News and views from the award-winning author of the novels The Skinny Years, America Libre, House Divided and Pancho Land

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Country first? Not hardly.

“Country First” is the campaign slogan chosen by Senator John McCain. However, McCain’s choice of a vice presidential running mate proves otherwise. Even the most ardent McCain supporters admit Sarah Palin’s qualifications for the office “only a heartbeat away from the presidency” are wafer thin. The GOP counter to Palin’s inexperience is to attack Barrack Obama for the same sin. That’s a pretty weak argument for choosing someone so woefully under qualified to lead the world’s most powerful nation – especially when your campaign slogan is “Country First.”

If the McCain camp truly believed in “Country First,” they would not have chosen someone with barely two years experience in governing a state of 400,000 people. They would not have chosen someone with zero foreign policy experience and no meaningful relationships with anyone in the U.S. Congress.

After passing over seasoned political professionals like Joe Liebermann and Mitt Romney, the McCain camp made a craven political decision to balance the ticket. They chose a hard-line conservative (she believes in teaching creationism in public schools, is pro-gun and anti-abortion) to bolster McCain’s tepid support among evangelicals and far-right Republicans. But the most callous act of political expediency was choosing Palin for her gender in hopes of stealing the votes of disillusioned women who had supported Hillary Clinton.The decision also reveals something about the McCain camp's opinion of the female electorate. They evidently believe that women are so gullible they will vote for another female regardless of her political views.

The choice of Palin is an act of desperation. It is shallow minded and shortsighted. It is hardly “Country First.”

Raul Ramos y Sanchez