This Hillary Democrat won't vote for Palin
Janice Hahn was still hurting early in the Democratic convention week over the fact that her candidate, Hillary Clinton, did not get the presidential nomination and won't be on the ticket. "I think this may have been the last chance in my lifetime to elect a woman president," said the Los Angeles councilwoman.
But that doesn't mean this ardent Democrat will consider a vote for John McCain, now that he has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running-mate.
"I think when all is said and done it was always about more than having a woman in the White House," Hahn said by phone shortly after 11 a.m. Denver time, as her plane home was about to begin taxiing. "John McCain's priorities are just not in line with most women's. The stakes are just too high. Hillary said it in her speech. 'Were you in it just for me?'"
Hahn may be typical of most women Democrats in Denver over the last week. She is the first woman elected to office from a family of staunch Democratic men (all of whom served, however, mostly in nonpartisan office): Her late father Kenneth Hahn, the legendary county supervisor; her uncle Gordon Hahn, a state assemblyman and councilman; and her brother Jim Hahn, Los Angeles mayor, city attorney and controller.
McCain can be assumed to be trying to reach Hillary Clinton supporters who are rooted less deeply in Democratic politics than the Hahns.
2005 photo of Janice Hahn by the Times' Al Seib
I am a 39 year old married mother of two children, holding down a full-time job in a male oriented field. I have felt the sting of being an only female and watching my male coworkers excel into managerial positions while I stood there and clapped at the annoucement in the office staff meeting. It sucks - but it is politics, office politics, that I know for certain.
What I have always done - whether it's hiring someone for a new position that's opened, hire a babysitter, or voted for anyone into office: I choose the best candidate for the job. I don't care if that person is young or old, male or female.
I loved Bill Clinton, but never like Hiliary Clinton. Not as first lady and certainly not as a presidential candidate. I would love to have a woman in the White House - but I will never vote for a woman or a man into that office unless I think they're the right person. Obama isn't perfect - but he comes pretty darn close to what my beliefs are. We need a change - not the same old policies and rhetoric of the past 8 years!!!!!!
Posted by: Teresa | August 31, 2008 at 04:53 PM
To all those women who will vote McCain to get Hillary in
2012. With McCain and Palin we might not make it till then.
If the Democrats don't win this year, it will dissolve. If Hillary wants a nice comfy job in the Supreme Court for life.
Obama had better become President.
Posted by: Ron | August 30, 2008 at 09:40 PM
Experience really isn't as important as the voting public perceives it to be. Check out this study for substantiation:
http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Info/experience.html
The most important question is that of policy and by now I would have hoped that Americans would plainly see the GOP for plutocrats that they are. Simply put: government is something they exploit for the financial benefit of the already-wealthy.
As far as Palin is concerned, her claim to being a reformer is really called into question by this Monegan issue. If she indeed abused the power of her office for personal reasons then we know what she is: not a maverick at all, but just another republican.
As far as McCain is concerned, he really undercut his "not ready" attack against Obama, as well as his own claim on judgment, by choosing Palin. Did you know that he's only met her twice in life? He hardly knows her better than the American public. This was a shoot-from-the-hip decision on his part, and one that demonstrates he's simply another plutocrat cowboy just like the current president.
Posted by: Boofenhem | August 30, 2008 at 09:22 PM
Vice-President Palin? One heartbeat away? Sleep well, citizens! Rchard
Posted by: Richard | August 30, 2008 at 07:28 PM
If you are concerned about Sarah Palin's experince if something were to happen to John McCain, you should be terrified about the potential of Barack Hussein Obama being elected to the presidency.
Sarah Pailn is by far a better choice. In fact she is a better choice for President than Obama.
Please, this country can't afford the "Obama Trauma".
Posted by: Rick | August 30, 2008 at 07:22 PM
Gina, I find it so funny that you think Palin and McCain have family values. Why? Because they say so. Or is it because she has 5 kids. Well let's see there must be other women in the US with 5 kids. Any executive secretary with 5 kids has more experience than Sarah Palin. What I know is this, any woman who falls for this bull deserves to be paid less than a man - which is what that ticket offers. How can any woman vote against her own interest because a man puts an unknown woman on his ticket. He only met her once and she has not been vetted.
Boy is she getting vetted in the blogs. There are many stories that the baby Trig may actually belong to her teeage daugher. The story is that she announced her pregnancy at 7 months and people said she didn't look pregnant. At the same time her daughter was out of school for 4-5 months claiming to have mono. Now I ask you - woudn't you feel like a fool if this story turns out to be true and you were ready to proclaim this woman a martr when she turns out to be an opportunistic liar. Perhaps you should do your own vetting of sarah Palin before placing your life in her hands - a woman you don't know! How sad. Women are smarter than this and if we are not, they we don't deserve to be at the top or bottom of the ticket until we learn to think with our heads and not with our hearts.
