Aside from the rather obvious political ploys in appointing his veep, John McCain was, I believe, selling American women way short. Now clearly he was trying to reinforce his maverick image as well as add some relative youth to his ticket. But also he was certainly trying to cash in as the powerful women’s consciousness – impact of the Hillary campaign. There may even be the notion that some lingering anger among the Hillary supporters would lead these malcontent Democrats to switch parties and vote for McCain-Palin.
I suppose that might happen if some Hillary malcontents decided to shut off their brains and make gender the only issue they care about. Forget the war in Iraq; forget poverty, medical care, education; forget the housing crisis and the economy; forget global warming and the environment. Vote McCain because his veep is female. And, for goodness sakes, don’t ask what that female believes, for then you might find:
1. A lifetime member of the NRA
2. A hunter with dead animal heads as trophies in her office
3. A supporter of drilling in environmentally sensitive areas
4. A supporter of teaching creationism in the public schools
5. An opponent of sex education – just teach abstinence
6. An opponent of a woman’s right to choose even in cases of rape, incest, or endangerment to the mother’s life
7. Affiliation with the organization that wants to have Alaska secede from the nation
8. A supporter of the war in Iraq as “A task that is from God”
9. A supporter of a gas pipeline in Alaska in which she said it was “God’s will” that the federal government contribute $30 billion
Does this sound like a place for Hillary lovers to find a home? I think not. And leaving aside the recent family issues she faces, which Obama correctly and wisely called “out-of-bounds,” there is the other issue of experience. Virtually none in foreign affairs – particularly compared to Joe Biden. One apologist for McCain’s choice offered the convincing argument that Alaska is close to Russia. Wow!
One can only hope that women across the country, Republican or Democrat, will look past her gender and grapple with the issues Obama, Biden, Gore, Clinton, and Clinton so eloquently expressed at the Democratic convention. This country is clearly at a turning point. No matter how he tries to hide behind his self-adopted “maverick” pose, McCain is a Bushie who voted with the president 90 to 95 percent of the time these past eight years.
Certainly, McCain has picked a vice president who is like-minded. The ladies who are temporarily infatuated with the idea of a Republican woman vice president need to ask themselves the fundamental question of this campaign: Do we want 12 years of Bush and company, or is eight years not more than enough?
