August 29, 2008
72-Year-Old Gent Picks Zero-Experience VP (Brent Budowsky)
When the dust settles, the major result of John McCain picking Sarah Palin will be the major emergence of the age and health issues that will plague the McCain campaign big time. Democrats were unwilling to raise it; McCain picking Palin will make the age issue go nuclear.
Net net: Palin will excite the right-wing base, but her total lack of experience makes Barack Obama look like a proven world statesman and ends, permanently, McCain's ability to raise age. This eliminates McCain's strongest argument and Barack's largest vulnerability. Yet it also dramatizes McCain's huge age vulnerability, which will now go nuclear. Right strategy, wrong woman, total desperation when McCain realized his demonization attack is backfiring and Barack blew the lid off the roof in his home run acceptance speech at Denver.
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I should point out that Gov. Palin favors the Bush pronunciation: nukulur.
Beauty queens for VP!
Comment by Will — August 29, 2008 @ 2:27 pm
I'm very surprised that McCain has given Obama such a gift… maybe McCain wasn't taking his medication when he made the decision?
Comment by uk visa — August 29, 2008 @ 2:29 pm
The only one with less experience on both sides, is Barack Obama.
Comment by Sallie Dempsie — August 29, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
Brent,
So now if you are 72 or over or a woman you are not qualified to be President nor VP.. got it.
So the Dem Presidential nominee has zero foreign policy experience compared to the Rep VP pick….
Two posts on this already, man are you worried or what.
Obama's theme last night was "judgement" beats "experience" Guess he is changing his mind AGAIN…
Let Obama campaign against McCain's age and a woman VP pick..
btw, Obama's speech was at times boring, same old Dem promises, and he was angry the whole time, it did not come across very well..
I'll send you a hanky for Nov 5th…
Comment by Jon Pemberton — August 29, 2008 @ 2:37 pm
Calm down, Brent. I know you want to keep talking about yesterday's great speech by Obama, but it's all news now, nobody's listening…
McCain stole the thunder and that's what pisses you off along with media commentators.
Let's see. Sarah Palin would steal quite a few youth votes from Obama (even with text messaging). She'd attract millions of new women voters to the polls, and that's what Hillary could have done for Obama. Palin would further move McCain away from George Bush and make Democrats' talk of 3rd Bush term sound completely stupid.
Our population is aging, with more and more people working into their 70's, some because they have to and some because they can't stand being home with a nagging wife all day. Therefore, may be age would not be a critical issue after all.
Anything wrong with my logic?
Comment by Misha — August 29, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
[...] Source:The Hill's Pundits Blog When the dust settles, the major result of John McCain picking Sarah Palin will be the major emergence of the age and health issues that will plague the McCain campaign big time. Democrats were unwilling to raise it; McCain picking Palin will make the age issue go nuclear. Net net: Palin will excite the right-wing base, [...] Rating: (No Ratings Yet) Loading … Tagged: democrats, Health, john mccain, sarah palin [...]
Pingback by Politics news - 72-Year-Old Gent Picks Zero-Experience VP — August 29, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
Palin wont get youth votes or women votes
from Barack, far too right wing. To tell you
the truth, as a Democrat, my greatest fear
was that John would run with Condi.
Comment by Brent — August 29, 2008 @ 2:56 pm
Well, Brent, if she starts getting tutored by Cheney we will know that he wasn't planning on going away. Darn, I wasn't going to miss him.
While I love the fact that the talking heads are speechless,
I think the Republicans just crapped out.
Clearly a ploy for a very desperate campaign.
Comment by M. Richard — August 29, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
What will the anti-Obama people do since they never had anything good to say about McCain? For them, this election is all about who loses and not who wins. They will now try to muster enthusiasm over Palin and hope nobody notices the man standing beside her.
Comment by Melissa — August 29, 2008 @ 3:12 pm
LOL, I was so afraid that he would pick Ridge…I can't believe he picked her and the gift we were given. I can barely type…lol!!
Comment by Theard — August 29, 2008 @ 3:20 pm
Maybe now Grampy's poll numbers will join "President Twenty-SevenPercent" poll numbers. What a disaster the GOP is.
The nutball Dittoheads (Pembeeton Misha) are hyperventilating. Life is grand.
Comment by Lester — August 29, 2008 @ 3:55 pm
Logic??!!! Logic??!! hahahahahaahahaha!!!!
