Palin 2012

On August 29th, 2008, John McCain announced his running mate for the 2008 presidential election. The pundits and so called “experts” had already over-analyzed just about every possible candidate, and narrowed down the pool to three likely candidates; former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, and aisle-jumper Joe Lieberman, all of whom would be well suited for the vice-presidential selection, and would certainly strengthen the ticket.

But in a time of panic, due to the economic and various other global situations, John McCain almost certainly went toe-to-toe with common sense, and said “fuck you.”

A real maverick.

No one could have imagined that the Republican Party could screw up even more than the past 8 years, until John McCain announced that he had selected Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his running mate.

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Many Americans wondered how it was that John McCain chose Sarah Palin. McCain has stated that she is a “reformer” and can change Washington.

Good try John.

More likely he lost a bet, and pulled Palin’s name out of hat.

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While Sarah Palin’s record was being severely overlooked, her appeal began to grow among the gun toting, bible bashing people we like to call, the conservative base.

These hypocritical “moral voters” were drooling over the thought of reversing Roe v. Wade and the prospect of hunting with assault rifles. Finally, a “real American” was ready to represent the people. Somebody who was in touch with the citizens of America (Yes this is possible all the way from Alaska, still one of the 50 states, no matter how secluded it is).

Soon enough, Sarah Palin was plastered all over the news. You could not escape her. News about her daughter, Bristol, 17 years of age, surfaced. She recently found out that she was pregnant. Being pro-life, Sarah Palin naturally left the decision up to her daughter, and told her that she could choose what she wanted to do.

What?

Apparently, the stance of pro-life has exceptions? Yet, she gave her daughter the choice, and continued to speak out against abortion?

(Yes, yes, I know that seems hypocritical…)

But still, it seems fair that you should be able to give your daughter the choice, after all, it’s her baby.

If you look past her family issues, Sarah Palin is appealing because she is from a small town with small town values. Well her town, Wasilla, was recently named the “meth capital” of Alaska, having 42 meth labs busted in a single year. So if your small town is largely inhabited by meth addicts, then yes, your values match up with those of the people of Wasilla.

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As days passed since the announcement of Sarah Palin, more information about her began to surface.

Upon basing a campaign on attacking the Democratic Party’s Presidential Nominee Barack Obama’s lack of experience, it seems natural to bolster your party’s ticket with someone, with virtually no experience and a questionable record.

Let’s take a look:

Mayor of Wasilla:
• town of 6,300 people
• “meth capital” of Alaska
• built a $15 million hockey arena with taxpayer money, plunging city into debt
• Secured $27 million in pork spending for the city

Governor of Alaska:
• Championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by requesting $453 million in earmarks (Alaska ranks first in the nation for pork, raking in seven times the national average).
• She began a nearly $40 billion natural-gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence, with federal approval years away, not a single section of the pipeline has been laid. State could end up paying the pipeline's contractor $500 million.
• Fought the oil companies, but still managed to collect $13,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas lobbyists, including Exxon, BP, Shell and Chevron. BP was a sponsor of her inaugural ball.

Quite an abundant list of accomplishments… Fox News was definitely right to hype this up (Along with moose hunting, being a “hockey mom,” and her close proximity to Russia?)

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To help fasten her political downfall, Sarah Palin’s abilities were showcased during an interview with Katie Couric of CBS.

COURIC: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you've said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?

PALIN: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.

COURIC: I'm just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.

PALIN: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.

Success? Ouch.

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After successfully sinking John McCain’s presidential bid, talks of Sarah Palin’s own presidential bid in 2012 arose…and then fell, rather quickly.

In an attempt to wart off the apocalypse, the recently revived John McCain neglected to endorse his running mates possible bid for 2012.

Here’s some of the interview between George Stephanopoulos and John McCain:

STEPHANOPOULOS: You said, after the election, that Governor Palin has a bright future in your party. Does that mean that, if she does chooses to run for president, she can count on your support?

MCCAIN: Oh, no. Listen, I have the greatest appreciation for Governor Palin and her family, and it was a great joy to know them. [..]But I can't say something like that. We've got some great other young governors.

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Sarah Palin’s political rise was seemingly accidental. The mystique surrounding her being chosen as John McCain’s running mate, caused excitement among the conservative base. But really, we affectionately refer to this as her “15 minutes of fame.”

Sarah “Barracuda” should not be allowed to be even remotely close to politics in Washington D.C. Her poor judgment and qualifications, or lack off, are a cause for alarm. America witnessed her butcher some key interviews, only to further impale the dagger into the heart of her political career, at least on a national scale.

Of course Sarah Palin was unfairly scrutinized when Katie Couric asked what some of her favorite magazines were, which she was unable to produce an answer to. This is a question that could be answered…by a 2 year old child.

As far as Sarah Palin’s run for office in 2012, it’s ludicrous. To summarize Sarah Palin, and her political aspirations; forget about it, she’s insane.

Do the names Jack F. Kemp, Lloyd Bensten or Sargent Shriver ring a bell? No; which makes sense, seeing as they too were vice presidential hopefuls, similarly to someone else…(Sarah Palin). As we continue to move past November 4th, 2008, and venture further into our futures, the thought of Sarah Palin and her silly attempt to impersonate a politician, will hopefully fade away. Soon we will be asking, Palin who? And with any luck, she will vanish from the spotlight, as quickly as she stumbled into it. [JG]
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Sources

*http://bucknakedpolitics.typepad.com/buck_naked_politics/2008/12/mccain-wont-endorse-palin-for-2012-says-my-corpse-is-still-warm.html
*http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/24/eveningnews/main4476173.shtml
*http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23140513/the_truth_about_sarah_palin