I needed a minute to mull over the matter of the Republican VP selection. You know, Palin is nothing more than a willing pawn in the political game McCain is playing. The selection of Palin says more about McCain than anything else. It tells me that he is more focused on winning than on what is best for this country. He is betting on the shallow perspective I know for a fact that Republican Senator Richard Lugar thinks very highly of Senator Obama, who worked with him on international matters. I am betting that but for the issue of party ties, more of the politicians in McCain's party would come out in endorsement of Obama. Here's the thing: I learned a long time ago, that the true definition of a true leader is a person with both character and vision as his/her strengths who is smart enough, humble enough to surround him/herself with a team that brings other needed strengths to the table, more strategies, willing to push back when needed, yet share the same vision as the leader. Someone who truly listens and makes decisions based on what's best for those s/he represents. I haven't seen any of that in McCain. When asked about Palin's national security experience, Cindy McCain could not come up with anything beyond the fact that, after all, her state is right next to Russia. "You know, the experience that she comes from is, what she has done in government -- and remember that Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia." (ABC Today) Palin's mother-in-law, Faye Palin, told a New York Daily News reporter that she didn't agree with Sarah on everything and hadn't yet decided how she would vote. She added: "I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain," Faye Palin said with a laugh.
And then there is the more realistic view of those who really know who she is, back at home in Alaska. Gregg Erickson, reporter for the Anchorage Daily, did an online chat with the Washington Post, in which he revealed that Palin's approval rating in the state was not the much-touted 80%, but 65% and sinking -- and that among journalists who followed her it might be in the "teens." He added: "I have a hard time seeing how her qualifications stack up against the duties and responsibilities of being president.... I expect her to stick with simple truths. When asked about continued American troop presence in Iraq, she said she knows only one thing about that (paraphrased): no one has attacked the American homeland since George Bush took the war to Iraq." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/2-top-alaska-newspapers-q_b_122625.html) Huh? Meanwhile, the GOP promoters and pundits are, as I write, actually using Hurricane Gustav as a talking point for Senator McCain, a thinly veiled attempt to parrot the words of Senator Obama in the speech he gave during the Democratic National Convention. But I am more interested in the deafening silence of women and GOP leaders across the country, who, unless they are caught in the headlights of a media camera, haven't made a carefully worded sound in praise of McCain's choice. Hillary Clinton had and has far more substance; just being a woman should not be enough for the thinking voter. It is my sincere belief that the citizens of the United States are not so shallow as to base their decisions upon looks, gender and a penchant for being perceived as one of the boys. But then, I have been wrong before.
I called my brother, the sports fanatic, and asked him to define what a "Hail Mary" is, given that is what several in corporate media called this decision when discussing McCain's selection for Vice President. Turns out a "Hail Mary" is the last desperate play made to win a game and ninety five percent of the time it doesn't work. Perhaps the poll that came out today (Sunday) says it all -- not that I have any faith in polls -- Senator Obama is now eight points ahead.
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