Comment by Aftermath — August 29, 2008 @ 4:24 pm
Obama made a 3-pointer and McCain totally missed the backboard!
McCain will lose more women with this pick when they find out that she is a strong supporter of government's right to control women's bodies.
Comment by smilinjack — August 29, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
Folks,he's free to do what he wants–at least I think he's not being wagged by the dog. But I submit:
1>This smacked of a last minute decision- did anyone notice ANY McCain/Palin plackards anywhere in that crowd?
2>If he thinks Hillary supporters will move to her ust 'cause of her uterus? Her no choice stance alone negates a large portion of that
3>Experience—really? I became aware of Obama when he gave a speech as a US Senator at the LAST convention. The national stage with all it entails has been in his realm for far longer than this lady's 21 month go as Alaska Gov
4>Foreign policy knowledge is almost a no brainer here folks. US Senators have a high level clearance and are briefed regularly as to what the relations stand for and hold up to in this World Community. We have no idea if she has even crossed the nation's border ever, short of the air time spent over Canada to get to Dayton
5>Hillary Clinton worked and fought her way to where she is now over a 35 yr period. Palin admits she got political when she joined the PTA—-jump from there to the 9000p. town she mayored, then to Gov. This smacks of tokenism and is grossly insulting to me as a voter, as a woman, and as a Hillary fan
I could go on,but……….
Comment by sherri wong — August 29, 2008 @ 5:23 pm
A 46 year old Gent with ZERO-experience picks a VP. Nice try Brent. He had his chance and it was Hillary. He flushed it last week. Even the Clinton Convention can't save him now.
Comment by JEdgarSwoop — August 29, 2008 @ 5:26 pm
All the giddy liberals don't see their platform just collapsed with a resounding thud. It isn't the John McCain picked a female. It isn't because she's a working mother. It isn't because she's pro-life. It isn't because she's sensible on the environment and pro energy. But when you put all those things together the Democratic platform begins to look pale by comparison because she is not a victim like Hillary or Obama, and she looks like she thinks good on her feet unlike Biden. Biden can't attack her for the same reason they didn't attack Hillary. Haha. It's quite a dilmena for the Democrats. Sarah Palin is everything they are not. And she's a woman.
Comment by Robert Rosencrans — August 29, 2008 @ 5:38 pm
Picking Sarah Palin pretty much proves your theory Brent, that the PUMA campaign was nothing more than a Republican scheme.
The Republicans are absolutely desperate to peel some Hillary voters away from Obama. By their calculations they must believe they don't have enough female voters to make the race close enough to steal.
And steal they will.
Brent, you need to focus your effort on the massive voting machine story that's breaking.
Joe Biden, Sarah Palin, it's really all irrelevant when Diebold (I will not call them Premier) now admits that the voter tabulation component of their electronic voting machines may be dropping tens of thousands of votes.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/27/national/main4387900.shtml
Comment by wewillnotbeneoconned — August 29, 2008 @ 5:40 pm
Brent you really shouldn't be bringing up the experience topic. Let me see….Obama has how much executive experience? Zero. McCain, over 20 years in the military leading over 1000 people in the EXECUTIVE branch.
Biden, zero executive experience either in or out of government. Palin, her executive experience is a matter of record.
So the M/P ticket has TWO with executive branch experience, O/B ticket none.
You might want to pick a topic as this one will get you nowhere fast.
BTW…where do you think all those Hillary supporters are heading? Maybe THAT'S what has your panties in a bunch…
Comment by ObamaNOT — August 29, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
you WISH obama looked like a proven world statesman.
Dems are stumbling and bumbling; already hating someone they don't even know.
there are more women in the world than the femme-nazis on the left, BTW.
any talk of age is petty. Dems throw fits when you bring up obama-rama's age. why worry about mccain's then?
as people become familiar with palin and her politics thru the lenses of her position in the McCain administration they will undoubtedly realize she is every much a rising star in the party as obama-rama is in his.
barack hussein obama picked a "politics as usual legitmizer" VP, McCain picked a rockstar
Comment by bulkyboxer — August 29, 2008 @ 6:18 pm
read #16 to find out why brent's heart jumped into the back of his throat when he heard who McCain picked as his VP…
Comment by ha ha dems! — August 29, 2008 @ 6:22 pm
Robert, #16
Very well said, thank you for making that point so clear to these "well-wishers" for John McCain.
