Saturday, October 04, 2008

Palin: A celebration of mediocrity

I've been watching the US vice-presidential race unfolding, and I have to say that I'm scared. Sarah Palin i'm sure is a nice, decent person, but frankly I don't believe she has any of the necessary skills to run the world's most powerful country. Which is exactly what will happen if the Republicans win the upcoming election, and then the ageing Mcain kicks the bucket mid-term.

The scariest thing is that the Americans seem to be completely in love with Palin precisely because she is 'normal'. "She's one of us" they say, She's not elitist, we like her 'down to earth' values. But in what other profession would you ever give someone huge responsibility because they are 'like you', rather than having the necessary skills? Would you want a pilot who is a 'good guy', or an excellent pilot? Would you want a brain surgeon who plays ball on Sundays, or who has trained for more years than anyone else?

Another concerning thing is Palin's confidence - she seems to have no sense of her own limitations. She's up for anything. Everything is an immediate "YES". No financial experience? "no worries - i'll guide the country through this difficult period". No international political experience, and I only just got a passport in the last few months? "I'll handle the crisis in Iraq and Iran". No medical training? "I'll operate on this wounded soldier right now!". 

To be honest I would be a lot more comfortable if she had some idea of her own inexperience. But her enthusiasm combined with her extremely right-wing values such as "No abortions - even if the mother is under-age and has been raped", and her belief that everything happens due to the will of god, and not because of complex political interactions, make her a ticking time bomb in international relations. If she ever controls the world's most powerful army and largest Nuclear weapons arsenal, then I think we all need to be very, very afraid... (watch this video to laugh and shudder)

4 comments:

Andrew B said...

The best thing about Palin is she is not an establishment politician. She stood up to and took down the Republican establishment in Alaska and killed pork-barrelling in that state (300 vetos in 2 years).

She's run a business and done a whole heap of other everyday American things that career politicians McCain, Biden and Obama have never done. That's the kind of experience you need - not more statists like the other three - if you want to be able to choose the right policies in these tough economic times. Note that they current diagnoses and prescriptions consist of "capitalism failed" (it didn't - government intervention in the monetary supply did) and "we need more government regulation" (we don't - socialism and bureaucracy never helped create wealth).

The lefty press say she's inexperienced in dealing with other politicians and because they're state-worshippers they count her lack of horse-trading experience as a negative. In fact, it's a positive. The US has been far too accommodating of foreign countries that dislike them - they need a politician who loves America and doesn't give a damn what the press or Europeans think.

Andrew B said...

OK I just watched the video. She certainly has no ability to explain whatever economics she may understand.

Andrew B said...

PS What is Obama's experience? He was a community organiser (woo!) before he got elected.
And if he offers (empty) change, why did he choose the quintessential career politician as his running mate?

Gruvin said...

Personally, I believe Bush was merely step one in a two-step programme where boredom and/or impatience on the part of the "powers that be" caused them to finally reduce the US presidency to a publicly identifiable sham (rather than just a rumour that it might be, y'know?) After all, what more power is there to write home about than a power that's known to be out of a president's hand (by even the most basic individual) and yet a power that reigns none the less? So OF COURSE the next president has to be some "normal" person who just won't see it coming. The perfect scapegoat and at the same time the last insult to the American people's motivation to bother voting. God bless the USA media, huh? BUT -- will the voters surprise us and by some miracle foil the big and costly plan one more time? I have my doubts.

Economic crisis? Oh please! This has been planned for years and even attempted in the past. How quickly we forget.