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Is Sarah Palin a saviour or a strange choice?
Global Eye
By Rich Bowden on September 2, 2008 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBacks (0)
Sarah Palin, the surprise selection for the position of Republican nominee, has shot to prominence since she received an unexpected nod from Senator McCain last weekend to serve as his running mate. She brings undoubted talents and excitement to the somewhat staid McCain campaign but will her lack of experience prove a problem?
In a mirror choice to the Democratic party who brought in the experienced Joe Biden to balance the inexperience of Barack Obama at the top of their ticket, the young, gun-totin', pro-hunting, moose meat-eating, pro-life, activist Christian Governor of Alaska has been drafted, at least in part, to balance out Senator McCain's advanced years, add some glitz to the GOP campaign and draw back support from moral conservatives.
In the days since the announcement, she has galvanised the religious right of the Republican party, many of whom had expressed suspicions over Senator's McCain's somewhat chequered record on support for abortion rights and dismissal of moral issues activists as "agents of intolerance". Many of the religious right who had played such a major role in the election of George Bush in 2000 and 2004 were expected to turn their back on the Arizona senator in his run for president.
Indeed something akin to shock had set in amongst moral crusaders recently after news had leaked that McCain was considering choosing a vice presidential running mate who supported a woman's right to choose.
However the rumour was scotched by the choosing of the pro-life Governor and the vital evangelical voter has been greatly bolstered by the choice says this Washington Post report.
Before long TV footage of her in military uniform, firing weapons at a rifle range, inspecting troops from the Alaskan State Guard in Iraq received blanket coverage on U.S. (and world) television screens in vision guaranteed to appeal to conservative voters.
After the initial shock of the announcement has sunk in -- the Democrats first commercial after the appointment didn't even mention Mrs Palin -- strategy seems to have settled on highlighting the Governor's almost complete lack of experience in foreign policy, an area recently shored up on the Democratic side by the nomination of the highly experienced, if bland, Joe Biden.
Biden has been senator for Delaware since 1973 and during that time has served on numerous foreign policy committees, including his current role as president of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee.
However after hammering away for months about Obama's perceived lack of experience, particularly in the field of foreign affairs compared to his own, the decision by Senator McCain to choose a running mate how makes Obama look wise and experienced in comparison has many Republican insiders scratching their heads. The appointment of the photogenic Governor will no doubt serve to draw attention to McCain's own age, he is 72, and may focus voters to the obvious, yet unspoken fact that Gov. Palin is duty-bound to accept the role of president should McCain become incapacitated or worse.
The well-focused attack by the Republicans that Obama is not ready to be president will now ring hollow in light of the recent nomination of the Governor.
The Obama campaign has so far steered clear of overt criticism of Governor Palin though she has been the target of completely unfounded blogger allegations that her child, born in April, was actually her daughters. Senator McCain, while saying he had "no evidence" the Obama campaign
was behind the rumours, appeared to obliquely blame Sen. Obama for the attacks.
The Democratic nominee has denied all knowledge of the rumours and released the following statement:
The Democratic nominee has denied all knowledge of the rumours and released the following statement:
"Let me be a clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people's families are off limits, and people's children are especially off limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor, or her potential performance as a vice president.
"And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and, you know, teenage children, that shouldn't be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that's off limits." [source]However this week the family of the Governor was forced to announce to the press that their daughter was pregnant raising questions that Palin's candidacy was not vetted thoroughly enough.
For a comprehensive timeline of the life of Governor Palin, see here on the Poynter website.
Image above: Governor Sarah Palin, on June 2, 2007. Credit: Tricia Ward.
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Image above: Governor Sarah Palin, on June 2, 2007. Credit: Tricia Ward.
Follow Global Eye updates on Twitter here.
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Obama: the gloves come off in Denver
Global Eye
By Rich Bowden on August 29, 2008 6:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)While its true not everyone was happy with the way the 2008 Democratic Convention shaped up, the organizers of the event and party leaders must be breathing a huge sigh of relief having seemingly achieved most of their aims in Denver.