Posted by: Julescator | August 30, 2008 at 04:52 PM
I think, it's rather condescending of McCain to think, that women will just vote for any woman. Hillary was a qualified candidate with years of experience. Palin is the result of some Affirmative Action ploy by the Republican Party. ( There were other, better candidates - both men and women - in the Rep. Party, that he could have chosen instead. )
Posted by: wolf | August 30, 2008 at 03:19 PM
I really doubt though that all those who introduce themselves as "democrat who will vote republican" when they write on this blog are really what they claim they are. It's a laughable disguise and I don't buy it. All you're doing is trying to pose as democrat who's outraged with Obama to try to sway those that you can't persuade by rational arguments.
Posted by: Liana | August 30, 2008 at 01:30 PM
Senator Clinton and Governor Pain are proof that women can and do diverge on how to address the most important questions facing our society.
Suffragettes were opposed by many women who were what was known as 'anti.'
The most influential 'anti' lived in the White House. First Lady Edith Wilson was a wealthy Washington widow, who married President Wilson in 1915, six months after the death of his pro-suffrage wife Ellen. She endeared herself to Wilson when she declared at their first meeting that she didn't even know who the candidates were in the 1912 election, and felt that women had no business whatsoever in politics.
Her role in Wilson's decision to jail and torture Alice Paul and hundreds of other Suffragettes will never be fully known, but she was outraged that these women picketed her husband's White House.
Most people are totally in the dark about HOW the suffragettes won, and what life was REALLY like for women before they did.
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Posted by: Virginia Harris | August 30, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Oh, and Gracie, I don't call a gun nut one who just hunts for pleasure or who keeps guns around for protection, but one who advocates guns even with all the gun violence that happens in the country. Yeah machine guns and mental cases go very well together, according to the NRA.
But of course, living in Alaska among wild geese may not be the best way to keep up to date with what is happening in the rest of the country and with how many people get kiled by guns every year. Maybe she never even heard of Virginia Tech. Have you, Gracie?
Posted by: Liana | August 30, 2008 at 12:36 PM
This is a real opportunity for the women of America to break the glass ceiling, with an accomplished wholesome, all American female. It would be a shame if a small group of angry women empowered the historical male chauvinist attitude which has held women back for so long. America should elect
McCain & Palin for the Whitehouse in November ... for a return to wholesome American values. When it comes down to an experienced, successful Governor for Vice President ... versus a community organizer and absentee senator, for President ... Most of America would pick Governor Palin every time ... I would.
No Wright, no Farrakahn, no Ayers, no Rezko, no mean Michelle, NOBAMA
Posted by: Gina | August 30, 2008 at 11:47 AM
I am amazed at how easily duped it seems some women are. Do you really think that Sarah Palin will in any way work in the same capacity as VP that a man would? if you do, you are kidding yourself. Hers' will be a token position. She will be brought out to show people "hey look, the Republicans care about women too" It's total crap and a circus trick pulled probably by Karl Rove himself.
McCain usually surrounds himself with people he knows and trusts, that is how he is most comfortable but he picks a woman whom he had met only TWICE before as the person to place second in command of the country that he supposedly loves so much? ask yourself why?
Forget her inexperience, which is troublesome to be sure, let's focus on the fact that she's an unknown to foreign dignitaries around the world and has no voice or platform to speak of on world events.
This country is in the midst of TWO wars, in Iraq and in Afghanistan and in possible conflict with not only Iran and Korea but also now Russia. How does this woman who says herself she doesn't know that much about Iraq plan to discuss and negotiate our interests when she doesn't have a clue what has been happening? and sorry, her having a son about to be deployed certainly doesn't make her qualified to oversee our interests in forgein policy.
The argument that Obama has little or no experience might have been valid at one time. Obama picked someone with a vast amount of experience in the areas where he might be lacking. It's about surrounding yourself with people who compliment you, building up the adminstration and putting the right people in place to supplement your knowledge and ideas with their own.
McCain picked someone with no forgein policy experience, which okay, he has plenty, but he also picked someone with little or no domestic experience either, other than running a town of 6,000 people and being the governor of state that is smaller than the county I live in.
here is a little persepctive. Alaska in 2006 had a total population of 670,053. I live in ONE county in FL, Pinellas, population in 2006, 924,413. My county is bigger than the entire state of Alaska, the budget is bigger, the police force is bigger, infrastructure is bigger, etc. That meas that the mayor of our county would've been a more qualified choice as VP running mate if it's based on the executive experience of Palin.
I won't even get into the NRA, right to life issues because those are too obvious.
Posted by: Silence | August 30, 2008 at 08:51 AM
What's everyone talking about? This woman is hilarious! I watch SNL all the time and I love it! And Mean Girls?, Hill-arious! We love you Tina!
And what's all the hubub about not having experience? She's the governor of Alaska! Alaska's a State. Isn' it???
Posted by: MJarvis | August 30, 2008 at 08:37 AM
It just looks like a reactionary desperate pick by McCain.
