CNN & NY Times report Palin VP choice

[Tocqueville3]

In fact, I think [Palin] might be the best pick Senator McCain could have made.

I'm wondering, Cal, whether you still stand by this statement. --Bob

I don't speak for Cal, but we are both pretty conservative.

I don't think that McCain could have picked anyone better.

I know that liberals have trouble believing that but as far as this election goes, Sarah Palin was the best choice for John McCain's running mate. A lot of my opinion has to do with John McCain. She is a good fit with him. She might not be as good a fit with some other republicans but she is a great fit on his ticket.

If I were Joe Biden right now, I would be nervous.

[Bob Juch]

In fact, I think [Palin] might be the best pick Senator McCain could have made.

I'm wondering, Cal, whether you still stand by this statement. --Bob

I don't speak for Cal, but we are both pretty conservative.

I don't think that McCain could have picked anyone better.

I know that liberals have trouble believing that but as far as this election goes, Sarah Palin was the best choice for John McCain's running mate. A lot of my opinion has to do with John McCain. She is a good fit with him. She might not be as good a fit with some other republicans but she is a great fit on his ticket.

If I were Joe Biden right now, I would be nervous.

She was a Hail Mary pass. The game's not over yet.

[Tocqueville3]

I'm wondering, Cal, whether you still stand by this statement. --Bob

I don't speak for Cal, but we are both pretty conservative.

I don't think that McCain could have picked anyone better.

I know that liberals have trouble believing that but as far as this election goes, Sarah Palin was the best choice for John McCain's running mate. A lot of my opinion has to do with John McCain. She is a good fit with him. She might not be as good a fit with some other republicans but she is a great fit on his ticket.

If I were Joe Biden right now, I would be nervous.

She was a Hail Mary pass. The game's not over yet.

Really? No kidding.

[Rexer25]

In fact, I think [Palin] might be the best pick Senator McCain could have made.

I'm wondering, Cal, whether you still stand by this statement. --Bob

I don't speak for Cal, but we are both pretty conservative.

I don't think that McCain could have picked anyone better.

I know that liberals have trouble believing that but as far as this election goes, Sarah Palin was the best choice for John McCain's running mate. A lot of my opinion has to do with John McCain. She is a good fit with him. She might not be as good a fit with some other republicans but she is a great fit on his ticket.

If I were Joe Biden right now, I would be nervous.

I'm not asking to be argumentative, but why do you think Biden should be nervous? Because of the debate, or because a lot of people think he should be replaced on the ticket? Or something else?

[danielh41]

I'm wondering, Cal, whether you still stand by this statement. --Bob

I don't speak for Cal, but we are both pretty conservative.

I don't think that McCain could have picked anyone better.

I know that liberals have trouble believing that but as far as this election goes, Sarah Palin was the best choice for John McCain's running mate. A lot of my opinion has to do with John McCain. She is a good fit with him. She might not be as good a fit with some other republicans but she is a great fit on his ticket.

If I were Joe Biden right now, I would be nervous.

I'm not asking to be argumentative, but why do you think Biden should be nervous? Because of the debate, or because a lot of people think he should be replaced on the ticket? Or something else?

I think Biden should be nervous because of the debate coupled with some of the boneheaded things he has said in recent weeks, i.e. his comments about the ad his campaign ran about McCain's computer skills, his statement about AIG, his difference of opinion with Obama about coal mines, etc. These kinds of things just show that he doesn't think before he speaks. I think Sarah will take advantage of that.

[Tocqueville3]

I'm wondering, Cal, whether you still stand by this statement. --Bob

I don't speak for Cal, but we are both pretty conservative.

I don't think that McCain could have picked anyone better.

I know that liberals have trouble believing that but as far as this election goes, Sarah Palin was the best choice for John McCain's running mate. A lot of my opinion has to do with John McCain. She is a good fit with him. She might not be as good a fit with some other republicans but she is a great fit on his ticket.

If I were Joe Biden right now, I would be nervous.

I'm not asking to be argumentative, but why do you think Biden should be nervous? Because of the debate, or because a lot of people think he should be replaced on the ticket? Or something else?

Because Biden has a way of appearing rude and condescending (shocker!) and if he's not careful Sarah Palin will come across as looking like a woman of the people and he'll come across looking like a rude, elitist snob.

She has a way, and I really can't put my finger on the right terminology, of being tough as nails and being warm at the same time. She can cut her political opponent right in two and still give off a feeling of motherlyness.

