Would Palin be worse than GWB as President?

[An Gadaí]

I just thought I'd hop on the Palin thread bandwagon. I hear alot of people complaining that she wouldn't be fit to be Vice-President, nor if it came to it President. Is she less fit than GWB was? I'm not trying to stir shit here. I don't know enough about the careers of either to decide it for myself.

[JohnnieEnigma]

I just thought I'd hop on the Palin thread bandwagon. I hear alot of people complaining that she wouldn't be fit to be Vice-President, nor if it came to it President. Is she less fit than GWB was? I'm not trying to stir shit here. I don't know enough about the careers of either to decide it for myself.


If you saw her speak last night, than you must be more than confident that she is more than qualified to be VP. As far as her role as President? She's not running for president, so I'm not sure why you're asking.

For the record, I think GWB is a good president. I've never bought into the media hype of underestimating him and all that...

[tagos]

If you saw her speak last night, than you must be more than confident that she is more than qualified to be VP. As far as her role as President? She's not running for president, so I'm not sure why you're asking.

For the record, I think GWB is a good president. I've never bought into the media hype of underestimating him and all that...

So - in your opinion the last 8 years; Afghanistan, Iraq, Katrina, etc etc etc have all been peachy. There's setting the bar low and placing it on the floor.

And no - the creationist, separatist-supporting, anti-american, book-banning, influence mis-using, reckless when pregnant, proudly ignorant of world affairs woman is self-evidently not qualified to be Governor of Alaska let alone anything else.

[Mosier]

No, I don't think she would be worse than Bush as president.

[Giles]

No, I don't think she would be worse than Bush as president.
I'd agree, but I don't think it's setting the bar very high to say that.

[Airman Doors, USAF]

And no - the creationist, separatist-supporting, anti-american, book-banning, influence mis-using, reckless when pregnant, proudly ignorant of world affairs woman is self-evidently not qualified to be Governor of Alaska let alone anything else.

Well, that cinches it. What an asshole she is! Obama's qualifications clearly trump hers. Oh, yessiree, he's the MAN!

Now that the sarcasm is over, perhaps you can explain dispassionately why she is the bad person you claim her to be.

[An Gadaí]

If you saw her speak last night, than you must be more than confident that she is more than qualified to be VP. As far as her role as President? She's not running for president, so I'm not sure why you're asking.

In another thread, I'm sorry I don't recall which but it is current, someone pointed out that she has to able to take on the reins of leadership at anytime from day 1 of her Vice-Presidency.

[magellan01]

Who knows? You might as well ask if she'd be e better President than Reagan.

[tagos]

Well, that cinches it. What an asshole she is! Obama's qualifications clearly trump hers. Oh, yessiree, he's the MAN!

Now that the sarcasm is over, perhaps you can explain dispassionately why she is the bad person you claim her to be.

The evidence is all out there. Just read and watch. Just supporting a separatist party should be enough to disbar her without supporting creationism and all the other shit floating to the surface. She isn't even a Governor in any real sense. Alaska? Give me a break. I could do that job in my spare time. No population, no money problems beyond how to spread the wealth. And you aren't bothered by her self-professed ignorance of the Iraq War?

Show me a serious candidate and I'll be serious. Honestly. The rest of the world thought Bush was a joke candidate but this is in the realms of the surreal.

[zamboniracer]

If you saw her speak last night, than you must be more than confident that she is more than qualified to be VP. As far as her role as President? She's not running for president, so I'm not sure why you're asking.

For the record, I think GWB is a good president. I've never bought into the media hype of underestimating him and all that...


I thought the fact that a politician can deliver a speech nicely isn't any evidence that that person will be a good president. At least, that's what the Republicans said about Obama last week. ;)

[JohnnieEnigma]

So - in your opinion the last 8 years; Afghanistan, Iraq, Katrina, etc etc etc have all been peachy. There's setting the bar low and placing it on the floor. I didn't say the past 8 years were easy for him or that I agree with some of his decisions. I just don't think he is as "evil personified" as the other side would lead you to think. I just don't buy it. I think he has big balls to stand up for some of the stuff he stands up to. He's clearly decisive. I don't like that so many of our soldiers were wounded or died in this war... it could have been planned better.


And no - the creationist, separatist-supporting, anti-american, book-banning, influence mis-using, reckless when pregnant, proudly ignorant of world affairs woman is self-evidently not qualified to be Governor of Alaska let alone anything else.


Is that your spin on her? Good to know.

I've seen a lot of chauvinistic, misogynistic, demeaning and vitriolic rhetoric coming from the left regarding this woman... so many untrue rumors. It got really ugly. They only discredit themselves with their hate speech. Just saying... I don't see Obama or Biden acting like this... they're taking the high road.

