In a thoughtful post over at neo-conservative commentarymagazine, John Podhoretz argues that the quality of Sarah Palin's resume will not be the deciding factor as to whether she's a successful pick as McCain's VP:
The above quote nails the issue on the head. The reason Palin is an incredibly risky pick is not because she’s inexperienced. As others have stated, her resume is actually fairly similar to Obama’s in breadth. The risk of Palin is entirely different for McCain.
In my opinion, the reason Palin is an irresponsible pick by McCain at this moment is more related to the timing of the choice. Mrs. Palin now has only ten weeks to overcome the “inexperienced” objections that Obama has been addressing for nearly two years. Obama has been in the national spotlight for four years now and was able to hone and rehearse his message beginning way back before the Iowa caucuses, when few were paying close attention. Palin, on the other hand, enters the battle at a point when the entire media and much of the citizenry is now focused on the race. Can you imagine if Obama were just now being introduced to America and had to spend the next month not only presenting his case and preparing to debate a heavyweight like Joe Biden but also defending against the charges Republicans threw at him (Rezco, Reverend Wright, etc.)? It’s hard to imagine that Obama could have ended up looking presidential in ten weeks and I seriously doubt Palin has better political skills than Obama.
“Palin will be a failed pick if her conduct between now and November 4 reveals that she does not have the judgment to be a heartbeat away; that her comportment is not what we would wish of our leaders; and that she does not seem large enough for the office.”
The above quote nails the issue on the head. The reason Palin is an incredibly risky pick is not because she’s inexperienced. As others have stated, her resume is actually fairly similar to Obama’s in breadth. The risk of Palin is entirely different for McCain.
In my opinion, the reason Palin is an irresponsible pick by McCain at this moment is more related to the timing of the choice. Mrs. Palin now has only ten weeks to overcome the “inexperienced” objections that Obama has been addressing for nearly two years. Obama has been in the national spotlight for four years now and was able to hone and rehearse his message beginning way back before the Iowa caucuses, when few were paying close attention. Palin, on the other hand, enters the battle at a point when the entire media and much of the citizenry is now focused on the race. Can you imagine if Obama were just now being introduced to America and had to spend the next month not only presenting his case and preparing to debate a heavyweight like Joe Biden but also defending against the charges Republicans threw at him (Rezco, Reverend Wright, etc.)? It’s hard to imagine that Obama could have ended up looking presidential in ten weeks and I seriously doubt Palin has better political skills than Obama.
The pundits who are spending time these days comparing the resumes of Obama and Palin are missing the point. Just because one relatively inexperienced candidate is deemed to be qualified by some doesn't mean that everyone who is similarly qualified gets an automatic free pass. Obama has had a two year headstart over Palin in convincing Americans that he's ready to lead. Ten weeks, in my opinion, is just not enough time for Palin to catch up.
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