In today's pages: Sarah Palin, abortion and the White House
Columnist Jonah Goldberg, writing from the Republican National Convention, gushes about the excitement surrounding John McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. If McCain's instincts are right, Goldberg opines in typically understated fashion, the selection could prove to be "one of the most brilliant political plays in American history":
... although the GOP base generally agrees with McCain's fiscal conservatism, they don't get excited by his reformer shtick. Palin reinforces the reform theme but, at the same time, she reassures the base enough that McCain has the maneuvering room to woo moderates and independents.
Goldberg doesn't mention the governor's pregnant teenage daughter, so he either was writing before the news came out or was following the admonition of his usual column topic, Barack Obama, not to sully this race with talk of the candidates' children.
Elsewhere on the op-ed page, Dickinson College philosophy prof Crispin Sartwell argues in favor of a recent Bush Administration regulation cutting federal dollars to hospitals and clinics unless they allow physicians to refuse to perform procedures -- most notably, abortion -- that run counter to their personal beliefs. Unfortunately, he doesn't try to reconcile his views with the recent California Supreme Court decision barring health-care personnel from refusing to perform procedures for gays or lesbians that run counter to their personal beliefs, most notably artificial insemination. Maybe next time.
Over in the editorial stack, the board urges the White House yet again to reach a deal that would allow former counsel Harriet Miers and other top officials to discuss the U.S. attorney firings with congressional investigators. It sheds light on a seemingly insane effort by Ecuadorean officials to endow nature with enforceable legal rights. And it urges Mark G. Yudof, president of the state university system, not to support a proposal that would reserve space at UC schools for far more high school students with less-than-stellar grades:
There should be a place for flexibility in the admissions process, and for crediting nontraditional achievement. But a switch to admitting a fifth of freshmen through subjective review runs a risk of lowering standards, eroding public support for UC and shortchanging students who have put their all into meeting the university's academic rigor.
The photo of Sarah Palin, John McCain and Palin's daughter Bristol holding four-month-old brother Trig at a recent campaign event in Ohio is courtesy of EPA/Mark Lyons.
To Len who states, "Sarah Palin's qualifications for VP are far better than Biden's ... "
Really? She's "more qualified" than a SIX TERM United States Senator who is a THREE time and current Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and was also a long standing Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary of which he is currently a member !?
Len also claims, "Palin in fact has more demostrably capable and effective executive experience than Obama and Biden combined."
I'm with John S. on your comment regarding "executive experience" -- You left out John McCain. Two terms in the House Of Representatives. Three terms in the U.S. Senate. That would be NO so-called "executive" experience as you seem to want to point out.
Posted by: thecentralop | September 07, 2008 at 06:48 AM
Why were conservatives angry about Harriet Meirs being unqualified for the Supreme Court but Sarah Palin is qualified to be VP? I don't get why Palin is more qualified for her position than Harriet Meirs was for her's.
Harriet Meirs served on the Texas Supreme Court and was counsel to the President. She seems eminently more qualified for the Supreme Court than Palin is for VP or President if a number of unfortunate things happen.
Is it the case that conservatives want top guns--like John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who were top in their class at Harvard, argued before the Supreme Court and served on the Federal Court of Appeals--for the Supreme Court but an inexperienced person for VP? Alaska has fewer citizens in the whole state than the Twin Cities have, she has only been Governor two years, and her previous position was as on city council and as a mayor.
Posted by: Lars from MN | September 03, 2008 at 05:30 PM
read this: The Alaskan Independence Party is a political party in the U.S. state of Alaska. Ideologically a constitutional foundation, the party calls for secession from the United States, and, failing that, for increased Alaskan control of Alaskan land, gun rights, privatization, home schooling, and reduction of governmental intrusion in the private lives of its citizens with adherence to the founding documents of the United States. The party has appeared on the ballot in Alaska in all state elections since 1970.
At other times, party members have also proposed that the state explore the possibility of joining Canada. Other members have expressed opposition to joining Canada in its present form but are open to the possibility of joining an independent Western Canadian state comprised of the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Neither of these scenarios form part of the party's current platform.
