So, John McCain has chosen Mrs Sarah Palin as his running mate.
I'm not the kind of person shouting "Experience?" regarding presidential and vice presidential hopefuls, I'm more concerned with the policies, comprehensive knowledge and ability to analyse current affairs and stands on key issues, after all no president makes decisions all by himself, so what really is this experience question all about. In many countries folks with 'no experience' have won elections and ruled nations brilliantly, take Corazon Aquino of the Philippines as an example, so for me experience is a non issue, if a chicken farmer has a great plan for the nation then he is just as ready as a senator to lead. Look where George W Bush's experience as a Governor in Texas has got America in, a quagmire of war with no end in sight, a dislike and distrust of America all over the world.
Anyway, enter Palin, who by her ABC interview has very little knowledge of current affairs, she was bigging-up Alaska's proximity with Russia as foreign affairs experience, the fact that you can see Russia from Alaska does not give one the right to be vice president. I guess now future candidates would claim standing on an island in Alaska and seeing Russia in the horizon as valuable foreign affairs experience, enabling them with the tools to face Moscow in a nuclear arms debate.
I mean what other stupid claims can be made out to be experience, does having an altercation with an Afghan mean you have foreign affairs experience, did scoring an A+ in Economics in high school equip you with the tools to solve the economies problems, does a stopover in Damascus airport, or regularly visiting a Persian restaurant mean that you are an expert on the Middle East, hell, soon being able to name a city in Russia other than Moscow and St.Petersburg would be claimed as valuable foreign affairs experience. I mean, Cuba is only 90 miles south of Florida, I guess that makes the Governor of Florida an expert on negotiations with hostile Communist nations.
America Oh America, a funny big ol'country. This presidential race has had me hooked to TV screen and computer monitor reading about the latest soundbite and irrelevant gesture, when would Americans focus on the issues at hand instead of lipstick on pigs, looking at Russia from Alaska or stuck in Vietnam for 5 years (tragic experience yes, but in no way a qualification for presidency)
I can't wait for the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates, where as one Obama supporter put it "Obama would verbally slap the sh*t out of McCain" and judging from Palin's interview, looks like Biden would also be doing some "sh*t slapping"
