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9/9/2008
Burri: Why the Palin choice is a good one
Have you voted yet? It's Primary Day, you know. Today. You're supposed to go vote.
Well, not me. Down here in Baraboo, we have exactly zero primary contests. All is quiet.
But not for you. Not in Appleton. You have a Republican primary for Assembly.
Not sure for whom you should vote? Click here.
Just my two cents. Go vote. I'll wait.
Done? Good.
Today is the first day in more than a week that I've been able to look at the news. The convention was a blast (and I didn't even attend any parties), but working it was so all-consuming – I barely had time to look at headlines. I had no idea, really, how the rest of the country was responding.
Now that I've had a few hours to do that, well…
Choosing Sarah Palin for Veep never thrilled me. I know: conservatives wanted her, and demographic politics recommended her. Still, McCain's most powerful argument against Obama was his experience – or, rather, his lack thereof – and picking Palin weakens that argument.
Yes, I know, she's second on the ticket, while Obama's is first. That's an important difference. Still, I expect conservatives and Republicans to be the responsible ones – liberals and Democrats certainly won't be – and placing Palin a heartbeat away seems irresponsible.
It actually isn't, but I'll come back to that.
We wondered, at the time, whether Democrats would be able to attack Palin's resume. Would they, when doing so would only call attention back to Obama's?
Well, we've been answered. They would, and they are, and it is.
And so they're defending Obama's experience, too. Radio host and columnist Bill Press:
…technically speaking, Barack Obama has no "executive experience." He's never been mayor of a town of 5,000. Nor has he been governor of a state with more reindeer than people. Yet for four years as a United States senator, Obama has studied, wrestled with and voted on every national issue from Social Security to health care to education. "Voted on." Oooo. And studied? Wrestled with? So have I. So have you, probably. So has every political junkie. There are university departments and independent think tanks and vast nests of bureaucrat-infested cubicles where little else is ever done.
Are we all qualified to be President?
He has helped chart foreign policy from Iraq to Georgia. No, he really hasn't.
And for the last 19 months, as candidate for president, he has been grilled and spoken out on every domestic and foreign issue there is. So: running for president qualifies one to be president.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying Palin is qualified, either. I honestly wish they'd picked somebody else. But, at worst, her name on the ticket makes the experience issue a wash. A tie. Their #1 matches our #2, and vice versa. That disappoints me, but: the McCain campaign concluded, I assume, that Palin was the best choice to help them win in November. She brought more to the ticket electorally than any other potential pick.
How much, do you think? What percentage of the vote will Palin win, over and above what Romney, or Huckabee, or Hutchison, or Lingle would? A percentage point? Half a point? A tenth?
If the upcoming election is as close as the last two have been, a tenth of a point across the board could make the difference between winning and losing.
So, if the McCain campaign was right, choosing Palin will have made the difference between President McCain and President Obama.
And that – preventing an Obama presidency – is responsible. Quite possibly the most responsible thing they could do.
Lance Burri is a contributor to the Badger Blog Alliance and occasionally blogs at his own site as well.
COMMENTS
McCain thought he hired a running mate but got a playmate...
Just Me (Tue Sep 09 21:52:31 2008)
" 'Nor has he been governor of a state with more reindeer than people.' "
That is .. just .. awesome. Every swipe taken at Governor Palin that digs at Alaska should remind us how 'they' view the rest of fly-over country.
Yo - Democrats and liberals: y'all really need to stop that. It's not helping and it's probably hurting.
"How much, do you think? "
I have no idea. I think it will be close. Which way it breaks I'm not willing to speculate.
Brian Dunbar (Tue Sep 09 09:37:17 2008)
I've never flown over Alaska.
(Tue Sep 09 11:24:10 2008)
But, Lance... this is why you are a mediocre strategist. You missed the brilliance of the big picture by focusing on the minor details.
She has emphasized and blown back on to Obama, the experience argument. I believe a brilliant blogger summed it up this way: "I'm rubber, you're glue, everything you say bounces off of me and sticks to you."
That is exactly what has happened.
If it were a uniquely important issue, Obama would never have won the nomination.
He already won a campaign on that issue.
McPain (Tue Sep 09 13:56:16 2008)
"I've never flown over Alaska."
I have, once. It's on the way to Japan.
Coming back we stopped in Anchorage for milk.
Brian Dunbar (Tue Sep 09 23:33:34 2008)
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