That being said, with a high standard for foreign experience, nearly any governor would be an inappropriate choice, as they generally have little foreign policy experience. Bill Clinton was little known outside of Arkansas prior to the 1992 campaign and had little or no international experience that I'm aware of (unless you count allowing the sale of tainted prisoners blood to Canada as international experience). I don't believe Al Gore was internationally renowned either (in 1992). Arkansas doesn't even border any other countries. And yet, Bill Clinton managed - not perfectly, mind you, but he managed. I don't believe Bill Clinton was a bad president, either. Spending too much time philandering and living by the polls, perhaps, but not bad.
And re: ability to speak, I invite you to look at this Obama town hall. When he has no well-defined script, he's a pretty bad communicator. Far from just being awkward delivering talking points in that situation, his verbalization just tends to break down.
Few people see this side of Obama because it is not widely reported or publicized.
And I have reviewed the michigan mccain/palin town hall...I just don't see that sort of verbal breakdown that Obama experienced. Yes, she doesn't have much international experience and yes, her position requires her to deliver talking points on McCain's foreign policy, but I don't think john mccain is going to keel over either on April 4, 2009....unless the inauguration is extremely wet and cold and he refuses to wear his overcoat. Then be afraid.
So, once again, you're pointing out a republican point of view that a democrat is not fit for office... so apply that same reasoning to your own candidate for VP. If the dems choice isn't good enough, the repubs should choose better for themselves. They can't use that as their excuse to fight against obama, then claim it's good enough for themselves, because that belittles their entire argument. You can't say that one thing is bad for one person, but then say it's OK for yourself. You can't, it's hypocritical. And before you start bringing in other points, I'm ONLY TALKING about this one point here, nothing else.
And I DO think that mccain will get ill. 3 months after his inauguration? Probably not. But 3 months is a small fraction of a presidency, a presidency that will inherit conflict and stress and lots of other things since it's wartime as opposed to peacetime... and it's what Bush took as a vacation right after he entered office. I don't think he'll keel over. I think he'll be sick enough where she will have to take over for more than an hour or three while a tube is shoved up his ass. If you honestly don't believe that he'll be sick, good for you. You will not get me to agree with you on this, at all.
1. I will rephrase myself. I am not arguing that Bill Clinton was unfit for office from the foreign affairs/policy perspective and thus that it makes it somehow ok for Sarah Palin to be unfit too. I am arguing that Bill Clinton was fit for the office - and so is Sarah Palin. Foreign policy has been jumped upon because obviously it's her weakest trait, not because of some vast store of foreign policy knowledge a P or VP candidate needs.
2, related to 1. American presidential elections do not occur in vacuums, with respect to comparisons between the current candidates and to a lesser extent, past candidates. People can, do, and will compare the candidates to each other and may pick the one they like most or dislike least. Indeed, that is how our voting, for better or worse, is structured.
3. For what it's worth, John McCain's mom, still alive and kicking at age 97. And if John McCain is going to melt physically or mentally under the stress of office, well, um, gee, you might think we would have seen that in the 5 1/2 years he spent as a POW, getting permanently disfigured in the process. He's not some geriatric fool waiting for a stiff breeze to blow him over.
My argument is that republicans claim Obama is NOT fit for office, therefore Palin isn't using the same criteria. Using republicans own arguments against one candidate, but not the other, is hypocritical. Whether you believe it or not, well, that's up to you. Using the same definitions to say one person is not qualified, but another is is hypocritical. You may not want to acknowledge it, but that's what I'm saying, and I'm sticking to it. It's like saying "you can't fly to the moon because you wear glasses, but I wear glasses and I can". If I were to say that to you, that'd be hypocritical. Saying Obama doesn't have enough experience after being in the Senate since 2004, then claiming Palin does with even less time in any leadership role over more than 6000 people is wrong. Being Mayor of a town that small isn't that much experience. If an 18 year old can do it in a town of just over 8000 while still being in high school, it doesn't say much for her "experience", whereas Obama has been a senator for longer than she's been a governor, has been in the spotlight since 2004, and in the state legislature from 97-04. Illinois population is close to 13 million, Alaska's population: Not even 1 million. Alaska has a lot of politics outside of population going for it, but so does Illinois, so whose experience counts the most? According to the republicans, hers does. I disagree, since they claim Obama's doesn't count for shit.
