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Does Sarah Palin help or hurt McCain?
September 6, 2008
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Matt Kaye • Nov 4, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Palin’s experience in Alaska is worthless considering the fact that Boston is more populated than the entire state of Alaska. Many of these responses are polarized and do not focus on the issues. Palin was not the best possible candidate, she was actually one of the worst. A better choice would have been Romney, a man who is very knowledgeable about economic issues. This is even more important with our current economic crisis. A McCain/Romney ticket could have won the election. Moving on. Palin’s “mavericky”-ness is nonexistant. Someone who follows 95% of party policy is not a maverick. Palin is far out of her depth as the possible VP and maybe President of our country. If she had been brought in to D.C. and trained, she might have been a possible candidate and force to be reckoned with in the next election. Unfortunately she has been drawn in to a setting where she is like a fish out of water. It is essential to realize that she has helped the McCain campaign by polarizing this election even more. By guarding her against interviews and being angered by even possible insults, the Republican party has set her up as a trophy of sorts.
apathy • Oct 3, 2008 at 10:24 AM
‘Country First’ how is she more experienced than Obama? She is totally incompetent and I would not trust her to run our country, which is very possible as McCain is rather old and my died in his term. Do you even know what she said about her Foreign Policy? She said that Alaska’s proximity to Russia counts as Foreign Policy. Alaska’s closer to Canada than Russia. No good frostbitten Alask….
doesnt matter • Oct 3, 2008 at 12:23 AM
Palin helps McCain in the sense of providing a more conservative side to his campaign as well as being able to win over many woman voters. And just because McCain is in his early 70’s doesn’t mean he is going to die soon. Neither of them are idiots and it was a smart move for McCain to select her as his VP.
anonymous • Oct 2, 2008 at 12:41 PM
shes an idiot who thinks dinosaurs were around 500 years ago, how can she possibly help mccain? if he dies in office (hes already like 95) then we have no chance at all
Country First • Oct 2, 2008 at 11:04 AM
She is not only more experienced than Obama but she is a competent, intelligent and a values-orientated woman. The media has to do a better job investigating all the scandals involving Obama. Seems the main stream media act as shills for the Obama campaign – that’s unfortunate.
anonymous • Oct 1, 2008 at 1:59 PM
I think she hurts mccain because she is too young and what is there to govern in alaska?? nothing but fish and fishermen she would have no experiance and if mccain dies of old age becasue he will be 73 if elected president palin would only be impeached for being so bad
the kidd • Sep 30, 2008 at 10:33 PM
the way i see it, you have to decide who you support based on their vice presidents. because your either voting for a man who is a heartbeat away from death or a man who is a gunshot away from death. that’s why this election is palin v biden.
so if you believe that palin helps mccain, then mccain must win, but if she doesnt, he can’t win.
HHS 4 life! • Sep 26, 2008 at 3:08 PM
@Anonymous
The only reason McCain said he wouldn't show up is because of the huge economic crisis which he tried to help resolve. But what about the 8 invites McCain has sent to Obama to debate? He denied them all because they weren't nationally publicized with his teleprompter to tell him what to say and who to make fun of. All you democrats are just trying to find fault in all the littlest details. You take normal things and twist them into something negative and most of the time, just make stuff up. All I can say is that I believe that at least 50% of America is completeley incompetant and or ignorant and stupid. With all of these conspiracies and now Obama, it's just rediculous. We need the Puritans back in charge like they were in colonial United States.
freethinker • Sep 25, 2008 at 11:05 AM
I don’t see how any woman can be for Palin. Everything that women have work for for hundreds of years will be lost. I am more of a feminist than Sarah Palin, and im a guy. Her only purpose was to get excitement going with the base Republicans. She has done this, but this choice is an abomination. Worst pick since we voted for Bush a second time.
anonymous • Sep 25, 2008 at 8:18 AM
@HHS 4 life!
Being governer of Alaska is nothing to brag about. The state only has about 600,000 people. I’m not impressed with John McCains choice to stop campaigning right now. It shows a lack of dedication, and makes him look like he’s running from Barack Obama. The first debate was supposed to be friday, and now John McCain doesn’t want to participate. I have faith that the hundreds of other elected officials in Washington can get us through this without “maverick mccain.” I think it’s incredibly important that voters see McCain debate Obama, so that both of their views are made clear. Then people can make well thought out, educated decisions.
