What do you think of Sarah Palin?

[californiagal01]

What do you all think of Sarah Palin? Do you think she was qualified to be Vice President? Is she really a reformer?

[Kevin]

Dick Chaney was a reformer. Do you really want a reformer? I honestly don't give her much thought. I think she was a cynical Hail Mary pass by the RNC to get the woman vote. The only way she hits the national stage again is if she places herself upon it. If the RNC still considers her a viable candidate for anything, then they're even more hopelessly lost than I thought.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Dick Chaney was a reformer. Do you really want a reformer? I honestly don't give her much thought. I think she was a cynical Hail Mary pass by the RNC to get the woman vote. The only way she hits the national stage again is if she places herself upon it. If the RNC still considers her a viable candidate for anything, then they're even more hopelessly lost than I thought.

Agreed....she was taken out of the oven waaaaaay too early as a "hey y'all look at me!" kind of vote.

I said it before, if McCain and the RNC really wanted a woman VP pick...there were too many other better qualified women for the role.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Agreed....she was taken out of the oven waaaaaay too early as a "hey y'all look at me!" kind of vote.

I said it before, if McCain and the RNC really wanted a woman VP pick...there were too many other better qualified women for the role.

While I agree with the substance of this post, I think the angle of "qualified" is overblown - the only "qualification" to be VP, on a pragmatic level, is whether or not Americans will elect your ticket.

It's kind of being results-oriented to say "clearly she fails by this measure" since Obama was steam-rolling regardless, but there was a bump for the Republicans after her introduction (and, presumably, until she opened her mouth on national TV).

It's safe to say she didn't really do a great job as VP candidate, however we want to define that role.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

While I agree with the substance of this post, I think the angle of "qualified" is overblown - the only "qualification" to be VP, on a pragmatic level, is whether or not Americans will elect your ticket.

It's kind of being results-oriented to say "clearly she fails by this measure" since Obama was steam-rolling regardless, but there was a bump for the Republicans after her introduction (and, presumably, until she opened her mouth on national TV).

It's safe to say she didn't really do a great job as VP candidate, however we want to define that role.

I don't know about the person who posted that response about other qualified Republican women, but when I think of "qualified" in that respect I think of someone who is at least aware of what is going on in the world. Someone who can at least name a periodical that they read. Someone who doesn't have to be coached on all major issues that are taking place in the world. Perhaps a better word instead of "qualified" would have been "intelligent."

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by deepimpact2

I don't know about the person who posted that response about other qualified Republican women, but when I think of "qualified" in that respect I think of someone who is at least aware of what is going on in the world. Someone who can at least name a periodical that they read. Someone who doesn't have to be coached on all major issues that are taking place in the world. Perhaps a better word instead of "qualified" would have been "intelligent."

I know that's what you think of - but that's not really the functional definition here.

Let's put it this way: does the Republican party think that "intelligence" or "public service" or "seniority" are the most important factors for a VP? Clearly not, or they would simply put that into an equation like some sort of UAW promotion calendar. So yeah - Palin was a failure, not because she wasn't smart enough (how many Americans can give a rational answer to what to do about Georgia?), but because she was not capable of turning enough people on to her to get elected.

Also - every politician is coached on major issues. Every single one. It's why Senators have a staff, it's why the President has a cabinet, et cetera. I know it's an aside, but just saying.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by californiagal01

What do you all think of Sarah Palin? Do you think she was qualified to be Vice President? Is she really a reformer?

I thought she was a horrible choice as a running mate for John McCain. She just seemed clueless.

[ComradesTrue]

Why are we discussing this again? We had an entire thread devoted to her.

OP- please do a search and you can read hundreds of opinions. It was one of the most posted discussions in quite some time.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by Blondie93

Why are we discussing this again? We had an entire thread devoted to her.

OP- please do a search and you can read hundreds of opinions. It was one of the most posted discussions in quite some time.

lol

I was wondering the same thing.

[ThetaPrincess24]

Originally Posted by Blondie93

Why are we discussing this again? We had an entire thread devoted to her.

OP- please do a search and you can read hundreds of opinions. It was one of the most posted discussions in quite some time.

agreed!

[deepimpact2]

Whether there is an old thread or not, I can't resist the oportunity to express my views on Palin again.

