The other day, Pattie wrote an excellent article asking about whether or not the candidates’ choice for Vice President demonstrated the type of judgment we’ll see for their future political picks. I think it’s a valid question and one that should be explored further.
The Pitbull with Lipstick
One of the reasons I’ve heard for not voting for McCain is that vice presidential pick of his. It appears that she was chosen simply for being a conservative Christian woman that could at the very least appease the conservative right base of the Republican party. No doubt she doesn’t interview well at all, and frankly, she makes many Americans scared. Let’s face it, McCain is not a spring chicken and many assume that he may well die in office leaving us with the pitbull with lipstick as the President of the United States. Fair enough. But does her selection reflect politics as usual?
Politics As Usual = Partisanship
While one could arguably make a point that the Bush administration’s appointment of various positions was poor judgement, does Sarah Palin’s selection mean that the McCain administration will see the same fate? Whether you like Sarah Palin or not, I believe the best indicator of how a President will act, or vote in office is best seen by his record of service over several years.
McCain Has a Bi-Partisan History
When asked a few weeks ago by Brian Williams about who McCain would use as an economic advisors one of the first people he named was Warren Buffet. Warren Buffet, the richest man in the world. Warren Buffet, a democrat. McCain said that he believes Warren Buffet has the experience and skills necessary to help the economy and give sound counsel and that was his first choice. Likewise, look at his record. Consistently, over and over again, you’ll see McCain has a bi-partisan record. To me, that says that he’s interested in getting the job done.
While many don’t agree with his choice of Palin as VP pick, I wonder if he didn’t see the same bi-partisanship and share in some core values on her behalf as well. She reduced government in Alaska and brought the budget under control. She hired both republicans and democrats to her cabinet. She went up against her own party to win the gubernatorial seat. She was whistle blower when she saw corruption in her state.
Democratic Partisanship
Obama has a lot of interesting sounding ideas. Economists like him, many unions like him, and if you believe that polls are an unbiased source of information, the American people like him. However, if you want to know what he’ll do in office, again, look at his record. While Obama does have a consistent record of working with the poor and lower middle classes, he also has a consistent record of partisanship. 98% of his votes are along party lines.
If we’re a nation that really wants to see change from politics as usual, then we have to think about which candidate might actual veer from the partisan politics as usual that we have now. If we want to know how a candidate will act in the future, then we need to look at how they have acted in the past. Don’t take my word for it though. Check out Project Vote Smart which lists the candidates’ voting records and see for yourself.