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On Sarah Palin On Sarah PalinGovernor Sarah Palin, the Republican from Alaska who was Sen. John McCain's surprising pick as his running-mate, has generated a media circus for the Republican Party to rival the hyper frenzy around Sen. Barack Obama. Many have claimed this is just what McCain needed most now: as an elder statesman in every sense of the term, McCain needs not a running-mate able to offer further experience but instead someone fresh, someone who is an engaging speaker, and someone whom younger voters can perhaps relate to more than they can to himself. Palin, at 44 years of age, is one of the younger people to run for national executive office and she has a kindly, charming, and one could even say very pretty face. Her biography of a career as a sportscaster, the fact she hunts and owns her own seaplane and the conservative values she embodies all resonate with her electorate. Us good folks in the news media could not really ask for a more interesting person to cover in this election and some of us probably secretly wish it was Palin running for president so more direct contrasts (and debates!) with Obama would be possible. Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention was truly a moving, adroit, moment that allowed us to see that she's very much her own person and a person at that very much inspired towards a view of politics and culture she believes in . . . moreover, she can speak and move a crowd. I like my elected officials to be good speakers and this has always been something that is very important to me, but my friend David (one of the smartest people I know) pointed out the other night that history is chock-full of good speakers and many of them were not in fact quality leaders or even people whom we would want in high office. So it may be also with Sarah Palin: yes, she's come a long way in a short time and I admire her drive, but is she ready for national office and to possibly be the leader of the entire nation? Her approach to leadership may work in Alaska as a state with a huge geographical size but rather small population, yet most of America is not much like Alaska. As a small-town mayor who won the highest office in her state, Gov. Palin brought the concept of an honest woman who was centered in her family and faith to a state where everyone may feel like they know each other as in a small town despite the fact that air travel is often as pragmatic as car travel to reach a neighbor. Her sense of hockey-mom community values then may be appropriate in Alaska but how robust an understanding of international relations, urban issues, the military and the vastness of American society has she at this point? When the war in Iraq is mentioned (or most anything regarding the armed forces) she's quick to point out her son is in the Army; I have cousins and friends who have served in the armed forces and I am proud of them but such association alone certainly doesn't make me an expert on military affairs. Even the fact that Alaska is very near Russia seems to matter much less in the real world than in soundbites promoted by Palin's staff: the region of Russia near Alaska is very remote and there are not many international issues to face off on directly between Alaska and these backwater oblasts. Moreover, Palin it appears has never once been to Russia. As David pointed out, much of Palin's appeal is in her ability to engage us in her speeches and her winning looks and and family. Unlike the Obamas who may come across to many in middle America as somewhat different, somewhat exotic, somewhat something else than who they are themselves, in Palin's family from the five kids to the daughter who is soon to have a child of her own, we can see someone like us or our neighbors running for high office. The danger is though, do we really want our next-door neighbor or Bonnie who works in the office down the hall at work running the country? Palin may be much more than that and I am not claiming she lacks ideas nor some level of consummate experience, but she's only in her second year of leading a very different state from most of those in the union and she's banking it seems far more on her ability to relate to people as one of the common (wo)men over her talents hard-earned via real leadership. Maybe that's not unwise though, as President Bush seems to have won in part in 2004 due to his ability to relate to much of the nation over Sen. John Kerry's posh New England image. Personally, I don't really care if the president is a man or woman whom I can see a little bit of myself in or picture having a beer with, because chances are I won't meet him or her down at the bar any day soon. What I care about, in our current political climate, is someone who has a vast and deep experience in international relations, someone who understands our economy is in very bad shape and needs immediate attention, and someone who has clear plans about health care, energy policy, and national security. McCain brings a real wealth of experience to the job, yes, but he cannot to me embody the qualities of change and hope that Obama has himself built as the centerpieces of his efforts. For those who agree more with what McCain represents, by all means vote for him if he is the man you believe should lead our fair nation. Just don't vote for him because he's white, because you can see yourself or your husband or your dad in him, or because you cannot envision a mixed-race president or a president whom you'd probably not sit down next to at the local bar. This nation of ours is great because of its diversity and that diversity needs to be represented at the highest levels: when I say that, I don't mean just a diversity of race or gender but a true diversity of ideas. The concepts of neoconservatism that Bush & Co. have run our nation with for the past eight years have their merits but are hollow gourds when it comes to their actual contributions to domestic policy. Where the neocons have some ground to stand upon is in dealing with other countries and mainly with those who sponsor or could sponsor terrorism, yet the real core neocon agenda as established by thinkers like Paul Wolfowitz has mainly been lost with the strong emphasis on Iraq as a nexus of terrorism rather than looking at smaller geopolitical pockets of terroristic groups and thought in places like Egypt. Terror is certainly a very central issue for the United States to face and perhaps an even more pressing issue than the Cold War ever was on a pragmatic level, but the continued military occupation of Iraq seems like a foolish and wasteful means of trying to control the growth of anti-American terroristic thought in the Near East. I fear McCain, and Palin at his side, will carry forth business as normal in many regards of what the eight years of George W. Bush have already set in place. Certainly, people like Drs. Condi Rice and Dov S. Zakheim can bring a bevy of useful ideas to the table and those contributions should be respected - and in an ideal government would be respected regardless of which party they hail from in the first place. The focus on Iraq however as the epicenter of counter-terrorism is misguided and I fear this myopic approach will continue under McCain. Sarah Palin both excites me and disturbs me: she excites me because it's very interesting to see a woman running for vice president and to see such a dynamic person bring a great deal of life to what was an otherwise boring race at times but she's also disturbing because I fear she lacks sound experience that will translate to the everyday skills she will need as a national leader. Yes, she can inspire crowds and she would be amazing as the spokesperson to open new Federal buildings, give speeches at high schools, or fly overseas to shake hands with the troops, but what can she bring to the table as far as ideas and experience? In a time like this, I want a vice president with fresh ideas and encompassing thoughts about all aspects of international and
MIKE WALKER is a writer based in Gainesville, Florida who contributes to this and other regional, national, and international news media on topics germane to ecology, natural and social history, and culture. He may be reached via email at: cloudrace@prontomail.com |
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