L. Ucifer • Sep 24, 2008 at 9:44 AM
palin appeals to every minority group in which Mcain does not. so obviosly, yes she does. this does not change the fact that oth john Mcain and sarah palin are going to be the downfall of america as we know it. if Mcain wins in ’08, i elect that we all move to Canada and indulge in free healthcare and clean, non-polluted air.
HHS 4 life! • Sep 23, 2008 at 5:34 PM
@ anon:
Actually, Palin has more experience than Obama. Being governer of Alaska is more experience than being in the US senate for 3 months and voting “neutral” on over 200 bills.
anon • Sep 23, 2008 at 11:23 AM
@HHS 4 life! love the site though, good job:
Yes, she is just like a normal person–not fit to run a country. Don’t get me wrong, she has some views I agree with. But I think her lack of experience and general ignorance is impossible to ignore, especially since she has a very good chance of becoming president if Mccain wins.
nobody • Sep 22, 2008 at 1:33 PM
sarah palin is helping mccain. part of it is because she is so controversial, she is attracting a lot of people to the rebublican party.
even though i dont really agree with either obama or mccain, i agree with a little of sarah palin says. i think, even though its bad for the environment, we should drill for oil in alaska. it comes down to between saving some animals or helping to save the american economy. i do think that the iraq “war” (its not a war, its a conflict. if you don’t believe me look it up. a war is when two governments are fighting. we replaced iraqs’ government and now we are wasting time and money trying to keep it stale and solving iraqs’ problems) is wrong.
and after looking at this debate, i really thinkpeople should be less closed minded and obsessive about who they want to win. i mean, most of us can’t vote, and i know some people that just quote their parents or somebody else.
anonymous • Sep 22, 2008 at 10:10 AM
In my opinion, Sarah Palin may be good for the country, but not for the Earth. It’s not like humans are the only thing on the planet or the most important. Everything has it’s place and by Sarah Palin not only allowing, but supporting the aerial hunting of wolves and bears this shows her disrespect for nature. They shoot them down in winter when they have no where to run and show up like a target in the snow, which violates many hunters “fair-chase” ethic. She even placed a 150 dollar bounty per wolf as long as they have there left foreleg. Even worse the wolves normally die a painful death. If Sarah Palin can not only allow but support this and I sure don’t want to see what she can do if she becomes Vice President.
HHS 4 life! love the site though, good job. • Sep 18, 2008 at 6:37 PM
Sarah Palin is an excellent choise from my prospective. She is not a high brow Harvard graduate, she is a normal person which I think appeals to many americans. Palin also obiously sways some of the Hillary supporters. In fact, the complete abritrary of this pick encaptivated the U.S. Palin’s speech at the GOP got almost the same amount of view as Obamas. Some things have been said about Palin but most are just democratic low blows that I think will either convince the ignorant, sway the intelligent (to McCain) and intensify the democrat/republican ferocity in this race. The recent news about people hacking her e-mail was outrageous and the resopnce with a law-suit was very felicitous. In all, I think Sarah Palin could bridge a gap for some voters (however, any undecided voters right now have no basic understanding of politics.) and may sway the “on-the-fence” voters and really in an election that has never really seen a lead of more than about 5 points, those “on-the-fencers” could be all the difference McCain needs.
