With Sarah Palin's supposed gaffe of saying "you can see Russia from Alaska" here's what I have to say about her foreign policy credentials (BTW I did not write this myself). Also look for another post will come shortly about Joe Biden's so called foreign policy expertise.
Before you dismiss the fact that Sarah Palin is Commander of the Alaska National Guard, consider this: Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from ballistic missile attacks. It¢s on permanent active duty, unlike other Guard units. As governor of Alaska , Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism. Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's and certainly by far exceeds Obama's. She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security's counterterrorism plans. Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to the entire country's defense. Given Alaska 's proximity to Russia , she may have security clearances we don't even know about. According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to keeping secrets. She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is.
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So good at keeping a secret about her foreign policy experience, in fact, that even Laura Bush and Chuck Hagel (R) think she has none. Considered ... and dismissed.
It's hard to miss the fact that neither Obama nor Biden have ever had any executive experience. Let's also remember that Palin is at the bottom of the ticket. Going back to what you said about Chuck Hagel, I could find a whole bunch of democrats that think Obama is disqualified to be President.
John McCain doesn't have any executive experience either. So?
After hundreds of interviews and dozens of debates, more than 18 million voters disagree with you about Obama's qualifications. He earned his place on the ticket.
So far, Palin's gaffes outnumber the interviews she has given. And the interviews she has given leave people trembling in their boots.
Her suppossed expertise? McCain claims it's energy and domestic issues. And yet she thinks (repeatedly) that Alaska supplies 20% of our nation's energy. (It's 2%.)
Let's hear what Palin has to say about the bailout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8__aXxXPVc
Give up on the argument that Palin was anything but a hail mary political pass to revive McCain's campaign.
As with his stunt to inject presidential politics into sensitive bailout negotiations, and claim that the Confederate flag is a "local issue", McCain demonstrates repeatedly that he is always willing to put his campaign before country.
Mccain does have executive experience in that he commanded the largest unit in the Navy. Obama's own VP doesn't even think he has the experience so my question to you is what has Obama done to make him qualified to be President. Also, at least Palin's gaffes aren't racist and elitist like. If you think Palin is bad in that video watch Obama without his teleprompter on youtube. He is much worse. I would also argue the exact opposite of what you said about Mccain putting campaigns first. Three quick examples of that are illegal immigration, ANWR, and the surge. I find it funny that someone supporting one of the most calculated candidates I have ever seen would accuse the other of being so.
I agree with jsj in the fact that Sarah Palin was chosen as a ploy to win over women voters. There were many republicans much more qualified for the job. Not saying Obama has more experience than her, i just don't trust her judgment should she become president.
So when you question her experience you are essentially question Obamas too when you say: Obama doesnt necessarily have more experience. I also would like to know what has Obama ever ran. If by some magical you find something that he has run, please state some major decisions he has made (Showing up and voting doesn't count as management) that make him more qualified then Palin. Lets remember he has only served 143 days in the senate.
Palin attended several colleges and universities. In 1982, she enrolled at Hawaii Pacific College but left after her first semester. She transferred to North Idaho community college, where she spent two semesters as a general studies major. From there, she transferred to the University of Idaho for two semesters. During this time Palin won the Miss Wasilla Pageant beauty contest, then finished third in the Miss Alaska pageant, at which she won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award. She then left the University of Idaho and attended Matanuska-Susitna community college in Alaska for one term. The next year she returned to the University of Idaho where she spent three semesters completing her Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, graduating in 1987.
thats Palin's education. now Obama's
Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983, then worked for a year at the Business International Corporation and then at the New York Public Interest Research Group. Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988. At the end of his first year, he was selected, based on his grades and a writing competition, as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. In February 1990, in his second year, he was elected president of the Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the Law Review's staff of eighty editors. Obama's election as the first black president of the Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles. During his summers, he returned to Chicago where he worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley & Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990. After graduating with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago.
Palin was mayor of Wasilla population 9,780
then govenor of Alaska population 683,478 3rd smallest in the nation
Obama was a senator of Illinois,
population 12,852, 548, divided by 2 for the number of senators each state gets and u got
6,426,274 which is 9.5 times as many people as Palin has lead. and who has more power in the U.S. government, a govenor or a senator??
I rest my case
First, as I already proved education doesn't make you qualified or unqualified to be president. Look at Ronald Reagan. I understand a large part of the democratic base works in acadamia or in Obama's case staying in it for grad school etc. However, conservatives are doing other things. In John Mccain's case when he was at Obama's age and when Obama was attending college at Columbia (the heart of liberalism and a college that allows an anti-semitic leader to visit) Mccain was a prisoner of war. It doesn't get more realistic than being a POW and certainly those experiences can be matched by anything Obama did. Then came their public careers. Sarah Palin has always been on the managerial side of things. As a mayor she made tough decisions. As a governor she ran something much bigger then Obama ever has. My question is what has Obama ever run? What tough decisions has he ever made that effect hundreds of thousands of people. Palin has also done quite a good job in Alaska as she is the most popular governor in America, and her approval rating (in the 80's) far exceeds Obama's. Really the population of the states is meaningless. As a senator Obama's duty is to vote. He doesn't have to listen to what the people think. There is no question that a GOVERNOR has more power and more responsibility as a senator. The senate can talk and talk but the governor actually has to enact those policies and deal with the consequences. In many ways a governor is just like a president, but just on a smaller scale. He/she deals with balancing budgets, taxes, healthcare, eductaion etc. The president has a lot of duties that involve management and it appears that going from none to that of the president is a big jump. So if in fact he is ready, what has he managed. Also, running a campaign doesn't count as he doesn't actually do anything.
