8/29/2008

Did McCain Make the Right Choice?


Well, the 2008 Presidential campaign just got jucier.

Senator John McCain picked a woman as his vice-presidential candidate. Personally, I like that. I like it because it's more true to who John McCain says that he is, and that is his claim that he's a maverick. For those of you who have been hearing that term and are not clear on what it means; a maverick is someone who is independent, a non-tranditionalist who refuses to conform to the accepted views on a subject.

Tip: If you're ever going to be anything in this life, you've got to have some "maverick" in you. Jesus was the "ultimate maverick." Just take some time and read the gospels to see how he broke down the religious walls of partition between God and his people. Now back to McCain.

We all thought it was between Joe Lieberman and Mitt Romney, but John McCain, the maverick that he is, pulled a 120 mph curve ball on all of us, and chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate. But did he make the right choice?

Palin, the youngest person ever elected governor of Alaska and also the first woman to obtain the office is relatively an unknown in mainstream politics. How this will coincide with the "experience" factor of John McCain's campagin remains to be seen. CNN thinks it is an attempt to reach out to Hillary Clinton supporters who are still unhappy about the choice of Sen. Barack Obama as the nominee.

Gov. Palin, who is only 44 years old told the crowd, "To have been chosen brings a great challenge. I know it will demand the best that I have to give and I promise nothing less."

Now here's a thought: John McCain's campaign mantra is that he runs the "Straight Talk Express." He has run a campaign much like Hillary's in that he literally spent his adult life in the halls of Washington. In other words his strong point has been that he has experience that Obama doesn't have. It is interesting that in his vice-presidential choice he would choose someone who is younger than Sen. Obama, has less experience in public life and service than Obama, and is less known than Obama; tell me, where is the logic or campaign strategy in this choice?

Additionally, Palin is under investigation for her firing of a state official, Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. Word from Alaska is that Palin fired Monegan for a refusal to fire her former brother-in-law from the state police. Palin acknowledges that a call was made by a member of her staff initiating this request, but she did not give them authority to do so.

Folks, if Dan Thomas was in John McCain's shoes, Sarah Palin would've stayed in Alaska. Period. I think John McCain, unless Palin turns out to be SuperWoman, just threw his candidacy for President of the United States in the Potomac River with a huge millstone around its neck. This decision (and I stand to be corrected if proven wrong) was just stupid. And after 30 years of politics and knowing the game in Washington, this seems like a rookie move at best.

Or maybe John McCain knows something we don't know. We shall see. The true question is will Palin undercut John McCain's central campaign message? Read an interesting article here.

I still ain't voting for him, but at least the election season won't dip in the entertainment ratings.
For more insight on McCain's VP pick click on the articles below.
The Palin Pick: Bold or Disastrous?-by Mark Halperin, Time Magazine Online
Why McCain Picked Palin-by Michael Grunwalkd and Jay Newton-Small, Time Magazine Online
Palin's Political Resume-by Tiffany Sharples, Time Magazine Online

1 comment:

Pastor Kraig L. Pullam said...

Great Post!!! Food for thought!