Reader opinions on Sarah Palin

People who deride Governor Palin’s “lack of experience” overlook an important truth. Senators have 1/100 of a vote when they are involved in legislation. They spend entire careers avoiding responsibility for anything that fails due to their legislation and will sprint to the nearest TV camera when something goes right in spite of their idiotic votes in an attempt to get 100 percent of the credit.

Executives like Palin have to make dozens of decisions every day that can be laid at their feet regardless of the outcome. Anyone who owns his own business can tell you that takes guts.

Palin, Obama, Biden and McCain are running for chief executive positions. Only two of them (Palin and McCain) have any executive experience. McCain’s came in the Navy as a commanding officer (the loneliest position known to man), and Palin has performed in outstanding fashion as a city chief executive and the governor of a state. The best I can tell, Obama and Biden have never so much as run a lemonade stand that depended solely on their “executive” ability.

Any platoon leader in the Marine Corps has made more executive decisions in one day of combat than Obama and Biden have made in their lives.

Bill Burnette

Raleigh

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The naysayers of Sarah Palin say that she has no experience. Unfortunately, experience in politics generally means knowing how to mess with the American public without getting caught. What has been missing in our elected officials are individuals with common sense and the willingness to do what is right even if it means going against the political establishment and special interests. In this, Sarah Palin, perhaps, is more qualified than Barack Obama, Joe Biden and even John McCain. If voters ever wanted to change a corrupt and dysfunctional system of government, Sarah Palin appears to be an opportunity to do so.

Barack Obama talks a lot about change, but what has he actually accomplished in his career that could be considered meaningful change? In contrast, Sarah Palin has actually done something in her home state to benefit its citizens even though she had to fight her own party to do it.

Politics all too often is about rhetoric over substance. Sarah Palin appears to be the type of individual we should have representing us in Washington.

Jim Brown

Clayton

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I agree with Sen. Barack Obama in that we should not discuss the topic of Gov. Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter’s impending marriage and motherhood, but it is a great opportunity to discuss the judgment and fitness for the presidency and vice presidency of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Palin.

McCain’s party has made an issue of what constitutes the temperament and judgment to be president. What does it say about the judgment of a government official who preaches abstinence-only sex education when it is obvious it only works as long as one is abstinent? What does it say about the judgment of a mother who goes back to work only days after giving birth to a high-needs child? What does it say about the judgment of a candidate who is putting political ambition in front of family? What does it say about the vetting process that was done when deciding to ask Gov. Palin to join the ticket? Her resume is light on political experience but heavy on conservative ideals.

Obviously Sen. McCain and his advisers decided to put the ideology of a minority of party members ahead of good sense and judgment. All of the family issues along with the denial of global warming, a desire to drill in ANWR coupled with a lack of understanding of what exactly the vice president does shows a total disconnect with the majority of Americans, proving that neither Sen. McCain nor Gov. Palin is displaying the judgment to be the president and vice president of my country.

Leigh Ann LeClair

Cary

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Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin’s choice to draw attention to her teenage daughter’s pregnancy undermines so-called “family values” by helping to create a romanticized image of teen pregnancy.

Children across the country will not see Bristol Palin drop out of school when she is unable to find child care or struggle to get a job to support her family, as is the reality for so many young mothers; her family is wealthy, after all. No doubt a nanny will care for the child while Miss Palin and her boyfriend go about their lives as usual, with no visible consequences and plenty of posed photos for the press. What a way to encourage the abstinence she claims to promote!

Children having children is not a thing to idealize, and Palin’s views regarding reproductive freedom do little to make me think she knows or cares about the struggles of teenage parents who don’t have the supportive families or wealth her daughter will enjoy. Ignorance and apathy are not values I want for my country.

Sophie Henderson
Raleigh

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On first hearing that John McCain had picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, I thought that he, perhaps, was once again the maverick that years ago made him so appealing to voters of all political stripes. He had picked a well-educated, literate and good- humored campaign partner who had traveled to all parts of the world, even both polar regions

Imagine my disappointment upon learning that McCain’s pick was Sarah, not Michael, Palin.

William Bolick

Raleigh

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Republicans cease not to amaze me with their hypocrisy. For example, on the one hand they criticize the judgment and experience of a young Sen. Barack Obama, while their own 72-year-old selects a vice presidential candidate with less than two years experience as governor of a state with the population of Charlotte.

