By: E&P Staff Since, even as her leading backers admit, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska is unknown nationally -- until today, when she was picked by John McCain as his running mate -- E&P will provide a number of pieces in coming days about her, taken strictly from Alaska newspapers and reporters for same.
The first one comes from the Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks, Alaska. Surprisingly, considering she is now the highest profile political figure to ever come from Alaska, the newspaper in an editorial posted on its site today declared her flatly not qualified for the office of vice president.
It also brought up an intriguing fact. Palin in her speech on Friday -- also a point used by McCain surrogates -- is that she refused to go along with the plan to build the so-called "bridge to nowhere" in her state, wanting to halt wasteful spending. But the Fairbanks editorial points out that the state still kept the money for the project.
Here is an excerpt from the editorial.
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Sen. John McCain?s selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate was a stunning decision that should make Alaskans proud, even while we wonder about the actual merits of the choice....
Alaskans and Americans must ask, though, whether she should become vice president and, more importantly, be placed first in line to become president.
In fact, as the governor herself acknowledged in her acceptance speech, she never set out to be involved in public affairs. She has never publicly demonstrated the kind of interest, much less expertise, in federal issues and foreign affairs that should mark a candidate for the second-highest office in the land. Republicans rightfully have criticized the Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, for his lack of experience, but Palin is a neophyte in comparison; how will Republicans reconcile the criticism of Obama with the obligatory cheering for Palin?
Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation?s when he created the possibility that she might fill it.
It?s clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance. She?s a woman. She has fought corruption. She has fought the oil companies. She?s married to a union member. These are portrayals for campaign speeches; they are not policy positions.
There was also some pandering right from the start. ?I told Congress `Thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere,? ? Palin reported to the crowd in Dayton, Ohio. ?If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we?d build it ourselves.?
But the state kept the bridge money. That?s because Alaskans pay federal gas taxes and they expect a good share to come back, just like people do in every other state. We build very little by ourselves, and any governor who would turn that tax money down likely would be turned out of office.
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