Oooh, clever Obama campaign psy ops directly from his web site. You're a good Obama soldier, but a very unconvincing "vote changer." Nice try. I'm all atwitter with the fear that you've "changed your mind" and are now an Obama supporter. Oh no! Could this be a trend? Should I change my vote, too? It must be happening all over, right? And, and, it's the Palin choice! Yeah, lots of people were going to vote for him until Palin came along, but she ruined it. Ohhhhh noooooo.
Please. No one's fallin' for these Obama campaign head games. When we McCain supporters see this stuff, our first thought is, "Wow, the Obama internal polls must be disastrous! These people are astroturfing their heads off."
I've spent most of the last couple of hours typing this, trying to word it just right while watching Ghost Hunters. The thread was on page 2 and I have no idea where it's at now.
Trust me, when all is said and done, history will record that one factor that weighed against McCain in the minds of moderates and independents is the choice of Palin as his VP. The OP is far from the only person to change their preference.
All through the primaries and most of the post-primary months I've been very torn and not an Obama supporter. During the primaries I followed the candidates on both sides.
Among the Democrats I thought Richardson had the most wide-ranging resume and Biden a huge amount of experience. I opposed Hillary Clinton mainly because the country needs to escape the whole Bush/Clinton cycle we've been stuck in, and Obama may be rich in charisma but appears light in experience.
Among the Republicans, I gravitated toward Romney. He has executive experience in the public and private sectors and his success in business shows he knows how business works. McCain seemed like the elder stateman whose moment for the nomination had passed but still gained respect as a man of honor and duty to country.
When it came down to Obama and McCain, I fully expected to support McCain. When it came down to it, I believed that the US would be better served by someone with McCain's experience and that Obama was still too inexperienced to be president. Still, I wanted to see who their VP picks would be.
Despite the criticisms and ads arguing Obama's inexperience, McCain ended up chosing Sarah Palin. She had less experience in high office than Obama, was a very obscure choice that bypassed many other more qualified possibilities. At first, my thought was that McCain was either crazy like a fox or just plain crazy and I hadn't decided which it was. Now, it seems more like McCain chose her because of the flash and novelty of choosing a female and because he was pressured to appeal to the far right wing of the party.
I like DC outsiders coming in as president or vice president and shaking things up. While she was first billed as a reformer, too much has come out to make me doubt those claims. The per diem reimbursements when she was working out of her home in Wasilla may have been legal but had a strong stink of taking advantage of the system she supposedly sought to reform. Questions abound about the firing of her brother-in-law and of the public safety commissioner for refusing to fire him. The deal with a bounty on wolves showed a willingness to assume authority she does not have. She may or may not have attempted censorship at the city library, but charging rape victims for rape kits vital to criminal investigations is appalling. The final clincher for me would be her continuing verbal dancing when answering questions (or avoidance of answering questions), from the VP debate to a simple yes or no whether someone who bombs an abortion clinic would be a terrorist. Her convoluted answer sounded like a "no" to me. So she would not consider Atlanta Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph a terrorist? That he is seems pretty cut and dry to me.
Like it or not, the candidates are a package deal. You get one with the other, there is no separating them. The VP choice is important because that shows who the potential president believes is qualified to take over for them should the need arise. Considering his age and health history, it's a very important selection for McCain.
This is not a decision I came to lightly. I admire and respect Senator McCain, and I believe the US would be well served with him as president. However, I do not feel comfortable about Governor Palin as being that close to the presidency. I would gladly vote for John McCain for president with any other running mate, but I can not vote for McCain/Palin. Despite my misgivings and my concerns, I will vote for Obama/Biden.
how about a warning before you throw one of those things out here?!!
