Loading ...
MCMASTER, GRAHAM, DAWSON, SANFORD ALL WEIGH IN
The final piece of the presidential puzzle is in place after today’s surprise selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to fill out Republican nominee John McCain’s ticket. And South Carolina Republicans couldn’t be more excited.
Attorney General Henry McMaster, in St. Paul, Minn. to serve as the Chief Sergeant at Arms for next week’s Republican National Convention, said Palin “is a superb choice to serve as Sen. McCain’s running mate.
“She is a tough conservative reformer who has spent her time in office shaking up the status-quo. Gov. Palin is a true leader who will be ready to serve our country on day one,” McMaster said. “Sen. McCain picked a running mate with an excellent record of accomplishment in Gov. Palin.”
One of McCain’s closest friends and confidants also expressed his excitement over the decision.
“This is an historic day for the Republican Party and the United States of America,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham. “I’ve never been more proud of my friend John McCain who made a wise and bold choice for his running mate in Governor Sarah Palin.
Graham added that Palin “will bring a new attitude to Washington that is long overdue” and that “some people talk about change, but Governor Palin has made it happen.”
The senior Senator from South Carolina referenced Palin’s reform efforts to rid Alaska of government waste and corruption, as well as her knack for shaking up the political establishment while working hard for taxpayers.
The leader of South Carolina’s Republican Party, Chairman Katon Dawson, echoed that sentiment, saying that Palin is a tremendous pick.
Said Dawson, “Republicans in South Carolina are extremely excited to rally behind the McCain-Palin ticket. Together, [McCain and Palin] will renew the Republican lease on the White House by campaigning on substance rather than celebrity and restoring the reform-minded conservative priorities of fiscal responsibility, limited government and individual liberty to Washington.”
Prior to McCain’s official announcement of Palin as the vice presidential nominee, Gov. Mark Sanford — who it was announced today would be speaking at the convention — took to FOX News to talk about how impressed he has been with Palin, as the two have worked together during annual governor’s conferences.
“Here’s somebody who takes the toughest job in America, that is being a mom, and does a fabulous job on that front,” Sanford said. “And then she combines that with bringing needed reform to Alaska on ethics on another front. She has been absolutely fabulous.”
_________
UPDATE: The Greenville News has a few more here.
It’s a good choice; much better than Biden.
Now if the package didn’t inclue McCain I’d go for it.
But heck, we’ve all got to stop being naive by pretending that it is possible, in the current stage of decay in the republic, to obtain a good government by merely voting.
I guess now his wife has something wrong with her – the arm brace – he needed another female better looking than his wife. Shameful, and this is only out of spite anyways.
This is Jorge from http://FightingBlue.com
McCain in the Membrane…watch out because McCain’s INSANE!
I do not understand McCain at all. All summer long he has blasted Obama because he does not have enough experience and has not spent enough time in Washington D.C. to be corrupted.
Then in a blink of an eye, McCain nominated an inexperienced governer to be his running mate. In some ways I am not surprised because it is the typical Republican strategy: FLIP FLOP and spin the argument.
But c’mon, I expected better of McCain. Up until this point, I respected him because I saw him as a closet BLUE DOG DEMOCRAT in the GOP. I guess he is not the maverick I thought he was back in 2000.
No disrespect to the People & State of Alaska, but this is a state that has more reindeer than people. Gov. Palin has not even completed her first term and is clearly unqualified.
Gov. Palin’s sole purpose is to be a puppet to draw the media attention that only Paris Hilton can appreciate.
One more proof that McCain’s judgement is clouded and he has no clue!
-Jorge
When is McCain going to come out and say, “Yeah, I was just kidding. I thought she was hot and could work as my third wife, but then I looked at Cindy. I’m going to be smart and take Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty.”
With this pick, there is no doubt left in my mind that McCain does not have a clue as to what the heck he is doing. Picking someone who would have swung some electoral votes would have made sense, (see, Crist/Pawlenty/Ridge/Romney). Instead, it is obvious that he is looking to go 100% on the Alaskan Inuit vote, given the fact that Obama is going to sweep every other ethnic category.
