McCain selects Palin as running mate
Alaska's governor could become first female vice president in U.S. history
By Zack Colman (Last updated: 09/01/08 1:54pm)Republican presidential candidate John McCain ended all speculation but sparked widespread eyebrow raising by naming Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday.
McCain, who had been rumored to be considering people such as Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty or former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, surprised many with his Palin pick. But Carrie White, chairwoman of MSU Students for John McCain, said the shock is a positive.
“I think it surprised a lot of people, but I think it was a really, really good choice. It’s an exciting choice,” White said. “I think in a lot of ways it steals the (Democratic presidential candidate Barack) Obama mantra of change out of his hands and makes the Obama campaign look at how they’re targeting McCain in different ways.”
While Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made a “safe” choice with Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., as his running mate, McCain’s selection invites more water cooler debate — and it could pay off for McCain.
“This is a little riskier, but on the other hand it brings back into play one of the major issues in the Democratic race, and that’s gender,” said Douglas Roberts, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research and a presidential politics expert. “It makes it a little more difficult for Democrats to attack her really hard because it will appear they still havent gotten over Sen. (Hillary) Clinton.”
Roberts said the move could bring in what used to be called the “soccer mom vote,” but he also said the Palin pick could be puzzling because Alaska carries three electoral votes.
Still, Palin represents a more conservative side of the Republican party than the self-titled “Maverick” McCain, which could help solidify the party behind McCain. The first-term governor favors drilling for oil in Alaska, something McCain opposes.
She is also a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, and is an anti-abortion and capital punishment advocate, according to www.palinforgovernor.com.
Originally Published: 08/29/08 12:13pm
Mike Saelim
08/29/08 12:43pmTouche.
(Unfortunately on this library computer, I can’t make the accented “e,” so you’ll have to bear with me on that.)
Chewie
08/29/08 12:50pminteresting choice … this will fire up the fundamentalist christian base and might snag a few hillary voters. on the other hand it means this woman will be one heartbeat away from becoming the prez, which will make some undecided voters worried. on the other other hand, it sort of renews mcains maverick image, which appeals to a lot of independents.
woman
08/29/08 2:36pmif the idea of a woman as president is bothersome to people, they just need to get over it. We’re one of the only superpower countries left that hasn’t had a woman leader. If these other places haven’t fallen apart, i’m sure we won’t either.
beau
08/29/08 2:42pmGood move John. Sort of screws the “no experience” debate though. It will be an interesting several months once the Republ. convention is over and the real fun begins.
An Old Person
08/29/08 2:50pmThe more I think about it, the more this strikes me as a cynical choice on Senator McCain’s part. Since Governor Palin was rarely if ever mentioned before Senator Obama selected Senator Biden rather than Senator Clinton, and since essentially all the governor seems to bring to Senator McCain’s ticket is being a young woman with conservative credentials, Senator McCain seems to think that women will vote for a woman simply because she is a woman; he almost seems to think, “If they’d vote for Hillary, they’ll probably vote for any woman.” Perhaps I’m wrong, and perhaps Governor Palin will turn out to have qualifications that aren’t now apparent; but at the moment, it’s hard to think of any other explanation for Senator McCain’s choice of running mate.
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rg
08/29/08 2:57pmInteresting choice.
But it raises the notion that McCain picked her for political reasons, not because she was the best or most qualified person for the job.
She doesn’t have much experience. It will be difficult now for McCain to criticize Obama for his lack of experience. After all, like George W. Bush, she’ll be just a heartbeat away from the presidency!
SoCal Spartan
08/29/08 3:25pmJohn McCain, the Walter Mondale of the 21st century.
YAY!
Go Obama!
JR
08/29/08 3:54pmI think it’s an excellent pick. She’s a realist. She’s done some really good work in Alaska for conservation of our natural resources. She’s cut spending and reduced the tax burden on Alaskans… and she has a fantastic approval rating in Alaska (80-90%)! I wouldn’t have voted for Hilary, but Palin is an excellent pick! If we’re going to have a landmark election, I hope it’s for this woman to be the first vice-president in office! McCain-Palin 2008!