Comment by Misha — August 29, 2008 @ 7:42 pm
Every time Obama's camp or his supporters bring up "lack of experience", they lose. Every time the attack a woman, they lose. Every time they make grandiose promises about solving all the worlds problems with other people's money, they lose. They are the camp that has zero relevant experience at the top of the ticket, the camp that pushed the best woman they could've chosen away, and the camp that calls a promise to solve the energy problem in ten years a plan. In the match between Barack and Barracuda Barracuda wins.
Comment by Igor R. — August 29, 2008 @ 8:16 pm
Take this love from the Hillary supporters Obama:
http://www.hillaryclintonforum.net/discussion/showthread.php?t=26179
Comment by Igor R. — August 29, 2008 @ 8:43 pm
I've been reminding everyone that Biden's "experience" is experience in being wrong. I've written here many times recently about his ridiculous assertions that the only way to pacify Iraq was to split it up. This was his signature issue, the cornerstone of his Presidential campaign very recently. Yet now in his acceptance speech he didn't mention this once. I consider such omissions lies. Now WSJ has noticed. Others will notice too. With experience like that…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121997008915881819.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries
Comment by Igor R. — August 29, 2008 @ 8:52 pm
This is a HUGE gift to sane people EVERYWHERE! Not only did Obama's speech bump him and drop McCain in the polls, when all the info on Palin comes out it will be endless fodder for late night TV jokes! Read this and get to know Palin
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/
There is no doubt that McCain has ZERO rational judgment left. If this is his decision for whom HE thinks could run our nation in the event of his QUITE POSSIBLE demise, then it says VOLUMES about how lacking he is in common sense. He has ZERO ability to put our nation ABOVE his pandering political ambitions.
Comment by ByTheSeaWA — August 30, 2008 @ 2:37 am
The VP is the one major presidential decision
a candidate makes. Barack made the responsible
and presidential decision and chose Biden, a
president. McCain made the irresponsible
decision and chose Palin, almost a joke on
matters of experience. Remember folks before
Barack made his decision I publicly wrote that
I would think more of him if he chose a
president and I named Nunn or Biden, and would
think less of him if he chose someone who was
not a president. Evan Bayh comes to mind.
That was before we knew so I am being totally
consistent. Mark my words, McCain has not only
made a joke out of his view on experience, but
far more important, he has put the age issue
front burner, high priority, where it should
be and this choice is a big big mistake.
Comment by Brent — August 30, 2008 @ 7:34 am
As an Independent I can't wait to see how both camps self-destruct over their individual stupidity. Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden would have blew McCain out of the water without even breaking a sweat. Instead we have one candidate who is far past his prime and other than playing up his POW days has no foreign policy experience. So out of obvious desperation picks a VP in hopes of capturing the female vote. Hey, everyone has their dreams. On the other side we have a candidate who occasionally gives up his wings to visit us mere mortals. The VP on that side has had plenty of domestic policy experience but little foreign policy experience. OMG, what a mess!!
Comment by Flo — August 30, 2008 @ 9:45 am
The funniest part of this pick is that it appears as if Sen. McCain chose her at the last minute as a shield from the kind of oratorical beating Sen. Obama gave him in his acceptance speech Thursday night. As if to say, "Stop hitting me, I'm with a woman!"
I don't know what Sen. McCain was thinking Brent, but I've got a feeling they're going to be spending the next 2 months trying to explain it, and talking about his age.
Comment by Derek D. — August 30, 2008 @ 5:23 pm
Their are many things one could find to "diss" Gov. Palin.
She keeps touting her opposition to the "bridge to nowhere" when,in fact, as recently as October of 2006, while running for Governor, she answered this question from the Anchorage Daily News:
"Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?"
Palin: "Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now—while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist."
Not that this is a terrible position; it just shows that she only "fought" to stop the project after it became a national albatross.
The "Patrol-gate" investigation has already shown lots of signs of some very petty attempts at abuse of power, and I think that this is a "Peyton Place" style small-town drama replete with a fueding ex-husband of the Governor's sister, involvement of her husband, apparently three members of her staff, including one caught on tape!
Yet the Governor says she wasn't involved. The drama continues …stay tuned.
She has a great rating with Alaskans. Why not? She sent each one $1200.00 in windfall profits from oil. Kinda like Exxon.
She apparently flat-out lied about what the Alaskan State experts had concluded about the extinction threat to the Polar Bear in order to bolster her lawsuit to prevent the Endangered Species designation.
