By Erich Vieth on September 02nd, 2008
Andrew Sullivan sums up Palin - it’s really about McCain
Andrew Sullivan concludes that the choice of Palin should focus us sharply on McCain’s poor judgment:
To my mind, this pick is not about Palin’s unreadiness to be president. It’s about McCain’s unreadiness to be president. This act of judgment - a blend of ignorance, gut, cynicism, and pure egotism - makes him seem like a worse potential presdent than even George W. Bush. This is McCain’s first real executive decision. And it is unbelievably shallow, incompetent and reckless.
Joan Walsh of Salon.com expands on Sullivan’s succinct statement:
The entire Palin story also raises questions about McCain’s judgment. By most accounts, McCain wanted to choose Sen. Joe Lieberman as his running mate. What does it mean that he couldn’t stand up to Karl Rove and the Christian right and do that? And then, when he decided he couldn’t buck the party masters, what does it mean that he rushed into his Palin pick, having spent almost no time with her, and very little time vetting her?
http://www.salon.com/opinion/walsh/election_2008/2008/09/02/palin_obama/
Indeed, it is all about McCain. By choosing a political neophite as his running mate, McCain is declaring that he needs no one to help him lead the country. While most presidential candidates, including Obama, recognize that they have areas of weakness, and they often choose running mates who help offset those weaknesses, McCain has chosen a running mate who brings virtually no experience or other strengths to the table. The message it sends is obvious: McCain is either ignorant of his weaknesses, or he doesn’t care how his weaknesses might adversely impact the nation.