freethinker • Sep 18, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Sarah Palin is crazy. She says that the iraq war is “God’s will”. She doesn’t believe in abortion in rape or incest cases. She contradicts herself in the same speech. Basically McCain picked her because he wanted to attract the Hillary Clinton supporters that only voted for her because she was a woman (its true, 33% of the women that voted for Hillary in the primary voted for her solely because she was a woman). But Palin is a complete anti-feminist. She also says that she is a supporter of the environment when she wants to hunt polar bears and passed a bill that allowed people to shoot wolves from a helicoptor. And the supposed “bridge to nowhere” that she said “thanks but no thanks” to is completely false. She supported the bridge and only backed out of it when congress was no longer involved in it, and she kept the many millions that was given to Alaska for the production of the bridge. Also when she was Mayor, Palin gave a list of books (which included Harry Potter) she wanted to be banned to the town librarian. The librarian then laughed in her face and did not ban any books
anonymous (a different one) • Sep 16, 2008 at 6:57 PM
Whether or not Sarah Palin would do well as vice president, her nomination should say something about McCain as a candidate. From how well he knew her (they met once) and her past experience and accomplishments compared with those of other possible running mates, he clearly chose her to win more votes, but how much thought did he put into her work in the White House? It seems like he cared more about winning the election with this decision than about choosing a running mate who would do well as vice president (regardless of whether or not she ends up doing so). The vice president has an incredible amount of power and responsibility for every one of us and should not be chosen solely for a few cheap votes. How much thought did McCain put into the well-being of the country under Palin and what does this say about the way McCain would make decisions as President?
letsgetreal • Sep 14, 2008 at 9:23 PM
Sarah Palin is basically nuts. She believes that “God’s Plan” including building her stupid national oil pipeline, and that the Iraq War is all part of “God’s Plan.” Maybe “God’s Plan” should have included giving her a brain. Pipelines don’t come from God lady, they come from greedy oil-dependent countries like the United States.
Don’t just believe me, see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1vPYbRB7k
Mick • Sep 14, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Reading this debate has showed me one thing: I’m so glad that most of you won’t be able to vote this election.
He • Sep 11, 2008 at 2:34 AM
I WILL PREDICT THE FUTURE:
McCain: WIN
Obama: Lose
Simmons • Sep 10, 2008 at 3:09 PM
I’m glad this hasn’t gotten off track…
mike hawk • Sep 10, 2008 at 7:40 AM
Sarah Palin hurts and helps McCain at this point. The strategy was to get the unhappy Hillary supporters, as well as the far right evangelicals. But alas, there is no way McCain will get the support of the Hillary voters because of Palin’s anti abortion stance and her Christian right views. This also could hurt moderate McCain supporters who are not against abortion or christian values. Even though there isn’t much Palin can do as vice president, the prospect of a hardline christian in the White house is unsettling to me.
Although this hurts McCain a bit, it was a good effort indeed to gain support from all sides. You can’t please everyone is the lesson here.
I do think she is competent and if people think she has no experience they should look at Obama first.
And saying that she should stay home and support her family, is a very rude sexist remark. Should all mom’s stay home with their family? We have gotten so far with women’s rights and people still believe this?
Im surprised the Obama supporters or anyone would say such a thing when they are supposed to be the party of equality and anti ignorance.
Obama for equal opportunity • Sep 9, 2008 at 8:58 PM
“But ALL Americans have that chance, some just make bad decisions, fail to work hard and act like victims.”
This is a very controversial statement, Country First. Do “ALL” American’s really have equal opportunity in this country??? College is wildly expensive and millions can’t even afford health insurance in this country. As far as I can tell, many Americans do not have an EQUAL chance to succeed. And to generalize that it’s because “some just make bad decisions” or “fail to work hard” is completely out of touch. There are plenty of hardworking less fortunate Americans who cannot afford college and health insurance, and I don’t believe it’s because they “just make bad decisions.”
James Ivker • Sep 9, 2008 at 5:09 PM
“Americans will vote for a ticket that puts American interests first. Country First…” Exactly, and that is why Obama will be our next President. John McCain says 100 more years in a War that is putting Big Oil before the American people. WAKE UP….. McCain says we need to ensure that we have VICTORY!!! What does that mean? More lives lost, money spent and an inflating deficit?
“But ALL Americans have that chance, some just make bad decisions, fail to work hard and act like victims.” Please…. How ignorant can you be? Coming from Wayland most people do have a chance but go ask the millions of Hard Working Americans who work three jobs in order to feed their family if they have a chance.. Not all unemployed persons are bums on the side of the road asking for change. In fact, a majority of these people want work but cannot find it. Not Surprisingly there are not enough jobs that pay wages that are reasonable enough to live on.
What is wrong with giving THESE people a chance to live a true American life?
