Scholars question Palin credentials
By FRED BARBASH & DAVID MARK 8/30/08 11:24 AM EST
John McCain was aiming to make history with his pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and historians say he succeeded. Presidential scholars say she appears to be the least experienced, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era. So unconventional was McCain�s choice that it left students of the presidency literally �stunned,� in the words of Joel Goldstein, a St. Louis University law professor and scholar of the vice presidency. �Being governor of a small state for less than two years is not consistent with the normal criteria for determining who�s of presidential caliber,� said Goldstein. �I think she is the most inexperienced person on a major party ticket in modern history,� said presidential historian Matthew Dallek. That includes Spiro T. Agnew, Richard Nixon�s first vice president, who was governor of a medium-sized state, Maryland, for two years, and before that, executive of suburban Baltimore County, the expansive jurisdiction that borders and exceeds in population the city of Baltimore. It also includes George H.W. Bush�s vice president, Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle, who had served in the House and Senate for 12 years before taking office. And it also includes New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, who served three terms in the House before Walter Mondale chose her in 1984 as the first woman candidate on a major party ticket
John McCain was aiming to make history with his pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and historians say he succeeded. Presidential scholars say she appears to be the least experienced, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era. So unconventional was McCain�s choice that it left students of the presidency literally �stunned,� in the words of Joel Goldstein, a St. Louis University law professor and scholar of the vice presidency. �Being governor of a small state for less than two years is not consistent with the normal criteria for determining who�s of presidential caliber,� said Goldstein. �I think she is the most inexperienced person on a major party ticket in modern history,� said presidential historian Matthew Dallek. That includes Spiro T. Agnew, Richard Nixon�s first vice president, who was governor of a medium-sized state, Maryland, for two years, and before that, executive of suburban Baltimore County, the expansive jurisdiction that borders and exceeds in population the city of Baltimore. It also includes George H.W. Bush�s vice president, Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle, who had served in the House and Senate for 12 years before taking office. And it also includes New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, who served three terms in the House before Walter Mondale chose her in 1984 as the first woman candidate on a major party ticket
�It would be one thing if she had only been governor for a year and a half, but prior to that she had not had major experience in public life,� said Dallek of Palin. �The fact that he would have to go to somebody who is clearly unqualified to be president makes Obama look like an elder statesman.� And Alaska is a much smaller state than Illinois, the political base of Barack Obama, whom Republicans have repeatedly criticized for being inexperienced, having served nearly four years in the U.S. Senate after eight in the Illinois state Senate. �Not to belittle Alaska, but it�s different than the basket of issues you deal with in big, dynamic states.� Dallek said. Palin has no experience in national office. Before becoming governor in December 2006, she served as a council member and mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, which had a population of slightly more than 5,000 during her time in office. In choosing Palin as his running mate, McCain has reached back to a time when few actually seriously contended that the vice president should be demonstrably prepared to assume the presidency from day one. If elected vice president, Palin would appear to have the least amount of experience in federal office or as a governor since John W. Kern, Democrat William Jennings Bryan�s 1908 running mate, who had served for four years in the Indiana state Senate and then four more as city solicitor of Indianapolis. The Democratic ticket lost to Republican standard bearer William Howard Taft and running mate James S. Sherman by an Electoral College spread of 321-162.
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6 things the Palin pick says about McCain
1. He�s desperate.
2. He�s willing to gamble � bigtime.
3. He�s worried about the political implications of his age.
4. He�s not worried about the actuarial implications of his age.
5. He�s worried about his conservative base.
6. At the end of the day, McCain is still McCain.
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