I'm sure he's got some zingers up his sleeve but he need not take her lightly. She could, quite possibly, chew him up and spit him out all without messing up her lipstick.

[danielh41]

I don't speak for Cal, but we are both pretty conservative.

I don't think that McCain could have picked anyone better.

I know that liberals have trouble believing that but as far as this election goes, Sarah Palin was the best choice for John McCain's running mate. A lot of my opinion has to do with John McCain. She is a good fit with him. She might not be as good a fit with some other republicans but she is a great fit on his ticket.

If I were Joe Biden right now, I would be nervous.

I'm not asking to be argumentative, but why do you think Biden should be nervous? Because of the debate, or because a lot of people think he should be replaced on the ticket? Or something else?

I think Biden should be nervous because of the debate coupled with some of the boneheaded things he has said in recent weeks, i.e. his comments about the ad his campaign ran about McCain's computer skills, his statement about AIG, his difference of opinion with Obama about coal mines, etc. These kinds of things just show that he doesn't think before he speaks. I think Sarah will take advantage of that.

I should have said that it's Obama supporters who should be nervous about Biden. I don't think Biden himself is bright enough to be nervous...

[TheCalvinator24]

Yes, I still believe that Governor Palin was the best possible pick for Senator McCain. It might not result in a victory, but it won't be because of her.

The latest financial debacle may have been the blow from which the McCain campaign cannot recover.

The other women whose names are constantly floated would not have had the same positives. They wouldn't have had the same negatives, either, but each of them had greater negatives than positives.

The men who could have been chosen also did not not have the net potential benefit that Palin provided.

[themanintheseersuckersuit]

The Democratic Party of the United States has put Nancy Pelosi and Robert Byrd 2 and 3 heartbeats away from the Oval Office and yet still criticize Palin, go figure

[tlynn78]

The Democratic Party of the United States has put Nancy Pelosi and Robert Byrd 2 and 3 heartbeats away from the Oval Office and yet still criticize Palin, go figure

rec rec rec rec rec


t.

[Bob Juch]

The Democratic Party of the United States has put Nancy Pelosi and Robert Byrd 2 and 3 heartbeats away from the Oval Office and yet still criticize Palin, go figure

The only way Pelosi could become President would be if Bush and Cheney were killed at the same time.

[TheCalvinator24]

The Democratic Party of the United States has put Nancy Pelosi and Robert Byrd 2 and 3 heartbeats away from the Oval Office and yet still criticize Palin, go figure

The only way Pelosi could become President would be if Bush and Cheney were killed at the same time.

You really don't know nearly as much as you think you do.

[Tocqueville3]

The Democratic Party of the United States has put Nancy Pelosi and Robert Byrd 2 and 3 heartbeats away from the Oval Office and yet still criticize Palin, go figure

The only way Pelosi could become President would be if Bush and Cheney were killed at the same time.

You really don't know nearly as much as you think you do.

REC!!

[Bob Juch]

The Democratic Party of the United States has put Nancy Pelosi and Robert Byrd 2 and 3 heartbeats away from the Oval Office and yet still criticize Palin, go figure

The only way Pelosi could become President would be if Bush and Cheney were killed at the same time.

You really don't know nearly as much as you think you do.

Oh? Ever hear of the 25th Amendment?

Only if the President died, was succeeded by the VP, and then the new President died before the new VP could be confirmed, could the Speaker become President.

[Bob78164]

The only way Pelosi could become President would be if Bush and Cheney were killed at the same time.

You really don't know nearly as much as you think you do.

Oh? Ever hear of the 25th Amendment?

Only if the President died, was succeeded by the VP, and then the new President died before the new VP could be confirmed, could the Speaker become President.

This is almost accurate (you didn't include resignation or removal from office). It's different, though, from what you wrote the first time.

All of this begs the question, though. There's plenty of room for disagreement with the Congressional leadership on issues of policy. As far as I know, though, no one has accused them of being out of their league on a national stage. --Bob

[TheCalvinator24]

The only way Pelosi could become President would be if Bush and Cheney were killed at the same time.

You really don't know nearly as much as you think you do.

Oh? Ever hear of the 25th Amendment?

Only if the President died, was succeeded by the VP, and then the new President died before the new VP could be confirmed, could the Speaker become President.

Exactly, which is directly contrary to your previous post. Well, not "exactly" because there are at least 2 other circumstances I can think of off the top of my head that would result in the SotH becoming President.

The first is the situation you described in your prior post.

The second, I'll leave for you to figure out.