Posted by: ray reyns | September 03, 2008 at 01:59 PM
WHITE WOMEN HAVE OBAMA TO THANK FOR WHITE MEN RESPECT
Had it not been for the fact of Senator Obama running for President. There would have never been a white female Vice President. 43 white only male only Presidents and NEVER in the history of the country did a white Republican respect a white female for President or Vice President. Just think about it America, all you had to do to get white presidents to respect a white female was to support a black American for President! Senator Obama is the only reason for Gov. Palin. Blacks are accuse of only voting for Senator Obama because he is black. This is so un-true and surly not base on black voting history. Black voted for Bill Clinton 89% and Jimmy Carter 87%. Blacks not whites fought and died to vote for white men. In 1920 the passing of the 19 Amendment gave white women the right to vote for white men. McCain's pick is affirmative action 101. A token female is a understatement.!!! But Obama is to thank for the first time in history a white women is finally respected by white male president candidate republican. Gov. Palin has no overseas experince.! She only been in elected office for 6 years. Four years as Mayor of about 9,000 and 2 years as Governor of Alaska population 700,000. She a mother of five and under investigation for abuse of office! WHITE WOMEN....ALL TOGETHER..'''SAY''' THANK YOU OBAMA!
Posted by: Tyone | September 03, 2008 at 12:52 PM
The question should be do you want intelligence or four more years of the same intellect running this nation.
Lets see my choice is John McCain or that smart black man Barack Obama?
McCain who does not know how to use a computer but is willing to learn if we elect him – I’ll just vote for that smart black man.
My Choices are: John McCain who says the economic downturn is psychological? - Na! I'll vote for the smart black man.
McCain who says you are better off under George Bush? - Nope I'll vote for the smart black man.
Mc Cain who wants to continue killing more people looking for weapons of mass destruction that do not exist? - Gee! I'll vote for the smart black man.
McCain who believes that we should stay the course but is not willing to support the people he puts in harms way. - I'll take a chance on the smart black man.
Should I vote for a man that does not know that 9-11 was caused by Osama Bin Laden not Sedam Hussein? - Easy! I'll vote for the smart black man.
Vote for the man who does not know if the Sunnis or Sheits are our enemies? - No way I'll vote for the smart black man.
Vote for the man who helped put our government on the China, Saudi Arabia credit card? - Not a chance I'll vote for the smart black man.
Vote for the man with the worst temper in the Senate to have his finger on the nuclear button? - No way - I'll vote for the smart black man.
Posted by: Vera From Sedona | September 03, 2008 at 10:42 AM
IS THIS ELECTION ABOUT JUDGMENT
Sarah Pahin uses poor judgment and the GOP makes her out to be a hero!
This election should not be about Sarah Pahin not having an abortion.
This election should be about her not using the good judgment to use birth control.
Any intelligent person knows that when you choose to have unprotected sex at 43
you have a very high probability of having a child with Downs Syndrome.
The republicans are making her out to be a hero because she used the bad
judgment not to prevent the pregnancy in the first place.
Posted by: Kwaayesnama | September 03, 2008 at 10:39 AM
oh yeah charlie....
you know its a sad state when there aren't alot of obvious choices.....at this point I just think its too late. McCain has just handed the election over. it doesn't matter who else might have done better. as the days go on I start to think maybe its best to have something fresh and new in charge. John M is actually too old.
all the best to you and your family,
ray
Posted by: ray reyns | September 03, 2008 at 03:05 AM
Charlie,
I was also raised a hunter and it has created a great sense of respect for nature and I am very grateful towards my father for that.
