Re: The Sarah Palin corner of the Sandbox!

**Sirusblk** · 09-26-2008, 01:50 AM

Originally Posted by Beatnik

McCain's campaign is seemingly more in a tailspin than the economy.

Seriously, what the hell? How can any sane person defend this absurdity? It boggles the mind.

Talking about the economy and McCain anyone catch those two speeches he made an hour apart? Yikes.

I believe it was something like 'The fundamentals of the economy/american people are good' then an hour later 'The fundamentals of the economy/american people are terrible'

Sorry we're not here to talk about McCain though, only Palin. I was extremely disappointed with her visit to the UN. It was the equivalent of showing up to a party uninvited and being introduced to everyone before leaving. Just because people treat you nice doesn't mean you belong there.

And seriously why no cameras? Like WiskeySix has pointed out I understand why, I just don't support it at all.

To be honest though, did Cheney ever go through this scrutinize? If he was, the american public might have found out he's no longer human :P

**Skud** · 09-26-2008, 02:22 AM

No longer human?

When was cheney ever human? Liar.

And while Palin may be a gun enthusiast, she has never shot anyone. Cheney, on the other hand, if hounded by the press...

Well, the press would be lacking a face.

**DeePsix** · 09-26-2008, 03:15 AM

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEqDgbrwLYU[/media]

COURIC: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land-- boundary that we have with-- Canada. It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know? Reporters--

COURIC: Mock?

PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our-- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--

COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth. We-- we do-- it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is-- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to-- to our state.

Seriously?

You can see the train derail right after she says "Well, it certainly does because our--" (0:30)

**Greflin** · 09-26-2008, 02:12 PM

Took me a couple of minutes to regain my senses due to oxygen deprivation, was laughing so hard. More of this will get me to vote for Obama for sure.

**Kerostasis** · 09-26-2008, 02:39 PM

I will be perfectly honest and say that if Palin was running for President today, I would not vote for her. She's going to need more experience with foreign policy before she's quite ready for that job.

But as it so happens, she's not running for President, McCain is. And McCain has plenty of experience. I suppose we might be in trouble if he drops dead of a heart attack two days after inauguration, but that's not a likely enough event for me to base my vote on it. A few years from now, by the time we get seriously worried about McCain's health or whether he'll be up for another run, then Palin will have several years of direct hands-on experience to back her up. By that point she'll have a better background than Obama has now. So, I don't see the problem.

I take it you two are voting on the assumption that McCain will be dead within a year, giving us President Palin?

**Gambit7** · 09-26-2008, 03:10 PM

As this thread goes longer I ask people to go back to the beginning and read where many of us told the sad "truth" of what Palin represents (long ago), and that's a feminine pawn in McCain's political game.

More and more as time goes on I'm seeing people who were googoo over McCain/Palin flip their attitudes once they see the bigger picture and Palin is exposed more and more.

What's sad is everyone genuinely LIKES Palin (including me) and frankly I'm sad she saddled herself with an old dirty bastard like McCain. It's like she was "used" and abused, semi-forced into doing something beyond her means to put a man in power.

Much of my family is JUST like Palin (almost to the point of being clones), yet even they see the farce here.

**DeePsix** · 09-26-2008, 03:23 PM

When regarding the actuarial tables - someone McCain's age has a 33% chance of dying in office. (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/table4c6.html) For a person of that age, and who has also had cancer four times, there is a theoretical possibility that it could happen, and it is a possibility we must consider. I would be much more settled if he had chosen a competent person.

Carl Bernstein made a good point:

Indeed, no presidential nominee of either party in the last century has seemed so willing to endanger the country's security as McCain in his reckless choice of a running mate. He is 72 years old; has had four melanomas, a particularly voracious form of cancer; refuses to release his complete medical records. Three of our last eleven presidents (and nine of all 43) have come to office unexpectedly in mid-term from the vice presidency: Truman, who within days of FDR's death was confronted with the decision of whether to drop the atom bomb on Japan; Lyndon Johnson, who took the oath in Dallas after JFK's assassination; Gerald Ford, sworn in following the resignation of Richard Nixon. A fourth vice president, George H.W. Bush, briefly exercised the powers of the presidency after the near-assassination of Ronald Reagan.

Had Obama made this terrible choice of a #2, he would be chided just as much for such a pitiful decision.

Katie Couric would have been a better VP choice than Sarah Palin.

**Gambit7** · 09-26-2008, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by DeePsix

When regarding the actuarial tables - someone McCain's age has a 33% chance of dying in office. (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/table4c6.html) For a person of that age, and who has also had cancer four times, there is a theoretical possibility that it could happen, and it is a possibility we must consider. I would be much more settled if he had chosen a competent person.

Carl Bernstein made a good point:

Had Obama made this terrible choice of a #2, he would be chided just as much for such a pitiful decision.

