Indiana

It?s A Wash

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

After a few days of pondering the nomination of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for vice-president, that is my conclusion. She brings some big pluses to John McCain’s campaign, but she also brings some baggage as well.

As a woman, she continues to add to the history making moments of this campaign, but I also don’t think she’ll get too many Hillary Clinton supporters because of her positions on guns, abortion and the environment.

She does bring legislative experience to the table, however she was a part-time Mayor and only Governor since 2007 so that may effectively neutralize the experience argument against Barack Obama.

She has a reputation for being a reformer, a maverick and fiscal conservative, which helps John McCain’s reputation.  However, as reported in USA Today, while running for Governor in 2006 she backed the famous, or infamous,  “bridge to nowhere.”  She also spent money on DC lobbyists to get earmarks for her city.  She also raised what could be considered a “windfall” profits tax on Alaska’s oil companies.

Palin also excites the GOP base, which was at best cool to McCain’s candidacy.  But you could also argue the base was so starved for something to get excited over, that you could have throw them a cracker and they would have thought it was cake.

So in the end, I argue Palin’s candidacy is a wash.  But don’t forget, the first rule of picking a VP candidate is “do no harm” and since it’s even break, John McCain and Sarah Palin have done what they needed to do.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on September 01, 2008 (boomark / email).