McCain’s VP choice: Bold Move or Cheap Opportunism?
In this earlier post, I made the argument that if Senator Barack Obama “announces a male Vice Presidential candidate, he should be sure that the Republicans and Senator John McCain will use that against him in the general elections, or worse yet, introduce a female VP candidate”. That indeed became reality now that both candidates have announced their presidential running mates. Senator Obama chose Senator Joe Biden as his VP candidate while Senator John McCain selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.
The shocker turns out to be John McCain’s decision to select a candidate he only met once. Not only that, Governor Palin has little or no national credentials to bring to the campaign. Of course, those who support her are quick to point to the fact that she is a governor and thus has more “executive” experience than senators Obama, Biden and McCain. They may say that to make themselves feel good, but at the end of the day, we are talking about the state of Alaska. When the negative ads start flying, will Americans really care that she has been a governor for all of 18 months? Will they care that she has “fought” corruption in her state and took on the Republican establishment there or will they remember that she is part of a very corrupt, inept and disarticulated Republican Party of President Gearge W. Bush?
The strongest argument that the McCain campaign had used with some success against Obama was his “inexperience” as opposed to John McCain’s. That argument, some will posit, may have forced Obama to pick Joe Biden as his running mate. If Senator McCain’s calculation was to counter the youth and experience of the Obama/Biden ticket by choosing Sarah Palin, there would be some validity with that strategy. But that point goes right out the window if the sole purpose of selecting a her as VP candidate was to go after the women vote and more specifically, the so-called disaffected supporters of Senator Hillary Clinton. Should that turn out to be the case, one has to really question the judgement of John McCain. Let it be said loud and clear, Sarah Palin is not, repeat, not Hillary Clinton.
This kind of shameless pandering proves unequivocally that John McCain is indeed clinging to the practices and methods of old politics. He may have his reasons, but they are not clear to the rest of us. Hoping to “capture” the women vote simply by adding a woman to the ticket should be seen as an affront and a grave insult by women in America. John McCain has opposed almost everything the Women Movement in the United States have fought and are still fighting for – equal pay for equal work, the right to choose, gender equality, accessibility to health care etc. John McCain supports the flooding of the U.S. Supreme Court with ultra conservative judges who are very willing to trample women’s rights at the drop of a hat. This move smacks of male chauvinism at its highest level – use women to achieve your goals when it suits your purpose.
The key question Americans should ask themselves is this, what if John McCain were to have a medical emergency if he becomes president? Can we trust Sarah Palin to step into the presidency and hold her own or will she be forced to rely on the old guard to hold her hands through. Although there is the argument that the choice for VP has no direct impact on the election of a president, there is still cause to put in perspective the reason why the constitution has that role in the first place.
As we move closer to the general election, the reaction of Americans to the candidates and their pronounciations and promises will tell if McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin was a bold move or cheap opportunism at its best. We will keep a close eye on this one.