Two VP candidates in America treading a different path
A.H. Jaffor Ullah
On September 3, 2008 the first-term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, gave an "electrifying" speech and with that she single-handedly solidified the Republican "base." Through her speech she defined who she is because not many Americans with the exception of Alaskans knew who she was. Thus, it makes hell of a lot of sense for McCain campaign to introduce Governor Palin to American electorates. However, the Republican convention is long gone but the media is yet to hear a single word emanating from her lip vis-à-vis the burning that are bound to have effects on common Americans such as inflation of everyday commodities including gasoline price, rising unemployment rate, weakness in housing sector, looming recession, Iraq War, and a host of other domestic and international issues.
The McCain campaign is making sure that their VP candidate, Sarah Palin, won't face the media scrutiny via interviews with the national newspaper reporters. However, she will have to debate with Senator Joe Biden, the Democratic VP candidate on October 2, 2008 at the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Perhaps because of the forthcoming VP debate she is taking time out to prepare herself for this important event. So much is at stake on this debate that the McCain campaign is preparing the rookie politician for this event. Will she win the debate by a knockout? Stay tuned.
Now, let us look at Senator Biden who is Sarah Palin's counterpart in the forthcoming election to capture the White House. Unlike Palin, who is a political neophyte, Biden is a seasoned politician who spent nearly 30 years in Washington D.C. I recon this is not a smart thing to say about any politician; never mind a candidate who is running for the VP. Some may even say that Biden is a Washington insider and no change in the way politics are being done at the Capitol could be achieved if Senator Biden and Senator Obama are elected to the office. Mind you that just like Biden, Senator McCain is a quintessential Washington insider. Therefore, Republican may face the same criticism as leveled against Obama and Biden.
Governor Palin however is a different breed of politician. Even her staunchest critic won't be able to say that she is a Washington insider. Her sphere of politics stops at Anchorage, the capital of Alaska. Lest we forget, Alaska is far removed from contiguous lower 48 states. Since Alaska is located far away from the lower 48 states, Governor Palin could be labeled at best a regional politician. I can bet my bottom dollar on this issue that over 95% Americans had the slightest idea as to who she is before the St. Paul convention. Barely three days before the Republican Convention on August 29, 2008 went underway, had the McCain campaign introduce her to American public in a political rally in Dayton, Ohio. Since then, the American peoples' interest in her had skyrocketed. But she maintained a low profile while accompanying Senator McCain in several battleground states. The people magazine did a photo shoot of her, which graced the pages of this glossy magazine. Most major magazines and newspapers have published the photogenic face of this 44 years old politician but she kept her lip tightly sealed; therefore, American voters have no clues whether she agrees with John McCain on most national and international issues.
The national news media have already learned that McCain campaign is tightlipped about Sarah Palin's stance on a variety of issues. This is worth mentioning here that the McCain campaign had skirmishes with the New York Times when earlier this year as primaries were going on, news came out about McCain's alleged affair with a Washington lobbyist. Although John McCain vigorously defended his character but a Cold War was started between the McCain campaign and NY Times since then. The McCain campaign makes it very clear at every opportunity it gets to tell that the "liberal" media prefers Obama-Biden ticket. Therefore, it is very clear that Republican Party officials and John McCain have acrimony with members of the "liberal" media such as NY Times, Washing Post, CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, etc., but has ample support from the conservative mews organizations such as Wall Street Journal, FOX network, etc.
Unlike McCain campaign Senator Biden was let loose by Obama campaign immediately after the successful completion of Denver Convention in late August 2008. Since then the media has full access to him and he is talking to the media without being monitored by the Obama campaign. I read a report on Biden's interview with NBC news, which prompted me to write this article.
In that NBC interview Senator Biden says he has debated "an awful lot of tough, smart women" throughout his career and that next month's vice presidential debate with Republican Sarah Palin will be no exception. However, he would like to know where she stands on issues.
In that NBC interview Senator Biden says he has debated "an awful lot of tough, smart women" throughout his career and that next month's vice presidential debate with Republican Sarah Palin will be no exception. However, he would like to know where she stands on issues.
"She's a smart, tough politician, so I think she's going to be very formidable," Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press' on September 7, 2008. Biden is a sixth-term senator from Delaware who said, "There's a lot of very tough, smart women in the United States Senate I debate every day." So going up against the first-term governor, he said: "It's not new." In the televised interview he also mentioned his wife, Jill, who has a doctorate degree.
When Biden was asked whether he'd debate Palin differently than he would Republicans Mitt Romney or Tom Ridge, two former governors who figured into speculation about John McCain's running mate, Senator Biden said the only difference is that he knows their positions on issues. He said, "I have no idea what her policies are. I assume they're the same as John's. I just don't know," he said of Palin.
Biden also recognized that Palin had delivered a great speech to the Republican National Convention on September 3, 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota, but "her silence on the issues was deafening."
"She didn't mention a word about health care, a word about the environment, a word about the middle class. They never parted her lips ... so I don't know where she is on those things."
In summary, the McCain campaign is keeping their VP candidate under a tight leash while the Democratic VP candidate is addressing the nation via televised interviews. Does the McCain campaign feel uneasy about their candidate facing the national press? It seems as if Governor Palin is now on a steep learning curve. John McCain is not about to unleash her until it is a sure thing that she could face the onslaught of questions from the press without making a fool out of herself. Stay tuned, more is yet to come.
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Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
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Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
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