In Defense of Palin Pt 1

It is always good to be challenged to defend my opinions about, well, anything...but especially things that perhaps I haven't fleshed out seriously. There is always the chance I haven't thought about them (or haven't considered the counter-arguments to my self-proclaimed position of truth and reason) and by working to defend my prior thoughts, frequently I learn more about why I hold certain positions...or I learn to change my position to a better one.

This is my preface to defending Palin. None (I started to say "Many"...but lets be honest...) of my arguments are not original...which is somewhat fair, since none of the critiques leveled at her on this blog are original either. Enough. Here are my thoughts.

1. Palin's experience (or apparent lack thereof) is not detrimental...is anything, it recommends her to the position of VP.

We can talk about the comparison of Obama and Palin's respective experiences in government (though, again, Obama is running for the top job...Palin is the second stringer). Obama has mostly run for office his entire political career. He has rarely stuck around long enough to contribute to the process...even before he was active politically (on a national level) as part of the academic world, he barely contributed to the ongoing discourse in a tangible, lasting way. No papers of import.

Contrast this with Palin's record, during her admittedly short period in politics. Of course I am being terribly biased. Obama has accomplishments to hang his hat on. Debunking/debating the merit of those is a future post's responsibility. My task, in this post, is to defend my belief that Sarah Palin is qualified to be a great VP, and if need be President. She has exhibited foresight and a commitment to implementing changes that will effect infrastructure and, as a result, the real day to day lives of Americans. She is unpopular amongst politicians of her own state, while being wildly popular with the actual people. These things all speak well of her ability to not only lead, but act in our best interest.

We could discuss the value of executive experience VS legislative experience. The President is the chief executive...which means that those who have handled the top job in any nearly any level of government have more familiarity with what it takes to be President than those that don't (in fairness, the federal government is significantly different from all other levels of government...and having experience at that level does and should count for something). In this case, we have 3 senators and one Governor in the election. It is somewhat of a mystery to me why, when Congress has an approval rating lower than the President's, we put members of Congress on the ballots, but we did. Still, Palin offers something that nobody in the race offers; executive experience from outside of Washington and the Capitol. That may not sound important...but looking at our nation, it certainly seems to resonate with the desires of our nation, and I think it will turn out to be an asset in governing.

Lets also recognize that whoever the next President/VP is, there will be several advisers for them. They will not be making decisions based solely on their own research, their own experience, or even their own opinions. This should make us all feel a little safer...especially if a lightweight such as Obama does get the big chair. Should Palin be the one to navigate the waters of Iraq, N. Korea, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Venezuela, etc in the event of McCain's death, I believe she will be capable of taking on those challenges. This is, in part, because of her seemingly default response to new and potentially frightening challenges. This is, in part, because I am convinced that she, as a Conservative, leans towards a position that lends itself to one of peace through strength. From her natural leadership to her personal convictions (which one can see easily by taking even a cursory look at her personal life), I believe she embodies qualities that make a good, possibly even great leader. If duty called her to the plate, she would be up to the task, based on her own character. The tools for the job, in part, come with the job. What characterizes the person that uses them is what determines who we vote for.