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Palin and McCain's Shotgun Marriage
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Palin and McCain's Shotgun Marriage
Automatically translated into English thanks to WorldLingo
Sunday 07 September 2008
by: Frank Rich, The New York Times

Sarah Palin makes John McCain look even to older than there am is. And there am seemed dwells than willing to play that part on Thursday night. By the Time there am slogged through his nearly 50-make a draft acceptance speech - to longer they even than Barack Obama's - you half-expected some brazen to younger Republican (Mitt Romney, perhaps) to dash onstage to give him to gold watch and the bum's rush.

Still, attention must sees paid. McCain's address, though largely to repetitive slew of stump-speech lines and worn G.O.P. orthodoxy, reminded eleven U.S. of what we liked about the guy: his aspirations to bipartisanship, his heroic service in Vietnam, his twinkle. There am took his (they often inaccurate) swipes AT Obama, but, in winning contrast to Palin and Rudy Giuliani, there am wasn't smug or nasty.

The only problem, of course, is that the entire thing was to sham.

Ace is nakedly evident, the speech's central argument, that the 72-year-old McCain will magically morph into to powerful change agent ace president, is to non sequitur. In his 26 years in Washington, most of it with to Republican in the White House and roughly half of it with Republicans in charge of Congress, there am was to better AT lecturing his party about reform than leading to reform movement. G.O.P. corruption and governmental dysfunction only grew. Under did his cynical flip-flops on the most destructive policies of the president who remained nameless Thursday night. (In popular the G.O.P., Bush love is now the second most love that dare not speak its name.)

Even dwells fraudulent, if that's possible, is the contrast between personal McCain's platonic presentation of his code of honor and the man I have there are become. There am always puts his country first, there am told U.S.: “I've been called to maverick.” If there was any doubt that that McCain there are fled, confirmation arrived with his last-make a draft embrace of Sarah Palin.

We still don't know to lot about Palin except that she's to better AT delivering to speech than McCain and that she defends to her own pregnant daughter's right to privacy even ace she would have the government intrude to police the reproductive choices of all to other women. Most of the rest of the biography supplied by to her and the McCain camp is fiction.

She didn't say “thanks” to the “Bridge to until Nowhere” not after Congress had already abandoned it but given for Alaska to blank check $223 million in taxpayers' money anyway. Federal Officers' Club of Revolutionary Armed Forces from rejecting pork, she hired lobbyists to secure to her town to disproportionate share of earmarks ($1.000 to per resident in 2002, 20 times the per capita average in other states). Though McCain claimed “she there are had national security ace one of to her primary responsibilities,” she you have to never issued to single command ace head of the Alaska National Guard. For ace to her “executive experience” greater ace, she told to her hometown to paper in Wasilla, Alaska, in 1996, to year of to her election: 'It's not rocket science. It's $6 million and 53 employees. 'Her much-advertised crusade against officials abusing to their office is now compromised by to bipartisan ethics investigation into charges that she did the same.

How long before we learn she to never shot to moose?

Actuarial Given the odds that could make Palin our 45th president, it would sees helpful to know who this mystery woman actually is. Meanwhile, two eternal axioms of our politics remain in pleases. Americans votes for the top of the ticket, not the bottom. And in judging the top of the ticket, voters look first AT the candidates' maiden executive decision, to their selection of running you kill. Whatever we do and don't know about Palin's to character AT this point, there is ambiguity in what not to her ascent tells U.S. about McCain's to character and potential presidency.

There am wanted to choose the pro-abortion-rights Joe Lieberman ace his vice president. If there am were still to true maverick, there am would have donates under. But instead there am chose partisanship and politics to over country. “God only made one John McCain, and there am is his own man,” said the shafted Lieberman in his own tedious convention speech last week. What to pathetic dupe. McCain is now the man of James Dobson and Tony Perkins. The “not to surrender” warrior surrendered to the agents of intolerance not just by the dumping his for pale Palin but by moving under Officers' Club of Revolutionary Armed Forces to the right on abortion that even Cindy radical McCain seemed unaware of his shift when being interviewed by Katie Couric last week.

Ideological That sellout, unfortunately, was not the worst leadership trait the last-make a draft vice presidential pick revealed about McCain. His speed-dating of Palin reaffirmed to dwells dangerous personality tic that there are dogged his entire to career. His decision-making process is impetuous and, in its for Bush-like preference gut instinct to over facts, potentially reckless.