McCain may put America’s interests firsts but it is not the America I know and love. It is the George W.Bush America where Big Oil is in charge and the rich get richer while hard working Americans struggle.
anonymous • Sep 9, 2008 at 1:01 PM
Sarah Palin doesn’t believe in global warming. How ignorant can you be?
Politicians have to make decisions that will determine the course of history. Shouldn’t there be a minimum intelligence requirement of sorts?
How can we be the greatest country in the world if we consistently elect the most ignorant and incompetent leaders in the world?
Quality not Quantity • Sep 9, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Numbers are not everything Obama/Biden ’08. Just because Palin has been the governor of a small state does not mean that she would have any less experience than a governor of a large state. This is not relative! Both takes a certain level of leadership, perhaps she has a more personal experience because of the size of her State.
Country First • Sep 9, 2008 at 10:31 AM
“if you believe that all Americans deserve to have a chance to have the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness… Vote for Obama”.
But ALL Americans have that chance, some just make bad decisions, fail to work hard and act like victims. That’s not America. Obama doesn’t seem to believe that Americans should rely on themselves nor the free market system. If he doesn’t believe in the strength of Americans what does he believe in? Obama has proven himself over and over again to be a man who makes bad judgements. He was in the in-session Senate for 143 days when he made the decision to run for president. Talk about audacity. Remember from your history class that Re-distribution of wealth is a socialist/communist concept. McCain/Palin will prevail in November because Americans will vote for a ticket that puts American interests first. Country First. Oh, by the way, the polls nowadays have a percentage of cell phone numbers called (read the fine print of the polls).
Americans are waking up to the empty promises the Obama talking points offer.
Ben Schattenburg with modest assitance by Ben Wohlfarth • Sep 9, 2008 at 9:25 AM
From the moment McCain selected Sarah Palin, McCain may likely have picked up a modest amount of Clinton dead-enders who supported her not because of her positions, but because of her perceived experience and gender. It will also help with cultural conservatives who backed Mike Huckabee and held out on McCain, purely because of her impeccable credentials as an extremist evangelical. Beyond this however their was no valid reason for McCain to pick Ms.Palin. The success of this pick is dependent on the media doing its job: asking questions. The list of scandals and questions surrounding Palin is staggering. Her ties to a radical separatist party in Alaska, her support of the bridge to nowhere before she opposed it, her far right positions on abortion, global warming, creationism, her ties to “Jews for Jesus”, the massive pork spending she supported in Alaska. Sarah Palin will hurt McCain if people know who she is and the media does it’s job. This shows the overall incompetence of the McCain campaign and what kind of president he would make. One that makes brash decisions without much backing.
Andy • Sep 9, 2008 at 8:02 AM
I like her. She’s cool.
Obama/Biden '08 • Sep 8, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Proud Republican, you sure do have a lot of nerve. Of course Palin has more executive experience! Governor of a state with roughly half the population of Philadelphia (630,000). Mayor of a town less than half the population of Wayland (5,000). Both of those count as executive experience. Obama, Biden, and McCain have no executive experience because they’ve…wait for it…NEVER BEEN PART OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH!!! And don’t pay any attention to the polls. They mean nothing. I’ve never looked at them once. They don’t give you a real clear picture of who is winning. And besides, we still have the out-of-date electoral college. Not the popular vote.
What does Obama have to hide? Nothing. What does McCain have to hide? The fact that his torturers support his campaign? The fact that his fellow POW in Vietnam said that he’s mentally unstable to be President?