So who cares if his mom lives to over 100? His dad was 70 when he died.. looking at that anecdotal evidence, McCain is on borrowed time. Neither of them were president of the united states, a job which is more stressful than pretty much anything out there, although not as bad as being a POW. Stress shortens your lifespan, it's not one of those things that, when it's over, your life goes back to it's normal timeframe.
I'm not saying he's in bad health NOW; I'm not saying he's decrepit. I'm saying his previous health issues combined with age and stress are a bad combination. Just looking at pictures on wikipedia show him to have aged a lot within the past year and a half, even. I'm not saying he's a geriatric fool waiting for a stiff breeze. He will be the oldest president to take office (72, not 69 like I said earlier, bad math teacher!). When people get old, they start to break down. He is OLD.
Interestingly enough, the average lifespan of an average male is about 76 (75.2) years. One who hasn't battled cancer, hasn't been hidden away and tortured as a POW. Some live longer, yes... that's how averages work. hopefully, if he is elected, he won't die or have a heart attack or another cancer relapse. But if he does, she is going to be there. Using Republican criteria, she is not ready.
And re: ability to speak, I invite you to look at this Obama town hall. When he has no well-defined script, he's a pretty bad communicator. Far from just being awkward delivering talking points in that situation, his verbalization just tends to break down.
Obama town hall
Few people see this side of Obama because it is not widely reported or publicized.
And I have reviewed the michigan mccain/palin town hall...I just don't see that sort of verbal breakdown that Obama experienced. Yes, she doesn't have much international experience and yes, her position requires her to deliver talking points on McCain's foreign policy, but I don't think john mccain is going to keel over either on April 4, 2009....unless the inauguration is extremely wet and cold and he refuses to wear his overcoat. Then be afraid.
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And I DO think that mccain will get ill. 3 months after his inauguration? Probably not. But 3 months is a small fraction of a presidency, a presidency that will inherit conflict and stress and lots of other things since it's wartime as opposed to peacetime... and it's what Bush took as a vacation right after he entered office. I don't think he'll keel over. I think he'll be sick enough where she will have to take over for more than an hour or three while a tube is shoved up his ass. If you honestly don't believe that he'll be sick, good for you. You will not get me to agree with you on this, at all.
Reply
2, related to 1. American presidential elections do not occur in vacuums, with respect to comparisons between the current candidates and to a lesser extent, past candidates. People can, do, and will compare the candidates to each other and may pick the one they like most or dislike least. Indeed, that is how our voting, for better or worse, is structured.
3. For what it's worth, John McCain's mom, still alive and kicking at age 97. And if John McCain is going to melt physically or mentally under the stress of office, well, um, gee, you might think we would have seen that in the 5 1/2 years he spent as a POW, getting permanently disfigured in the process. He's not some geriatric fool waiting for a stiff breeze to blow him over.
Reply
So who cares if his mom lives to over 100? His dad was 70 when he died.. looking at that anecdotal evidence, McCain is on borrowed time. Neither of them were president of the united states, a job which is more stressful than pretty much anything out there, although not as bad as being a POW. Stress shortens your lifespan, it's not one of those things that, when it's over, your life goes back to it's normal timeframe.
I'm not saying he's in bad health NOW; I'm not saying he's decrepit. I'm saying his previous health issues combined with age and stress are a bad combination. Just looking at pictures on wikipedia show him to have aged a lot within the past year and a half, even. I'm not saying he's a geriatric fool waiting for a stiff breeze. He will be the oldest president to take office (72, not 69 like I said earlier, bad math teacher!). When people get old, they start to break down. He is OLD.
Interestingly enough, the average lifespan of an average male is about 76 (75.2) years. One who hasn't battled cancer, hasn't been hidden away and tortured as a POW. Some live longer, yes... that's how averages work. hopefully, if he is elected, he won't die or have a heart attack or another cancer relapse. But if he does, she is going to be there. Using Republican criteria, she is not ready.
Reply
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