Biden will chew her up in a debate. What does she know about foreign policy? Trade? Energy? Immigration (because I hear the Ruskies are knocking the doors down to get into Alaska)? National secuirty?
I could understand putting her in charge of the Department of the Interior, but VP? Ha! This woman’s claim to fame is that her husband is a snow machine race winner… whatever the Hell that is.
McCain/Palin… For Grizzly Bears. For Totem Poles. For Moose Burgers. For YOU!
Hey Adolph, you are incredibly crass and sexist and obvioulsy an Obama fan. This is a knee jerk lib response, informed by venom, and not by facts.
Gov. Palin is smart, consistent, and ethical. Which is why the left are having a major cow today.
Let’s see what brand of feminism percolates through here. Quite the horns of a dilemma. You guys are in quicksand and don’t even see it. This was a genious pick, and I, for one, can’t wait to see her debate Biden. Gov. Palin will prove more substantial than you think.
I think Andrew Sullivan <a href=”http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/08/three-words.html”>put it best this evening</a>:
<i>Think about what the Palin pick really says about how McCain views this campaign and how he views his potential responsibilities in national security.
Think about what it says about the sincerity of McCain’s own central criticism of Obama these past two months in foreign affairs.
Think about how he picked a woman to be a heartbeat away from a war presidency who hadn’t even thought much, by her own admission, about the Iraq war as late as 2007.
Think about how he made this decision barely knowing the woman.
Think about the fact that the most McCain could say about his potential war-time vice-president in foreign affairs and national security when selecting her is that she commanded Alaska’s National Guard as governor and has a son in the military.
Think about the men and women serving this country who have every right to trust that their potential commander-in-chief, whatever their party, would have some record of even interest in foreign policy before assuming office.
Think about how the key factor in this decision was not who could defend this country were something dreadful happen to McCain in office but how to tread as much on Obama’s convention bounce and use women’s equality as a wedge issue among Democrats because it might secure a few points here or there. Oh, and everyone would be surprised. And even Rove would be annoyed.
This is his sense of honor and judgment. This is his sense of responsibility and service.
Here’s the real slogan the McCain campaign should now adopt:
Putting. Country. <b>Last.</b><i>
It’s all bizarre. Here is someone who ” cleans up” supposedly and she needs to start with McCain’s inner circle. The people quoted in this piece have ethics problems, so who are they to judge ? Ethics and Republicans…. the two do not mix. Republicans don’t really have ethics. Trust me. I can prove it.
I don’t think Sarah Palin would have stood a chance had she run in the GOP primaries earlier this year. She would have been ridiculed by Republicans (both voters and other candidates) for being too inexperienced. She may have some appeal, but she’s too green. So I don’t see why so many Republicans are defending her now.
Yes, Obama is also relatively inexperienced. But at least Obama got to where he is now because people voted for him. Palin got to be the GOP VP nominee because McCain appointed her.
This seems like an affirmative action pick that was made in an attempt to pander to women. And given how much Republicans rail against affirmative action, that makes the Palin pick all the more bizarre.
loulou,
My friends and family fall on both sides of this line. I consider them all good ethical people, they wouldn’t be my friends if I didn’t.
If you are saying that everyone in the republican party is unethical and everyone in the democratic party is ethical I’m sure a little Google search would discredit your statement. You sure do carry a wide paint brush.
I love the statement that a news correspondent said last night. Palin has more EXECUTIVE experience then all three of the other candidates combined.
Alaska now has a rating of (Palin ranks Standard & Poor’s AA+, $5.2 billion in reserve of $17.2 billion tax revenues under Palin’s leadership.
She supports all of her schools, mentoring students and applauding their success – check them out they are several points higher than the natl average and only a few points off in two.
Palin serves as The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission chairman.
Health care leader Governor Sarah Palin welcomes the visit of the People’s Republic of China Minister of Health Qiang Gao to observe the delivery of rural health care in Alaska acquaint China’s top ranking health official with Alaska models for rural health care delivery, both on site and through the use of telemedicine.
Palin is chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) Natural Resources Committee
Governors Palin leads and presses congress to fully fund the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
She has a record, not so Obama
Congratulations- you managed to meld three press releases without adding an original thought.