For 42 years, I was a Republican, but since 2004 I’ve been an independent. It seems to me that Sarah Palin is Dan Quayle in a skirt, unqualified. McCain’s actions are reckless. He is as reckless today as he was when he was a “hot-dogger” fighter jet pilot in the 1960s.

Actuary tables indicate that a male, age 72, will decease within three years. If we factor in a 72-year-old survivor of melanoma, the timeline shrinks. Therefore, to burden the country, (a country I invested over 35 years in DOD to protect), with a sure bet to install a novice as president is unconscionable. That’s neither good stewardship nor putting his country first.
Moreover, Palin knows her own shortcomings in experience for such a critical position. And for her to accept McCain’s offer to be the veep indicates how shallow and narcissistic she is.

Jack Dawsey

Salemburg

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I’ve been angry since learning that Gov. Sarah Palin agreed to be Sen. John McCain’s running mate, but it took me a couple of days to figure out why.

I’m troubled that McCain thinks the hockey mom is fit to step in as president. I’m dismayed she thinks so little of women that she expects her gender alone will result in a stampede of Hillary supporters.

But I’m angry that she is going on the campaign trail after having given birth so recently to a baby with Down syndrome.

I write this as the mother of a profoundly handicapped son and the aunt of a young man with Down. What I know is that her son will need early, frequent, loving and consistent intervention and stimulation over and above what every infant requires.

What he won’t need is a round-the-clock nanny while she attends the after-hours receptions and dinners required of the VP — in addition to her eight-hour-plus days.

My fear is for the baby: that she’s willing to sacrifice his needs for her ambition. He deserves a better start than that.

Susan Phillips

Apex

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For all of John McCain’s talk about his experience and readiness for the presidency, he flunked his first presidential test in his selection of a running mate.

If he truly believes that Gov. Sarah Palin is among the very best people available to take his place, should he falter, then all his talk about his superior judgment is meaningless. There just isn’t enough information about her in her short political life to make that determination.

An alternative is much more likely: This is a cynical political stunt undertaken merely for the sake of getting elected. That’s who I want running the country: the candidate who risks placing us in the hands of an unknown and untested vice president just so he can get elected. Way to go, Sen. McCain.

Allen Mills

Raleigh

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John McCain has made a very interesting choice for his vice-presidential candidate: an avid evangelical anti-choice candidate.

I am a teacher, and I see neglected children in the most affluent families. We have to make choices, and if we are having children, we should put them first. I’m wondering about Sarah Palin’s choices.

I do have a concern about Palin’s newest child. I understand pro-lifers’ concern with the unborn, but I am more concerned with those who are born. The most important element in life should be the care and love by the parents for those who are already here by our choices. Substitute care-givers are not the same. Palin made the choice to have this child who happens to have Down syndrome. Who is going to care for this child?

Obviously, being governor and running for VP she’s not going to have a lot of time. Since her husband works for an oil company, he won’t, either.

Hjordis Tourian

Durham

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Choosing Sarah Palin as his VP candidate spotlights something important to think about: John McCain’s recklessness.

He’s a maverick not just because he’s a contrarian, although he certainly is that. But he’s also rash, embracing needless risk for questionable gain.

He offers us a small-town mayor with a half-term as governor, a woman against choice, who wants schools to teach her religious beliefs. Picture her standing in his 72-year-old shoes at the White House, and tell me McCain isn’t reckless with your future and mine.

John Norris

Durham

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I must admit that I did not know very much about Sarah Palin before John McCain’s surprise announcement of her being named his running mate, other than her being the governor of Alaska. Now that I have learned more about this gutsy lady, let’s analyze who is more qualified to be president: Sarah Palin or Barack Obama?

First of all, most everyone is pretty sick of things in Washington right now. There’s been so much talk about “change” needed in Washington, and I couldn’t agree more. How do Palin and Obama stack up against each other as leaders? Has Obama ever led any type of business or government? Has he led any discussion or legislation while in the United States Senate for 140+ working days?
Palin is currently running the state of Alaska and had to displace an incumbent Republican governor in order to do so. Her list of accomplishments are many while leading this state, including many bipartisan accomplishments. Has Obama worked across party lines?

Palin has gone after Republican leaders in Alaska, including Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and many other state Republican leaders about ethics problems that have occurred. Senator McCain attempted to work with Obama on ethics reform; however, Obama showed little interest in working in a bipartisan fashion. The list goes on and on.

