And the Criticism Begins!

Sarah Palin’s nomination as Vice President hadn’t even been made official before the Democrats began taking pot shots at her and her experience. After her nomination was publicly announced, the Obama attack force got into full swing.

Obama’s campaign spokesman, Bill Burton, highlighted Governor Palin’s lack of foreign policy credentials by saying, “Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.”

If I’m not mistaken, isn’t Senator Barack Obama the man the Democrats have chosen to not only be a heartbeat away from the presidency, but to become the President. He’s at the top of their ticket and has zero foreign policy experience. At least Governor Palin has negotiated with Canada on transportation issues and Russia on fishing issues. Who has Obama negotiated with?

Bill Burton continued to criticize Governor Palin as a vice presidential choice because of her support for oil drilling in the Alaskan wilderness and her anti-abortion stance when he said, “Govenor Palin shares John McCain’s commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush’s failed economic policies. That’s not the change we need, it’s just more of the same.”

First, I thought one of the stated goals of the Democrats was to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, while developing alternative energy sources. Governor Palin is the governor of this nation's largest oil rich state and she is a strong advocate of drilling in the ANWR province. Good for her, she understands the issue.

Governor Palin has also recognized that, in order to decrease our dependency on foreign oil, the US needs to turn to alternative energy sources. On August 27, 2008 she signed a bill authorizing Alaska to award TransCanada a license to build a $27 billion pipeline to carry natural gas from the Arctic to the lower 48 states.

Second, yes, John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.

McCain believes that constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. He feels that the difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat. Now, whether or not Governor Palin feels the same way has yet to be determined, although she is pro-life, so it may be likely.

Third, Governor Palin took on "Big Oil". She is not for their agenda. In Alaska, she passed legislation that increased the taxes on oil company profits. This tax is a progressive tax, so the more the oil companies make, the more they pay. Isn't that what Obama wants to do?

Lastly, as Mayor, Sarah Palin lowered property taxes, while decreasing her own salary. As Governor, she found ways to eliminate wasteful spending. When oil and gas prices went up, and Alaska's revenues went up as a result, she gave the money back to the people. She also took on ethics reform and corruption in her own party. Two leading Alaskan Republicans were forced to resign as a result. This doesn't seem like more of the same. Maybe that's what her critics are really afraid of.

The criticism continued with Senator Charles Schumer weighing in. Senator Schumer made the statement that the pick of Palin negates the Republican arguments that Obama doesn't have the experience necessary to be president. He also stated, "While Palin is a fine person, her lack of experience makes the thought of her assuming the presidency troubling."

Let's see if we understand him correctly. Senator Obama, a man, who has no executive or foreign policy experience is completely qualified to be the Democrat Presidential nominee and, if elected, is ready to assume the presidency on day one. While, Governor Palin, a woman, who has served as an elected public official at three levels (city councilman, mayor and governor) for almost sixteen years and has eight years of executive experience is not qualified to be the Republican Vice Presidential nominee and is not ready to assume the hypothetical position of President. I say hypothetical because she would only assume the presidency if McCain were to pass away while in office. McCain is only 72; he is not knocking on death's door.

All that being said, Governor Palin has more experience and is more qualified to be President of the United States than any of the three men (who have only served as Sentors) on both tickets. She is the only one of the four candidates with any executive experience. She is the only one who has actually governed and made the tough decisions that come with governing. As one governor stated, "I made more decisions in the first week as governor than I did in two years as a Senator."

So you decide, who's more qualified to be President? The real candidate on the Democrat ticket or the hypothetical one on the Republican ticket. I chose the hypothetical one.