If only the Republicans could run the country as well as they run a campaign, I think I would vote for them every time.
After months of criticism leveled toward Barack Obama for his lack of experience, John McCain announced that his choice for Vice President was Sarah Palin, Governor of a state with a population less than the city of Chicago, former Mayor of a town which had less people than Barack Obama’s State Senate district, and someone with less foreign policy experience than Michael Phelps. Yet, somehow, they have morphed her into the obvious choice.
One would think that the Democrats would point out that John McCain, who is touted as an independent "Maverick", someone who is famous for standing up against his own party, cowered to the extreme right wing of that party by selecting someone they approved of, instead of the person he really wanted. But, they didn’t.
One would think the Democrats would be able to counter the arguments that if executive experience is all that’s important, then John McCain isn’t at all qualified, and George W. Bush was more qualified than John McCain just from being Governor of Texas, and we see how well that worked out. But, they didn’t.
One would think that after the appointments of Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, Harriet Miers, and "Heck of a job Brownie" just to name a few, the Democrats would be able to capitalize on the fact that John McCain, who thinks the war in Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism, chose someone who hasn’t really been focused on the war in Iraq even though she has a son deploying there, as the best qualified person to take over as President of the United States lest anything happen to him after meeting her only once. Kind of like how Bush knew that Putin was a good guy by looking into his eyes. But, they didn’t.
One would think the Democrats would be able to capitalize on the fact that amidst the scandals of the past 8 years, John McCain chose someone under investigation for abuse of her power as the person to help "clean up Washington." But, they didn’t.
One would think the Democrats would be able to successfully point out the irony of having somebody who says he puts "Country First" name as his VP, a person who was a member of the Alaska Independence Party, with the chief goal of that party being to get Alaska to cecede from the Union. But, they didn't.
One would think the Democrats would be able to capitalize on the fact that John McCain chose a woman, who has fought against everything women’s rights groups have historically fought for, as his champion of womens’ rights. But, they didn’t.
As usual, the Republicans have chosen someone so unqualified, so dumbfounding, with so many things to attack that the Democrats don’t even know where to begin. So, they don’t begin at all. It’s the same formula that got George W. Bush elected twice. They just assume that the rest of the country will look at the person, their record, and say, "come on!" They feel that it’s so ridiculous, that they shouldn’t even have to articulate why it is. Well, I’ve got news for you, you do have to!
Instead of just being flabbergasted that Mitt Romney would get on the stage and say that the Democrats are the party of "Big Brother", all while the Bush Administration has authorized wiretapping without warrants on American citizens and have given the telecom companies immunity for being complicit therein, fire back at them. Say things like, "We need a President that listens TO the American people, not one who listens IN ON the American people."
Instead of just sitting idly by while the Republicans say they’ll keep America safe, even though the worst terrorist attack in American history took place on their watch, even though they had a report warning that Bin Laden was determined to attack within the United States, hit them hard on it.
Instead of letting the party that denigrated the service of John Kerry just four years ago, make McCain’s service one of the main reasons he should be elected, call them out on it.
And, instead of pouncing on the acceptance speech of someone who couldn't even balance the budget of a town of 9,000 people, where she highlighted one of her major accomplishments as selling the state jet on Ebay, with clever retorts like, "So, is her plan to solve the deficit by selling Air Force One on Ebay? Perhaps she can sell the White House on craigslist. I'm sure there some hard working American that can qualify for a sub-prime mortgage to qualify for it," they just praise her speechmaking ability.
In retrospect, maybe Obama shouldn’t have picked Joe Biden, someone with a wealth of experience and knowledge to counter the arguments leveled at him by the Republican as his Vice Presidential nominee. Maybe he should’ve picked someone that highlights all the fears that voters have about McCain, but that are even more extreme than him.
Perhaps, Obama should’ve reached across the aisle, and into the grave to select Strom Thurmond as his running mate. Now, on the face of it, it may seem ridiculous, but it’s all in how you spin it.
First of all, McCain may be old, but Strom Thurmond is so old (he would be 105 today), that he’s dead. And, if the Republicans attack him for that, the Democrats can reply by saying that they are being insensitive to the needs and rights of the dead and dying? And, at least the Democrats put someone who is old at the bottom of the ticket, unlike the Republicans who put someone at the top of the ticket who is only one heartbeat away from Strom Thurmond. Plus, who better to speak on issues like the Death tax than someone who had to pay it?
Thurmond not only has executive experience, as he was the Governor of South Carolina in 1946, but he even has Presidential experience, as he was the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the highest ranking official of the Senate, and third in the line of succession to the U.S. Presidency. So, he even has Presidential succession experience, something that is one of the major duties of the Vice-President, and of which Palin has none.
While Sarah Palin might have been the member of a group that advocated the secession of her home state from the Union, Thurmond was the Governor of a State that actually did secede from the Union, not just talk about it like some coffeeshop elitist.
Sure, McCain may have support from the former Democrat Joe Lieberman, but Thurmond didn’t just leave the Democratic party to become an Independent, he left it to become a Republican, so he’s decisive. Plus, he's even more appealing to the Republican base than John McCain himself.
Thurmond is someone who stood up for what he believed in, like when he recorded the longest filibuster in history, when he fought so hard against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
And, if they want to bring up the fact that Thurmond fathered an illegitimate black child with his maid, then that brings up the perfect opportunity to point out that McCain cheated on his first wife with Cindy, and what kind of family values are those?
But, as usual, the Democrats once again exposed their Achilles heal, by going for someone who was qualified for the job. My advice to the Democrats, don’t expose the other one by running a weak campaign. Fight back. Because that is "Change you can believe in."