The AI vice-prez office pool - Page 3

Oh.....that wasn't a slip.

Yes I've thought of that myself.

Exactly! Once again as many have said here we've heard a lot of negative press about the democrats. Why the hell would we want to vote for McLame?

Some reasons please.

And you really think this is significant?

And weren't they forced into sending the text earlier than they wanted because of media leaks? I thought they had intended to send it Saturday morning.

I haven't been paying too much attention though.

3:00 AM is Saturday morning.

Not sure I believe in coincidences (especially in this realm). Seems deliberate. I don't really care though.

Yes, shockingly enough, I'm aware of what AM means. Obviously, however, that was not the gist of my post.

And I agree about not really caring. It just doesn't seem deliberate to me.

Was it 3am est or pst? If it was pst then that would be morning back east.

The smart money would say that Obama would really avoid ticking off the Clintons any more.

But the 3am release of the VP announcement is not a coincidence.
This is a campaign run by professionals, that parse every word and sentence for potential danger.

And the campaign was certainly not forced into a release at 3am, and deliberately chose to miss the Friday night news cycle.
I think it's clearly a dig.

Well.... it was a pretty original thought, I'll give you that.......

Sure. But then again, the Dems get scared of anyone with actual executive experience.

I don't think the Democrats, especially VP candidate Joe Biden, are scared of anyone this time around.

No way.

This is just something to create news and get the spotlight off Obama's incredible night.

I think he'll pick Joe Biden.



(Hey, if it ain't broken, why fix it?)

Well he just picked Palin.

I can't wait for the VP debate!

It doesn't seem like a particularly strategic pick other than to rebut the historic significance of yesterday.

The Republicans are capable of some pretty mystifying mental jujitsu, but it's going to raise some eyebrows if the McCain camp keeps raising the "inexperience card." Really? You're putting a small-state (pop wise) Governor who's been in office for a year and a half a heartbeat away from the Presidency when the top of the ticket is a 70+ year old two-time cancer survivor?

Was the gambit here that McCain hopes to lock in the disappointed Hillary supporters, thinking they'll vote for just any woman on any ticket?

I don't know know much about this Palin, but at first blush I get a strong feeling that McCain just killed off whatever chance he had of winning this election. The experience argument against Obama? Gone. The votes from people who won't vote for a black man, many of whom are likely to be as sexist as they are racist? Gone.

Maybe this move shifts a few more independents McCain's way, but my gut feeling is that this strategy just isn't going to work out.

It's clear they are trying to pick up any bitter undecided Clinton supporters still smarting over Obama's nomination.

edit: What shetline said.

Nothing against Palin but "is she tough enough" for the job?

I believe women can do any job a man can do including being the President of the United States of America.

But, Palin?

We all knew Hillary was tough enough no doubt about it.

But, Palin?

Wow... I am speechless that McCain would choose someone with a mere 2 years experience in a state house and from a state with virtually no population.

I am not sure she qualifies for prime time if the unthinkable were to happen to old John...



Fellows

The most sexist assertion today on that Scarborough show was that Biden might have to treat Palin with kid gloves during the debate because she's a woman.

That small state govenor took on corruption from established Republican interests and beat them into the ground.
McCain is possibly thinking that Cheney's neo-cons will have to be rooted out and slapped down hard.


I think this shows that McCain does understand electoral calculations.
Hillary's hard-core might stay home, but they were never going to vote GOP anyway.

I think this was a dumb move, but we will see... Any of the other more experienced female politicians would have been better...

...who's under investigation for corruption?

I agree. It is sort of like a youngish black man and an irish guy so old he is astonished to discover the young black man is clean and articulate.

A little reminder for those that don't remember....


This mean John McCain just earned my vote. It also means I WIN!

I want a star and a cookie now.


Yes because the point to drive home is that if it doesn't qualify someone to be a heartbeat away, then they certainly shouldn't have the job in the first place.


So I guess the argument would be that representing Delaware is some big state experience? I'm all for these arguments. They disqualify three and qualify one. That would leave McCain standing alone.


Of course there is always the possibility that America isn't the insanely sexist and racist place you imagine and that the pick will give him a huge bounce because she represents being an outsider, is another fresh new face that will learn while the experience hits the grounding running on day one. That she represents a historic first with regard to being vice-president if McCain wins.

But the ONLY reason he picked her is because she's a woman. I wonder how long before he calls her a trollup and a cunt.

Wow...very typical of McCain...with our economy flailing...don't choose someone with vast experience in fixing major corporations, is eloquent, presidential, and has a proven brilliant ecomomic mind in Governor Romney...choose a governor, who happens to be a woman in an attempt to appease and garner votes of disenfranchised Hillary supporters. While sounds like decent theory on paper, I believe the execution of this will backfire because...

1) Hillary supporters aren't typically your anti-abortion, NRA-supportive, conservative folk.

2) Hillary supporters I imagine won't flock to a candidate simply based on gender. (Some will but most wont for the reasons in #1)

3) You've just put in a highly inexperienced (both on the federal level and from a foreign policy perspective) candidate a step away from the presidency in the event that you croak McCain.

Not smart at all. Congratulations John McCain, you've solidified my choice in Obama for '08 with you purely political move (as shetline accurately described).

Prepare to lose handily in Bob Dole proportions McCain.

Blatant grab at Hillary supporters. It might work.

I don't think her lack of experience counters McCain's same charge against Obama. After all in McCain's ticket the #1 person has a long career and the #2 person doesn't. In Obama's ticket the #1 person has a short career and the #2 person doesn't. McCain will point that out and voters will get it.

Other than a vagina I don't think she adds much to McCain's ticket. He didn't knock it out of the park with this choice. So that's good. I agree that putting an attractive (for politics) woman next to McCain does look a little creepy. Obama can get MoveOn and other 527s to act on that angle.


We'll see what's going to happen.

Yea but she was a POW!

What a sexist comment!

The fact that she's even now being investigated for using her office to punish her ex-brother-in-law during a nasty divorce from her sister, while serving as governor of the state with the most corrupt Republican party apparatus in the country (which is quite an achievement) doesn't strike me as a huge upside.

This really does seem to be kind of a desperation move, designed to shake things up and get some of the "old, tired and out of touch" off of McCain.

I expect to hear about how Palin is totally into texting and iTunes and all that internet whatchamacallit.

We can play little semantic games about who has the experience, but the fact remains that in Obama we have a candidate of enormous charisma who exudes confidence and know-how, with a running mate with an unassailable nuts-and-bolts resume. I don't think that even their enemies doubt that these guys are ready and capable of rolling up their sleeves and getting some work done, come January.

In McCain we have a candidate who exudes irritability and vagueness on the details, with little to talk about, apparently, beyond his status as a former POW and some childish sniping at Obama, who now has a running mate with almost no experience, no appearance of having even considered the big picture, and a built-in reminder of recent Republican tendencies towards using elected office as means for furthering personal agendas.

I do very much savor, however, the idea that, for Nick, being a historic, fresh-faced new comer is abruptly a good thing.

What's really gonna be fun is what happens during the GOP convention, while Ron Paul holds his rally next door!

Hmmmm, anti-choice hard liner, thinks creationism should be taught in Alaska schools, big oil patsy....

Yep, those Hillary voters are going to be lining up.

Hunter over at dailykos puts it well:


I think that's the thing that come across-- it just sort of seems like an unserious choice, not just because that it seems based entirely on political calculation, but because even that calculation is half-assed. It's like "Here, a winger for the wingers and a lady for the ladies. Happy now?"

As the right likes to say, it goes to judgement, and it suggests that in matters of judgement McCain doesn't really give a shit.