The choice of Governor Palin was brilliant for McCain. All of her cover-ups are cover-ups for McCain’s stupidity. If either of them become President, may god have mercy on us all…
James Ivker • Sep 8, 2008 at 10:02 PM
Proud Republican although you make some valid points you come across as pompous and many of your stats are useless. McCain has gained points in the national polls gaining a bounce from the RNC however national polls are not exactly accurate (only poll land-lines, younger Obama voters and many Americans have only cell phones) and it is the states you need to look at. Forget the experience issue because neither Palin (mayor of town smaller than Wayland and State that is the size of mid-sized city) nor Obama has as much or close to as much experience as McCain or Biden. The fact of the matter is, who cares? I value judgement over experience and find Obama to have far more judgement. McCain was a fine, fine senator but has reneged on many of his policies as Senator John McCain in his transformation to Presidential Candidate McCain. Why? In order to appease “most of America.” Proud Republican says that most of America is conservative. This is not true but the fact of the matter is, America is centrist to right wing. McCain has lost his appeal as a maverick because he now caters to the wants and needs of the Right Wing, especially the Evangelical voting bloc. Hey, if you believe that Women shouldn’t have the right to control their body and get abortions, homosexuals should be denied rights, the poor should be left to suffer (they can fend for themselves), and citizens should die because they can’t afford to see a doctor…McCain 08′ But if you believe that all Americans deserve to have a chance to have the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness… Vote for Obama
Put aside their personalities, experience, judgement or running mates… Look at the issues… For me the choice is simple
Proud Republican • Sep 8, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Gov. Palin has more chief executive experience than Obama and Biden….even McCain. She is smart, well-spoken, accomplished and conservative. She may be a bit conservative for some, but I’d remind you that liberal views you may be exposed to in and around Wayland are not what most of America believes. As to her helping McCain…well the latest polls show the McCain/Palin ticket is up by as much as 10 points over Obama/Biden. I think the more folks educate themselves about Obama and what he stands for the more Americans will flock to McCain.
anon. • Sep 8, 2008 at 12:30 PM
I think that Palin can help McCain, but also drive many people away. She has brought huge crowds to Republican rallies held in the past week and does a great job of securing any conservative votes that McCain could not have won himself. However for the conscious Hilary supporter (not just the ones who vote by gender), Palin will not appeal at all. She is (very) religiously influenced and her abortion and gun stances are unacceptable for many independents. It will be interesting to hear more about Palin’s influence as we grow closer to November.
tony • Sep 8, 2008 at 12:23 PM
McCain is basically saying that he no longer wants to be the president of the United States. He purposely chose governor Palin so that he would lose the election. I think he knew people would know that Sarah Palin has absolutely no quality experience. She was a mayor of a small town in Alaska and then moved up eventually to be a governor for a short time. She has a family that is in desperate need of her and she honestly is being a bad mother by running for this election.
Just think, Sarah Palin will become THE president of the United States of America if John McCain dies soon, which could most def happen in the next 4 years.
anonymous • Sep 8, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Palin is a far-right conservative, and she is just who McCain needs to appeal to those far-right voters. And she might be a tool to help get the Hillary voters to vote for McCain.
Vladmir Putin is cool…
Anonymous • Sep 8, 2008 at 9:18 AM
Palin has no experience at all. She was a mayor of a small town and a Governer of Alaska for a year or two. I don't know what McCain was thinking when he brought her into the game.
McCain 2008 • Sep 7, 2008 at 6:13 PM
First of all, it is unfair to say that Palin is inexperienced when Obama has served as a Senator only since 2005. Palin has experience as the Governor of Alaska which she has been since 2006. She worked her way up from being Mayor of the city of Wasilla, which is very respectable.
I wonder, why are you against drilling for oil in Alaska? Governor Palin is chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, which promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources. They aim to protect the health and safety of the environment.
Anonymous: Why does the fact that Palin has a child with Down Syndrome make her not fit to be Vice President. That is just a very low blow! It was not as if ths occured because of her actions, down syndrome is caused by problem with a baby’s chromosomes that happens long before the baby is born.
Anonymous, you also appear to be very sexist. Many Presidents in the past have taken care of their family and run our Nation at the same time. What makes you think that Palin and her husband could not do the same?
Anonymous • Sep 6, 2008 at 2:58 PM
Sarah Palin will probably help John McCain get some of the conservative vote he can’t get because he’s slightly more left-leaning. Then again I don’t want her anywhere near the White House. She’s against a woman’s right to choose, gay marriage/civil unions, wants to drill for oil in Alaska, and not to mention she has no experience. She was Mayor of a town smaller then Wayland (5,000 residents). Plus she has a 4 month old child with disabilities, and a pregnant 17 year old daughter. She’s nuts if she thinks she can be the vice president and take care of her family!