It is just so simple though, stand back from being a Republican or a Democrat for one moment and ask yourself does Sarah Palin have the experience, has she displayed qualities, is her record shining enough to put her in power of the most powerful country in history at a time when the stakes are higher than ever before. I simply cannot endorse my party any more (I have stood behind Bush tooth and nail and dollar). But the stakes are too high and even the thought that she has the experience necessary to be in that position has turned me for the first time away from the Republican party in 40 years. She may be a decent mom as are millions of other women in the country. she may be able to be mayor of a small village and even possibly one day be a good governor of Alaska but it a travesty and an insult to the past of the Republican party to even consider for a moment that she is equipped to be VP. I wanted to rile people up to wake up out of this blind following of "my party" and do what is best not only for America but also for the rest of the planet. Sarah Palin is not the person to do that. so If I need to call her "trailer trash with secrets out in the out house" to get people's attention I will do that. Sadly I think it is too late. I feel like I am watching some low quality game show when I listen to what my party is putting out. sorry but not sorry. too much as stake. we need to be objective...not Repubs to the end or Demos to the end, but responsible intelligent adults that want the best possible world for our children and their children as well as the innocent ones coming from everywhere on the planet. america has the possibility and responsibility to do that.
Posted by: ray reyns | September 03, 2008 at 03:01 AM
To Ray Reynes-
Sarah doesn't live in a trailer, she lives in a very nice home on one of the nicest lakes in Alaska, Lake Lucille. Her parents came to Alaska expecting a better life, as many do, but found poverty. He had to work many odd jobs, just like my father. Work ethic- isn't that an American value anymore, or did we sell that to China?
She isn't the big hunter, her FATHER is. She went moose hunting with her dad before dawn- builds character. Kids who are raised hunting with the family don't grow up to shoot little old ladies.
She's very effectively run a city, state and a family. As a father of two, I know she had to delegate chores to handle four.
We've got a lot of problems here at home, mostly because we've spent so much time, money and effort worrying about other people's business. You'd rather have Lieberman or Biden as VP, both Democrats? Who else is left? Mostly cookie cutter windvanes. Who did you really want as VP?
Posted by: Charlie Bader | September 02, 2008 at 10:39 PM
Please don't forget Willow, she was in the picture too. Sarah has five kids, not just two.
Alaska is only four time zones away from DC and our folks travel there all the time. We changed to be closer to you, after all. We know more about you, than you do about us. Y'all think "bunny boots" are made of rabbit fur. Do your research before you mess with Alaska!
To those bashing Sarah, put yourself in her shoes. How would you hold up if you had the following issues going on at the same time:
1. You're nominated for Vice President... of the country.
2. Managing five kids, one pregnant with your first grandkid, one heading off to war and a newborn with special needs.
3. Managing a state with a myriad of problems.
4. 680,000 people are waiting to hear from you as to how much our PFD check will be.
5. You need to deliver a make or break acceptance speech tomorrow.
6. You're under investigation by the state ethics board.
If I had this much going on, I couldn't do it, and most of you couldn't either. If we did, we'd be a grumpy dishelved mess. That's what's great about Sarah no matter what the situation, she is still a lady.
Women and the hard left are fuming because she has met all the expections set by the women's liberation movement, yet looks perfect doing it. She's done more than her fair share raising the next generation, offsetting the DINK factor. She is a lady, not a misandrist. She loves her husband instead of divorcing him for alimony and child support. She gives herself a pay cut, instead of complaining about "equal pay". She believes a woman should dress to please a man instead of dressing like a man. Equal rights for women doesn't mean women and men should be equal in all ways- keep something for yourselves. And lastly, instead of having her hand in the corporate cookie jar, she initiated a 25% tax on the oil companies here in Alaska. In all, she makes the rest of us feel bad about ourselves because she is so downright selfless. I know a lot of people out there feel the same as I do and many more will come around by election time.
Posted by: Charlie Bader | September 02, 2008 at 10:15 PM
if Palin was picked for her experience or for who she is doesn't matter. This only solidifies the critisim of McBush policies. If these people win get ready to go back to the dark ages.
Posted by: otot | September 02, 2008 at 03:19 PM
marcus....
