Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a self-professed political reformer, has become an instant celebrity. The media has been infatuated with her ever since John McCain announced her selection as his vice presidential running mate on August 29th.
Political analysts have suggested Palin’s selection appeared to be a "huge gamble" by McCain who had been trailing in public opinion polls for most of the summer, but with Palin on the team the GOP ticket has roared back into contention.
McCain’s choice may not have been that surprising when listening to clues he’d been offering along the campaign trail.
At a town hall meeting in Albuquerque on July 15th, John McCain revealed what he was looking for in a running mate. Now that he has picked Palin we thought we’d post an audio file featuring a brief exchange between McCain and Jacob Schroeder, an 8-year-old reporter for Scholastic Kids News, during the Q & A segment at the New Mexico event.
Click the pink play button to hear the exchange between McCain and Schroeder.
Schroeder first asked, “When do you plan to announce the selection of your vice presidential running mate?”
McCain told the young reporter, “It’s a process that is somewhat difficult because we have so many highly qualified individuals who we have to consider."
Schroeder asked this follow up question, “What qualities are you looking for in a vice presidential running mate?”
McCain told Schroeder, “Someone exactly like you: young, vigorous, talented.”
The eventual nominee continued, “That person has to share not only in my principals and my values, but also my priorities. One of the hardest things for the president to do my friends is to establish priorities. You can imagine how difficult some of these priorities are going to be given the enormous challenges that we face. So, that person has to share not only the principals and values that I think are important to leading this nation, but also that person must share the priorities [of the president].”
McCain also added a little civics lesson when he said, “Could I also remind you, and I’m sure you know this because you study hard, that the Vice President of the United States really only has two duties. One duty is in case of a tie vote in the Senate of the United States then the Vice President comes on to the floor of the Senate and casts tie-breaking vote. The other duty that the vice president has is to inquire daily into the health of the president. I’m sure that will be a big job for whoever the vice president will be."
Schroeder, who is home schooled, also covered Democrat Barack Obama’s Economic Summit in Albuquerque on February 1st. Photojournalist Mark Bralley has details on Schroeder’s coverage here.
More than pigs, pitbulls and lipstick. White Women Voters Rush to Support the McCain-Palin Ticket.
Saturday Night Live veterans Tina Fey and Amy Poehler opened the new season with a hilarious sketch spoofing sexism in the race.
It's not yet clear whether or not McCain has even explained her role in his administration.
McCain clearly acknowledged, at the town hall meeting, that he understands the Vice President is “one heartbeat away from the presidency” as has been said many times since the surprise selection of Palin. But, in this video it's unclear if Palin is prepared for the post.
Since Palin's pick there has been a 20 percent shift in polls. Heading into Denver, White Women voters favored Democrat Barack Obama. Following McCain's pick now has a 12 point advantage with that voter group.
Could Sarah Palin's selection have a favorable effect for the Republicans on some of these red-state Senate races? Analysts at FiveThirtyEight.com believe so:
I think that's possible; in North Carolina, for instance, it's a nice boon to Republicans to motivate conservative women to turn out. But, if the general effect of the Palin selection is to tend to polarize the electorate, the reverse could be true in a blue state like Minnesota.New Mexico Independent writer Joel Gay has an interesting article on his experiences with Governor Palin while he was a reporter in Alaska here.
Audio: McCain Town Hall Meeting (Albuquerque - July 15, 2008)
Photo Credits: MG Bralley
Contributing to this post: LP from NMFBIHOP
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