Aug 29 2008
Palin Tabbed to be GOP VP Nominee
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is the first-ever Republican woman (and second-ever woman behind Geraldine Ferraro in 1984) to appear on a national ticket. Senator John McCain has struggled to woo his party’s base voters while also cultivating the maverick image he thinks he’ll need to win in a year when the Republican Party absolutely must gain a majority of independent voters if it hopes to keep the White House.
McCain has satisfied social and fiscal conservatives by picking Palin. She is pro-life and pro-Second Amendment and anti-gay marriage. Palin opposed federal earmarks and eliminated the state’s income tax, choosing to rely on oil revenues instead. Palin served as city councilwoman or mayor of Wasilla, AK (population 5,470 in 2000) and on a state commission before beating incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski in a 2006 primary. She then stormed to a general election win against former Gov. Tony Knowles.
Palin doesn’t bring a state to McCain’s column; Alaska is as red as red states get. The three electoral votes match Delaware, home of Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden. Palin has no experience outside Alaska and the thought of her debating Biden in October should concern Republicans. That said, if Palin can stay close rhetorically to the 35-year Senate veteran, she’ll appear to be the winner.
Her staunch conservative stances may not draw moderates. Women who are disappointed that Sen. Hillary Clinton is not on the Democratic ticket may think about voting for a woman. If gender is the only issue, then great news for the GOP.
If ideology means anything, however, it’s hard to believe many women who wanted to vote for Clinton will vote for Palin instead. Especially when doing so means voting for McCain as president instead of Sen. Barack Obama. Sure, breaking the glass ceiling is important to a lot of women who had to wait 24 years for a second female to run for vice-president. Who knows when the third chance will come?
Nonetheless, the issues will matter more to the overwhelming majority of women in November. So Clinton’s legion will stay blue. McCain needs another way to win the electorate’s middle ground.
Bad move on McCain’s part. I think he’s going to regret his decision.
What makes you think that? The more I think about it, the more I like the pick. I’ll put it this way: I can’t think of anyone better.
After hearing her speak, and reading about her past accomplishments, I think he made a great choice. She is just a regular person, not born into politics, and far outide of the DC corruption crew. I will enjoy hearing what she has to say in the coming weeks
I look forward to seeing the RNC next week. Should be interesting. Thanks for your thoughts, Rob and Lauren.