Vice and Virtue

I am mildly distressed by the haughty and contemptuous derision heaped upon Governor Palin by Democrats, who are suddenly appalled at the idea of a young, vivacious outsider winning high office in Washington. Apparently, only presidents should be such neophytes; vice-presidents must be elder states(wo)men.

It is also an edifying lesson to witness the behavior of the media re: the sex life of Mrs. Palin's 17-year old child. The "news" media has decreed that this is all of our business, and here I am sharing in the most private and intimate details of a child who lives 6,000 miles from me.

Can one imagine the fear that a child raised in such a conservative household must feel when she becomes pregnant at such a young age? Imagine that fear, that insecurity, and then imagine that, not only do you have to break the news to your parents, but that the assorted vipers and vultures that fancy themselves to be speaking truth to power would subsequently tell the entire world about the most fundamentally private thing that has ever happened to you.

Not to be unduly morbid, but would we be shocked if a child committed suicide in such a scenario? Just a cry in the wilderness, in the vainest of hope that these people will learn to mind their fucking business before they destroy a life literally as well as figuratively.

That aside, Mr. McCain's selection of Governor Palin raises several serious questions for me, and these questions are not predicated on the unseemly lack of respect and translucent sexism that the left-wing has employed. Put simply, I'll wait to judge Mrs. Palin until I see her in action and, when such judgement is forthcoming, her lack of a y chromosome will not be the focal point of my critique.

Ovaries aside, problems remain. Firstly is that this is the latest in a disquieting string of vice-presidential nominees (mostly Republican) that seem to hinge entirely on the premise that the man heading the ticket is invincible and immortal. In other words, there have been way too many VP nominees that nobody seriously believed was presidential timber.

Now, this may have been understandable in 1880, when the Speaker of the House was far more powerful than the president, or even in 1930, before the age of international terrorism, assassination, or the real possibility of instant thermonuclear holocaust.

But after Franklin Roosevelt died at the crescendo of World War II, after John Kennedy was murdered, after Richard Nixon resigned, after Ronald Reagen went senile, after Bill Clinton was impeached, and after George W. Bush was....George W. Bush, it is inexcusable to select a VP that is not seriously considered fit to be president.

I would argue that the VP nominees this year carry more import than they ever have. Both viable presidential candidates have serious flaws that stress the importance of a competent and prepared VP.

First for Obama. Obama is very young and very inexperienced. He acknowledged these chinks in his formidable political armor by choosing an older and far more experienced man for his VP. And, not to descend into undue morbidity, but if there was ever a candidate for assassination, it's Barack Obama. I respect Mr. Obama's selection of Mr. Biden because it indicated to me that Obama has a mature and sober understanding of these blind spots.

Now, for Mr. McCain. What are his flaws? Like Mr. Obama, his age is an issue. Mr. McCain is 72 and has had cancer several times. Now, if Mr. Obama is a special candidate for assassination, is Mr. McCain not a special candidate for natural incapacitation, whether via illness or death?

Put simply, it seems more likely at this juncture that Joe Biden or Sarah Palin will be running this country sometime in the next 4 years than the equivalent scenario prevailing in any other year.

But how great are those odds, really? Well, 4 presidents have been assassinated, 4 have died of natural causes, and 1 has resigned. That's 9 unplanned and unelected presidencies out of 43 administrations. So, over this history of our country (I can no longer call it a republic), there has been a 20% chance that the vice-president takes over upon death or removal of the elected president.

The other cynical component of all this is that the Republicans are trying to equate Mrs. Palin with Mrs. Clinton in terms of representing a radical departure from the status quo vis a vis the place of women in American politics.

I have exceedingly little love for Madame Clinton and the Democratic Party, but she received 20 million votes to be president. Mrs. Palin received 1 vote (from Mr. McCain) for her position. To say that an endorsement from tens of millions of voters is the equivalent to an endorsement from one desperate senator is insulting to women.

I'll reserve further judgement on Mrs. Palin, but the fact that Mr. McCain selected her to be a heartbeat away from being the most powerful person on Earth after meeting her once tells me quite a bit about both the style and substance of the senator.

I do feel that Mrs. Palin has the potential to shift this election to Mr. McCain. I also feel that, if this were to happen, there is the potential for Mrs. Palin to become president. I further feel that Mr. McCain did not seriously entertain this possibility and that this failure represents a fundamental lack of respect for the office he seeks.