We have gone through the first round of internal recriminations with the recent excoriation of Governor Palin by those “unnamed” McCain staffers. But, as we all know, Gov. Palin was the subject of heated debate even among Republicans long before the election. One common complaint was that she was the “worst” VP candidate pick “ever.” But, was she really?
A look at recent history can only serve to deflate that ridiculous claim. There have been far worse picks than Gov. Palin and only the extremely emotional state of mind that this past election ginned up could obscure the historical record. Two of those picks in particular make Palin’s choice rather inspired by comparison.
In the first case George Wallace’s pick of general Curtis LeMay for his vice presidential pick in 1968 was a disaster and in the second George McGovern’s pick of Thomas Eagleton for his in 1972 was even worse — both were far more disastrous than Palin’s. There was some speculation in the media that Palin would suffer Eagleton’s fate, but the situations of the two just don’t bear any resemblance at all.
In ‘68, Curtis LeMay seemed a natural choice to become a politician after he left the Air Force. LeMay had a distinguished WWII war record, had served in many high profile positions during the Cold War and later made news as a dissenter from the policies of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, LeMay advocated for dropping bombs on the Soviet missile sites in Cuba but McNamara and President Kennedy shot down his request. LeMay also thought that, even after the crisis passed, the US should invade and hold Cuba anyway. As the actions in Vietnam grew LeMy advocated immediate carpet-bombing of North Vietnamese positions as well as Chinese and Soviet supply ships and was similarly rebuffed by the Johnson administration with Johnson afraid such bombing might start WWIII. From all these ideas of bombing, LeMay garnered the nickname “bombs away LeMay.”
In 1968, LeMay was chosen for the Wallace ticket of the American Independent Party for his anti-communist stance and his military experience. At first he demurred, but LeMay eventually accepted because he had become afraid that Nixon was ready to back down to the Soviets and give away the strategic edge the US had in air and missile power.
Then came the fatal gaff; LeMay’s “Stone Age” comments. In his autobiography LeMay was quoted as saying that he would have told the North Vietnamese that the USA could “bomb them back into the Stone Age” if they did not do as told. The media, dogging him everywhere he went, seized upon this comment. The comment was used to highlight his extremism making him look like a warmonger.
Ultimately, LeMay’s choice was hardly one that would deflect the perception that the ticket was a team of extremists. LeMay’s “bombs away” reputation coupled with Wallace’s reputation for racism gave the appearance of a reactionary ticket instead of one of statesmanship. As a result, LeMay was never anything more than a drag and distraction on Wallace’s campaign.
McGovern’s mess by picking Thomas Eagleton was even worse because it was so badly handled by McGovern himself. Thomas Eagleton was a Senator from Missouri and the last of half a dozen picks that McGovern made for the second spot on the 1972 Democratic ticket, the others having turned the offer down flat. The McGovern team did an inadequate vetting job on Eagleton and missed the fact that Eagleton had been self-admitted to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. Once that came out, the press had a field day.
It also later came out that Eagleton tried to hide his medical record from McGovern and never told the Democratic candidate that he was on the powerful anti-psychotic drug Thorazine.
At first, McGovern exclaimed that he’d back Eagleton “1000 percent,” but behind the scenes Eagleton was threatening McGoven that if he dropped him from the ticket Eagleton would cause a nasty fight to stay as the VP pick. Eventually, Eagleton left the ticket on his own and McGovern ended up finally settling on Kennedy in-law Sargent Shriver as the Democratic Party vice presidential choice. But the damage to McGovern had been done and his dithering gave the GOP the perfect platform to question McGovern’s judgment.
Now, comparing these disastrous picks with Sarah Palin’s shows that Palin’s pick is in no way as bad.
It is true that the candidacy of Palin highlighted the split in the Republican Party that has been there since Reagan forged a new GOP majority to support his bid for the White House in 1980. Palin does not appeal to what used to be called the country club Republicans but she appeals very much to the family values voters that Reagan brought into the Party. In fact, she doesn’t just appeal to them, she excites them. It is clear that Governor Palin excited many hundreds of thousands of Republicans that initially had little interest in the election.
Unlike Palin, neither LeMay nor Eagleton turned out the hundreds of thousands of voters at rallies sporting signs celebrating their appearances on the campaign trail. Palin has no such problematic mental history as Eagleton and neither did she make the sort of defining verbal gaff that LeMay made with his “Stone Age” comment, despite the media’s attempt to create one.
Palin was a minor star on the campaign trail, as she became a spokesman for many hundreds of thousands of American voters. Also unlike either LeMay or Eagleton, if the party does not take advantage of Palin’s appeal post election it risks losing a large, energetic mass of voters that it will need to rely on in the coming years. Neither LeMay nor Eagleton ever had such a constituency.
In the end, the attacks on Governor Palin are sure to cleave the GOP in half if they continue. Palin should be given a leading role in the GOP in the future so that this large constituency can be served and kept under the GOP wing. If Mark Sanford is smart, he’ll find the best way to push Palin out in front as he gears up to lead the Republican Governor’s association into the Obama era.
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I'll keep my fingers crossed.
itsonlywords Friday, November 21st at 10:27AM EST (link)“…if the party does not take advantage of Palin’s appeal post election it risks losing a large, energetic mass of voters that it will need to rely on in the coming years.”
But based on what I’m seeing so far on the local front, I’m not going to hold my breath.
I just have this feeling that no one planned for this eventuality. Seriously. Did they not stop to consider this outcome and have a plan in place to move forward November 5th? I don’t understand that.
Tu ne cede malis sed contra audientor ito. ~Virgil
Do not give in to evil, but proceed evermore boldly against it.
