Traditionally, the veep has had responsibility for space policy, as something to do besides waiting for the president to die and break ties in the Senate.
When it comes to space, she's got no track record at all, but an Alaskan would bring an interesting perspective to free enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Alaskans already live on a frontier. The State is ground zero for ballistic missile defence.
An Alaskan would bring an interesting perspective to free enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Yeah, very interesting.
Alaska has the biggest state government budget either per capita or as a fraction of state GSP. It spends the most on K12 education per student. And yet, it has the lowest taxes for state residents of any state. It has no state income tax, no state sales tax, and low property taxes. So where does the money come from? Of course, it gets pumped out of the ground, and what doesn't get pumped out of the ground gets pumped out of the federal government. Alaska has the biggest gap per person of money from Washington minus money sent to Washington.
In the midst of all of that, Alaska is a strongly "libertarian" state where many politicians feel that taxation is theft. Now, there is a lot of wisdom to certain sides of the libertarian philosophy. Respect personal rights, let people mind their own business, limit government, let sleeping dogs lie, etc., all make sense. But to conclude that taxation is theft just because someone else pays your taxes is very wrong. Especially if you also have more entitlement than those who pay.
It's all well and good that Palin has executive experience. But what kind of experience? If her philosophy is to run government as if money appears out of nowhere, as it does in the artificial fiscal world of Alaska, then it won't work in Washington. Or rather, it will work for a little while. It's a recipe for federal bankruptcy.
There are also entire countries where people expect the government to provide everything without anyone paying any individual or private-sector taxes. Few transactions or deeds are taxed at all and most of the tax collection is dysfunctional. As in Alaska, the money is pumped out of the ground. One of these countries is Saudi Arabia, and another is Iraq.
An abso-fucking-lutely stupid choice.
A 72 year old man who could ker-plunk any minute and have someone with absolutely no exposure to any Foreign Policy decisions be the next President.
Maybe Palin should go on a world tour. Speak at the Brandenburg gate.
Also a fucked-decision if this was to appeal to Hillary voters. Boomer women can see a feint when they are offered one. Pro-life creationists aren't going to get the Hillary vote - not when they see that it is just pandering.
McCain-Palin will be toast. Maybe he can hit on her.
Jim is making a fallacy of simple inspection or the a priori assumption. Making simple observations to draw overly generalized inferences and purposely presenting false alternatives. It is sad when a 4 paragraph argument is de-constructed in 2 sentences.
"Traditionally, the veep has had responsibility for space policy..."
That's true, and yet Cheney seems to have been the exception to this rule. I can't remember that he ever had much to do with space policy, or ever voiced an opinion on the subject. That at least has been my perception, unless I've missed something.
Cheney was behind the O'Keefe pick. But it's a less visible role in the absence of a Space Council, which the Veep traditionally led. Perhaps McCain will take a page from Obama's new space policy and reinstate it.
An abso-fucking-lutely stupid choice.
A 72 year old man who could ker-plunk any minute and have someone with absolutely no exposure to any Foreign Policy decisions be the next President.
Not nearly as stupid as putting someone with no executive, foreign policy, or real world experience of any kind at the head of the ticket! What has Obama ever accomplished in his life? Outside of getting elected to the Senate, what has Biden ever accomplished?
The instantaneous drumbeat of Dems like Larry J that Palin is too inexperienced to be "one heartbeat away from the Presidency" suggests one of two possible conclusions:
1. It is harder to be Vice President than President.
2. Dems don't expect Obama to actually be President for very long---hence Biden as VP.
On the issue of the Vice President and space, the interesting question is about the two Presidential candidates, rather than their VP's.
Obama has said that he opposes "space weapons." Considering it was the Chinese who set off the latest round of space worries with a debris-generating ASAT test, it's an interesting question what role, if any, Biden would play in space affairs. Especially if Obama directs DOD to cease and desist any further military space program development (let's assume he doesn't touch military satellites).
Does anyone really think that Joe Biden would either disagree w/ Obama on this point, or that he would push a more robust military space program?
Palin, OTOH, is simply a blank slate on the issue (as are most governors and, face it, most senators). So, again, it probably goes to McCain setting the course, and Palin following suit.
So, where does McCain stand on improving space situational awareness or the prospect of military operations in space?
Well, she appears to be a pilot and has said on more than one occasion that she is a staunch supporter of free market capitalism....