Posted by: artknarf | August 30, 2008 at 06:07 AM
PALIN IS NO HILLARY CLINTON
Posted by: karen | August 30, 2008 at 05:04 AM
I was listening to Bill O'Reilly last night and he asked a women from John McCain's campaign whether or not Palin is ready to be Commander in Chief and she never really answered the question. Bill actually pushed her and she responded "women are tired of being short changed and disrespected. They are fed up!" I am an african american women who supports Obama and I notice that there is a double standard playing out here. It is okay for women (particularly "white women" to vote for a candidate because they are a women. It is also okay for a women candidate to play the gender card. But if Obama says anything about being an african american or if anyone say they are voting for Obama because he is black than we are playing the race card. Both Bill O'Rielly and Hannity got very upset about Obama mentioning that he is a black man in one of his speeches but I never hear anyone comment about Hillary and now this flakey governor Palin mentioning that they are wonem. As a black women, I am tired of the media and white america in general disrespecting and second guessing the abilities of a candidate because of his funny name and the fact that he is black. I fell that iit is very disrespectable to all african americans and we are fed up!!!!!
Posted by: nvb | August 30, 2008 at 03:56 AM
Palin is a disaster-in-waiting for both the Republican Party and the country in general. She represents the worst elements of the party - the anti-intellectual, anti-ethics, anti-libertarian wing. Eighteen months in office and she is already a poster child for abuse of power issues. To call her smart is laughable - have you people actually watched any of her interviews? The Republicans need to clean up their own corruption and to finally bite the bullet and eject the ReligiousWrong from their party in order to truly be a force for principled conservatism. in 2000, this is the direction McCain was heading in, but he has pandered away all his character to the Bush team and the Unchristian Christians over the last eight years. Nominating Palin is the final straw, he has no principles left. Intelligent Republicans, reform your party and get ready for 2012, this year is lost.
Posted by: Peter | August 30, 2008 at 03:51 AM
I guess McCain had no other options...no other intelligent Republicans wanted to take on Obama!
Posted by: LD | August 29, 2008 at 11:48 PM
ASIANS support OBAMA.
Republicans intigating war in Georgia to give McCain a point lead. When that didn't work because Putin has "uncovered" their loopholes, they are now trying to hide under the skirt of a woman to try to fool voters to vote for McCain.
Comeon. US citizens are smarter than that. Goodness. Palin is a "hunter," maybe a gun-toting woman. Do you americans want another "Cheney incident?" Oops.. republicans did it again, sorry for the bullet wound.
One thing I can say: PALIN IS NO HILARY CLINTON.
I say, don't get blinded by the Republican's cheap shot.
Posted by: maxx | August 29, 2008 at 11:38 PM
Obama got it right. There was no other woman he could put on the ticket that would have compared to Hillary. She is one of the most knowledgeable, experienced and respected leaders of our time. No other woman could possibly substitute. Obama got it right. McCain got it wrong. Sarah Palin is a joke compared to Hillary. This Hillary democrat just decided to vote Obama/Biden.
Posted by: jss | August 29, 2008 at 11:30 PM
Umm, Liz, I think you meant to direct your comment about pro-choice not equalling pro-abortion to commenter Ian, not to me. It's a little confusing, but the names are at the bottom, not the top.
Ian, if you're still paying attention, check out Liz's comment from 10:53 p.m.
Posted by: Jon Healey | August 29, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Anyone with half a brain can see this is a huge pander. This woman is an extreme right wing conservative. I'm sorry but being a mayor of a town of 6000- 90000 people and Governor of a state with under 700,000 people is ridiculous. I want someone who has had to address the issues of millions of people not a few hundred thousand. She is anti-choice, anti-environment, pro-oil, wants to drill in ANWR, NRA member, doesn't care anything about animals even if they are endangered, is a creationist and wants it taught in schools, is anti-stem cell research, anti-gay. She doesn't believe in global warming. She is currently under investigation for misuse of power. Her education goal as governor was to fully fund K-12. The woman is a disaster. What does she know about foreign policy. Does she even know how to address issues that major urban population centers care about. Alaska is a unique state. I don't think she can relate to the average American. Alaska is not representative of the diversity America. C'mon people. We've been going backwards for 8 years. Time to go forward. Obama/Biden.
Posted by: Pander Palin | August 29, 2008 at 11:02 PM
I am a woman.
I am VERY pro-choice on reproductive rights.
I do NOT EVER vote based on one issue: I am an American FIRST.
Sarah Palin is the only outsider on either ticket and she has REAL accomplishments that back up her words.
With this choice, McCain has shown that he IS still a maverick.
That is CHANGE that I not only CAN believe in, but that I DO believe in.
This voter will FINALLY be going to the polls in November and will be VERY proud to cast a vote for McCain/Palin.
Posted by: Finally | August 29, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Jon Healey, Pro-Choice does NOT mean Pro-Abortion. I don't know why people don't understand this. And let's make this clear: being pro-choice encompasses pro-life. Palin had a CHOICE to have an abortion and she did not. Just because the opportunity is there does not mean that everyone will be getting abortions constantly. No one will ever be forced to have an abortion.
Posted by: Liz | August 29, 2008 at 10:53 PM
It's beyond scary to think that Hillary supporters would consider switching their vote to "Palin". What do Hillary and Palin have in common besides their genitalia?
Posted by: ChrisC | August 29, 2008 at 10:43 PM