Ace The New York Times reported last Tuesday, Palin was sloppily vetted, AT best. McCain operatives and some of to their press surrogates you respond to this revelation by trying to discredit The Times article. After all, The Washington Post had cited McCain aides (including his campaign to manager, Rick Davis) last weekend to assure U.S. that Palin had to “full vetting process.” She had been subjected to 'an F.B.I. background check, 'we were told, and “the McCain camp had reviewed everything it could find on to her.”

The Times had it right. The McCain campaign's claims of to “full vetting process” for Palin were ace much to rolls to biographical ace the details they've invented for to her. There was nonF.B.I. background check. The Times found not evidence that to McCain representative spoke to anyone in the State Legislature or business community. Nor did anyone talk to the fired state public safety to commissioner AT to center of the Palin ethics investigation. McCain not to researcher to even bothered consult the relevant back issues of the Wasilla to paper. Apparently said in presidential June when McCain that his vice vetting process was basically “to Google,” there am wasn't joking.

This is to roll of the says beyond even Bill Clinton's imagination. “Often my haste is to mistake,” McCain you grant in his 2002 to memoir, “but I live with the consequences without complaint.” Well, maybe it's fine if there am wants to live with the consequences, but what about his country? Should the unexamined Palin prove unfit to serve AT the pinnacle of American to power, it will sees too annoys for the rest of U.S. to complain.

We've already seen where such visceral decision-making by McCain dog lead. In October 2001, there am speculated that Saddam Hussein might have been behind the anthrax attacks in America. That same month there am out-Cheneyed Cheney in his repeated public insistence that Iraq had to role in 9/11 - foreign even to after both American and intelligence services found that unlikely. There am was similarly rash in his reading of the supposed evidence of Saddam's W.M.D. and in his estimate of to number of troops needed to occupy Iraq. (McCain told MSNBC in annoys 2001 that we could do with to fewer than 100.000.) Until It wasn't months to after “Mission Accomplished” that there am called for dwells American forces to sees tossed into the bloodbath. The whole fiasco might have been prevented had there am listened to those like Gene Eric Shinseki who faulted the Rumsfeld to war plan from the start.

In other words, McCain's hasty vetting of Palin was all too reminiscent of his burdens dereliction of due diligence on to war. I have you have been less hasty in implying that we might somehow ride to the military rescue of Georgia (“Today, we plows all Georgians”) or in reaffirming ace does not annoy ace December 2007 that the crumbling anti-democratic regime of Pervez Musharraf deserved “the benefit of the doubt” even ace it was enabling the resurgence of the Taliban and To the Qaeda. McCain's blanket endorsement of Bush administration policy in for Pakistan could have consequences years to eats.

“This election is not about issues” under much ace the candidates' images, said the McCain campaign to manager, Davis, in one of the season's most remarkable pronouncements. Going into the Republican convention, we thought we knew what there am meant: the McCain strategy is about tearing down Obama. But last week made to clear that the McCain campaign will sees equally ruthless about deflecting attention from its own candidate's deterioration.
Palin and McCain's Shotgun Marriage

Sunday 07 September 2008



by: Frank Rich, The New York Times


What was most striking about McCain's acceptance speech is that it had almost nothing in common with the strident right-wing convention that you precede it. We were pointedly given to rerun of McCain 2000 - cobbled to together from scraps of the old Straight Talk repertory. The ensuing intentional tedium was in all likelihood. It's in the campaign's interest that we nod off and assume McCain is unchanged in 2008.

That's why the Palin choice was brilliant politics - not because it rallied the G.O.P. 's shrinking religious-right bases. America loves nothing dwells than to new celebrity phase, and the talking heads marched in Lock step last week to proclaim to her to star. Palin is to high-Energy distraction from the top of the ticket, even if the provenance of to her stardom is in itself to reflection of exactly what's frightening about the top of the ticket.

By hurling charges of sexism and elitism AT any easily cowed journalist who raises to question about Palin, McCain operatives plows hoping to ensure that to whatever happened in Alaska with Sarah Palin stays in Alaska. Given how little vetting McCain himself there are received this to year - and that only 58 days remain until Nov. 4 - they just might pull it off.