We'll see how this plays out in the end. I think the Palin choice was a progressive move for McCain. We have a legitimate race now... some real competition.

[JohnnieEnigma]

I thought the fact that a politician can deliver a speech nicely isn't any evidence that that person will be a good president. At least, that's what the Republicans said about Obama last week. ;)

I'm basing my like for Obama on his presentation, leadership skills and I could care less about his experience. So delivery is evidence enough for me... just saying.

[JohnnieEnigma]

In another thread, I'm sorry I don't recall which but it is current, someone pointed out that she has to able to take on the reins of leadership at anytime from day 1 of her Vice-Presidency.


That's fine... I believe she has the leadership skills to run as a Vice President that could possibly lead to president. Although I'm not focusing on her running as a president. I think Obama is more than qualified to lead as president too...

[Airman Doors, USAF]

The evidence is all out there. Just read and watch. Just supporting a separatist party should be enough to disbar her without supporting creationism and all the other shit floating to the surface. She isn't even a Governor in any real sense. Alaska? Give me a break. I could do that job in my spare time. No population, no money problems beyond how to spread the wealth. And you aren't bothered by her self-professed ignorance of the Iraq War?

I'm not bothered by anything so much as what you wrote here. You want me to do your homework on why she sucks in the hopes that I will agree with you. She isn't a governor in any real sense? Biden's from Delaware, does that mean he's not a Senator in any real sense?

I'm willing to accept that she is unqualified in the eyes of some, but it's up to those people to demonstrate why, preferably without slandering her for things that are out of her hands like her daughter's pregnancy.

Show me a serious candidate and I'll be serious. Honestly. The rest of the world thought Bush was a joke candidate but this is in the realms of the surreal.

That remains to be seen.

[Elendil's Heir]

Given her anti-choice, pro-book-censoring, pro-Big Oil views, her belief that God backs the Iraq War and ever more oil drilling, her hockey mom/populist aura and shoot-from-the-hip style, no, I don't think she'd be worse than President Bush. But not much, if at all, better, either. She at least seems a little smarter than him.

I'm still baffled that McCain picked her, but she does seem to have fired up the GOP's conservative base.

[E-Sabbath]

Biden's from Delaware, does that mean he's not a Senator in any real sense?

Well, we all know Delaware doesn't exist.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5647217281&refurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.new.facebook.com%2Fs.php%3Fref%3Dsearch%26init%3Dq%26q%3Ddelaware%2Bdoesn%25 27t%2Bexist

[gonzomax]

She would be just like Bush. Rove and his evil minions would still control the power. She is in no way able to run the country. She had trouble running a village.

[Peter Morris]

For the record, I think GWB is a good president. I've never bought into the media hype of underestimating him and all that...

Ah, well, that's where you're wrong. The media do not underestimate Bush.

They mis-underestimate him.

[WF Tomba]

I think Bush's worst flaw is that he is blind to the faults of those who are loyal to him, and does not critically evaluate their beliefs or their methods. I don't know enough about Sarah Palin to tell whether she shares this flaw.

Her political positions are very similar to Bush's and therefore equally unacceptable to me, but I really don't know whether she'd be as bad an administrator and leader as Bush is. She has achieved more on her own merits than Bush had before he became President, so I suspect not.

She is not all that well prepared for the job by education or career, but I'm not sure that matters very much.

To sum up: I tentatively suspect that she would make a better President than Bush, but I just don't know enough about her to be certain.

[JohnnieEnigma]

I think Bush's worst flaw is that he is blind to the faults of those who are loyal to him, and does not critically evaluate their beliefs or their methods. I don't know enough about Sarah Palin to tell whether she shares this flaw. I think you're right about that. I wish he listened more to Colin Powell than that other one ( I forgot his name).

[WF Tomba]

I think you're right about that. I wish he listened more to Colin Powell than that other one ( I forgot his name).
You probably mean Rumsfeld.

Interestingly, now that I've identified this character defect in Bush, it seems to show up glaringly in the way Bush handled the selection of his running mate in 2000. First he handed off the choice to Cheney, then when Cheney came back and said "I nominate me", he accepted it, apparently without reservations!

At the time, though, I just took this as a sign that Bush was a nebbish with no will of his own. That turned out not to be true; he seems to be a very strong-willed person, but he has this blind spot. Interpreting a candidate's character strengths and weaknesses seems to be easy only in hindsight. With a candidate we haven't seen much of, such as Gov. Palin, I think we're basically at a loss.

