Here’s a little “news flash” for newly minted Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin.
The self-professed “hockey mom” made like the Flyers Wednesday night, dropping the gloves and going after those who’ve questioned her credentials – and her family – since she was announced last Friday as Sen. John McCain’s choice as vice president.
The neophyte Alaska governor has been under the media microscope in a series of revelations about both her public and private life, including the embarrassing news that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant. Palin is an unabashed abortion foe and backer of abstinence education. Her daughter Bristol will have the baby and marry her boyfriend.
Palin also made headlines for her seeming lack of experience, and also a couple of skirmishes she was involved in as governor, including the firing of the Alaska security commissioner in a dispute involving the firing of a state trooper who was involved in a bitter divorce battle with Palin’s sister.
Last night, with the eyes of the nation riveted on her, the GOP’s St. Paul-I Girl came out swinging.
The woman who makes no bones about her strong pro-gun stance as a longtime NRA member put the media squarely in her crosshairs.
“I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment,” Palin said. “And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
“But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion; I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.”
Well, here’s a little news flash for Palin. That might be her biggest issue.
I could not agree with her more.
I don’t give a damn about her daughter’s pregnancy. It’s a family issue and I agree with those who believe it’s off limits.
But I think it’s fairly hypocritical for some on the right to cry foul when you think back about some of the things that have been said about Chelsea Clinton. Imagine it were Chelsea in this position, and what the reaction might be like.
That doesn’t mean I’m on board with Palin as McCain’s choice. I still don’t know if she’s qualified to be vice president. To sit a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, serving what would be the oldest man ever elected president, who has a history of health issues.
But it was refreshing to see a different face on the Republican Party.
Palin did not shy away from the spotlight last night; she fairly sparkled in it.
Once she got done with the media, she went about the more normal business of a vice presidential pick: Tearing into the opposition.
Palin had strong words for the Obama-Biden ticket, seemingly taking great joy in jabbing at the Illinois senator’s own lack of experience. She even touted her own background as being more equipped to handle the rigors of high public office.
I still have questions about Palin, but none of them involve family issues. I still question her experience. And I question the process McCain used in making the pick. I still wonder if he was fully aware of some of the issues that have fallen out of her closet.
But after watching her last night, it seems pretty clear she’s up for the fight.
In fact, this is one hockey mom who would have made the Broad Street Bullies proud.
The self-professed “hockey mom” made like the Flyers Wednesday night, dropping the gloves and going after those who’ve questioned her credentials – and her family – since she was announced last Friday as Sen. John McCain’s choice as vice president.
The neophyte Alaska governor has been under the media microscope in a series of revelations about both her public and private life, including the embarrassing news that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant. Palin is an unabashed abortion foe and backer of abstinence education. Her daughter Bristol will have the baby and marry her boyfriend.
Palin also made headlines for her seeming lack of experience, and also a couple of skirmishes she was involved in as governor, including the firing of the Alaska security commissioner in a dispute involving the firing of a state trooper who was involved in a bitter divorce battle with Palin’s sister.
Last night, with the eyes of the nation riveted on her, the GOP’s St. Paul-I Girl came out swinging.
The woman who makes no bones about her strong pro-gun stance as a longtime NRA member put the media squarely in her crosshairs.
“I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment,” Palin said. “And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
“But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion; I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.”
Well, here’s a little news flash for Palin. That might be her biggest issue.
I could not agree with her more.
I don’t give a damn about her daughter’s pregnancy. It’s a family issue and I agree with those who believe it’s off limits.
But I think it’s fairly hypocritical for some on the right to cry foul when you think back about some of the things that have been said about Chelsea Clinton. Imagine it were Chelsea in this position, and what the reaction might be like.
That doesn’t mean I’m on board with Palin as McCain’s choice. I still don’t know if she’s qualified to be vice president. To sit a heartbeat away from the Oval Office, serving what would be the oldest man ever elected president, who has a history of health issues.
But it was refreshing to see a different face on the Republican Party.
Palin did not shy away from the spotlight last night; she fairly sparkled in it.
Once she got done with the media, she went about the more normal business of a vice presidential pick: Tearing into the opposition.
Palin had strong words for the Obama-Biden ticket, seemingly taking great joy in jabbing at the Illinois senator’s own lack of experience. She even touted her own background as being more equipped to handle the rigors of high public office.
I still have questions about Palin, but none of them involve family issues. I still question her experience. And I question the process McCain used in making the pick. I still wonder if he was fully aware of some of the issues that have fallen out of her closet.
But after watching her last night, it seems pretty clear she’s up for the fight.
In fact, this is one hockey mom who would have made the Broad Street Bullies proud.
Comments
She's got plenty of charisma, but under the surface is an endless supply of muck:
1) She eagerly supported the Bridge to Nowhere, until it got killed.
2) As mayor, she hired a Washington lobbyist and got $27 million in earmarks for her tiny town, including $15 million for a rail line to Ted Steven's ski resort.
3) She got $1 million for an airport repaving project that was on McCain's once-touted list of pork-barrel projects that exemplified the corruption.
4) She wants to teach Creationism in the schools, doesn't believe global warming has a man-made component, and sued the government for putting polar bears on the endangered species list.
5) As Governor, she cut over $1 million from the budget of a halfway house that helps pregnant teens find counseling, job training, work and homes.
6) The McCain camp (including the candidate himself in an interview) claims that Alaska's proximity to Russia counts as foreign policy experience.
7) Her first son was born 8 months after she and her husband eloped "to save their parents money on an expensive white wedding". Yet, somehow she believes in "abstinence-only" education and not in sex education in the schools.
8) She wants to drill in ANWR.
9) She "chose" and "decided" to keep her Down Syndrome baby, but wants to eliminate the ability to choose for all other women, even in cases of rape or incest.
10) She's opposed to civil unions and is against providing benefits to the civil-union partners of state workers.
11) The National Enquirer (not the mainstream media) found out about Bristol's pregnancy and told the campaign they were going public, which is what actually prompted the campaign to come forward. The National Enquirer is also claiming that Sarah Palin had an affair with an ex business partner of her husband.
It is the National Enquirer, but with their hits on Edwards and Bristol, they are going to get some attention and not dismissed as quickly as usual.
Why is this relevant? Extra-marital affair was among the vetting questions. (As was: whether she had ever downloaded pornography)
Palin is a self-inflicted wound by McCain. They can apply pressure, but it's still going to bleed out.