
 |
|
May 24, 2013
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Sept. 2, 2008
/ 2 Elul 5768
McCain's masterstroke
By
Jack Kelly
| >
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I wrote a column back in June in which I said Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would be the
ideal running mate for Sen. McCain. But I never thought he'd pick her.
I underestimated him. And Democrats will underestimate "Sarah Barracuda" at their
peril.
At 44, Sarah Louise Heath Palin is the youngest governor in Alaska's relatively
brief history as a state. She's also the nation's most popular governor, with an
approval rating in the 80s.
Ms. Palin is popular in part because of her personal qualities. She earned the
"Sarah Barracuda" nickname as the point guard on her Wasilla high school basketball
team, which she led to the state championship in 1982. Two years later, when she
won the Miss Wasilla beauty pageant (and went on to be the first runner up in the
Miss Alaska contest) she was also named Miss Congeniality. Fire and nice.
But it's mostly because she's been a crackerjack governor, a strong fiscal
conservative and a ferocious fighter of corruption, especially in her own party.
Ms. Palin touches other conservative bases, some of which Sen. McCain has been
accused of rounding. Her eldest son is a soldier. She's a lifetime member of the
National Rifle Association who hunts, fishes and runs marathons. A regular
churchgoer, she's staunchly pro-life.
Her wholesome family and modest lifestyle contrast with the wealth Sen. McCain
married into, and will make it harder for Democrats to portray the GOP ticket as out
of touch with the concerns of ordinary Americans. And it doesn't hurt that Ms.
Palin's husband, Todd, a commercial fisherman and an oilfield worker, is a Native
American.
Ms. Palin is an expert on energy policy, which figures to be the top domestic issue
in this election. (She was Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas
Conservation Commission before resigning in protest over what she alleged were the
lack of ethics by fellow Republicans.) Her presence on the ticket raises hopes Sen.
McCain will soften his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Preserve.
Kimberley Strassel of the Wall Street Journal has said that Sen. McCain should run
a la Harry Truman against a corrupt, do-nothing Congress this fall. If he
chooses to do so, Ms. Palin is the ideal partner. She took on a corrupt GOP
establishment in Alaska, and pushed a landmark ethics reform bill through the state
legislature. She's as much a maverick as Sen. McCain, though one who elates, rather
than irritates, conservatives.
"If Palin has in fact chosen Gov. Palin, then count me in with both feet," said
radio talk show host Mark Levin, a frequent and often savage critic of Sen. McCain.
"Palin is by all accounts a principled conservative and government reformer who can
contribute mightily to the decision-making that occurs in the White House."
If elected, Ms. Palin would be the first female vice president in history. This
prospect may appeal to some disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters. On the other
hand, pro-abortion women might be put off by her pro-life views.
There is no such thing as the perfect candidate. The knock on Sarah Palin would be
her relative inexperience. She's only been governor for 18 months, and before that,
the mayor of Wasilla, a small suburb of Anchorage.
But it will be difficult for Democrats to attack Ms. Palin on this without calling
attention to Barack Obama's lack of experience. Ms. Palin is the undercard, not the
top of the ticket. And her 18 months as governor (not to mention her two terms as
mayor) is 18 months more executive experience than Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden
have combined.
Whether this is a brilliant choice or a bad risk will depend on how Ms. Palin
performs on the campaign trail. But if I were Joe Biden, I'd be worried. A former
journalist, Sarah Palin is careful about what she says and says it well, qualities
for which Sen. Biden is not reknowned. Sen. Obama picked Sen. Biden in part because
of his reputed skill as a hatchet man. But if Sen. Biden comes on too hard in the
vice presidential debate, he'll look like a bully. And Alaska is littered with the
bodies of those who tried to bully Sarah Palin and failed.
What's not in doubt is Sen. McCain's rollout of his running mate was brilliant. The
secret was kept until the last minute, which is remarkable in politics. Speculation
about who it would be dominated the morning talk shows Friday, pushing aside
discussion of Sen. Obama's acceptance speech.
Sen. McCain has shown political skills few of us thought he had. I think he's about
to take the new kid to school.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Green Beret, was a
deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan
administration. Comment by clicking here.
Jack Kelly Archives
© 2008, Jack Kelly
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
Matt Davies
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|