Everyone should read about the accomplishments of Palin and compare them to Obama, and it is plain to see that Palin is far more qualified to be the president of the United States than Obama, and she is not even the No. 1 spot on the ticket.

We all know that McCain has bucked his party on numerous occasions, and we have learned that Palin has done the same thing.

We should look closely at which ticket will provide real change in Washington and choose the ticket that would really shake up Washington, and disregard the party affiliation.

Robert Howell

Holly Springs

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Sen. John McCain’s choice of Gov. Sarah Palin to possibly become an American vice president is great. Great that is, if your image of an American mother is a gun totin’, shoot’n, cig smoking, beer drinking American mom. This is the image that came to my mind that remembered the movie “Ma Barker’s Killer Brood” (1960), when I looked at the pictures of Ms. Palin armed with a military weapon.

With all my strength I don’t want my descendants growing up with this image.
I’m sorry to shoot so low with my description. I’m sure she is a very nice, well-meaning woman, but this is a bad decision not deserving of anyone’s vote.

It is one more example of bad decisions by John McCain, like the 90+ percent of his votes that supported Messrs Bush and Cheney’s bad ideas.

Eugene Barufkin

Sanford

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It is hilarious to see the same people who are willing to send two senators (Edwards and Obama) with about two years experience in the Senate and zero executive experience to the presidency of the United States, mocking the selection of Sarah Palin and commenting that she is not qualified for the job. Sure sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.

Gopal Muppirala

Morrisville

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I read with interest that Barack Obama’s spokesman Bill Burton said, “today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.”

Sarah Palin may be a heartbeat away, but Obama with zero foreign policy experience is only an election away!

With Congress getting about 9 percent approval rating, let’s go for an outsider!

Floyd Wingfield

Goldsboro

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It seems to me that the anti-labor, anti-union establishment, especially here in North Carolina, should have a difficult time voting for a Republican ticket where the vice presidential candidate and her husband are union members, specifically the Steel Workers Union. Could North Carolina become a blue state?

Frank Thebes

Fuquay-Varina

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After reading many articles already put out in regards to vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and even one by our ex-Democratic Party chairman, I am really surprised as to how anyone can question her credentials. Where are Barack Obama’s credentials? She has at least been a governor, and what has he done?

He has done what John Edwards did. He started a campaign for president as soon as he hit Congress. John Edwards did nothing for the state of N. C. and I submit that Obama has done the same, nothing other than campaign as soon as he arrived in Congress.

Jerry D. Narron

Raleigh
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As a transitioning Hillary supporter, I am deeply insulted by McCain’s VP selection. I supported Hillary Clinton because she is a very strong supporter of women’s issues, especially reproductive freedom, and is qualified. McCain, on the other hand, selected a woman who would deny all other women the right to make their own childbearing decisions. I am stunned that he would manage to find a woman who is farther to the right than he is and thinks that, because she is a woman, it will be a winning ticket.

Does he really think women will, lemming-like, vote for someone who does not support them solely because she is a woman? That no one will notice her lack of qualifications? I do not support women because they are women. While I believe that it is critical that women be elected at all levels, I also know that, like Sarah Palin, not every woman supports women’s rights. And I will not support them.

This decision confirms that McCain is really out of touch. Who does he think he’s fooling? I intend to work and vote for Obama/Biden, who truly will support women’s equality.

Jan Allen

Chapel Hill

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John McCain’s first presidential decision shows such cynicism for our election process and disrespect for the American electorate that it is beyond the pale. Choosing Sarah Palin clearly demonstrates the Republican willingness to grab at any and all straws to retain power. Though presidential candidates have often chosen running mates to balance their tickets, McCain’s pandering to the right wing of the party with the selection of this inexperienced governor, in truth a glorified councilwoman, is a dangerous, purely political ploy that the American electorate must reward with defeat at the polls in November.

He is clearly willing to risk the future security of our nation for political expediency and exposes his judgment and decision-making process to be 100 percent politics driven, as opposed to being driven by even a remote concern for what is best for the country.

John McCain is a fraud, hiding behind his past service to this country as though it somehow makes him infallible in national security matters, and it is time we sent him out to pasture.

James Stock

Carrboro
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In his powerful acceptance speech at the Democratic convention, Barack Obama laid bare the Republican record of the last eight years, made a compelling case for change and asserted that John McCain just “doesn’t get it.” Then McCain proved his point. With his choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, McCain has made his utter cluelessness, as well as his cynical contempt for the American people, plain for all to see.

