Troopergate: How Little Does McCain Know About Palin?

If you don’t know what TrooperGate is, check this out. Did McCain properly vet this candidate – apparently not. An Alaska newspaper ran this editorial on whether she is ready to lead:

Republicans rightfully have criticized the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, for his lack of experience, but Palin is a neophyte in comparison; how will Republicans reconcile the criticism of Obama with the obligatory cheering for Palin? Or will everyone just be forced to drop the subject? That’s not a comforting possibility. Although no one has the perfect resume and experience isn’t everything, it is an important quality to weigh. Palin, if elected vice president, would ascend to the presidency if anything should happen to McCain, who turned 72 today. Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation’s when he created the possibility that she might fill it. It’s clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance. She’s a woman. She has fought corruption. She has fought the oil companies. She’s married to a union member. These are portrayals for campaign speeches; they are not policy positions. There was also some pandering right from the start. “I told Congress `Thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere,’ ” Palin reported to the crowd in Dayton, Ohio. “If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we’d build it ourselves.”

Of course, she wasn’t being exactly honest with respect to the Bridge to Nowhere. She wasn’t exactly honest about TrooperGate either. Sort of the perfect metaphor for the entire McCain Presidential campaign!

Update: Kevin Drum has a nice rundown on Palin’s policy positions. It seems she’s a social conservative but on fiscal matters, she is sounds a lot like a spend and tax liberal. This is sure to unite the Republican Party – NOT.

Update: Mudflats who lives in Alaska offered us a lot of insights – just before he went out to get some Jiffy Pop!