Friday, August 29, 2008

Palin for Vice President

In case you missed it, John McCain has chosen Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

I think this is an excellent pick, and I admit I didn't expect it -- the McCain campaign did a much better job of keeping their pick secret than did the Obama campaign, because nobody was counting her in the list of the final few candidates.

Here is where I think this choice makes an enormous difference: like McCain, Palin does reform, instead of just talking about it like Obama does.

Just contrast what Palin has done in a mere two years as Alaska's governor to Obama's singular lack of accomplishment as a Senator where his party had the majority! First she defeated the arguably corrupt Democratic governor, Tony Knowles, and since taking office has moved to sideline the corrupt Republican Congressman, Don Young, and his equally corrupt Republican colleage in the Senate, Ted Stevens, who is currently under federal indictment. She refused to accept the appropriations for the infamous bridge to nowhere that those men slipped into the budget via earmarks.

Further, she has worked hard to give oil contracts in Alaska on the merits, resulting in new contracts being awarded to new players and not just the same old companies, such as BP, who corruptly dominated the process for years.

Palin will thrill the pro-life crowd and the pro-gun rights folks who are important parts of the Republican Party with her staunch stance on both. As a Democrat, those stances are less important to me personally, but anything that helps unify the Republican base even more behind McCain is fine by me.

Finally, for all that the Obama campaign has already derided Palin for her lack of experience, her experience contrasts favorably to Obama's! Her career in Alaska politics, at roughly 16 years old, is just a bit longer than Obama's 12-year career in Illinois politics, and as a former Mayor and a current Governor she has lots more executive experience than Obama does, by far, and unlike him she has actually accomplished something with her position beyond pretty speech-making.

Oh yeah, and like most Alaskans she's for drilling off-shore and in ANWR, but as an environmentalist she wants to do it as respectfully of the environment as possible. What's not to like?

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