How hard is it to run alaska? Hardly any people in it, and you got tons of money from oil? The experience McCain gets from this is null & void. This better be a huge head fake. McCain will lose otherwise!
He just switched millions of Romney voters for an attempt to steal a few Hillary voters. McCain the maverick just put a whole lot of water in my gasoline!
I'm not voting! I can't pull the lever for McCain and definitely can't pull the lever for Obama. I will wait out the next 4 years of Obama misery for a chance at another Romney presidency.
Ok, John, I will vote for you. I would have given money to you had you chosen Romney, but I like Palin. I think she will give the media buzz you are looking for, and has a solid record as a conservative. But I hope to Heaven that come 2012, it's Romney as the #1, and Jindal as #2. I will actually be excited then. But for now, good job at least not picking the Huckster.
I am very excited about John McCain's pick for Veep. If we can't have Mitt, Sarah Palin is a terrific choice. She is smart, competent and imminently likeable [which are not common attributes among prominent female leaders these days].
As for the question about how hard it is to run Alaska from Mr. Negative above...Having lived in Alaska for a while, I will share a few observations since it really isn't like any other state. The territory of Alaska is about one third of the territory of the rest of the United States and it is filled with lots of different kinds of people including Native Americans and immigrants. There is a large Asian population as well as a large Russian population. The Aleutian Islands are closer to Russia [that would be the former Soviet Union for those of you who have forgotten your history] than to the rest of the United States and there is a strong military presence in the state. Since Alaska had been invaded during WW2, they are quick to go into defense mode during a crisis. More routinely, there are large earthquakes, huge blizzards and even volcanic eruptions in Alaska - the governor must respond quickly to events like these that are thousands of miles away from the capital in Juneau.
Much of the land is wilderness and thus to govern it successfully one needs a good understanding of the environment, resources, the national park system and hunting and fishing. It has an extensive coast line on the Pacific which means it is part of the Pacific Rim which puts it in trading and travel relationships with China, Japan and Korea. If North Korea develops nuclear weapons, they could target Anchorage, the largest city with a population of several hundred thousand. The main industry in Alaska is the oil industry and any governor would have to know how to reckon with that to be successful. In other words, Governor Palin, with her high approval ratings has mastered quite a few important skills of leadership.
Let's not be sour grapes here, folks. Governor Palin is an excellent choice and I am totally looking forward to having the first female Veep in American history! And I think Mitt is in agreement on this. I replaced my Mitt sticker on my car with a McCain one when I heard the news, and I am going to make a donation to the campaign. Let's do more than vote - let's be a part of this great story!
Steve-o is right on. Romney was number 1 choice and I was ready to donate some cash to McCain if he picked him. He didnt. Palin is still good enough to get my vote. Atleast it wasnt Huckabee, Ridge, or Liberman.
Also I dont like all this great ride stuff, lets keep this site going to get ready for 2012!
Great post by the one person who outlined all the reasons why Alaska is a challenging & complex state to govern & how it's actually a state which likely gives a governor there more foreign policy experience than any other state would. I too am excited about Sarah Palin, and though I was rooting for Romney, I am actually happier with Palin, because I think she is a better choice for McCain's VP. I think Romney would make a great president but I couldn't picture him as VP to McCain. Also, the more I find out about Palin the more I like her. I will actually contribute to McCain-Palin campaign the same way I contributed to Romney's. The other thing I like about this is at least we won't have to put up with the anti-Mormon garbage during this election anymore.
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