Personal Injury Law

Trial Practice: Part II - Watching the McCain team can teach you the why and how to give an opening statement.

By Steve Lombardi

This is a three-part series about opening statements. Today we pick up again with John McCain's choice of a running mate. She claims that governing Alaska and it being adjacent to Russia gives her foreign policy experience. Is she right?

Do you know what osmosis is? Osmosis is a process by which position alone along with composition allows absorption of what is around you. Imagine your son or daughter getting ready for a test about history or government by just going outside and walking around. Further consider them saying they could study for tests by just hanging out with the popular kids at school. What would you say to them about their chances of improving their intelligence and getting a good grade? Now what if someone were running for Vice President of the United States and believe that doing the above actually was a qualification for making critical decisions as the President of the U.S.?

In this United States Presidential race the Governor of Alaska is running as the VP Candidate with John “Mc-Let’s-have-more-economic-pain”.

Many Republicans are asking; why did you pick Palin? She’s not qualified to be the Governor of Alaska, let alone the Vice President of the United States. I watched her on the debate with Biden and I'll say this, she’s not shy; not smart, but also not shy. I suspect that comes from being trained as a beauty queen who had to work really hard to try to win against real talent, of which she appears to be lacking.

Let’s check out her educational background, maybe the critics are wrong.

Palin attended several colleges and universities. In 1982, she enrolled at Hawaii Pacific College but left after her first semester. She transferred to North Idaho community college, where she spent two semesters as a general studies major. From there, she transferred to the University of Idaho for two semesters.^[11][12] During this time Palin won the Miss Wasilla Pageant beauty contest,^[13][14] then finished third (second runner-up) in the Miss Alaska pageant,^[15][16] at which she won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award.^[17] She then left the University of Idaho and attended Matanuska-Susitna community college in Alaska for one term. The next year she returned to the University of Idaho where she spent three semesters completing her Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, graduating in 1987.^[11][12]

That’s not a very impressive resume of an educational history. She seemed to have a difficult time focusing. Many are wondering with this selection whether John McCain isn’t showing his age. Sarah Palin claims she is ready to be President of the United States. That she thinks that doesn’t surprise me. After all her spiteful decision making as the Governor of Alaska shows she’s not a deep thinker able to comprehend the future consequences of her actions. That fact that she’s even running makes me ask the question, what if she were the President of the United States. I'm sure Vladimir Putin from Russian Kim Jong-il from North Korea, Hugo Chavez from Venezuela and Ali Khamenei from Iran are salivating over that notion. It’s frightening to think about.

Tomorrow we’ll look at this candidate’s ability to reason and you can decide the maturity level.

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on October 14, 2008 (boomark / email).