The Judgement of John McCain

The choice of John McCain to ask the American people to put a first-term governor of a state with fewer people than Cobb County, Georgia, a heartbeat away from the presidency shows a pretty serious lack of judgement. It also insults the intelligence of American women. In selecting Sarah Palin, he passed over several far more qualified women in his party, including Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson. He has selected a running mate with no experience in, and apparently no knowledge of foreign policy, in spite of the fact that his primary case against Barack Obama has been lack of experience in that department. It is becoming quite clear that the vetting process in this selection was practically nonexistent. It is less clear whether he intended (or, more accurately, Karl Rove intended) Ms. Palin to attract Clinton supporters or to shore up the evangelical base.

I personally cannot imagine any Clinton supporter transferring their loyalty, merely on the basis of gender, to a candidate whose views and record on the issues are the polar opposite of those held and fought for by Hillary Clinton. She opposes abortion rights even in cases of rape and incest, a position which puts her at odds with roughly 70% of the American people. She opposes comprehensive sex education, same-sex domestic partner benefits, and gun control legislation. She believes global warming is a completely natural phenomenon, and has an abysmal record on the environment. Her belief in a purely market-driven healthcare system could not possibly contrast more starkly with the views of Senator Clinton, from whom no issue has received as much attention or passion.

So far, the leaders of the evangelical segment of the Republican party are coming out in support of Governor Palin, which seems a bit surprising, in spite of her conservative views. This is a woman who has repeatedly sacrificed her family for her career. She brags of returning to work within days of the births of her children, in one case within one day. Family values? It is painfully clear that if the parties in this situation were reversed these same leaders would be relentlesly attacking the candidate.

The way I see it, the problem with Ms. Palin's decision has nothing to do with her gender. I would question the priorities of any parent, mother or father, who did not feel that having a special needs infant at home, and a pregnant teenaged daughter were sufficient reasons NOT to accept the possibility of assuming the most stressful and time-consuming job in the nation. Both of these children are going to need a tremendous amount of time and support from BOTH of their parents over the coming months and years. Ms. Palin is 44 years old and has plenty of time to realize her political ambitions. She has a very limited window of opportunity, however, to give these two children (not to mention her other children) what they need right now. Furthermore she made this decision knowing full well that it would thrust her daughter into the national spotlight at a very vulnerable time in her life.

I listened to Michelle Obama speak passionately about the gravity with which they had considered the decision to run, the impact they knew it would have on their daughters, and the steps they had taken to make the process as easy as possible for their girls. Perhaps I have missed something, but I have not heard anything remotely similar from the Palins.

We are still waiting for Governor Palin to stand before the media and field their questions. It will be interesting to see how she handles it when she finally does. I, for one, am betting that Sarah Palin will soon go the way of Thomas Eagleton. If not, this election is Barack Obama's to lose.