Palin and Obama

[UPDATE: NeoNeocon also discusses some of these ideas in this fantastic post]

Ever since John McCain announced that his running made would be Sarah Palin, the left has begun engaging in a non-stop campaign to oppose her and to paint her as a danger, a moron, or both. None of these characterizations are accurate, as any serious look at her (admittedly short) record as governor of Alaska will attest. And yet were are told time and time again that Palin was somehow a “shortsighted” pick, that she brought a big, but ultimately temporary jump in McCain’s poll numbers. Journalists continue to subject her to endless bouts of “gotcha” questions, from Charlie Gibson’s deliberate questions about the “Bush Doctrine”– a loaded and fluid term which has no clear definition– to Couric’s continued attempts to push Palin into a rhetorical corner. For her part, Palin has been attacked both for her gaffes and her successes, even as she is subjected to a standard that Joe Biden has yet to face.

We are told that Palin has never left the country, despite the fact that she has never made the sort of money that would make such a trip economically feasible, even as governor. We are told that she attended five colleges in six years, a charge that seeks to avoid, rather than engage, her record as either mayor of Wasilla or governor of one of the keystones in American energy policy. Her misstep in telling Couric “I’ll bring you..[some examples of McCain's record of reform]” aside, she has consistently done, rather than merely promised to do those things that Obama can only speak of in the future tense: what Obama says he will soon do are those things that Palin, even with her short record has already done.

It is true that Russia is close to Alaska, even if that doesn’t give Palin any experience whatsoever. (And, to be certain, using this as a foreign-policy credential was certainly a major mistake on Palin’s part). And it is true that working with Russia via trade missions is not the sort of foreign-policy experience that, say, John McCain brings to the ticket. This election, however, is about a particular set of candidates, Obama and Biden, versus another, McCain and Palin. That we are still discussing whether or not Palin has more or less experience than Obama is far more telling that Palin’s gaffes ever were: that we aren’t discussing Biden’s numerous rhetorical mistakes (which rival and often surpass those of Palin) even moreso.

Thus, the opposition to Palin is twofold: first, it centers on her main weakeness when stacked against Obama: her rhetoric, manner of speaking, and tendency to occasonally misspeak. Secondly, it centers around the fact that she has the gall to be an actual conservative. Say what you want about McCain, his tendency to break with his own party has made him far more popular with the left and the press. (Remember, not too long ago, when during the Republican primaries, we were asked of McCain was even a conservative at all? Those sorts of questions would never have been raised against Palin). This, apparently, is what the left wants: a candidate that can read smoothly from a teleprompter and has a short and corrupt history. Even as we learn more about Obama’s shady past, we are subjected to endless rants not against a Presidential candidate who has consistently show than he will do almost anything to win, has almost no experience in government at all, and who spent years voting merely “present”, but against a Vice-Presidential candidate who, though occasionally inarticulate, has a record of cleaning up her own party, pushing reform, and enjoying one of the highest popularity ratings of any governor in the country.

As a friend once said, so long as the discussion centers around whether the Republican Vice-Presidential pick is more or less qualified and experienced than the Democratic Presidential nominee, the former will always win. Think of that next time we hear how Palin is supposedly unqualified next to the nearly invisible Biden and the most certainly corrupt, but admittadly articulate, Obama. It will underscore, I think, how absurd this election has become, and it will underscore how vastly more experienced, qualified, and ethical the McCain-Palin ticket is than their erstwhile opponents.