Country First?

It is ironic that the motto emblazoned on the podium at the McCain-Palin rally in Ohio read “Country First,” when McCain’s pick had little to do with what is best for his country and more to do with what is best for his campaign.

While the fact that a woman appearing on the Republican Presidential ticket for the first time in history is groundbreaking, long-overdue, and should be celebrated by all Americans, this history-making move should certainly be put into perspective. Republicans are disastrous policy-makers but they are brilliant strategists and can splinter electorates and win elections with Machiavellian efficiency. On the surface, McCain’s gamble on first-term Governor Sarah Palin as his VP choice is shocking, inspiring, and will radically shift the context of the campaign. But beneath the tidal wave of shock and awe, his decision is all about politics.

Specifically, it’s about a couple of key points:

1) Driving a Wedge Between Disaffected Blue Collar Hillary Supporters and the Obama Campaign. Who would have thought that Hillary Clinton would suddenly have street cred among Republicans? It’s certainly a lot easier to give Hillary enormous props when you don’t have to face her in an election and their celebration of Hillary’s campaign sure helps the GOP appear less right wing and fundamentalist. But you can be assured of one thing: if Hillary had gotten the nomination instead of Obama, she would be the subject of relentless attack instead of the faux adoration the Republican party is currently raining down on her. And here’s something else you can take to the bank: if the GOP thinks that putting an anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, social conservative on the ticket is going to wrangle up more than a spattering of women Hillary supporters, they are about as short-sighted as they are radical in their thinking. If anything, Sarah Palin will garner male Hillary supporters in blue collar states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. Let’s just call a spade a spade, Palin is extremely easy on the eyes and I wouldn’t be surprised if a small percentage of male voters who could go either way lean Republican on this one, just to keep her in the spotlight a while longer. Call me and the Monkey chauvinists for even suggesting this, but I didn’t make up the term, “sex sells,” I just observe the phenomenon.

2) Wrestling the “Historial Advantage” from the Democrats. For any voters out there who are solely swayed to vote for Obama in order to participate in the historic nature of electing the first African American President, they suddenly might have a conundrum on their hands. Now people can cast their ballots for a similarly historical ticket without having to follow through and actually vote for a black person. We have heard about the inherent racism that still permeates the consciousness of this nation and many have commented that while people may support the concept of Obama as their President, when these same people are safe within the privacy of the voting booth that racism might kick in and preclude them for casting their ballot for an African American. Now those same people have the opportunity to cast a historical vote in a “safer” context, taking the step of electing a woman to the office of the Vice Presidency instead of a black man to the highest office in the land.

3) Perpetuating the Myth of the Maverick. For the McCain loyalists, perhaps one of the greatest benefits of having Palin on the ticket besides her good looks and her gender, is the fact that she has earned a reputation of a maverick herself while Governor of Alaska, fighting corruption and pork spending within her state. McCain still enjoys a maverick reputation that he carved out for himself many years ago, although as of recently his positions have been nearly identical to an unpopular, fundamentalist, neo-conservative President who is intimately intertwined within the established hierarchy of the the Grand Old Party. Ironically, Palin’s reputation might be more myth than reality, as she herself is under investigation for corruption (Palin allegedly ordered the firing of a state official who refused to fire a state trooper who had divorced Palin’s sister). And get this – the replacement she picked for that post also lost his position after just two weeks on the job, after charges of sexual harrassment emerged. Oh by the way, Palin, Alaksa’s “maverick” Governor paid this gentleman a $10,000 severance after just two weeks of work. It seems like Mike Brownie cronyism is a malady penetrating the DNA of the GOP even in faraway Alaska. The findings of this investigation and due to emerge just days before the November 4th election.

4) Consolidating the Republican Base. One thing’s for sure, Sarah Palin appeals to the base of the Republican party like no other candidate in the 2008 race, perhaps outside of Mike Huckabee. Anti-gay marriage? Check. Anti-abortion? Check. Pro NRA? Check. These so-called wedge issues move the Republican base like none other, and if there were any doubts among social conservatives as to McCain’s credibility as a George Bush-like fundamentalist, they can be dispelled with Palin on the ticket. Problem is, McCain’s major challenge is not winning over the 30% of Americans who still support President Bush. His challenge is convincing the “great middle” to come over to his side. A lot has changed since 2004. In 2004, social conservatives and fundamentalist Christians flocked to the Republican banner because the economy was stronger than it is today and the war in Iraq wasn’t nearly as unpopular. Today, many blue collar workers who might lean to the right are reconsidering their 2004 votes that sent Bush back to the White House now that they have seen the distrastrous results of four more years of Republican rul

A Heart Beat Away?

McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate says less about Palin and what Palin brings to the ticket, and instead says more about John McCain’s judgment as far as the best interests of this nation are concerned. While on the Democratic side Barack Obama chose Joe Biden because of the vast foreign and domestic policy experience that he brings to the table, John McCain chose Sarah Palin to simply win the election.

What’s truly shocking is not that a woman stands on the Republican ticket, but instead that John McCain made his choice after having met Palin only once. The thought that a complete unknown, who is even essentially unknown to her running mate, could possibly enter the Oval Office if something were to happen to a President McCain is troubling to say the least and indicates that McCain’s primary concern is to win the office, in addition to bringing his judgment and health to the forefront of the major questions surrounding a McCain Presidency. As much as I personally don’t like Mitt Romney, no one can doubt his qualifications to run one of the world’s largest economies. And even Mike Huckabee has a substantial executive record and corresponding proven leadership experience.

A Return to the Quayle-esque VP?

Could one make an argument that Joe Biden is the “second best” person to run this country? Sure. Of course it’s arguable that Hillary Clinton is clearly the second best choice, but certainly Joe Biden could be included in that conversation. However, is Sarah Palin clearly the GOP’s “second best?” Is she the best the party has to offer outside of McCain himself?

If that is the case, then the Republicans are in more trouble than previously imagined. It is ridiculous to think that Sarah Palin, the former mayor of a tiny town in Alaska, and the first term Governor of that state, is qualified to lead this country should McCain not be able to complete his term in office. Truth be told, John McCain is old, one of the oldest leaders in the world and he’s not exactly the picture of health and vigor either, having been diagnosed with cancer four times. While it is exciting to think about a woman finally finding her way onto the GOP ticket, it is troubling to actually picture her meeting with world leaders and solving the world’s toughest problems as President.

Joe Biden would be a Dick Cheney-esque VP in that sense that he would bring gravitas, experience, and enormous authority to the position. It is unlikely that if elected as VP, he would attempt to run for President at the age of 74 (his age at the conclusion of a potential second Obama term). In this way, he would be truly serving in the office to amplify the power and authority of a President Obama.

Palin, on the other hand, with her lack of experience, would serve only to help McCain achieve a victory in November, but would most likely not contribute to the governing of this nation in a similar fashion to the precedent set by Cheney or even Al Gore.

Bottom line, Palin’s selection as VP is an exciting, radical move, that clearly will enliven the electorate and turn the direction of both campaigns into unchartered waters, but McCain’s choice should be viewed for what it is: political necessity for a campaign on a life support, and nothing more.