The VP Choice that Lost the Presidency for McCain…?

After watching the joint announcement of McCain’s running mate and scouring the Web for more info about Palin, my initial worries have pretty much evaporated. That announcement ceremony (?) alone should provide endless fodder for Jon Stewart, Steve Colbert, and SNL. I got the feeling McCain had pretty much given up already and was just going through the motions, whereas as the hilariously inexperienced Palin was utterly intoxicated with her new place in the national spotlight. From all accounts, yes, there are some women (mostly older, mostly working class, from what I can gather so far) who say they supported Clinton but will now vote for McCain because of his choice of Palin (who, in case you hadn’t heard, is a woman).

The only people excited about the Palin choice, as far as I can see, are the Christian Right, for whom the only qualifications necessary for a job in the White House are a dedication to appointing Supreme Court justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade, making sure gays and lesbians remain second-class citizens, and basically working to turn the U.S. into a Conservative Christian theocracy. But even the Christian Right may lose its enthusiasm for Palin once they discover that her opposition to “The Homosexual Agenda” is tepid as best.

Palin’s spot on the ticket may also bring an uncomfortable degree of attention to Alaska, where Republican calls for small government and self-reliance may ring hollow, since Alaska (with the help of old Senator Stevens) has sucked at the teat of the Federal government longer and harder than any other state in the union. Alaska’s whole existence is pretty much subsidized by Federal pork and the oil and gas industries (which are often one and the same).

In her speech on Friday, Palin she said had told Washington “thanks but no thanks for the Bridge to Nowhere.” That’s not quite what the record shows. Palin had supported the project when running for governor in 2006. When asked by the Anchorage Daily News “Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?” Palin responded:

Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now – while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.

Translation: “While Republicans still control the Senate and White House, and Ted Stevens is bringing home the pork, let’s grab every bit of it we can.”

But when the Bridge to Nowhere became a national scandal, and it was clear that federal funding was not forthcoming, Palin had no choice but to give up. Here’s what the governor’s office press release of September 21, 2007, said:

Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer. Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it’s clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island. Much of the public’s attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened.

Translation: “Sorry, we got busted. Maybe next time.”
Conveniently enough, the link to the archive of the governor’s office press releases from that particular period is broken.

Hi, Valéria. I really hope you are right. But remember, Americans put George W. Bush in the White House not once, but twice.

Oh, and thank you for the link on your website. (^^)