval career ending in his estimation despite tremendous effort on his part to recover from the ordeal through physical therapy.
It is correct that he was the commanding office of a training squadron. That is the extent of his administration resume. For those of us who have served in the Navy, CO of a training squad isn’t that impressive of an accomplishment. His leadership abilities did seem to inspire those around him, and resulted in marks for excellence for himself and his squad.
Wikipedia lists his next assignments as trivial posts and political errand boy to congress. The Naval Liaison to Congress is the official title I believe. Nevertheless this was a political assignment and his introduction to his current career. He is credited with out maneuvering the Carter administration over the acquisition of a new “super” carrier.
I recant on McCain being a Pork Fighter though. Several articles refute this claim rather convincingly, and his involvement as part of the Keating Five, Big Oil breaks, and the Iseman controversy (I am not suggesting the romantic liaison element, but the rebuke from the FCC) would seem to support the claim of his “same old Washington insider” Pork winning ways.
Well, that’s all folks.
Have a great day!