As a long standing Republican I have used words like "trailer trash" to rile others of a like mind to put pressure on McCain to reverse this decision before its too late. The stakes are too high. I will sacrifice nice language in the hopes that some intelligence arises and this utterly absurd choice is rectified. Yes I feel she is an insult to my party, an insult to American politics and history, completely incompetent for the job she is being touted for and I do regard her as a back water moose hunting, never been out of the country, know-nothing red neck dummy that should not be a heart beat away from the Presidency. The greater problem is that John McCain has made this decision so that now, even if Palin would be sent back to the woods, is there any assurance that he is capable of running the most powerful country in the history of our planet? I am concerned....very and as such am not going to hide behind some veneer of political correctness. palin is trailer trash if you really think of the quality we need to deal with the current world situation...she is clueless. i feel betrayed by my party.
Posted by: ray reyns | September 02, 2008 at 03:11 PM
I know you guys are scared of Sarah Palin and Mccain choice of picking her because Sarah did take the wind out of Obama and made him a yesterday's image.
Really, can anyone point out what Obama's achievements were?
Posted by: Tony | September 02, 2008 at 02:36 PM
Marcus, we do have screening policies here, but they're probably more lenient than you would have them be. There's no prohibition on being insulting or nasty, and calling someone "trailer trash" falls into that category. By the way, the remarks made about Gov. Palin are genteel compared to the comments that come in on any post dealing with immigrants.
As much as I wish that people wouldn't resort to low blows, rhetorical or otherwise, that isn't the society we live in. The comments that come in are a pretty good mirror of how people think and talk about issues. I hope you'll read them in that spirit.
Posted by: Jon Healey | September 02, 2008 at 01:46 PM
McCain gambles the future of this nation by shooting from the hip and with a nakedly political move names an unqualified running mate who he hopes will appeal simultaneously to the disgruntled far-right conservatives and the disaffected Clinton progressives. He claims, incredulously, that her time as a beauty-queen mayor in a town of 8,000 (and who as a Creationist not only believes the earth was created in six days but supports teaching the same religious dogma in your child’s science class) is the intellectual equivalent to being President of the Harvard Law Review. McCain chooses political theater over national security by professing his future Vice President’s executive experience fighting for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has prepared her for being one heartbeat away from taking on a belligerent Iran, an unstable Pakistan, a resurgent Russia and an unfinished Iraq.
The prime requirement of a Vice President is readiness to step into the office of President at a moment’s notice. Period. As a former naval aviator, it is unconscionable that Senator McCain would take an enormous tactical risk that leaves the nation without a parachute.
Posted by: BBox | September 02, 2008 at 01:38 PM
Len says:
"Palin in fact has more demostrably capable and effective executive experience than Obama and Biden combined."
Len neglects to mention that Palin has more executive experience than McCain, too, but nevermind. I've been pretty non-partisan for most of the 36 years that I've been voting. But, what has happened to the Republican Party? The fact that Republicans like Len are actually excitedly trumpeting Palin's experience on the Wasilla City Council, and as Wasilla Mayor, as the type of experience they value in someone for President is unbelievable! I even heard Tucker Carlson on CNN talk about her PTA experience!!! And this is after eight years of G.W. Bush!!!
This really is the beginning of the destruction of the Republican Party of today. It will take the Party a long, long, time to recover from this.
Posted by: John S. | September 02, 2008 at 01:27 PM
I for one would find most of the comments above embarrassing if I were a Democrat. One may criticize Palin's relative lack of experience. But calling her trailer trash? Does anyone referee or screen these comments. One wonders, how is it that it is OK to call Christians "Jesus Freaks" but to use similar terminology for Gays, Blacks, Moslem's or just about any other group one would endanger themselves of being accused of "hate crimes" or at least of being a hate-monger?
Yes conservatives and even Evangelicals are capable of mindless mockery of those with whom they disagree. However, most of the comments on this page have not taken the rhetorical higher ground. For someone to refer to a vice president nominee of any party as "trailer trash" makes no-one but the writer and perhaps the organization posting the blog look bad
Posted by: Marcus Toole | September 02, 2008 at 01:14 PM
Any woman who votes for McCain should have their head examined. McInsane is setting the feminism back 50 years because he thinks that Palin on the ticket automatically means women (especially upset Hillary supporters) will vote for her. He really thinks women are stupid and is pandering to us with the lowest common denominator.