Firstly the undeniable warmth of Michelle Obama's opening night address interwove fluently and convincingly her family's story and that of her husband in a speech that will go a long way towards dispelling voters' doubts about her. She has been the focus of unfair criticism concerning her patriotism and commitment, but largely overcame this in a confident display dispelling organisers' fears that choosing her as the opening speaker was a risk.
Next came the crucial uniting speech from Hillary Clinton. Her performance, which has been likened to being the ex-fiancee forced to toast the blushing bride at a wedding, was sublime and healed much of the bitter division between the Clinton and Obama camps, left over from the bruising nomination battle.
Though some reporters detected a certain hesitancy in outlining the quality of an Obama presidency, she called on her supporters to rally behind Obama, a uniting effort that every Democrat was hoping she'd make and vital to Obama's election chances.
An awkward-looking Bill Clinton completed the Clinton acquiesence by comparing the inexperienced Obama to another inexperienced contender in 1992 - himself. Though increasingly overshadowed by Hillary these days, and Denver was no exception, the former president still commands enormous clout amongst the faithful.
However Hillary Clinton's role was not confined to the unity speech when, in a dramatic moment from the floor representing the New York delegation, she stopped the state-by-state count and proposed Obama's name be read as the Democratic nominee - an electrifying and uniting moment for Democrats.
The theatre of the moment is expertly described by Justin Webb, the BBC's America blogger.
And then there was the historic Obama acceptance speech, the first time a black person has been nominated from a major party for president of the United States.
After accepting the nomination "with humility" Obama finally did two things which will please many of his supporters and potential voters. He took the gloves off against McCain and set out an agenda for his "change" programme.
Likening a McCain administration to four more years of a Bush administration, Obama obliquely referred to the Arizona senator's famous temper when he said he had the better temperament and judgement to be commander-in-chief than McCain. After weeks of being the subject of negative attacks from the McCain camp, is this a sign the Obama camp will flick the switch to attack mode?
In another "gloves off" line against the doughty Republican nominee, Obama said "John McCain says he'd follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives."
Setting out his agenda for an Obama administration - the first time he has fleshed out his somewhat nebulous "change" programme - the Democratic nominee placed affordable health care, tax cuts for ninety-five of the population, a commitment to renewable energy and the environment at the top of the agenda.
Forty-five years to the day since Dr Martin Luther King's famous speech, was it my imagination or did Obama deliberately adopt the speaking style of Dr King when he spoke of the promise that had brought people from all over America on that day in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.?
The speech though was not a Dr King-style speech of soaring rhetoric that Americans have become used to from Obama, but more a matter-of-fact nuts and bolts address, notice perhaps that the election is only nine weeks away.
With the Republican Convention due in the Twin Cities due next week, McCain knows he needs to hit back, and hit back hard. He has relied, with some success, on negative attack ads in recent times to bring him level pegging in the polls with Obama however he knows he much achieve a number of things himself at the Republican Convention.
Firstly his running mate (due to be announced this week) must make a good impression as Joe Biden has done for Obama. Then he must convince delegates that he is a "maverick" Republican and not beholden to the Bush administration.
And if that isn't enough, he must unify his own party of conservatives and the religious right with his moderate tendencies and set an agenda of his own that will be acceptable to middle America.
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Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games
The World in Pictures
By James Wray on September 7, 2008 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
Fireworks explode above the Sea if Dvuny at the National Stadium, also known as the Birds Nest, during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, China, 06 September 2008. EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL
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A child sleeps as Hurricane Ike passes Dominican Republic
The World in Pictures
By James Wray on September 7, 2008 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
A girl sleeps at the Liceo de Matancitas, in Nagua, Dominican Republic, 06 September 2008, where hundreds of people seek refuge, during the passing of hurricane Ike. The COE, Centre of Emergency Operations of Dominican Republic issued a red alert on the North side of the island due to the pass Ike. EPA/ORLANDO BARRIA
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