Questions About Palin's Readiness

No other question regarding her qualifications matters until this is answered: If she should become President before 2012, would national security be compromised?

:::Setting aside for the moment my belief that national security would be severely and immediately compromised should Obama become President:::

What would the situation look like at the moment she inherits full responsibility? There's a pretty good chance McCain would be survived by his Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Homeland Security, National Security Advisor, and the thousands of people who are involved with foreign policy and national defense policy on a daily basis. Since I trust McCain's judgement with regard to national security appointments and staffing, I can also believe that Palin would inherit a strong, reliable legacy administration. Unless she goes maverick on us and tries to build a whole new team, she'll be getting uninterrupted and unchanged information and advice.

So now there's the question of whether she would have the good sense and inclination to stick with McCain's legacy. I'm betting on her having good sense.

What about her disposition? Is she mentally and emotionally fit to handle serious pressure and crisis? I think so. Evidence is limited but strong.

Would she be able to gain the respect and trust of world leaders? Respect, mostly no. Trust, mostly yes. This would be a huge problem for her, and for us all. The left will continue to vigorously diminish her and woman-ize her at every opportunity and won't stop just because there's a national crisis. Most Arab leaders are not going to respond well to a female President. But, then, she wouldn't be the first female head of state to encounter this problem, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to disqualify about half of Americans from our highest office based on foreigners' prejudices. And, really, what conservative is going to be welcomed and respected by the international community anyway? I'm inclined to concede that her difficulty in establishing respect would constitute some degree of national security risk.

How much does she already know about the history of Islamic terrorism, and what does she conclude about it? What would she do to form or maintain alliances? What is her opinion of the role of the UN? How much relative importance does she place on national security?

All in all, I think there are various possibilities that national security would be diminished to some degree if she were to become President before 2012. McCain should eliminate and reduce these possibilities by keeping her constantly informed of current conditions, carefully managing her international contacts, and publicly exploiting her energy expertise to bolster her credibility. She should do what she can to establish a more authoritative image -- get rid of the beehive, quit using so quite much slang, and calm down a notch. I think all this will be possible once the election is over.

For now, my best arguments that she is qualified, given the current situation, are 1) John McCain would not risk national security on a VP pick. and 2) She isn't Barack Obama. Maybe we'll learn more tonight.

(more later. this one question got overlong.)

I would not be concerned if Palin became president even early on in McCain's term.

She would be surrounded by McCain's team and I believe she has good judgment.

When you get right down to it how much national security experience did Reagan or 43 have.

How about Clinton?

41 had a lot more but most presidents simply don't. That's why they have Cabinets.

Po1 wrote: So now there's the question of whether she would have the good sense and inclination to stick with McCain's legacy. I'm betting on her having good sense.

I'm betting she's got more sense than Mccain when it comes to any policy, foreign or domestic. The only reason I'm voting for Palin/McCain is for the eventuality of Palin being groomed for the Presidency. I'm not going to wish McCain any ill will, but if he becomes President and decides to leave early it wouldn't bother me. Like early 2009. And I'll admit, I don't really know what a Palin presidency would be like, but I can hope for change like those other guys.

That's been my take all along. The president has to be a good manager and make decisions. The rest is what the VP, secretary of state, advisers and other staff is for - to be subject matter experts!
I'm more afraid of O sitting down with Iran and explaining to them why Iran should not pick on Israel so much and bombing them would not be very nice.

BillD wrote:That's been my take all along. The president has to be a good manager and make decisions. The rest is what the VP, secretary of state, advisers and other staff is for - to be subject matter experts!
I'm more afraid of O sitting down with Iran and explaining to them why Iran should not pick on Israel so much and bombing them would not be very nice.

BINGO! BO scares the crap outta me so yes, I would be perfectly fine with having someone - ANYONE - other than him up there. Sarah proved she's a quick study and has the common sense to surround herself with very capable advisers - which all Presidents do.