Apparently, McCain thinks all he needs to do is select a woman as his running mate and, voila, all of Clinton’s voters will rush to support him. Is he kidding? As someone who voted for Senator Clinton and now enthusiastically and unreservedly supports Barack Obama, all I can say is “dream on.”

Palin has neither the intelligence nor the experience of Clinton. The fact that they are both women doesn’t change that. More to the point, Palin is opposed to everything Clinton represents. Palin is a right-wing extremist. She opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest. She is virulently anti-gay. She thinks that global warming is a myth and the creation story in the Book of Genesis is science. She would do nothing to insure the tens of millions of people in the richest nation on earth who have no health care. She knows little to nothing about foreign policy and the Iraq war. And McCain, who always puts country first, wants to put her first in line for the presidency? I don’t think so.

I didn’t vote for Senator Clinton because she is a woman. I voted for her because of her depth of knowledge, her tenacity, her strength of character and because of her to commitment to take this country in a smarter, saner and more humane direction.

I will vote for Senator Obama for all the same reasons. Sorry to say, but Sarah Palin is not fit to wear Hillary Clinton’s pantsuit, and she is not fit to be vice president.

Richard Oliver

Raleigh

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An Aug. 30 letter-writer wrote that, “Palin is no Hillary Clinton.” Amen! Amen! Amen! Indeed the two women cannot be compared. One has ridden her way to her dubious success on the coattails of her philandering husband. The other has achieved remarkable success on her own. Think, people, think!

Peggy Pittman

Fuquay-Varina
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If the author of “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” had read a recent People’s Forum letter, she would have been disappointed. One of her viewpoints of why women do not succeed is the group dynamic of women sticking together and as a result resisting those who succeed and break from the group. She named this situation the “Power Dead Even Rule.” She analyzed men’s opposite nature of “there must be a winner.”

The writer stated that Sen. John McCain picked Gov. Sarah Palin because she was a woman and went on to say she is unqualified. In this case, the “pull-back” is apparently an insufficient conclusion made just one day after the announcement. The wide general consensus is that she simply is unknown, and there is much to learn.

Let’s not rush to judgment. And more importantly in the overall political arena, let’s make judgments based on an equal hearing of opinions on both sides of the debate. Either political party is not always wrong; either is not always right. Unfortunately, main media sources do not provide that, and many people do not take the time to adequately hear both sides and then make more accurate conclusions.

David Martin

Raleigh

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I recall that during the presidential Democratic primary, there was much made about Barack Obama’s lack of experience in federal government. Obama and the Obamanites fired back that his lack of experience in Washington was a good thing to help clean up Washington and that statement worked.

Now, John McCain has chosen a running mate who has lack of experience in Washington and a definite track record in reforming Alaska’s corrupt government.

What I am seeing in news print from Obama supporters and on select news media stations is that she is a bad choice because she has little if no experience in Washington.

What a bunch of hypocrites.

Dennis Strickland

Raleigh

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It bothered me all day after I heard the selection of Sarah Palin as the vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party in 2008. Was it her looks that bothered me? No, it’s not her fault she’s attractive. Her sudden catapulting to such a stratosphere? No, that’s no more far-fetched than an average American sitcom.

Then, watching more “film at 11,” it struck me; my slow burn turned incendiary. The choice of Gov. Palin was an insult to experienced and tested female legislators of every ilk. Wanting to shore up his elderly ticket, this was the best McCain could find? A fluke of political fortune? She deserves this footnote in history books? He could have found better in the ranks of Republican women.

We deserved better than the beauty queen.

JoAnna Tierney

Apex

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Now I’m really confused. After months of criticizing Sen. Barack Obama for being inexperienced, Sen. John McCain has chosen a woman who has been a governor for two years to be his v.p. Oops, I forgot. She was mayor of a town of 9,000 for six years. That will be some very important experience when she looks Putin in the eye.

Marvin Woll

Raleigh

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With the choice of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate, it is clear that the Republicans are so desperate to retain control of the White House, they are willing to risk the safety, security and well-being of the American people in the event McCain is unable to complete his term in office.

If John McCain wanted a Palin as a running mate, he should have chosen the Monty Python guy, Michael Palin, who is probably more well-known and just as qualified. (Yes, I am aware that Michael Palin is a British subject).

Ralph Mannheimer

Cary

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McCain’s four best arguments against Obama:
1. Too young.
2. Too inexperienced
3. Too risky.
4. Poor judgment.