Katie Couric would have been a better VP choice than Sarah Palin.

Hey this is America... remember, Reagan was deep into Alzheimer's during his second term. No one cared really then... but, they should've.

**Kerostasis** · 09-26-2008, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by DeePsix

When regarding the actuarial tables - someone McCain's age has a 33% chance of dying in office. (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/table4c6.html) For a person of that age, and who has also had cancer four times, there is a theoretical possibility that it could happen, and it is a possibility we must consider. I would be much more settled if he had chosen a competent person.

Hold on, hold on just a moment. Lets take a little closer look at that chart:

At 72, McCain has about a 3% chance of dying each year. By the end of his second term, that chance is much higher (giving you your 33% chance figure), but we aren't talking about his second term. We are talking about his first term. And for his first term, his statistical life expectancy is 12 years. He has an 89.5% chance to make it to the end.

But hold on again, lets take another step back. Why do we want McCain to live through it? Because we believe that if Palin took over for him, she would have less experience than our other option, Obama. But Palin will be gaining experience the entire time she is a VP, and Obama isn't all that far ahead of her. He has a few years experience as junior Senator from Illinois. By the time Palin has 2 years experience as Vice President, she'll have him beat. And McCain has a 95% chance to hang on at least 2 years.

But hold on one more time, where do these statistics come from? They include all people who were alive at 72, regardless of state of health, and 3% of them died within the next year. Certainly some of those were suddenly stricken by, say, a car accident, but the majority of life-ending ailments at that age are progressive ailments that were already in progress by 72. The farther out in the future you look, the harder it becomes to project someone's health, but for a one or two year window its not unreasonable to look at someone's current medical record and say, "McCain isn't suffering from any life threatening conditions in the near future". Cheney has a worse health record than McCain does. Thus I assert that McCain's chances of living at least two years are well into the high 90%'s, and therefore I'm not terribly worried about Palin being thrust into the position of President before she's ready. And even should McCain kick the bucket after just one year, while I won't be totally happy with events, Palin will have had time to advance well beyond where she is today.

Palin is not an "incompetent" person. She is highly competent, she just lacks experience on foreign policy. But where better to learn than from the White House?

**El_Gringo_Grande** · 09-26-2008, 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by Kerostasis

But hold on again, lets take another step back. Why do we want McCain to live through it? Because we believe that if Palin took over for him, she would have less experience than our other option, Obama. But Palin will be gaining experience the entire time she is a VP, and Obama isn't all that far ahead of her. He has a few years experience as junior Senator from Illinois. By the time Palin has 2 years experience as Vice President, she'll have him beat. And McCain has a 95% chance to hang on at least 2 years.

Palin is not an "incompetent" person. She is highly competent, she just lacks experience on foreign policy. But where better to learn than from the White House?

Maybe. There is no guarantee that McCain would allow her to gain experience. I don't think Quayle gained that much experience, really. He might, if he got in office, regulate her to white house greeter for all we know.

**DeePsix** · 09-26-2008, 06:13 PM

You bring up a legit point.

However, I hardly think that someone is competent when the claim they have foreign policy experience because they "are next to Russia".

**Gambit7** · 09-26-2008, 06:24 PM

Why does everyone assume Palin is competent? Has she proven this thus far? At least with Obama I think he's pretty much proven he's pretty damned competent, even though he's not been in govt. as long as McCain or Biden. And a man known as JFK was the same way, super competent but not much xp in govt. Palin is no JFK or Obama from what I've seen so far.

**DeePsix** · 09-27-2008, 02:19 PM

Jack Cafferty tells us how he really feels:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8__aXxXPVc[/media]

**MDFubar** · 09-27-2008, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by Gambit7

Why does everyone assume Palin is competent? Has she proven this thus far? At least with Obama I think he's pretty much proven he's pretty damned competent, even though he's not been in govt. as long as McCain or Biden. And a man known as JFK was the same way, super competent but not much xp in govt. Palin is no JFK or Obama from what I've seen so far.

Good point, but let us not forget someone else who was on the VP ticket and had pretty much the same qualification:

Less than 2 yrs has Governor
Republican reformer
Took on the republican party
Quite a few children

I know you all have seen this---------------> Teddy Roosevelt - 1900.

Not saying that she is the better candidate, but I live in Delaware and I must say that Biden is not much of a leader.

**ScratchMonkey** · 09-27-2008, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by Sirusblk

Just because people treat you nice doesn't mean you belong there.

The same could be said of any American official visiting the Soviet Union. I would hope they don't "belong" there. And I hope Palin isn't of the class of dictators that make up most of the UN.

Has Palin written anything that can be inspected to establish her credentials? I recall hearing that many great pre-TV US leaders would have looked pretty poor in front of a camera. I know I would.

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