Palin may have left Alaska, but she's not giving up her moose roots

Thursday 04 September 2008 Campaign Stops: Convention Updates
Regularly updated commentary by Times columnists and guest contributors.

Palin Pulls No Punches

Sarah Palin must be doing something right. Her face has been on the front of the Globe three times this week, always smiling and always confident, and usually with a cheering crowd in the foreground. She has taken more lumps this week as a vice-presidential nominee than in all her time as governor of Alaska, mayor of Wasilla, and hockey mom. Yet, she delivered what many pundits are calling the speech of her life last night in front of thousands of devoted Republicans in St. Paul, Minnesota. In a matter of hours, Palin seems to have turned a corner with the very same media who were bashing her since McCain announced her candidacy late last week. What is remarkable is how she did it - lashing out and berating any journalist who dared question her family, her experience, or her ethics. And that was only part of her forty-five-minute coming-out party. She pulled no punches describing the apparent ineptitude of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Palin has only been mayor of a small town, she admitted, but who cares? It comes with “actual responsibility,” unlike Obama’s pre-political experience as a mere community organizer. Nervous at first, Palin settled in and, teetering on the edge of a speech entirely devoid of substance, even fit in some energy policy (oil=good, dependence=bad). The post-game assessment in the Big Seven, if a consensus could be drawn, is that Palin solidified the Republican base and drew a line in the sand. She likely changed the minds of nary a Democrat, but was that ever really her intent? More than a few reporters are now thinking about the upcoming vice-presidential debate. The hockey mom known as the Barracuda is certainly no slouch.

Columnists were salivating over Palin’s big night; that is for certain. They might have envisioned an empty, defensive approach to public speaking. Not a chance. In so much as many Americans might disagree with her policy on abortion, oil, and just about every plank of international affairs, her genuine, girl-next-door demeanour resonated with the crowd and, pundits say in the aftermath, the party faithful that doubted presidential candidate John McCain’s commitment to their basic ideals. Some pundits painted the reception in other ways, but always with the same conclusion: Palin has on-screen gusto. CTV’s Joy Malbon was positively gushing over the crowd’s reaction to the speech. The Globe has had John Ibbitson and Margaret Wente on Palin Watch all week, and they also chimed in. Ibbitson affirmed Palin’s barracuda status; Wente termed Palin “a hugely gifted populist,” a “thoroughly modern woman,” and “a Christian mom on steroids.” At the end of the day, though, Wente sees it all as something of a novelty: “Personally, I think we’re witnessing the Republican Party in meltdown,” she confesses. The Star’s Rosie DiManno, who is moderately critical of Palin, still admits that “this babe bites back.” Jay Rosen opines in the Star that all this drama is deliberate. The Post’s Jonathan Kay defends Palin by attacking the CBC. His column is quite upfront in its condemnation of the CBC’s Neil Macdonald, who belatedly reported the rumour that Palin’s youngest son is actually her first grandchild. That rumour proved false - a biological impossibility. Make no mistake, though. Palin needs no help from Kay, or any other journalist, in her defence. If her first major speech to the nation (and the world) is any indication, Palin is willing to directly attack any and all challengers.

Thursday 04 September 2008 Speech movies many vers.

Thursday, September 4, 2008 Palin takes slapshot at the media
Amid a raging political debate over her selection as John McCain's running mate and tabloid-intensity...

Republicans counterattack against 'sexism'
The McCain campaign launched a ferocious counter-attack against what they called "falsehoods and smears...

Thursday 04 September 2008 Readers question McCain's judgment
At montrealgazette.com/soundoff, we asked if Governor Sarah Palin's political credibility was undermined...

As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on Sarah Palin, Senator McCain's choice for VP. As an Alaska voter, I know more than most of you about her and, frankly, I am horrified that he picked her.