Why does McCain think Hillary voters would vote for him because he added a woman. Palin is pro-gun and pro-life which is the exact OPPOSITE of Hillary supporters. Are women to dumb to remember what their beliefs are and throw all that away so we can support this garbage attempt at equality.
I am contacting women's rights groups about running ads condeming what he has done. If a woman was qualified, that would be one thing. But Palin is so out of her league she makes Obama look like Reagan.
Posted by: Rita | September 02, 2008 at 01:06 PM
The Christian social conservatives politicized the personal long ago! Among other things, Palin wants to change policies and laws that affect our personal choices and behaviors.
The tragedy about the Sarah Palins in our society and government isn't that "We can't control what our children do," it's that they absolutely want to control what my children do.
The lesson that free-thinking humans should take from the Palin morality play is this: It is always the worst offenders who despise us for their failings and mistakes.
Posted by: Sonia Kermaz | September 02, 2008 at 01:02 PM
This story is not about Gov. Palin, it's about the guy who selected her, and whether or not he is mentally competent to be our President. I have nothing against Gov. Palin, and admire her for her accomplishments, whatever they may be. What is profoundly disturbing is the prospect that a man who has managed to portray himself as a mature, careful and beneficially experienced politician over 26 years, may in fact be a dangerously loose cannon, but who, nonetheless, stands a very good chance of becoming our President. After listening to his original answer provided during the debates regarding how he would select his running mate several times again recently, one has to question the entire portrait of the statesmanlike political sage we are supposed to prefer over the greenhorn upstart, Senator Obama. That's the same upstart who organized what was arguably the best managed and executed primary campaign in modern political history, and who resisted relentless pressure to make a game out of his own vice-presidential selection process, and ended up selecting someone who has received universal approbation as (arguably) the best possible choice.
Meanwhile, Senator McCain, who's own primary campaign experienced one total meltdown a year ago, and but for his unlimited financial resources, would likely have doomed his candidacy, surprises everyone (including it seems his own staff) by making a last-minute selection of a woman who's entire resume barely fills a quarter of a page. I'm sorry, but I simply don't buy the notion that being governor of any state (much less one with a population of 700,000) automatically qualifies a person to be President. We've lived through a nearly eight-year ordeal learning that lesson the hard way, no matter which party you're in (and I'm a Republican).
McCain was absolutely right when he said (many months ago) that his solemn obligation as nominee was to find and select the very best qualified person to step into the Presidency of this nation on a moment's notice, and there were literally dozens of choices he could have made which would have met that test. Instead he chose an enthusiastic but gravely inexperienced person, who bears an alarming physical resemblance to some of the other women McCain has been known to favor over the years. The irony of the situation is this: I am now so concerned about his own mental competence for the job, if we have to accept them both, I would almost prefer Governor Palin at the top of the ticket. She seems sane at least.
Posted by: ted in pdx | September 02, 2008 at 12:55 PM
This is going to backfire on McBush. The democrats would not have picked a better VP for McBush to run with, if they could, seems like there is a god after all.
Posted by: otot | September 02, 2008 at 12:34 PM
The neocons cannot make the argument on the experience question anymore, obviously they fell alot of experience not a big deal, Reagan, clinton, W already proved that.
Posted by: otot | September 02, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Having known what the vetting process would bring, Sarah Palin chose her political ambitions over her daughter's emotions. That sad choice is only outdone by endangering her unborn child by embarking on a 12-hour, 8,000 mile journey AFTER her water broke.
This is the sort of judgment we want in someone who might become president?
Posted by: Steve | September 02, 2008 at 12:20 PM
McBush lost the argument that experiece matters when he chose Palin.
If Palin can step in and be President then certainly her experience is comparable to Barack Obama.
Posted by: otot | September 02, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Palin is a real right-wing nut case, and the pick of her by John McCain without vetting her first tells you volumes about his not being a capable choice for President.
Posted by: Michael | September 02, 2008 at 12:01 PM