James, while i will say being a govenor has more responsibility than a senator, i asked who has more power in the central government. A Govenor has no power outside of their state. Senators vote on things that have effects around the world. And who cares if Palin had a really high approval rating in the 80's, as a mayor. Of course a mayor would have a good approval rating. It was a town of 9,700 people. Everyone probably knew her. And George Bush had one of the highest approval ratings ever. That doesn't make him a good president.
I respect John McCain for what he did in Nam, but what does being a POW teach you. It probably makes you less qualified for president. What if he has a psycological meltdown because of some flashback at an international conference. What do you do then??
And population matters a lot. Some people in Alaska have not even made contact with outsiders for years, in some villages decades. It is one of the worlds most isolated regions. The only way to get to almost every town in inland Alaska is from a Bush Pilot, who might come 2 times a year, maybe less.
In the largest city, and capitol, Juneau, which is supposed to run a state almost as large as the Continental US, can only be reached in 2 ways. Either you fly in or you sail in. Even when you come in by boat, it is very trecherous and the ship can crash and sink on a hidden rock shoal in the sounds in the area, which happens more than you think. the electricity had to made right there, and the only way to get modern convieniences is to get it beamed in from radar towers scattered through out the islands, and when one goes out, the entire city might not make contact with the outside world for all of winter.
So ya, running Alaska is really hard, when you basically don't do as much as the mayor of Chicago, who does the same duties on a smaller scale, but with like 6 times as many people. Alaska is so isolated that you dont need to lead each person individually, because most of them live out in the wilderness and might find out who the new govenor is just as their term is ending
First, her approval rating was in the 80's while she was a governor. What she did in Alaska does effect everyone. While Obama talks about reducing foreign dependency, Palin actually does it. For example, Alaska is building a $25 billion pipeline for oil. Also, she served as head of the oil commission. Its ridiculous to say that being a POW makes you less qualified to be president. First it shows patriotism, something that many question about Obama and his wife. I assume you know the story about him denying the chance to leave early to follow military code. And, since we are in a war he actually understands what the troops are going through, unlike Obama or Biden who have never served. It also gives you another perspective while looking at sensitive issues. Alaskans no what is going on. They through something we are using now, the internet and technology. Just because you don't leave your land doesn't make you an idiot. People in the 48 states don't leave where they are. It also should be brought up that Obama didn't even grow up in the U.S for all his life. He was born in Hawaii which is "isolated" in your terms, and went to grade school in Indonesia. Answer this: What responsibilty has Obama had? What has he managed? Personally, being a mayor and city council memeber gives you more experience then working in acadamia as Obama did. I blogged about this before going to Harvard isn't experience. See my post on 143 days experience to put in perspective just how little that is. Lastly, one crucial point is that Obama is on the top of the ticket not the bottom as Palin is. If you elect Obama you are guaranteed to get someone with little experience. If you elect Mccain there is a chance you get someone with little experience.
Palin has done little for Alaska's energy
FACT: today in Alaska, gas is on average 0.30-0.60$ more than the national average in urban (if u can call it that) areas, even higher prices in rural areas=most of the state.
Alaska's oil reserves peaked in 1978 and production peaked in 1988, slightly increasing its downward spiral in Palin's governance
And all I asked was what does being a POW give you in experiance?? you can't run the country on patriotism alone, the whole country would collapse.
And no one knows what it is like to be a soldier in the war, not even McCain. this war is so radically different from any other war in history. This war has so much technology, intellegence, and the citizens of Iraq so deeply tied to the fighting that it is like no other war.
and A.) i never said not leaving your land made you an idiot, i said being isolated from the modern world made you poorly informed
B.) i never said Hawaii was isolated, and I never gave a rubric for saying what was isolated. Hawaii is well informed. people go to Hawaii a lot, in fact tourism is a vital part of it's economy because millions of people visit the islands each year (more than Alaska has in it). Hawaii has a population density of 188.6 people/square mile. 13th in the nation. Alaska has a population density of 1.2 people/square mile. You see the difference James.
The cost of gas in the state of Alaska is irrelevant to what it means for the country. Fact: without Alaska gas prices would be higher. Supply and Demand clearly shows that. The reason the price is higher is what you tried to mention, it is secluded. It is harder to get oil up there. Part of the problem with oil in Alaska is that these tree-huggers don't want to drill in ANWR. We're sitting on this oil, lets use it. You brought up the war. Obama hadn't been to Iraq in 900+ days. Mccain had been there nearly 10 times. If Obama had all this supposed responsibility as a senator why didn't he go there. Since he didn't go there how can he make an informed decision. It is easy to talk here, but to get a complete analysis you have to talk to the leaders on the ground. Also, Obama voted against the troop surge but supports a troop surge in Afghanistan? Whats up with that? Was it politically expedient to oppose everything the Bush Administration proposed, much less the commanders on the ground. Why is it that over 300 high ranking officers have endorsed Mccain? People in Alaska are informed. You don't have to live in a big city to know whats going on and the issues at hand. Theres plenty of people I'm sure that live in big cities that are poorly informed. Hawaii has a higher density because it is not the largest state in the union. Do you imply that because they are a blue state they are more informed then a red state becasue really they are both from the supposed "mainland" although I think both are indeed informed.
Also, if you want to debate energy lets do it.
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