9/4/2008

Battleground Banter: How will John McCain's VP selection affect the Wisconsin vote?

By WisOpinion

PREVIOUS EDITION: How will Barack Obama's VP selection affect the Wisconsin vote?

BATTLEGROUND BANTER

How will John McCain's VP selection affect the Wisconsin vote?

Sara Rogers

Bill McCoshen

It is often said that the first presidential decision a candidate ever makes is the selection of a vice presidential nominee. Sen. Barack Obama displayed true wisdom and judgment when he selected Sen. Joe Biden. Sen. John McCain's first presidential decision could not have been more different. In one fell swoop, he reinforced questions about whether he has the judgment and temperament to be Commander-in-Chief, while simultaneously proving that his famed maverick image is just that - a phony façade. McCain has spent months arguing that the most important quality for a president is "the national security experience and background to lead this nation. We are facing the transcendent challenge of the 21st century, and that is radical Islamic extremism." But Sarah Palin simply has no national security experience whatsoever. If John McCain thinks that the freshman governor of Alaska, who just two years ago was mayor of a town of 9,000, has the necessary experience to be president of the United States, then John McCain must concede that Barack Obama -- who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and who wrote legislation to keep loose nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists and rogue nations -- has more than enough experience to be commander-in-chief. So if not national security credentials, then what? We've heard lots of rhetoric about Palin as a reformer. But the reality tells a different story. When Palin says she "said no thanks" to the bridge to nowhere, she doesn't mention that she was for it before she was against it. When McCain says he found someone who shares his distaste for earmarks, he leaves out that, as mayor, Sarah Palin hired a Washington lobbyist to bring home the pork to Alaska. And while the McCain campaign would like us to believe that a McCain-Palin ticket somehow represents change, the fact is they're still offering nothing but more of the same. Sarah Palin has a compelling personal story, and as a woman I am genuinely thrilled that the old barriers in our politics are crumbling. But when it comes down to it, Sarah Palin is in lock step with John McCain in supporting more of George Bush's disastrous economic policies. That's not good for women in this country. If the substance of John McCain's vice presidential choice raises serious questions about how he would perform as president, the selection process goes a long way toward answering them. The evidence is clear now that McCain really wanted to choose his friend Joe Lieberman, and that would have represented a real maverick choice. But when the extreme conservative wing of the Republican Party, led by Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh, made it clear that such a selection would be unacceptable to them, McCain buckled under the pressure and instead made a blatantly cynical and political decision to appease the far right. That's not a maverick - that's a loyal party man dutifully taking his marching orders. Scrambling to find a game-changing pick, McCain only met with Palin once before offering her the position. He didn't send a vetting team to Alaska until after he had announced his pick. And she wasn't interviewed thoroughly until a day before the announcement. By selecting a complete unknown for the second-highest job in the land, without even taking the time to do his homework, John McCain threw the political equivalent of a Hail Mary pass. And in the process he's gambling with the very future of our nation. A maverick, John McCain is not. A loose cannon? Maybe. -- Rogers is executive vice president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

Wow! The maverick John McCain has done it again. McCain tossed aside conventional wisdom and choose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin has helped McCain unify the party and her selection has brought new energy and enthusiasm to conservative and evangelical voters. It has also energized young GOP voters. I wrote last week that Paul Ryan may be the only potential running mate who could make a difference for McCain in Wisconsin. I was wrong. Palin will play very well in the Badger State. Palin comes from a small town in Alaska not unlike many small towns in Wisconsin. She understands the issues that face rural America. Palin’s record will appeal to independent voters in Wisconsin. She took on her own party chairman for campaigning on taxpayer time, and she beat a sitting incumbent GOP governor who had lost touch with Alaska voters. Palin is a reformer and is not afraid so shake things up. She has made a career of change you can believe in. Palin is the mother of five, and, yes, she is soon to be a grandma too. She knows first hand what it is like to balance work and family like so many working women in Wisconsin. Many female voters in Wisconsin will easily identify with the struggles and accomplishments of Palin. Palin may also bring more males into the GOP column this fall. Let’s face it; she is smart, tough and pretty cool. Palin hunts moose and caribou and loves to snowmobile. Palin appeals to all those voters in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin facing tough economic times that Barack Obama said “cling to their guns and religion” for comfort. These voters went overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. Some Hillary supporters will vote for McCain-Palin because there's a strong woman on the ticket or because of the epic snub Obama gave Hillary. New polls suggest nearly a third of Hillary’s supporters are still not committed to Obama. It means Obama will have to spend more time and resources courting Hillary voters instead of independents and undecideds. The most hypocritical criticism of Palin came from our own feminist Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton. She said Palin was “too fragile” to vice president. Can Lawton field-dress a moose? Lawton also said the Palin pick represents “no change for women." Apparently Lawton only celebrates the achievements of liberal women. Palin has made more executive decisions as mayor and governor than Obama and Biden combined. The Palin pick is not without risk. She's a relative unknown on the national stage. She needs to get a good ride out of her introductory speech at the GOP convention, she needs to do well in her debate against Sen. Joe Biden in October, and she needs to wow 'em on the campaign trail to prove to voters she's up to the job. I have no doubt Palin is up to the job and she will play very well with Wisconsin voters. -- McCoshen is senior vice president of the lobbying firm Capitol Consultants and served as Commerce secretary under former GOP. Gov. Tommy Thompson.