Qulifications & InsultsPalin is still failin’. At least according to the story on A-6 in today’s TU. According to the story, she apparently still thinks that geographical proximity is a valid qualification for political insight. In addition to other statements of questionable validity, the last two paragraphs are telling. To quote for accuracy, “Palin was asked if she thought the U.S. presence in Iraq & Afghanistan was helping to mitigate terrorism.” “I think our presence in Iraq & Afghanistan will lead to further security for our nation. We can never again let them onto our soil.”
I’m a bit confused. Is she saying that people from Iraq &/ or Afghanistan have invaded us, or is she proposing new immigration policies that would prevent people from those two countries from coming here?
Maybe it’s just me, but whenever I hear her speak or read what she says, I feel like I’m listening to a rather uninformed teacher speaking to a classroom of third graders, especially when she’s speaking of her “qualifications.” So I figured, let’s do a test. Let’s see how Uncle Rich compares with Sarah Palin in various fields of qualifications & experience.” While you’re at it, check off the same subjects to see how your qualifications compare to hers.
I live in Florida which shares borders with Georgia & Alabama, so I must be qualified & have experience in dealing with other states. Living in Florida also qualifies me for having experience about the Bahama’s, Cuba & Mexico since we share the same borders, even though we can’t see them from here.
I’ve had a passport since my late 30’s.
By the time I was twenty, less than ½ the age of Palin, I had visited numerous countries surrounding the Mediterranean, Caribbean & Bermuda & visited more since then. So, compared to Palin, at least in this respect, I must be over qualified.
I have never met any foreign heads of state, but have met with local politicians & once President Kennedy waved to me while I was in a crowd of thousands welcoming him to Chicago as he took an inaugural ride on a new interstate, which still bears his name, across the street from my house.
Being an advocate of delegating authority, my wife & I share responsibilities for domestic affairs which, by Palin’s criteria, gives us experience & qualifications. My wife is responsible for the financial day to day matters, along with investments, health care & the majority of communications with family, friends, & financial entities.
I am responsible for the day to day physical duties. Clothing maintenance, (laundry, and ironing) in house maintenance & repair, pool maintenance, yard maintenance, landscaping & keeping friendly relations with neighbors.
Unlike Palin, I am ALWAYS open to the press & would be glad to answer any pertinent questions they put to me.
Unlike Palin, I will not talk down to them or give them answers that will make them leave with quizzical looks on their faces.
Those are some of my qualifications & experiences. How did you kids compare?
What this mainly boils down to is the fact that I am no different than most. I don’t like having my intelligence insulted especially when something as important as the office of the Vice President is at stake.
Since Palin was announced, the hard questions have uncovered the poor judgment of Sen. McCain in his choice. The most obvious is not that he picked a virtual unknown, but that he & his campaign have kept her basically unavailable to the general press so she wouldn’t have to answer the hard questions. In the meantime, she has undergone extensive tutorial sessions in foreign & domestic matters so that when she would be made available to the general press, it would at least appear she has some knowledge to be qualified. (Think FCAT & teaching to the test)
When it comes to the McCain-Palin ticket, I’m reminded of a tag line from a movie. “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
I AM Uncle Rich & I approved this blog entry. JATFUR. Rich K Related: SoloVoce's blog | login or register to post comments | printer friendly version | Tags: Palin | POLITICS
Submitted by SoloVoce on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 1:25pm.
Smuncey, Glad to hear from you, as always. You are such a flatterer. I am touched that the third grader would compliment the uninformed teacher. That's why I'm always willing to learn more. Just to be informed. I see that you're still stealing from the best. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. JATFUR. Rich K PS. I am a bit surprised though that you didn't include some of your own qualifications. You always seem to have the definitive conservative answer. At least you think so. I would think that you are at least as qualified as Palin, using her criteria, of course, for what it's worth. RK
Submitted by Baxley on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 7:54pm.
Ola Ambassador Rich, As "red" as I am - and on most issues, that's pretty red - I pray John McCain lives to at least his mother's age (96+) should he be elected. If we were voting solely for VP - how could anyone pick Palin over Biden? However, we all know we are not voting just for VP. As far as a shrewd political move, McCain jacked it out of the park. Selecting Palin as VP put McCain/Palin on the TV/frontpage for 2-3 weeks, energized the Republican Party like no other selection would have, grabbed a sizable portion of ticked-off Hillary supporters and reminded people that Alaska really is one of the 50 United States. I'm sure Hillary fainted when she heard the choice. If Obama had had the cajones to pick Hill as VP, this race would be over. Obama/Clinton would have been unbeatable. I'm sitting here getting all stoked about the 1st debate, still leaning to McCain, hoping he can pull ahead, and confirm my gut feeling, via this debate. Today's editorial cartoon in the TU showed all the international debacles just waiting to happen while the US is distracted (understatement) by the economic disaster. When we get past the "worst economic situation since the great depression" (really?), those international land-mines will still be sitting there waiting to explode. I still believe John McCain is the man to deal with the global pressures we will have to face. If we're picking VP's to deal with them - Biden wins without a second thought. Long Live John McCain. Submitted by FelixKulpah on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 9:14pm.
Alright, Palin was unexpected. However, she does not exist in vacuum, how does she stack up against Democrats who've campaigned for President or Vice President? Is Palin better or worse than: Edwards? Gore? Dukakis? Bill Clinton? Hillary Clinton? Mondale? Lieberman? Kerry? Carter? Obama? Ferraro?