Caloysius27
08/29/08 5:21pmKnowing that there are those out there who vote based on one issue and one alone … she has the potential to help McCain draw those voters
Dan Auerbach
08/29/08 7:18pmI assume that “one issue and one alone” Caloysius refers to is abortion rights, which obviously cuts both ways.
I read today that she has 5 children, one of whom has Downs’ Syndrome. The author of the article I read today wrote that, after learning their was a chance he may be born with the condition, her choice not to abort was especially admirable and showed her ‘bona fides’ as an anti-abortion conservative.
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markvt
08/29/08 7:24pmA wonderful choice for McCain. It has been fascinating to listen to Dems tying themselves in knots all day. They claim that Gov Palin is too inexperienced to be President should something happen to McCain, when she is more experienced than the guy at the top of their ticket. She’s actually run a city, a major oil/gas organization and a state. Neither Obama nor Biden have run anything.
...We’ll have to wait and see but I suspect there are no Jeremiah Wrights, Tony Rezko’s, or William Ayers’ in Palin’s closet.
In two years as Governor she’s shown up for work more times than Obama has in four years in the US Senate.
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Mr. Pants
08/29/08 8:36pm“In two years as Governor she’s shown up for work more times than Obama has in four years in the US Senate.”
This would be a welcome change, considering that GWB has had more vacation days than any President in US history. That includes the near-four-term-serving FDR. But he was a war president, so that doesn’t count. … Oh, wait…
dickrod
08/29/08 8:48pmLove how the state news slobbers all over obama and put his pic and multiple front page articles on the cover, while giving this historic pic for McCain a tiny little article. Fair and balanced huh?
Change change yes we can…unless you are the female muslim student that obama’s camp wouldn’t let her sit in view of the camera with her scarf on…
SoCal Spartan
08/30/08 1:00amGovernors apparently started to vote, just like the President of the United States votes present. McCain is a sad case of anger, I’ll take a president that doesn’t wear depends and knows how many houses he owns please.
I’m happy McCain keeps digging his own hole without even realizing it!
Jake
08/30/08 1:58amIt’s no surprise that the media is covering more of Obama then McCain. I was pleased to see that CNN didn’t plaster Hurricane Gustav over McCains face today… for a moment I wasn’t expecting the media to really care about McCain and his VP pick. We shouldn’t be surprised that the State News prefers Obama to McCain.
Tim
08/30/08 1:09pmWoman- I don’t think people are worried about Palin becoming President because she is a woman, but rather due to her inexperience. She has been governor for all of 2 years and before that was the mayor of a tiny town. When trying to address her lack of international experiences, I heard commentators mentioning that her son is going to Iraq and that Alaska is close to Russia. Talk about digging deep. If she was chosen by anyone but a 72 year old man with numerous bouts with cancer, I would say it was a good pick. However, this VP pick is more likely to mean something than most others.
Crystal
08/31/08 12:45amSoCal Spartan,
Please, if you believed McCain when he said he didn’t know how many houses he owned, does that mean you believe Obama when he said he had visited 57 states? Just because McCain said he would have to get back at the reporter who asked the stupid question doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t know. It could have been a brush off to an irrelevant question. Use that thing 3 feet above your arse once in a while.
Tim
08/31/08 9:04amCrystal- The point is that McCain has been calling Obama “elite” and he owns 7 houses! It’s not important whether or not he actually knew the answer. It is important that the answer isn’t 1 or even 2. As for comparing the 57 states comment, it’s not the same thing. You can mispeak and say 57 when you mean 47. You can’t mispeak saying I don’t know when you mean 7 or no comment. I also don’t think it’s stupid question when he is calling others elite and when much of the election is about helping the middle class. I would like to say that both of men are elite in the sense that they are wealthy and had very good educations.
PM
09/01/08 3:46pmExcept McCain graduated 894 out of 899 from the U.S. Naval Academy. He is elite only by wealth, not by any measure of intelligence or academic accomplishment.
Justin
09/01/08 5:11pmYou whiners are amazing. First of all, this story was on the front of the website on Saturday. Second of all, you really think it’s evidence of bias that the acceptance speech of the first ever African American was a bigger story than McCain’s VP choice? Not to mention that Obama gave a wonderful speech.