John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. Sarah who? Most people won’t know a thing about the little-known first-term governor. That said, she is an outgoing, telegenic rising GOP star, a reformer with a Western individualistic streak and maverick image, like McCain.
At the very least, this is an interesting, surprising choice that will get people talking and position McCain as being for change and against status quo Washington. It also appears intended to appeal to women, including disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters.
The most obvious question about this veep pick, especially for a candidate of McCain’s age: Is Palin, age 44 (three years younger than Barack Obama), ready to be president?
The significance of Barack Obama’s nomination transcends partisanship — and buoys hopes for an America free of racial prejudice, discrimination, injustice and violence and truly limitless in opportunity and freedom, our editorial today argues.
Obama projected a compelling seriousness and sense of purpose in his acceptance speech Thursday night, laying out a view of the nation and the presidency that surely resonated for many Americans: “Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who’s willing to work. That’s the promise of America — the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper.”
That said, Obama remains a long way from closing the deal with American voters. If he is to deny John McCain the White House and return the presidency to the Democrats after eight years of President Bush — if “eight is enough,” as he had the crowd chanting Thursday — he must still reassure people that he has the resume and judgment necessary to be president, and that his expansive agenda is realistic and fiscally responsible.
Barack Obama gets more media attention than John McCain does. But contrary to gripes about liberal bias, that coverage tends to be more negative.
During six weeks of network TV news coverage this summer, opinions expressed about Obama were 72 percent negative and 28 percent positive, according to a study by George Mason University’s Center for Media and Public Affairs. McCain also got more negative coverage than positive, but not nearly so much, with 57 percent negative and 43 percent positive.
Also, McCain’s flubs are less likely to receive media attention than Obama’s miscues. “Even McCain’s most blatant confusions, memory lapses and outright lies still barely cause a ripple,” New York Times columnist Frank Rich wrote, “whether he’s railing against a piece of pork he in fact voted for . . . or falsifying crucial details of his marital history in his memoirs, as the Los Angeles Times uncovered in court records last month.”
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius scored only a C-plus in Time magazine’s grade card of the Democrats’ convention speeches: “The veep also-ran took the podium with a delivery as flat as Kansas and no apparent training on a teleprompter. She offered a mild-mannered, monotone attack on John McCain (his multiple homes, his Bush connections), and some general platitudes about Barack Obama and change. Despite her dignified, executive mien and impressive political family, history and resume as the Democratic head of a Republican state, the lack of fire from the stage and the minimal response from the audience suggested that Sebelius is not ready for the no-holds-barred surrogate role of running mate.” Ouch. Other results: Evan Bayh, B-minus; Bill Clinton, A-plus; John Kerry, B-plus; Joe Biden, A-minus; Mark Warner, D; Ted Strickland, B-plus; Deval Patrick; B; Brian Schweitzer, A; Hillary Clinton, A; Caroline Kennedy, A; Ted Kennedy, A-plus; Michelle Obama, A.
Could Sedgwick County see a real district attorney race this fall? In a SurveyUSA poll of 1,000 adults last weekend for KWCH, Channel 12, 19-year incumbent Democrat Nola Foulston garnered 51 percent support, compared with 45 percent for Republican Mark Schoenhofer. Beyond partisanship, the poll showed a strong preference for Foulston among women, 50-plus and pro-choice voters.
It’s no big deal that Wichita businessman George Fahnestock doesn’t live in the Wichita school district but will take a lead in advocating that district voters approve a proposed $370 million bond issue. As owner of Fahnestock Plumbing, HVAC & Electric, Fahnestock is a Wichita employer who pays USD 259 school taxes and will pay more if the bond issue passes Nov. 4. And the more Wichita or any city grows, the more likely its prominent citizens will live in its burgeoning suburbs. But the discussion of Fahnestock’s Andover address demonstrates that, to be successful, the pro-bond campaign will need a broad range of business leaders on its side.
John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. Sarah who? Most people won’t know a thing about the little-known first-term governor. That said, she is an outgoing, telegenic rising GOP star, a reformer with a Western individualistic streak and maverick image, like McCain.