First and foremost women everywhere should have been insulted that McCain chose her in the first place. Why? Simple. She was obviously only selected to get the female vote. He apparently thought women were so stupid, that they would vote for a woman, ANY woman, regardless of her qualifications. So he picked someone he thought would just get the vote for him and then settle into obscurity once he was elected so he wouldn't have to actually include her.

Sarah Palin has proven herself to be one of the most ignorant, hypocritical, idiotic, uninformed, out of touch, simple-minded, inarticulate leaders this country has seen in a very long time.

It is frightening that a woman who thought that being able to SEE Russia meant that she had foreign policy experience was this close to having the second most powerful position in this country. It was evident from the beginning that she absolutely no clue about many important things she would have had to deal with as VP. Her sorry performance at the debate with Biden drove that point home. She had clearly rehearsed a discussion pertaining to certain subjcets and was unable to think on her feet enough to answer questions outside of the realm of what she had practiced. That point was also driven home when, in desperation, she asked, "can we please talk about Afghanistan?"

People in support of her tried to point out that she had more executive experience than Obama and Biden. When it gets down to it, no one has enough experience when it comes down to running for president or vice president unless they have actually been in one of those positions and has chosen to run again. In other words, she was equally as inexperienced as she was claiming Obama to be.

I have nothing positive to say about Palin and I can only pray that she isn't stupid enough to actually run for president ever...or VP either for that matter.

[californiagal01]

Originally Posted by deepimpact2

Whether there is an old thread or not, I can't resist the oportunity to express my views on Palin again.

First and foremost women everywhere should have been insulted that McCain chose her in the first place. Why? Simple. She was obviously only selected to get the female vote. He apparently thought women were so stupid, that they would vote for a woman, ANY woman, regardless of her qualifications. So he picked someone he thought would just get the vote for him and then settle into obscurity once he was elected so he wouldn't have to actually include her.

Sarah Palin has proven herself to be one of the most ignorant, hypocritical, idiotic, uninformed, out of touch, simple-minded, inarticulate leaders this country has seen in a very long time.

It is frightening that a woman who thought that being able to SEE Russia meant that she had foreign policy experience was this close to having the second most powerful position in this country. It was evident from the beginning that she absolutely no clue about many important things she would have had to deal with as VP. Her sorry performance at the debate with Biden drove that point home. She had clearly rehearsed a discussion pertaining to certain subjcets and was unable to think on her feet enough to answer questions outside of the realm of what she had practiced. That point was also driven home when, in desperation, she asked, "can we please talk about Afghanistan?"

People in support of her tried to point out that she had more executive experience than Obama and Biden. When it gets down to it, no one has enough experience when it comes down to running for president or vice president unless they have actually been in one of those positions and has chosen to run again. In other words, she was equally as inexperienced as she was claiming Obama to be.

I have nothing positive to say about Palin and I can only pray that she isn't stupid enough to actually run for president ever...or VP either for that matter.

Great post! I cannot agree more. I also heard that Mccain was having some problems with the religious right and picked Palin to shore up his support with those voters.

[KSigkid]

I've made my opinion known in other threads, but essentially, as a Republican, I was disappointed by the choice (if they were going to go with a woman, I would have rather had Kay Hutchison from Texas). I will be very disappointed if she is the presumptive nominee going into 2012, or if she gets any significant support at that point.

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

I will be very disappointed if she is the presumptive nominee going into 2012, or if she gets any significant support at that point.

John McCain doesn't even seem to think that's going to happen (he should have chosen Pawlenty to begin with, it might have been a whole different election if he'd gone that route): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NudpkLw0uPI

[AnchorAlum]

Palin was put into a no win position from the start. I think she's the right fit for Alaska, and given time, she may have gained real and meaningful experience and stature on the national level.

The McCain campaign put her out there like a lamb led to slaughter and the press had absolutely no intention of letting the VP candidate for the Republican Party gain any sort of traction. The McCain staffers were their own worst enemy and Palin was such a rookie that by the time she figured out who and where the players in the room were sitting, she was SOL, along with the entire McCain campaign.

In all my years, I've never seen such a poorly run effort on either side. But that was actually not Palin's fault.

There were candidates who were more seasoned and better prepared. But it would not have mattered. At the end of the day, it was Obama's time.