Last Thursday night, both vice presidential candidates squared off against one another in front of millions of viewers across the country, and presumably across the world. Anybody with access to the Internet or a television and any minute interest in either politics or comedy had no doubt heard about the recent downturn of Gov. Sarah Palin.
In her only exposure to the media, the governor, simply put, made a fool out of herself. With her support quickly eroding, even from the many conservatives who had backed her heavily when she burst onto the national scene, the McCain campaign found themselves praying for a debate in which Palin presented herself as a knowledgeable and capable vice presidential candidate. While those expecting to see an on-stage mental breakdown by the governor were disappointed, they were treated to a display of backwards logic, dangerous ideology and a performance that confirmed Palin to be completely unfit for the office next in line for the presidency.
Throughout the debate, Palin demonstrated her utter idiocy, but two points in particular stood out as so sickening and indicative of her irrational approach they need highlighting. The first came during a question pertaining to global warming and the direction the country needs to follow in relation to environmental policy. Echoing her comments to interviewer Katie Couric days earlier, Palin said she attributed some of global warming to man's activities. OK, harmless enough, but the next line to come out of her mouth just boggles the mind. The governor said, with a straight face, "I don't wanna (sic) argue about the causes, what I wanna (sic) argue about is how are we gonna (sic) get there to positively affect the impacts (of global warming)."
Translated into proper, comprehensible English, the governor said she would not like to debate the causes, but would instead like to argue about the course the country should follow to deal with global warming's impacts. You do not have to endure an intro to logic class to realize this process of thinking is complete nonsense and poses a real threat against efforts to confront the causes of global warming. Knowing the fundamental causes of global warming will lead directly to confronting and solving the problem.
The second point came during a question pertaining to the role of the vice president. This country has seen just how damaging an overreaching, corrupt and secretive vice president can be. Look no further than Dick Cheney, who has little regard for the Constitution, or this nation, for that matter. When asked whether or not the role of the vice president falls under the legislative branch more than the executive branch, as Cheney has asserted, Palin responded by flat-out agreeing with the current vice president, and decided the Founding Fathers gave much flexibility to the vice president in the Constitution.
First off, somebody in the McCain campaign forgot to mention to the governor that Cheney may be the only person in government less popular than George W. Bush, so invoking his name is a big no-no. Second, and more importantly, Constitutional scholars agree the vice president falls under the executive branch of government, and his or her only duty outside of it is to break ties in the Senate. That's it. There is no flexibility and no ambiguity except in Cheney's mind.
The last thing this country needs is another secretive vice president with perverse views of the Constitution, and from her statements, that is exactly what the country would get with Palin. The misguided views of Palin on global warming and the office of vice president should serve as a dire warning to all those even considering voting for the McCain-Palin ticket.
Sources: findlaw.com, cnn.com, nytimes.com, salon.com
