More Palin

Well – I’ve continued to scan the news/blogs and I’m STILL excited about Palin.

My only question is her seeming lack of interest in the foreign policy/affairs stuff. However…..now that she’s in the position she’s in, that will be remedied. She’s smart, she’s got good gut instincts, and previous to this she was pregnant and the mother of 5 children and governor of a big state. People focus on what they can and spend their time in the best manner possible. I’m not at all certain that had I been in the same circumstances that I would have been researching what a VP does, or the exact new news in Iraq.

October 2nd. Palin vs Biden. That will tell us a ton.

In the meantime, Ms Palin DOES have the interest in things that she needed to. ie Here is an oped of hers in the NYTimes concerning putting the polar bear on the endangered species list. She’s read the science, not just looked at the fake pictures of polar bears dying while just sitting around on melting ice bergs.

As a result of these efforts, polar bears are more numerous now than they were 40 years ago. The polar bear population in the southern Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s North Slope has been relatively stable for 20 years, according to a federal analysis.

We’re not against protecting plants and animals under the Endangered Species Act. Alaska has supported listings of other species, like the Aleutian Canada goose. The law worked as it should — under its protection the population of the geese rebounded so much that they were taken off the list of endangered and threatened species in 2001.

Listing the goose — then taking it off — was based on science. The possible listing of a healthy species like the polar bear would be based on uncertain modeling of possible effects. This is simply not justified.

Amen!

The biggest problems people have with her is her lack of experience and this coming from a man who is known for “putting country first”. I seriously think he did put country first here. He’s using his instincts for what this country needs and part of what it needs IS change in the old time politics of white protestant men. People are longing for that and Obama’s rise even with his lack of experience is direct evidence of that.

[one of the great things about Palin is that apparently she speaks like a person rather than a politician. This can get her in trouble as we go on, but now it's apparently refreshing. I haven't heard her speak yet]

The troopergate story will get exaggerated, but she must have reassured McCain that her side is the correct side.

There has been some sexist remarks, but even DailyKos women are not putting up with that crap.
The debate will be eye opening. It will have to be civil and Biden will have to hammer her. She will have to respond nimbly. If she can’t, there will be a problem.

Let the learning begin Ms Palin. You seem smart, you’ve clearly got class and you have the ability to speak honestly in the face of crap. [click through for Palin knocking Biden on drilling and basing it on a national security argument]

Be sure to read Mark Steyn today for the fun factor in this. A small bite:

What other country in the developed world produces beauty queens who hunt caribou and serve up a terrific moose stew? As an immigrant, I’m not saying I came to the United States purely to meet chicks like that, but it was certainly high on my list of priorities.

And read Rachel Lucas on the ’sphere’s best bloggers out there who has recently gone nonpolitical on her blog because of lots of reasons…..she’s baaaack.
There are pictures there – have fun.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that on that DailyKos open comment link above is tons of talk of how the PUMA’s actually acted so powerful and influential that they convinced McCain to do this knowing full well that they 1) were really a small group and 2) will of course vote for Obama. ROFL

UPDATE 2: One more. The WSJ has a column on Palin vs Big Oil.

“Sarah Palin is pro-development and is supportive of oil and gas development in an environmentally conscious way, but she is very tough on the companies. She doesn’t think that when the state of Alaska leases oil and gas to big oil, it means big oil gets to call all the shots,” says Drue Pearce, an appointee of President George W. Bush who directs the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects.

Sarah Palin!! Wow

I’ve been laying low for the whole week while I have a friend in town so I’ve missed most of the convention and then went and missed the HUGE news about Sarah Palin.

You realize of course that back in July I suggested that McCain pick a woman for his VP choice. Who knew the influence wielded here??? Palin was certainly one of the women that came up in the scuttlebut and the more I am scanning everything it sounds like she’s going to be a great pick! Hell – it energized ME!

I look forward to the VP debates.
I look forward to the reinvigoration of this election. (that’s JK at the link)
I look forward to having a response to those who know diddly about politics, yet want to vote for Obama because of the historical significance of it. (I can’t blame them – who wouldn’t and now they have a choice)

As a woman – I know tons and tons of smart women who get as ahead in their careers as they want to. I didn’t realize how very, very excited I would be to see a smart woman on a huge ticket here, but whoooooeeeee…..I am ready to start campaigning. And that’s with just a cursory glance at who she is. We know who McCain is. Yeah – whatever, I’ll send him some money.
But Wow!! A female VP!! I’ll make phone calls for this ticket. Bring on the yard signs!

Women don’t vote for women because they are women, however – women do vote smart and well, to see this…..its cool. I know he’s pandering but so what? I’m not insulted by that. It comes with the territory. ie You pick a southerner of you’re a northerner, or if he had picked Huckabee, he would have been pandering to the religious right. Palin IS smart. She IS a matching “maverick”. She doesn’t like pork. She’s not afraid to stand up against power. She knows about and gets energy. He didn’t have to choose her, but he did and I think it was a great choice.

Those who think Hillary was qualified based on being a wife and a senator are loony yet think that Palin is unqualified after being a mayor and governor can not see the irony in that bit of pandering can they?

Now let’s throw in the factor that I pretty much vote on. Character. She appears to me to be a person of great character. What with the nod to the glass ceiling pushers (Ferraro and Clinton), the Bridge to Nowhere response (if we need a bridge here, we’ll build one ourselves) and standing her ground with oil company cheapskates, this woman definitely has character that I admire.

Between Obama and McCain, McCain has good character up the wazoo and he would have gotten my vote easily, but now?, NOW he’s got my attention!

After the GOP convention I’ll compare the planks and let you all know whether I’m still a Democrat or not. Either way – I’m in for McCain bigtime.

From The Corner’s email on this

Simply great pick. The list is endless. Here’s just a few.
Every time the opposition claims she’s not experienced, it points right to the top of the Dem ticket.
She can’t be demonized. Dems succeed by stirring up hatred of their opposition, but it won’t work with Palin. It would be like trying to demonize Kerry Walsh or Misty May Trainor.
She’s made her own way – a classic American success story, with no help from the “establishment”
She’ll completely disarm Biden in the debates. He won’t be able to attack her without a significant backlash. And every attack he attempts will drip of condescending Washington blowhard insiderism
You can’t get more “outside the Beltway” than Alaska.
She’ll really galvanize the pro-life community and is somewhat uniquely able to not just “preach to the choir” but to speak to the other side. She chose life, fully knowing the hardships that can come with a Down syndrome child. She walked the walk. It will touch the hearts of those who have chosen otherwise, or are thinking about it. It could really move the debate forward in a very positive, uplifting way. I am pro-life, but am off-put by some of the aggressive tactics of the pro-life community. In contrast, I am touched to the heart by this woman’s real-life choice of life for her young son. I suspect I will not be alone.
I suspect the money race will be neutralized at worst, and quite possibly turned in our direction. I’ve been sitting on my wallet since 2004, but sent in a contribution to McCain the moment I heard of this pick. I suspect I am far from alone.

The Corner’s been a great site all day. Keep it up.