[Lemur866]

The evidence is all out there. Just read and watch. Just supporting a separatist party should be enough to disbar her without supporting creationism and all the other shit floating to the surface. She isn't even a Governor in any real sense. Alaska? Give me a break. I could do that job in my spare time. No population, no money problems beyond how to spread the wealth. And you aren't bothered by her self-professed ignorance of the Iraq War?


Alaska has 680,000 people, which means it's 47th in population. Nobody complained that Howard Dean was unqualified to be president because he only was governor of Vermont with only 620,000 people, or that Biden is unqualified since he's from Delaware with only 860,000 people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population.

And it's simply not true that oil makes the only problem figuring out how to spend the money, it's 7th in a list of states by GDP per capita: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP_per_capita_(nominal). And like all areas that depend on resource extraction industries, the economy is subjected to regular boom and bust cycles due to swings in prices for those products. And everything costs more and is harder due to extreme distances and climate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska

That isn't to say that Palin is a particularly good choice for Vice President for some of the OTHER reasons you cite, but you denigrate Alaska at your peril, sir.

[gonzomax]

Plus we could have a pregnant president for the first time in our history That would be fun. You know she does not believe in birth control.

[WF Tomba]

Alaska has 680,000 people, which means it's 47th in population. Nobody complained that Howard Dean was unqualified to be president because he only was governor of Vermont with only 620,000 people(bolding mine)
Cite?

And even if no one did complain about this, maybe as governor of a small state he was unqualified. Remember, his campaign collapsed before the Iowa caucus--and it was old, experienced Kerry who was the winner there.

[Lemur866]

Well, let's put it another way. I would imagine that intersection of the set of people complaining that Sarah Palin is unqualified since she is the governor of a small state and the set of people who complained/complain that Howard Dean and Joe Biden are/were unqualified because they were the governor/senator of small states is a pretty small number.

All I'm saying is that you all have the idea that Alaska is an unpopulated wilderness. And of course it's true that most of Alaska is an unpopulated wilderness, but there's still more people in Alaska than there are in Vermont. Alaska has a small population compared to most states, but it isn't off the charts.

[Voyager]

Alaska has 680,000 people, which means it's 47th in population. Nobody complained that Howard Dean was unqualified to be president because he only was governor of Vermont with only 620,000 people, or that Biden is unqualified since he's from Delaware with only 860,000 people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population.

Except maybe in a campaign the size of the population of the state you represent as Senator means nothing. A small state senator with seniority has the same job as a large state one. So, the comparison with Biden is pointless. Plus, Biden is senator from Pennsylvania also.

Alaska has less population than San Francisco, which doesn't make Gavin Newsom qualified to be president. I suspect San Francisco is far more complex to run than Alaska in any case.

[WF Tomba]

Well, let's put it another way. I would imagine that intersection of the set of people complaining that Sarah Palin is unqualified since she is the governor of a small state and the set of people who complained/complain that Howard Dean and Joe Biden are/were unqualified because they were the governor/senator of small states is a pretty small number.

All I'm saying is that you all have the idea that Alaska is an unpopulated wilderness. And of course it's true that most of Alaska is an unpopulated wilderness, but there's still more people in Alaska than there are in Vermont. Alaska has a small population compared to most states, but it isn't off the charts.
Point taken.

Actually, I wonder if being governor of any state really prepares you all that well to be President. Governors have been better than senators at getting themselves elected to the White House, but I've always thought that's mostly because they don't have voting records for their enemies to dig up.

[Voyager]

She would be just like Bush. Rove and his evil minions would still control the power. She is in no way able to run the country. She had trouble running a village.

She'd be worse. Bush at least had a contingent of qualified people from his father's administration. They turned out to be evil, but they certainly had experience. Who does she even know in Washington aside from her Congressional delegation? Who has she even spoken to before this week with serious foreign policy or economic credentials? Does she have the experience to judge between three or four conflicting policy proposals offered by people who know a lot more than she does?

BTW, besides abstinence education, creationism and Jeezus, what is she for? Does she have an opinion on a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, besides praying for one? Does she have any thoughts on the mortgage crisis not written for her? Does she have any serious policy positions on things that don't affect Alaska? We know Biden does, like them or not.

[DMark]

Back to the OP.
Would she be worse than GWB as President?
Talk about setting the bar low...but I guess you can make a case that she is equally as clueless as Dubya.

Seriously, does anyone in the "Palin is a great choice" camp honestly think she is the best choice John McCain could have made as his VP candidate - of all the potential male and female Republicans in the entire party?! Nobody was better?

Most people know their grocery store cashier better than McCain knew Palin when he chose her to be his VP. To me, this doesn't bode well.