Sarah, Palin Tall

Today's topic: the political sensation and Senator John McCain's VP pick Sarah Palin.. .

I have heard alot of people say that McCain is a true maverick for picking Sarah Palin as his running mate. Sadly, i fear this was more of a political move more than anything else. They say that a president's first big decision happens before he is even elected to the oval office--his VP pick. Well, John McCain failed on his first big decision because. . .

a) There are so many more people that are more qualified than Sarah. (Huntsman, Pawlenty, Romney, Giuliani, etc. etc. etc. ) I know this because i watched Sarah struggle with a question about what the "Bush Doctrine" is. I know this because i heard her say in June that she really didn't even know what the VP does. Those things alarm me.

b) Palin is currently being investigated by state ethics committee. Regardless of whether anything comes of this, it is a huge distraction from her already thin resume.


So, here's the deal. I know that we are voting for President and not VP, but did you know that 9 VP's have had to step up and assume the mantle of president? 9! With McCain's age and health history (he's had cancer 4 times) it is not unreasonable to think that Sarah could become president. If this happens, i hope to heaven that she at least takes American Foreign Policy from Earl Frye at BYU like I did so she can learn what the Bush, Carter, Clinton, Truman, etc. etc. doctrines are, as well as their implications. Somedays I wonder if, honest to goodness, I have more FP experience than Sarah. I have lived abroad for over 2 years in Africa and learned how to interact with people from a dozen cultures. As an intern for Senator Orrin G. Hatch I assisted his Constituent Service Representative in a number of activities in which I interacted with both U.S. embassies abroad and the INS. I expedited visas to help people stay in Utah for school and business instead of being sent back to their homelands. I communicated with embassies abroad in efforts to cut through international red tape and bring American citizens home.

Now, I'm not asinine enough to think that these things qualify as foreign policy, so why should very intelligent people (Huntsman, the Republican establishment, etc.) suggest that because Sarah Palin's Alaska borders Russia that she somehow has FP credentials? She simply does not. Why try to fake it? Why not at least say, "There have been some presidents who were succesful in the FP arena who didn't have foreign policy experience prior to entering the oval office" (think of Reagan for instance)? But please, please, please do not insult the intelligence of the American people and say that Palin has FP chops because Alaska borders Russia and Canada or because she is the head of the Alaskan State Military--'cause that's just messed up.