Thank you for proving my point.

[TheCalvinator24]

And Bob##### provides the information to get me to 19 ways it could happen.

Admittedly, none of them in the high probability range, but extant nonetheless.

[SportsFan68]

I cannot stand the idea of Palin being VP, but the right wing is still drooling over her, and despite one conservative columnist calling for her to step down, she is still bringing both light and heat to McCain's campaign. Pundits all over the country, instead of egging Biden on to a GO! FIGHT! WIN! knockout punch, are urging caution in his approach Thursday night. They think that he has the best chance of being on the losing end of somebody's signature here -- "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." They think that after two solid days of prepping, much like her acceptance speech, she will be the one watching Biden make a mistake, not the other way around.

In other words, I still think she was McCain's best possible pick. And I will continue to think so unless the VP debate demonstrates the same (or worse) command of the facts and inability to express McCain's positions that she showed with Couric.

[themanintheseersuckersuit]

All of this begs the question, though. There's plenty of room for disagreement with the Congressional leadership on issues of policy. As far as I know, though, no one has accused them of being out of their league on a national stage. --Bob

Pelosi in SyriaWASHINGTON — An apparently botched message during a widely discouraged visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Syria this week has U.S. officials criticizing rogue efforts at diplomacy among U.S. politicians.

State Department officials said Thursday they made it quite clear they did not want Pelosi to visit Syria, a nation that is listed as a state sponsor of terror and is home to terror group Hezbollah, which started a low-grade war with Israel last summer.

[Bob78164]

The Democratic Party of the United States has put Nancy Pelosi and Robert Byrd 2 and 3 heartbeats away from the Oval Office and yet still criticize Palin, go figure

The primary job of Congressional leadership is not their position in the line of succession. It's exceedingly unlikely that the line of succession would ever get beyond the Vice President.

On the other hand, being ready to assume office as President in virtually the Vice President's only job.

And didn't the Republican Party name Strom Thurmond as President Pro Tem of the Senate when it controlled that chamber? --Bob

[Bob78164]

The only way Pelosi could become President would be if Bush and Cheney were killed at the same time.

You really don't know nearly as much as you think you do.

Oh? Ever hear of the 25th Amendment?

Only if the President died, was succeeded by the VP, and then the new President died before the new VP could be confirmed, could the Speaker become President.

By the way, it's not the Twenty-Fifth Amendment that provides the line of succession. It's an Act of Congress, passed pursuant to authority granted under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. --Bob

[TheCalvinator24]

The Democratic Party of the United States has put Nancy Pelosi and Robert Byrd 2 and 3 heartbeats away from the Oval Office and yet still criticize Palin, go figure

The primary job of Congressional leadership is not their position in the line of succession. It's exceedingly unlikely that the line of succession would ever get beyond the Vice President.

On the other hand, being ready to assume office as President in virtually the Vice President's only job.

And didn't the Republican Party name Strom Thurmond as President Pro Tem of the Senate when it controlled that chamber? --Bob

Despite my pokes at BobJuch earlier, I agree with Bob##### that the fitness for Presidency argument is pretty weak when you get past the Veep. If fitness for the Presidency were a valid requirement, under that theory, we would have to apply it to every cabinet position that is listed in the line of succession.

The chance of anyone past the Veep ascending to the Presidency is so remote as to be virtually non-existent.

[Bob Juch]

If you want to complicate things, get lawyers involved.

[gsabc]

If fitness for the Presidency were a valid requirement, under that theory, we would have to apply it to every cabinet position that is listed in the line of succession.

Yeah, I remember when John Volpe, former governor of MA, was secretary of transportation for Nixon. That was when I first learned about the succession rules, and figured out that he was 13th in line for the presidency. Not a comforting thought.

[BigDrawMan]

In fact, I think [Palin] might be the best pick Senator McCain could have made.

I'm wondering, Cal, whether you still stand by this statement. --Bob

I don't speak for Cal, but we are both pretty conservative.

I don't think that McCain could have picked anyone better.
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the former Miss Tenn South Carolina comes to mind.
US Americans could get behind that.


I know that liberals have trouble believing that but as far as this election goes, Sarah Palin was the best choice for John McCain's running mate. A lot of my opinion has to do with John McCain. She is a good fit with him. She might not be as good a fit with some other republicans but she is a great fit on his ticket.
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I agree.She has W's air of incompetence which "some" people like in their leaders.


If I were Joe Biden right now, I would be nervous.

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she is quite the orator, to be sure.