The most accurate description of her is red neck. Her husband works in the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and races snow mobiles. She is a life time member of the NRA and has worked tirelessly to allow indiscriminate hunting of wildlife in Alaska, particularly wolves and bears. She has spent millions of Alaska state dollars on aerial hunting of these predators from helicopters and airplanes, dollars that should have been spent, for example, on Alaska's failing school system.We have the lowest rate of high school graduation in the country. Not all of you may think aerial predator hunting is so bad, but how anyone (other than Alaska wolf-haters, of which there are many, most without teeth), could think this use of funds is appropriate is beyond me. If you want to know more about the aerial hunting travesty, let me know and I will send some links to informative web sites.

She has been a strong supporter of increased use of fossil fuels, yet the McCain campaign has the nerve to say she has "green" policies. The only thing green about Sarah Palin is her lack of experience. She has consistently supported drilling in ANWR, use of coal-burning power plants (as I write this, a new coal plant is being built in her home town of Wasilla), strip mining, and almost anything else that will unnecessarily exploit the diminishing resources of Alaska and destroy its environment.

Aislin archiveSep 6, 2008

Prior to her one year as governor of Alaska, she was mayor of Wasilla, a small red neck town outside Anchorage.The average maximum education level of parents of junior high school kids in Wasilla is 10th grade. Unfortunately, I have to go to Wasilla every week to get groceries and other supplies, so I have continual contact with the people who put Palin in office in the first place. I know what I'm talking about. These people don't have a concept of the world around them or of the serious issues facing the US. Furthermore, they don't care. So long as they can go out and hunt their moose every fall, kill wolves and bears and drive their snow mobiles and ATVs through every corner of the wilderness, they're happy. I wish I were exaggerating.

Sarah Palin is currently involved in a political corruption scandal. She fired an individual in law enforcement here because she didn't like how he treated one of her relatives during a divorce. The man's performance and ability weren't considered; it was a totally personal firing and is currently under investigation. While the issue isn't close to the scandal of Ted Steven's corruption, it shows that Palin isn't "squeaky clean" and causes me to think there may be more issues that could come to light. Clearly McCain doesn't care.

When you line Palin up with Biden, the comparison would be laughable if it weren't so serious. Sarah Palin knows nothing of economics (admittedly a weak area for McCain), or of international affairs, knows nothing of national government, Social Security, unemployment, health care systems - you name it. The idea of her meeting with heads of foreign governments around the world truly frightens me.

In an increasingly dangerous world, with the economy in shambles in the US, Sarah Palin is uniquely unqualified to be vice president. John McCain is not a young man. Should something happen to him such that the vice president had to step in, it would destroy our country and possibly the world to have someone as inexperienced and inappropriate as Sarah Palin. The choice of Palin is a cheap shot by McCain to try to get Hillary supporters to vote for him. when McCain introduced her today, Palin had the nerve to compare herself with Hillary and Geraldine Ferraro. Sarah Palin, you are no Hillary Clinton.

To those of you who, like me, supported Hilary and were upset that she did not get the nomination, please don't think that Sarah Palin is a worthy substitute. If you supported Hillary, regardless of what you think the media and the democratic party may have done to undermine her campaign, the person to support now is Obama, not Sarah Palin. To those of you who are independent or undecided, don't let the choice of Palin sway you in favor of McCain. Choosing her shows how unqualified McCain is to be president. To those of you who are conservative, I guess you have no choice for president. But please try to see how the poor choice of Palin tells us a great deal about McCain's judgment. While the political posturing inherent in the choice of Palin is obvious, the more serious issue is the fact that the VP is, literally, a heartbeat away from the presidency. Sarah Palin is totally and unequivocally unqualified to be vice=2 0president, let alone president.

I know this is a lengthy and emotional email, but the stakes are high. I thought it might help for all of you, regardless of political affiliation, to know something about Palin from someone who has to live with her administration in Alaska on a daily basis.

Thursday, September 4th, 2008 Ben Stein Repulsed By Sarah Palin, Thinks Henry Kissinger Should ‘Babysit’ Her

Friday, December 14, 2007 Palin strikes a pose for Vogue