I hope this won’t be considered “yet another Sarah Palin thread.” Hopefully it won’t, because I’d like to focus on others’ reactions to her, and not the woman herself.
Many of her supporters say that, based on the volume of discussion and attacks on her and various individual actions (such as the kerfuffle Pitted here), that Palin’s nomination has her opponents “panicked,” “running scared,” and various other similar adjectives.
How do you think those forces really feel about Palin? They certainly aren’t being dismissive, that’s for sure, but are these reactions any indication of how they’re going to deal with her in the future?
I can only speak for myself and I don’t know enough to be scared of her. What does scare me is the reaction of the right, who went from knowing nothing about her to praising her as the second coming of Reagan in two seconds flat. And now they’re throwing up any roadblock, from cries of sexism to “it’s all lies” to “libs are just scared” to avoid actually having her vetted.
Palin has been well known to the right for some time. She’s been a rising star in the Republican party since she won the Governorship, and she’s been profiled in the Weekly Standard (where they touted her as a possible VP pick a year and a half ago), and has been profiled in other conservative journals this year. There was even a ‘draft Sarah for VP’ movement started last year.
As for Democrats being scared… Of course they are. The race has been completely turned upside down for her. There have been a number of articles written by Democrats saying, “Sarah’s big trouble for us.”
I think calling liberals scared of Palin seems needlessly emotionally charged. Several posters here seem to be claiming this, usually just to get a rise out of the Obama supporters. It’s obnoxious.
Obviously she herself isn’t that scary, but of course some people are concerned that she could energize the conservative base enough to score yet another Republican win. That is ultimately what people are scared of.
It doesn’t really scare me. Maybe I should be more worried. It feels like typical Republican strategy from the past eight years: if you say something enough – no matter how ridiculous it is, of how little evidence there might be – you can convince enough people that you’re telling the truth. No experience? Sure she has experience! In fact, she has more than either of the candidates or the other VP nominee! Crazy out-of-the-mainstream beliefs? That’s exactly the “change” we need after these last eight years!
Of course, that did work on Iraq and everything else. Hopefully people will decide on the issues, and not treat it like they’re selecting the prom royalty.
She doesn’t frighten me in the least. She disgusts me, as does John McCain for insulting and jeopardizing this country by nominating her. But scare me? Hell no!
Especially now that the gloves have officially come off and the focus is going to swing back to McShame, HARD. (See what I’m talking about, here.)
I’d say it’s more like they’re running scared of Obama and this amazing coalition we’ve built up across the nation. That’s why they have co-opted his message – they could see it was working. But sorry, too little, too late.
I think the desperate way conservatives have glommed on to her betrays their own terror in the face of Obama’s overwhelming popularity. Any fear they pretend to see in the Democrats is obviously projection.
Actually, that’s a very good point… I suppose I’m more interested in whether they’re scared as in “afraid that she is a major political threat that will sweep McCain into the White House” as opposed to scared as in “afraid of what she’d do if allowed to gain national political power.”
If the OP means “scared because she’s so magnificent that McCain is now unquestionably going to win the election,” hell no. McCain may or may not win, but to think that she’s the magic bullet that will get him elected is silly. If anything, I’m thinking she’s eventually going to stumble in the limelight, thus sealing an Obama victory. (That’s a hope, not a prediction.)
But yes, there is a vision of the future that involves Palin and which I find scary.
What worries me is that she will never be subjected to any scrutiny, and the American public will elect McCain without knowing what she is actually like.
By “scrutiny” I don’t mean “endless debates on the SDMB over whether or not she’s a book banner at heart.” I mean she’ll never be forced to show the American public what the scope of her knowledge and ideals is by participating, repeatedly, in unscripted press conferences/debates where she gets asked hard questions and must answer them on the spot.
Then, something happens to McCain, and she becomes president, and turns out to be ill-informed, secretive, good at pushing a radical right agenda, and/or she involves the US in yet more ill-advised military escapades.
I see that as a possible outcome, and yes, that vision of the future is indeed scary. I hope it never comes to pass, ideally because we elect Obama. But I’ll take a healthy McCain presidency - or a Palin presidency in which it turns out she’s actually a thoughtful, well-informed person with management skills rather than a rabid right-wing ideologue who surrounds herself with toadies - as acceptable alternatives.
Scared of a woman who is cowering in seclusion lest she make another Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac blunder? Certainly not. Conservatives of her ilk are chickenshit bullies who curl up like a pill bug the first time they are called on their shit. Witness Palin or Cheney.
Biden is going to wipe the floor with her unless they dumb down the questions at the VP debate.
What is frightening is how corrupt this woman is. In the roughly seven days since she has been introduced to us, there is at least a scandal a day. The latest seems to be collecting her per diem away from home fee when she is commuting from home. If she were a Democrat, I wouldn’t support her national candidacy for just that alone. And in the trying to fire her ex-brother-in-law and I’d want to boot her from my party.
It’s certainly a good time to introduce someone like her.
She has some real charisma – on video, at least – and she seems to be a fairly direct and honest person for a politician. I think that in itself may be a reason she was chosen: McCain may be many things, but he is not personally magnetic (I speak for myself, of course). Obama is, and in all honesty that is a fairly large part of his popularity. The other part is the substance, but with less than two months to go until Electon Day, substance is going to be hard to drive out by then.
This, then, is the cleverness of the choice: she is the bright shiny new thing, so everyone’s turning her over in their hands like a shiny rock. Every time they think they find a flaw it ends up being a smudge of dirt or a lesser flaw than expected. Whether it’s a diamond or a piece of glass, though, is of absolutely no interest to anyone.
The more attention is paid to her prior careers as governor and mayor and children, the less McCain has to worry about selling her. His opponents are doing it for him.
I’m impressed, if not at all pleased, that someone over in that camp is pretty clever. Maybe they’re not as clever as I’m giving them credit for, of course, but Palin was probably a smart move from a publicity standpoint. The question is, then: is two months a long enough time in politics for the gamble to bust?
I think she is, so far, turning out to be a good rather than unsuccessful gamble by McCain.
She is scary because she represents the possibility of the Republicans snatching this election away after all.
I myself do not think that is going to happen, although a lot of things could happen in the remaining timeframe; at any rate I do not think that the selection of Palin, in and of itself, is going to obtain an electoral college majority for the McCain ticket.
But she is scary because the very same Republican base that does not like McCain seems to like Palin. Probably enough to come out and pull the lever for the combined ticket (but again see disclaimer about how a lot of stuff can happen in intervening timeframe).
I think McCain picked well. Not excellently but a choice that has reinserted excitement in the dull droning atmosphere of the Republican candidacy.
She would be massively scary as a Prez, and there’s certainly some residual fear due to that possibility (McCain is old) but mostly I think it is more pragmatic, the fear of a resurgent Republican party and the whiff of a possibility that Obama might go down to defeat in November.