THE REAL STORY: Palin Might Be Just What McCain Needs
The Alaskan governor adds integrity and a fresh face to the GOP ticket
Two weeks ago when he announced his vice-presidential nominee, John McCain made a bold statement: The maverick is back. In choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain returned to his classic form by picking one of his own, another reformer who has made a career out of challenging the corrupt Republican establishment in her state.
Choosing Gov. Palin has paid McCain immediate benefits by electrifying his conservative Republican base. Palin, who is anti-abortion and a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, has given McCain a big boost in a critical constituency that was lukewarm, at best, about his candidacy. Now for the first time, even one of McCain’s biggest conservative critics, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, says that he “will pull that lever” for him on Election Day.
By adding another maverick to the ticket, McCain has made it clear that he intends to challenge Barack Obama’s strength as someone who can change Washington. By promoting both his and Gov. Palin’s records as reformers who have challenged Republican corruption in their careers, he’ll contrast that with what he will argue is Obama’s unwillingness to take on corruption within the Democratic Party.
When it comes to changing Washington, McCain is setting the stage to promote his record over Obama’s words.
It’s been said that by picking Gov. Palin, McCain has taken the issue of experience off the table. At first glance it may appear this way, but it’s likely that the effect will be just the opposite. It’s true she has roughly the same amount of experience as Barack Obama, but there is one critical difference between the two: She’s not running for president. In time, McCain will make the argument that if you think that a first-term governor is not ready to be No. 2, then are you really sure that a first-term senator is ready to be No. 1?
In the next few months, Gov. Palin will be under enormous pressure to prove that she is worthy of the vice presidency, but what seems to be lost in all the media coverage is that Obama’s vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden will face even greater pressure to prove his worth to the Democratic ticket.
Because of Gov. Palin’s inexperience, Biden will be expected to bury her in the vice-presidential debate and on the campaign trail, painting her as a foreign policy novice while showing off his 30-plus years of service in the Senate. But if he does not or cannot, then the ramifications could be catastrophic for the Obama campaign.
From what I’ve seen so far, I like Gov. Palin and I think that she is a great complement to McCain as a reformer who has successfully fought against the rampant corruption of the Republican Party of Alaska.
The historic nomination of this exceptional woman is great for the Republican Party, as well as for the United States as a whole, and it has provided a spark to the McCain campaign that it has desperately needed for a long time.
Much will be written about Gov. Palin in the next couple of months, but perhaps her defining story will be remembered as her decision to have a child that she knew would be born with Down’s syndrome when she could’ve easily gotten an abortion.
After the baby, Trig Paxson Van Palin, was born, she released a statement saying “Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives.” This example more than any other speaks volumes about Gov. Palin’s integrity, moral conviction and sense of personal responsibility.
When factored in with John and Cindy McCain’s adoption of a sick and abandoned three-month old little girl from an orphanage in Bangladesh, we see a shared strength of character on the Republican ticket that is worthy of the presidency.
TONY SPADACCIA is a sophomore business management and political science major.
