John McCain has selected Sarah Palin for the Republican vice presidential slot. Excellent, excellent choice. I'm very happy with it.
Originally, I'd been for Kay Bailey Hutchison, but was concerned about her record on embryonic stem cell research. Also, I wasn't sure how she would help the ticket, other than with women.
Sarah Palin brings the sort of pro-life record that is sure to deliver the votes. As governor of Alaska, she has been a fiscal conservative and is strong on ethics. She's also a woman who strongly supports the pro-life positions and her youth makes a terrific counterpoint to John McCain's experience.
Dana has a nice post up about the selection. Poor Amanda Marcotte is stuttering since she just can't understand how those wimmin-hating Rethuglicans nominated a woman for V.P., unlike that god Obama! As jcw pointed out, the fun part is in the comments where the Pandagonistas feel comfortable telling us how much they approve of choice and really love women making them.
"This ticket looks like an enormous joke right now. She comes off so stupidly on the stump. She’s talking about her PTA experience, for chrissakes. She looks and sounds like someone they plucked out of her living room whilst she was sewing and watching Dr. Phil. And she is completely bogarting Hillary’s history-making run."
"Anyone who decides to carry a Down pregnancy to term, doesn’t know what an IQ of 10 looks like in real life."
"It’s her choice, yes. But the one she made is, in my mind, not indicative of the outcome I’d like to see someone who is potentially going to be leading this country."
"That is why her decision bothers me - because it indicates to me that she does not demonstrate an ability to make an informed decision."
"Her choice to take a job like the VP is either abandonment of a minimal parental duty or negligence on the job. Househubby will raise the kids, but really, wouldn’t it be prudent not to assume a massive amount of new duties now that she and her husband have a 4 month old with Downs’, as well as 3 other at-home kids. She’s exercised the choice to have the child, and I support her right to choose to bear the child and to expect some societal support (ie, special education). Now she needs to get realistic."
As I pointed out in my post on sexist language, the Left evidently doesn't really believe any of the stuff they say because once conservatives do something similar, they use the same attack lines they were previously excoriating. So now, we have the pleasure of watching people who ostensibly think women are smart enough to be VPOTUS telling us why voting "present" in the Senate for 2 years makes Obama more experienced (for the VPOTUS slot, I guess) than being mayor, then governor of a state.
The nutroots are wrong about Palin as some sort of desperation move on McCain's part. Her name has been floated all summer as a possible dark horse pick. In that sense, she's not an "unknown," at least to people who have been paying attention. Nor does it show that no one else was interested in the job. There were plenty of candidates interested.
Palin allows McCain to remain the best candidate for the GOP. She balances some of McCain's liabilities (by providing more conservative credentials), but she is, still, only V.P. Democrats made the mistake in 1984 of thinking that women would vote for Walter Mondale just because of Geraldine Ferraro. They are still making that mistake today, thinking "low info" voters will vote for McCain because of Palin. No doubt, some people will, but not many. Whereas there seem to be a large number of African-Americans willing to vote for Obama just because he is black. Does that make them "low info"? The double standard continues to play.
UPDATE: At least one liberal understands what a mistake it is to argue that Palin doesn't have enough experience for the Veep slot.
Let me also add that when Tim Kaine, who has exactly the same experience as Palin, was treated by the Media and the Dems as a serious and acceptable potential pick, it opens up charges of a double standard.
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