Will Palin Stand Up to Scrutiny?

this is so obvious

there is no way the republicans can spin the media and america into believing that mccains choice was legit....there were so many better women in the republican party to pick from. the vp pick has publicly stated that she does not know what the vp does and that she is not interested in what is going on in iraq..on top of that she lied about not accepting earmarks when there are several articles where her position was the exact opposite...what happened to my old party?!!...i as a military member and a former republican have lost the last bit of respect that i had for mccain....this pick was really important for me and he just threw me off the fence last week...this vp pick is a lot more risky than the obama/biden pick...and that's saying alot!!!!

McCain Palin

The choice of Palin is already working.

Zogby poll has McCain/Palin 47%, Obama/Biden 45%.

This completely removed the 'post convention bounce', which should have given Obama a 10%-15% increase. This is huge. Obama should have a big lead right now.

Also, if the whole world hates Bush and his policies, why in the world is this race so close.

Palin was a brilliant stroke and McCain/Palin will win.

mccain's choice helped my choice

I have been undecided in this election. I was truly 50/50 on both candidates. I am pro life person but have disagreements with many other republican ideas. My reaction to Pallin as VP. Disgusted.

How can he choose a person with a degree in journalism to be vice president? I was hoping he would do what he said he would do awhile ago, choose somebody qualified to be president considering his age and health. People on both sides can argue the experience issue to make their points. However, the one thing Obama has clearly demonstrated is his intelligence. He was the top of his class in a top law school. I have often heard him insulted for "showing his intelligence" on the campaign trail. His superior performance in school shows me he has the ability to learn and react in a responsible way. A degree in journalism shows me that Palin wanted a degree she didn't have to work to get. I guess her education achievements match McCain's. I believe I have read he finished in the bottom of the Naval Academy. As a woman I find his choice insulting. I guess his opinion of woman is evident. After all he still doesn't believe women should get equal pay for equal work. I think Pallin needs to do some reading on environmental issues affecting this country. I have been shocked on her ideas on global warming. Perhaps Al Gore can get her up to speed.

18 Million votes?

Will Palin stand up to scrutiny? The answer is yes. She seems to be a very talented and intelligent woman. However, something needs to be put into perspective. 18 million people voted for Hillary Clinton for Democratic presidential nominee. Palin is currently the governor of Alaska, where she got about 114 thousands votes. This is not 18 million, and Alaska's registered votes of less than 1/2 million is not either. The demographics of Alaska registered voters can not be scaled up to 18 million people, even with Palin 80% approval rating. The numbers just don't add up. Palin can only harm McCain not help him.

Ms. Palin will appeal to the Republican base that McCain is weak on, however these are the same people that will not vote of Obama. The effect of McCain's choice is (the Clinton/Obama effect) to increase voter turnout of Republican base. This election should have the highest voter turnout in 8 years.

McCain's VP Choice

It's sad to see a once-principled man like Mr. McCain (or so he seemed -- you have to wonder now) running a campaign like this one. It seems he's hungrier for the presidency than he is concerned about the welfare of his country. The attack dogs on the right are very quick to throw around the word "treason." This sort of reckless and cynical game playing at a time of historic dangers and uncertainties is a lot more unpatriotic than failing to sport a flag pin in your lapel.

Did any right wing women support Hillary because she was a woman?

"Though I believe it is vastly overrated, Palin can tap what resentment there is among middle-aged women over Hillary Clinton's loss"

Funny thing, in all the time I spent on the Clinton campaign, and all the women I met who supported Hillary--not ONE, not one was am anti-choice, pro-creationist, gun toting supporter of drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge--who was supporting Hillary just because she was a woman. Having said that, I am sure that the McCain campaign is receiving a deluge of support of those extreme right wingers who supported Clinton only because of her sex.

The rest of us, many of whom have admired McCain and might have voted for him had he picked a moderate conservative who was qualified, will be voting for Obama in Novemeber. I am not so much of a sexist that I would choose the less qualified candidate for her gender. Obama may have three years as a US. Senator, but he was the head of the Harvard Law Review, not to mention a law professor at the University of Chicago. And Palin was what..a sportscaster and the mayor a town with a population that could fit on two cruise ships--oh great.

Robin

Palin is an awful choice

Why would you entrust the world's most complex job to a neophyte, especially as the VP could very well end up filling in for an aged 72 year old who might die in office? Would you select someone with virtually no political experience whatsoever to be waiting in the wings?

Palin is an awful choice. She is a reckless choice. If she was a man, she would not qualify for the VP short list. The Republicans were desperate. They found a woman to surprise us and please the conservative base. Is that how they want to Run America?

This is shoot from the hip politics. The media should consider the advisability of a neophyte waiting in the wings. The media should demand McCain take an Alzheimer's test right now. Like Reagan in his final years, McCain may have already shown 6 of the 10 symptoms of Alzheimers.

Mike from Arizona

I am an undecided, registered independent. I was only moderately impressed with Obama though I do like Joe Biden. After the McCain choice for VP there is no decision left to make. How can anyone now vote for McCain, a man who would put his country a heart beat away from jeopardy just to win an election. I just don't get it!

RE: Norman Moyer of ME

There is not much to know about her…she’s done nothing but run a small town and some caribou......

the vp pick is DAN QUAYLE WITH A PONYTAIL!!!!!

i've been on YouTube and other sites and heard her speak...mmm she seems like an airhead....she does not even know what a vice president does...these were her words...why are republicans trying to sell this meager potato as if it is a juicy steak...Obama smoothly ran the most efficient and disciplined multi-million person/multi-million dollar campaign in U.S. history…he has traveled and deal with world leader throughout is short career… Palin has been out of the country once or twice...the republicans spent months arguing the case against Obama’s experience, but now when it is their candidate they are making the same experience arguments that Obama made...instead of McCain looking like a flip flopper...McCain has turned his whole party into a bunch of flip floppers...again she is on record as saying she does NOT know what a Vice President's job or responsibilities are!!!! Please get real with the facts!!!