Here’s how McCain’s Palin choice undercuts all four:

1. She’s younger than Obama.

2. Really, WHAT experience!

She was the mayor of a town the size of Mayberry. She has been governor for fewer years (2) than Obama has been a senator. She has zero foreign policy experience. She knows nothing about navigating legislation through Congress. (Ask Jimmy Carter if that matters.)

3. The “heartbeat away” argument.

If McCain takes the oath of office, he will be 72 years old. While his mother is in her 90s, his dad and grandad died in their 70s. McCain has had more than one bout with cancer. McCain shows arguable, but disturbing signs of mental lapses. Palin would be in over her head if she had to assume office. The argument that she could surround herself with good advisers is undercut because the same case could be made for Obama.

4. The poor judgment demonstrated in this case is McCain’s. This pick could rank up there with Dan Quayle, Thomas Eagleton and Spiro Agnew. In an obvious, desperate attempt to win by courting Hillary’s supporters, is he putting ambition ahead of country, as he accused Obama of doing?

Obama may be a gamble, but his upside for the country is far greater than Palin’s downside.

I’ll take the odds and vote Democratic.

Rick Gagliardo

Pinehurst

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I sat stunned listening to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s introduction speech to the vice presidential spot. I even felt a little sorry for her, because the McCain campaign is using her in the most cynical way. She is on the ticket simply because she is a right-wing conservative woman, with almost no record to attack.

With less than two years as governor and only a bachelor’s degree in journalism, she lacks the political, professional and educational experience to be president should something happen to McCain. And if McCain wins, she will have no serious role in the administration. She will be completely marginalized, a la Dan Quayle.

When choosing a vice president, the first consideration should be “will the person be able to step in as president at a moment’s notice?” In this case, clearly not. Another way to look at it is: “Would McCain supporters elect this person president?” I don’t think so. John McCain’s choice is completely irresponsible in that regard and shows incredibly poor judgement.

With a direct, cynical appeal to “Hillary voters,” the campaign has made a huge blunder. To treat the Hillary Clinton supporters as a monolithic group of women solely interested in electing another woman to the White House should be insulting to any thinking person. The reason Clinton supporters were so passionate about their candidate was not just because she was a woman, but because she was a woman eminently qualified to hold the highest office in the land.

Stewart Waller

Durham

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Don’t get me wrong about Sarah Palin. I believe she is a dedicated public servant with an interesting life story. She has benefited from the glass ceiling of mediocrity once shattered by Dan Quayle. She can even kill a moose.

But it doesn’t take long to see that she is the wrong person for the job.

More than usual, the Republican vice president needs to be ready to take over if something should — heaven forbid — happen to John McCain. Since experience was a low criteria, was Sarah picked only because she is a woman? Perhaps a vote for Kay Hagan and Bev Purdue will scratch that itch and bring much needed talent to the Senate and the governor’s house at the same time.

Did we need someone to help us develop national energy independence? A typical drill-and-burn Republican doesn’t impress me as the right person; we’ve had two of them in the White House for the past eight years.

The last presidential election was about competence, and we chose wrong. Let’s not elect another candidate who was cut from the same cloth.

Steve Calnek

Durham

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I’m sure the writer of the Aug. 30 letter “Not fooled” didn’t intend for her comment “And Palin is no Hillary Clinton” to be taken the way I have. However, in addition to the attributes I have noticed about Sarah Palin so far, the fact that she is no Hillary Clinton is the best one so far.

As far as the contention that her experience is suspect for possibly taking over the presidency, if the need arose, I think her administrative experience already eclipses the experience of the Democratic presidential nominee.

I suspect that the primary reason for the “Not fooled” writer’s comment is based on her political party affiliation. If truth could be known, she very likely wishes, with all her heart, that Palin’s name was on the Democratic ticket, in which case her qualifications would be just fine.

Douglas Powell

Raleigh

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Your headline in the Aug. 30 paper “McCain’s VP choice is a shock” should have read, “McCain’s VP Choice is a WOW!”

This is one strong, independent, dynamic woman! I am so excited to see her on the ticket. She has never been in the Washington crowd (a plus), and she is her own person. She will not give you the “say a lot but say nothing” routine that we have been getting from the Democratic ticket. She has shown that she is not afraid to take on the establishment. She is not afraid to go against the politics as usual crowd, which is the best that the Democrats have to offer. I can already see her as a future President. John McCain hit a home run with the bases loaded!

Anne Locke

Raleigh