Chicago Tribune correspondent Jill Zuckman addresses Senator John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential candidate in an August 30, 2008 article. She presents this decision from the perspectives of both parties, providing balance on a controversial issue which spans not only parties and platforms, but also gender and religion. On the one hand, McCain’s choice simultaneously reached out to women, unions, and people concerned about the economy and “reassured social conservatives and Evangelical voters.” (Zuckman 4) On the other hand, Bill Burton, a spokesman for Senator Barack Obama called the selection a manifestation of “political panic” (Zuckman 5) and claimed that it “put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency [. . . .] that’s not the change we need, it’s just more of the same.” (Zuckman 6) By quoting spokespersons for both campaigns and providing the reader with undistorted facts about the relatively unknown Palin, Zuckman makes her writing academic and fair.
As evident in Zuckman’s article, Palin’s nomination has received both praise as a shrewd political move and ridicule as a foolish attempt to win Obama votes. Obvious differences in characters and the political environment aside, the 2008 presidential election actually mirrors the historic 1960 election, when the charismatic but inexperienced John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent vice president Richard Nixon. However, unlike Burton asserts, McCain’s choice of vice president does not represent “more of the same.”
Scoring every vote from the Protestant constituency was the strategy proposed to Nixon by evangelical preacher Billy Graham. In With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America, William Martin chronicles the influence of Graham on Nixon’s choice of vice president. With Catholics united behind Kennedy, Graham advised Nixon to “concentrate on solidifying the Protestant vote” rather than choosing a Catholic running mate, which would “divide Protestants and make no inroads whatsoever in the Catholic vote.” (Martin 48) While Graham urged Nixon to strengthen his voting base, McCain’s choice of Palin does the opposite: her nomination reaches out to a diverse spectrum of voters at the risk of alienating some of McCain’s original supporters. Virgil wrote that “Fortune favors the brave” (Aeneid 10.284) and I believe that McCain’s bold nomination of Palin, while surprising and unorthodox, will ultimately pay off.
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Ross presents some interesting ideas in his post as he extends beyond the articles own fairly unbiased implications and puts Palin in historical context. I think he could also have noted the connections not only between McCain, Kennedy, and Palin but also between Obama and Kennedy. This connection further strengthens the bond between the two elections. Obama's race and own religion problems put him in a similar boat to that of Kennedy. Had McCain chosen an African American running mate for instance, he would have faired no better than if Nixon had chosen a Catholic one. McCain, like Nixon, may also have wanted to capitalize on the religious "uncertainty" surrounding their respective rivals. This connection adds more meat to the 1960-2008 discussion.
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