It's a mixed list. There must be some of these where Democrats are looking back and saying, "what were we thinking." Out of these I think that the best was Bill Clinton, he did win twice (though the first time was with help from Ross Perot) and his eight years in office didn't destroy the country. As for the worst, Carter was the only one with a chance to do real damage. Little more comarison. Is Obama more or less qualified than: Bill Clinton Jimmy Carter Al Gore Mike Dukakis Walter Mondale Geraldine Ferraro Hillary Clinton John Edwards Joe Lieberman
Obama does has an impressive education and resume, but we are talking about the office of President. Obama is the least experienced person to run for President in my lifetime. His own vice-presidential candidate is more experienced than he is.
Submitted by lilyslore on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 11:13pm.
I think Felix is right on target regarding his post. No one (to my knowledge) has ever voted dependent on a VP pick. As for qualifications, well, not having any didn't make JFK a bad president. Not great, but not bad. Bax: If we're picking VP's to deal with them - Biden wins without a second thought. I don't understand being enamored with Mr. Biden. He is (again, only my opinion) one of the three most obnoxious politicians I have ever seen interviewed on any of the Sunday morning news interview programs. FYI (again, only my opinion) the other two are Christopher Dodd and Harry Reid. Solo, rest assured, if I had a top ten list of obnoxious politicians, 5 would be republicans. I'm not trying to be partisan on this issue. I am only commenting on these particular individuals public personalities. Lily's Lore "I don't ever want to be rescued And I don't ever want to be saved I got a feelin' that I'm gonna be alive forever Dancin' on the edge of a grave..." Jim Steinman
Submitted by Walt on Sat, 09/27/2008 - 8:50am.
Everyone talks about experience and qualifications for the office of President and Vice-President and who would be best just because of their tenure on capital hill.Let me throw out a couple of names and see what you think. How about Eisenhower? He had ZERO experience as an elected official residing in Washington, in fact, he was never elected for anything before he became President. He ran on the platform of getting us out of the Korean conflict and was re-elected for a second term. He left us a legacy of the Interstate Highway system and an era of good feeling that people still refer to as the “Good Ol’ Days”. Then there was Lyndon Johnson. Here was a man that spent the majority of his life roaming the halls of capital hill. He made a reputation as a “Bully” in congress yet when he was elected to the Presidency, he didn’t have a clue about the feelings and needs of the common, everyday citizen. He micro-managed the Viet Nam War, and had to deal with rioting in the streets. He lost control of the nation and decided to not run for a second term. If governmental experience is the Bench-Mark for qualifications to become President, he should have been the best Executive this nation ever had. Submitted by SoloVoce on Sat, 09/27/2008 - 9:48am.
Good thoughts, one & all. Here are mo thoughts. THE PICK. Without a doubt, having a woman on the ticket, as #1 or #2, was no surprise to any one. I think the biggest surprise was that Hillary got very little attention from Obama & McCain picking Palin. THE VOTERS & their priorities. Check it carefully. For two to three weeks after Palin was announced, the polls, the interviews with the public & the press centered around things like her being a hockey mom, a mother with a special needs child, her religion, her hair, her ability to hunt & skin a moose. While those subjects might be worthy of discussion, they have little to no value or relevance for helping to govern a state, let alone a nation. It goes back to my jaded view of the American voters & the press that feeds on them. While these topics were being discussed & her bio was being checked out, only then did the serious topics of qualification & experience begin to surface. It was absolutely no help to the McCain campaign that to this day he has carefully orchestrated her encounters with the press. Can you blame him? On one hand, I have to think that his pick might be his undoing. On the other hand, because of the voting public, it may the thing that tips the scale in his favor. As I said before, be very afraid. COMPARISONS. Any comparisons of the 1 or 2 spot to prior people who held those positions is valid. While governmental experience might not be THE definitive benchmark, I would ask why a voter would prefer a candidate with little or no experience over one with more. I caught most of the debate last night & then roamed the news polls this morning. I think it was a wash. Depending on who was doing the poll & who they asked, it was either McCain over Obama, Obama over McCain or too close to call. Go figure. While some may consider Biden obnoxious, in total, I don't think his nagatives come anywhere near the likes of Johnson, Nixon, or Bush II. I'm a bit disappointed, however, that no one commented on my qualifications or offered their own to compare. Tsk, tsk kids. You're slipping on the short attention span circuit. Let's get with it while having a great weekend. JATFUR. Rich K
Submitted by Walt on Sat, 09/27/2008 - 10:50am.
Solo, your qualifications sound impressive to me. If you decide to run for the Oval Office, maybe you would consider me for your running mate or maybe your Secretary of State. I've visited every continent except Antarctica to include 27 countries. I've learned to order a beer in every one of them. Does that qualify me? Submitted by SoloVoce on Sat, 09/27/2008 - 11:08am.
Walt, Sounds like a good idea to me. Question. Are you qualified or over qualified ordering beer? Classic martini with olives for me, thank you. I would never entertain a thought for entering a public office. I like my privacy & for reasons I've stated before, I would automatically be disqualified in the eyes of the voting public. Go figure. JATFUR. Rich K People are talking about ...Here are the recent blog postings with the most comments. |
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Solo/UR or whoever,
Funny how when I read your blogs, which isn't very often, I fell like im reading a blog from a rather uninformed teacher speaking to a classroom of third graders.
JATFUS!
Steven P Munsey A+, MCP, IASO Orange Park | Green Cove Springs munsey13@comcast.net