According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don’t care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace — in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough’s show — the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin’s scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads. [Jay Carney, TIME Magazine]
And Sunday morning, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told Fox News that Palin won’t take questions from reporters ”until the point in time when she’ll be treated with respect and deference.”
Sarah Palin has more experience eating mooseburgers than Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, and Madeline Albright combined.
According to the McCain campaign, voters can learn “all they deserve to know” from Palin’s views in the two hard-hitting, policy-laden interviews she’s given so far: People Magazine and the debut issue of the Wall Street Journal’s weekend “magazine” (which is totally original, and absolutely nothing like the New York Times’ weekend magazine).
So as a public service, here at the Women for John McCain Policy Center, we’ve done our best to deduce our next vice president’s positions on the important issues at stake in this election:
Does Sarah Palin feel it’s hypocritical to be running on a ticket that promises Maverick™ reform™ and change™, while practicing Karl Rove style attack politics, lying about her support for the “bridge to nowhere”, lying about her record of earmarks, pork-barrel spending, and lobbyists, lying about her opponents’ records, or stonewalling the press and ethics investigators?
“Conventional running is my sanity,” Palin says. Having recently given birth to her fifth child, the governor is trying to get back to her old… routine.
What does the unplanned pregnancy of her unwed teenage daughter, Bristol, say about her support of abstinence-only sex education? And what are her views on teenage sex?
Palin keeps dumbbells at home. [...] “It’s the best upper body workout you could ever have,” she says.
Sarah, voters have expressed concern over your complete lack of any relative experience or stated positions whatsoever on national security, foreign relations, Federal politics, the economy, and many other issues. What do you feel is your weakest area?
“I guess my biggest pitfall is breakfast. I know it’s the most important meal of the day but I still haven’t bought into it. I hate to admit it, but a skinny white-chocolate mocha is my staple in the morning.”
Sarah Palin is a mother of five, and helped her husband Todd on his fishing boat. She's also a former part-time local sportscaster, not to mention a hockey mom!
Barack Obama has stated that he believes in the United States’ continued support of a secure and undivided Jerusalem, but that as a humanitarian and a statesman, a modern leader can’t callously ignore the plight of the Palestinian people; a lasting peace must involve real talks addressing the grievances of all parties involved. At the same time, the increasingly heated ideological rhetoric from an Iranian government in clear pursuit of nuclear weapons technology is escalating an already tense situation in an historically struggling region of the world. What does Sarah Palin envision for a Middle East policy that will navigate a lasting and meaningful peace in the tempestuous seas of an increasingly dangerous geopolitical climate, as America heads into the uncharted waters of this century’s changing global paradigm?
“My ideal fantasy is to be running on a hot dusty road just wearing running shorts and some kind of top that wicks away sweat.”
Some estimates suggest that if H5N1 Avian Flu becomes a pandemic it could kill more than 300 million people. In an era of constant and rapid international travel, what steps should the United States take to protect our population from global pandemics or deliberate biological attacks?
“Right now I’ve been running in Nike Air Structure Triax. And I always wear sunglasses. My kids tell me to put them on so I don’t freak people out when they see me with a goofy hairdo and no makeup.”
Rising food prices are a significant worry for Americans, with 73% of consumers in a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll citing higher grocery bills as a concern, and nearly half saying food inflation has caused a hardship for their households. What does Sarah Palin propose to help middle class Americans cope with staggering inflation of staples like bread and milk?
“Nothing. I just drink water.”
Sarah Palin enjoys salmon fishing and moose hunting, and her husband is a champion snow machine racer.
With a worsening housing foreclosure crisis and spiraling economic indicators at the forefront of voters’ minds, does Sarah feel that the McCain-Palin ticket empathizes with working class families worried about the looming threat of homelessness?
“I have this inherent craving to be outdoors. It’s a way of life here. When I go running I see a mamma moose and a baby moose. It’s never boring.”
Many voters are concerned about the prospect of a 72 year old, four-time cancer patient President selecting a vice president after, reportedly, only one day of vetting. Do you feel that voters have valid concerns that you were a cynical, politically-based ploy to pander to crass and shallow identity politics, one who may not be ready to assume the office of the Presidency, much less the role of Commander in Chief, with zero experience on foreign policy, national politics, Congress, the Federal judiciary system, defense, the economy, and a host of other national and international issues?
Absolutely. Yup, yup… It’s like, ‘Hold onto your hats!’
After eight years of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, what does America need from its elected leaders over the next four to eight years?
“A long, hot shower.”