Reason for the lawsuit? Saving the Polar Bear might hinder oil and gas exploitation. Hmmm …
But one of two things are true about McCain's choice. Either McCain didn't know about Patrolgate when he decided to pick the Governor, in which case, one has to add this to the coninually expanding list of things that John McCain doesn't know about, like the the economy, the internet, how many houses he owns…etc.
Or John McCain did know about the current investigation (it has been front page news in Alaska for several weeks) but didn't care. And that would really be cynical: "Yeah, I know there's some question about whether or not she abused the power of the Governor's office to retaliate in a close family dispute. Well, we can use that kind of talent, kinda like Cheney and Rove and Gonzales and the DOJ…"
What did McCain know, and when did he know it? Hmmm…
Comment by smilinjack — August 31, 2008 @ 3:52 am
Strange how such a "dumb" pick by McCain is so upsetting to the Democrats. "He should have picked Romney! He should have selected Collin Powel", while Brent was scared to death McCain would choose Condi Rice. That would have sealed election for McCain, sure. Remember attacks on Condi? Aunt Jemima and such?
I thought Larry King would be hit by a stroke on CNN's set while talking with another CNN "political contributor" Paul Begala".
McCain made his choice, accept it and run against Republicans like men. If it flops, Obama moves into White House with angry Michelle. What's to complain, that she's not a lifetime member of NAACP? NRA is even better!
Comment by Misha — August 31, 2008 @ 2:41 pm
Never take advice from your political opponents. Those here who suggest Condi or Ridge would cement the Republican defeat with those choices. They know that Sarah Palin has become a phenomenon. She has energized the base like no one else could. No one.
Comment by Igor R. — August 31, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
#30 Now, why the needless characterization of "angry Michelle?" From what I've read of your posts, it seems to me you're the one who's angry.
Comment by josephk — August 31, 2008 @ 9:02 pm
#32,
I only hate Marxists, those who endorse multiculturalism, militant feminists, terrorists, folks who are not proud to be Americans, politicians with friends among Chicago thugs, and members of Trinity Church. Otherwise, I am very mellow and friendly.
Comment by Misha — August 31, 2008 @ 9:34 pm
Isn't it revealing that McCain, who has
been in Washington forever, picked a VP
who is literally a total stranger to him,
based on a few minutes meeting? McCain
knows every major Republican in America
after all his years, but of those he knew,
not one was worthy of being VP. What does
this say about the Republicans he knew?
It is amazing. A 72 year old candidate who
has thankfully survived bouts with cancer
picked someone he doesn't even slightly know,
who doesn't even have slight qualifications.
Comment by Brent — September 1, 2008 @ 7:36 am
The only benefit this move has is immediate political expediency. Just as McCain's no-go plan for a gas tax holiday, his choice shows he is looking at the short-term and not the long-term. How ironic that Karl Rove predicted Obama would make a VP choice on electoral votes and not who was truly qualified for the position!
So now we have a "mail order" candidate and a campaign that will unfold over the next 2 months like an episode of Blind Date. Her speech on Saturday was an instant replay of her speech on Friday. Why? Because she was never properly vetted (evidenced by the dirty laundry that's piling up), and her previous interviews demonstrate how careless she is in her statements.
I suppose there is always the off chance that Palin is the quickest study on the planet and can surprise her staunchest critics in the upcoming weeks ahead. But the greater likelihood is that she will provide lots and lots of rope.
Comment by Melissa — September 1, 2008 @ 1:16 pm
BRENT
Just retuned from a wild weekend to your very entertaining post. I think you have a little vertigo, Brent. You are spinning this out of control. I think all of Obamas followers are reaching desperately for reasons not to like Gov Sarah Palin.
The Obamaites are walking around with tubs of Rolaids and Tums. They couldn't enjoy the Labor Weekend, they were suffering from labor pains ! HA!
Sen McCain's find is the perfection of American Politics & Leadership. The GOV is no YES-man(lady), she is fearless, and she respects the People. Her DNA should be cloned.
No one will vote for her because she is a woman, they will vote for her because she is real! But she is not the one people will vote for, is she? Sen. McCain has made the wisest decision of his career.
Brent, if I were you I would call Keith and Chris and have a good cry in your beers !
You guys were so stupid to destroy the Democratic Party by dressing down Sen. Clinton. You had it in your hands, and crumbled it like blue cheese. You people killed the party. Congrats moldy-doods.
Comment by JFK-HRC — September 1, 2008 @ 10:59 pm