Palin remains an interesting choice

Nelson Graves
Published: September 7, 2008

Sen. John McCain either made a bold move or a blunder by selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate for the Republican vice presidential position.
Now that I think about it, if McCain had chosen former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, maybe he would have worries similar to those of Democratic nominee Barack Obama, if he’d picked Hillary Clinton.
Both McCain and Obama would always have their veeps looking over they’re shoulders, and there’d be questions of trust. If Romney or Clinton offered advice or suggestions to McCain or Obama, would it be a sincere assessment or a setup for failure?
Following the announcement of Palin’s selection by McCain, I, like others, absorbed any information about her that appeared. McCain backers couldn’t wait to defend and exhort her credentials.
I’m amazed at what her defenders consider experience. First mentioned is that she was a PTA member, followed by serving two terms as city council member of Wasilla, Alaska, population 8,500, and an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor and before her election as governor in 2006.
I must hand it to Republicans and their supporters, though. After denigrating Obama for being a lightweight on the experience issue, they didn’t hesitate to declare Palin qualified because she began her public service on the PTA and eventually moved to the governor’s office.
Palin was selected by McCain supposedly because she is, like him, a maverick. But with the way the media are scrutinizing her, who knows what will emerge?
YouTube forced Palin and her husband to announce the pregnancy of their teenage daughter. It should be noted that Obama has declared the news a personal family matter and that it’s out-of-bounds for further discussion.
I agree and only mention it to get to another related point. It’s ironic or hypocritical that some Republicans, especially the evangelical wing of the party, praise the Palins and their daughter for her deciding to have the baby rather than abort it. Yet those same conservatives would condemn Democrats if the roles were reversed.
And can’t you picture how the evangelicals would take umbrage if the unwed, teenage daughter were a minority? The conservative right would be blaming liberals for not having the proper family values.
It should be acknowledged that there are hypocrites in both political parties. The Democrats promote change and Obama chose old-school, 32-years-in-the-Senate Joseph Biden as his vice presidential running mate.
The Republicans charge Obama isn’t ready to lead and McCain chose as his running mate a 44-year-old, person with only a year-and-a-half of executive leadership experience. And that person (I use person instead of female, so I can’t be called a sexist) is only one step away from being president.
Speaking of the coming election, I hope that this information is useful to 17-year-olds wishing to vote in November. After checking with local voting registration offices, it’s confirmed that if a teenager will be 18 on the day the election is held, he or she may register now.
Nelson Graves is Western Virginia director of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council. E-mail him at .