ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist&reg;.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style3 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr height="24"> <td width="624" height="24" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#149; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#149; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#149; <a href="teflon.html">THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#149; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">REACTIONS</a> &#149; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style2">McCain&#39;s Gambit</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>(310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright September 1, 2008<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style3">R</span>olling the dice, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) read the tealeaves, picking 44-year-old mother-of-five Alaska Gov. Sarah<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Palin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Showing either he s a genius or a fool, the 72-year-old, four-term Arizona senator proved he s gambler, taking a risk on a virtually unknown quantity,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>completely unfit, by his own standards, to be president.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain has blasted Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) for his lack of experience, now undermining his campaign s central argument against his 47-year-old opponent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Picking Palin, an avid moose hunter, lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, vociferous opponent of abortion and gay marriage, aims at shoring up evangelicals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While Palin excites antiabortionists, she s not going to attract supporters of former presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain s brain-trust, campaign manger Rick Davis, chief strategist Charlie Black and communication director Jill Hazelbaker, couldn t have hatched such an oblique strategy, picking pro-life, pro-gun Palin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin s pick had Bush s former chief strategist Karl Rove s fingerprints all over it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain went outside the box because he was convinced he needed a major jolt to jumpstart his campaign before the Sept. 1 Republican National Convention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He certainly stole the show from Barack s blockbuster acceptance speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Apart from certain right wing groups, McCain s pick has received almost universal disapproval, dumbfounded how the septugenarian maverick senator could pick some wholly unqualified for president.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Every objective voice expressed the same disbelief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> McCain s pick undermined his theme about Obama s  dangerous lack of experience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Palin s pick reveals a purely strategic gamble, not choosing the most qualified, prepared candidate should the 72-year-old President McCain not complete his term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When McCain talks of the dangers of a post-Sept. 11, he s referring to dangerous riptides in foreign affairs that threaten U.S. national security. Picking someone with no foreign policy experience presages McCain&#39;s presidential decision-making, where gambling takes precedent over reasoned judgment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>No senior GOP official would support McCain s pick based on logic or responsible preparation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Picking Palin showed singled-minded focus on winning a key constituency:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Evangelicals, whose limited goal involves reversing Roe. v. Wade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> She s a fresh new face in a party that s dying for one the antidote to boring white men, said an unnamed senior McCain official, admitting she s an untested gamble.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain lost sight over the big picture, succumbing to boiler-room strategy over logic and common sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With the nation at war, the economy floundering and new foreign policy dangers on the horizon, McCain opted for a half-cocked strategy over picking a qualified running mate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He passed over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Homeland Security Director and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and a host of highly qualified GOP men and women ready to serve, including Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Huchison, North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, and, of course, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> She s a perfect selection, said Daria St. Martin, Co-director of the National Right to Life Committee, one of nation s most powerful antiabortion lobbying groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Few independently-minded women will take the bait.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Right wing talk shows have shown high praise for McCain s bold move, seeking a youthful woman to compete with Barack s change message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With Palin, voters get an indefatigable worker for a Constitutional amendment banning abortion and gay marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>She ll seek with McCain to privatize Social Security, offer vouchers for private schools, liberalize current gun laws and pursue and adventurist foreign policy, continuing Bush s doctrine of preemption with Iran and Russia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin offers no crosscheck against McCain s stated belief that the U.S. cannot allow Iran get the A-bomb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> More dangers lie ahead with Russia, with Bush moving forward with installing missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russia has already signaled they will bomb any U.S.-installed missile sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With McCain s tough talk about Russian involvement in Georgia, there s no telling what he might do.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain might have solidified Bush s base but alienated over 70% of the electorate seeking real solutions to real problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Putting the focus back on banning abortion and gay marriage, demonstrates how tone deaf McCain has become to disgruntled Democrats, Republicans and independents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His first official act picks a virtual unknown with zero national security experience to be heartbeat from the president.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>There s nothing wrong with Palin s experience with the Iditarod or her husband s love of racing snowmobiles but a vice president must bring more to the table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Pandering to his Party s right wing, McCain sought votes over sound judgment and principle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> She s exactly who I need, said McCain introducing Palin to the media Aug. 28 in Dayton, Ohio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palin might be what McCain needs but it s not what the country needs to face today s challenges.</p> <p><b><u>About the Author</u></b><br> </p> <p><b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.<br> </p> <p></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>