No she was not and let me tell you why!
JadedByPolitics Friday, November 21st at 12:06PM EST (link)Sarah Palin represents an opportunity to go after the female moderate vote….why you ask? because she is as I have said exactly what TRUE women’s rights advocates have been getting to all these years. She is a self made woman executive who got where she did with the love and support of her husband and family. She is NOT Gloria (ugly, trollish, man hating) Steinam who was the face of the 70’s NOW. Sarah has made them irrelevent because WE women recognize our lives in her life. My family has gotten to where we are because we all worked as a team.
I worked nights while the children were small and my husband worked days…than when they were in school and I worked days also and they got sick we took turns leaving work to get them….TEAMWORK!
The bottom line on “women’s rights” are strictly that if a woman can do the same job and has the same credentials as a man she should get the same pay and she does not have to leave behind marriage and motherhood.
That is the tact to take and how Sarah will be the face of what is truly women’s rights. This is NOT identity politics it is selling what is TRUTH and having a buy in from women!
Whoever has his enemy at his mercy &
does not destroy him is his own enemy
The best VP pick ever...
Diogenes314 Friday, November 21st at 12:34PM EST (link)…is more likely. Without her on the ticket, it wouldn’t have even been close. And if not for a perfectly timed financial meltdown combined with a horribly ran campaign, she quite possibly would have been the first VP candidate in history to actually win an election for her running mate.
Message brought to you by Diogenes
The Last American Liberal.
Let’s all compromise-everyone should just agree with me.
Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote Democrat.
You are right, Diogenes
Darin_H Friday, November 21st at 2:10PM EST (link)She was almost able to drag his sorry campaign across the finish line.
Whether Palin was a good VP pick is independent of a McCain win or loss.
___________________________________
Ditto, Diogenes
KeyWestConservative Friday, November 21st at 3:07PM EST (link)If McCain had picked Huck or Rudy or, God forbid, Ridge or Lieberman, the outcome would have been far worse than it was. Of course we’ll never know for sure, but I think it’s a safe bet the reason McCain did as well as he did was because of Sarahcuda.
Exactly
nogyro35 Friday, November 21st at 7:10PM EST (link)It was telling how McCain followed her around the campaign trail so her huge crowds wouldn’t dwarf his.
I think she was a great pick, if only because she gave the Republican Party a taste of the kind of excitement and energy that our young conservative leaders can bring to national politics.
She wasn't even the worst VP pick
Right_Again Friday, November 21st at 7:25PM EST (link)of this campaign. I mean Barack picked Joe Biden. Joe Biden, for goodness sakes.
For me, Sarah Palin was the reason I was able to vote Republican in this election. I would not have voted for McCain otherwise.
the worst pick
uninformed Friday, November 21st at 8:53PM EST (link)for me the negatives heavily outweighed the positives yeah she energized our base but Obama energized our base enough
to unite against him her inexperience
and reliance on the teleprompter made her seem like a robot and the way McCain mishandled her and sheilding her from interviews just reinforced the publics perception of her not to mention SNL
she should have spoke from the heart and not listen to Mcamnesty she would have been Vice president elect right now
Great screen name.
Diogenes314 Friday, November 21st at 9:06PM EST (link)It totally suits you.
Message brought to you by Diogenes
The Last American Liberal.
Let’s all compromise-everyone should just agree with me.
Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote Democrat.
WTH: MythBuster
Josh Painter Friday, November 21st at 9:19PM EST (link)5555
“An armed society is a polite society” - Robert A. Heinlein, “Beyond This Horizon” (1942)
"our base".
mbecker908 Friday, November 21st at 9:19PM EST (link)Yeah, right.
Not Even An Argument
Whitehorse Saturday, November 22nd at 2:30AM EST (link)Palin was an excellent VP pick. She energized the base, where I am, to a huge degree. Almost 60 people showed up to our Republican party meeting in Sept. because of her pick - we had been having a good night if 12 showed up before.
She does highlight a split in our party. She was disliked & continues to draw the very petty scorn of the crowd of pale pastels who are content to be the minority & take whatever crumbs fall their way. She was & is loved by those of us in the grassroots, who see her authenticity as a real person who has persevered & succeeded. She represented what has been missing - the real person, limited government fiscally conservative Republican. She seems to be anathema to the big government crowd, which is OK in my book because they are the reason for the losses in 06 & 08, caused by the big government big spending policies enacted during their control.
are you kidding?
kweiss01 Saturday, November 22nd at 4:22AM EST (link)What about her inspired speech at the Republican convention, when the teleprompter went on the fritz and she sailed through? She’s a fantastic speaker.
Sarah Palin is the best thing that happened to the GOP this election season.
NO
mdetlh Saturday, November 22nd at 7:56AM EST (link)nt
I like posts like this where I learn something new
bs Saturday, November 22nd at 9:22AM EST (link)I had, of course, heard the term “bomb them back to the stone age”, but I wasn’t aware of the source. I was very young when Wallace ran, and my public school history education was piss-poor…so I never studied that part of US history.
Nice diary.
Decorum is fo’ suckas - unless it’s one of the good guys
Thanks
Warner Todd Huston Saturday, November 22nd at 10:25AM EST (link)I appreciate it.
———-
Be sure and Visit my Home blog Publius’ Forum. It’s what’s happening NOW!
Curtis LeMay was a good pick
David123 Saturday, November 22nd at 12:10PM EST (link)Wallace was a 3rd party candidate with a reputation for being racist. It’s amazing the Wallace-LeMay ticket did as well as it did. Had LeMay actually been elected vice president, under either Wallace or Nixon, it is unlikey that South Viet Nam would have been overun in 1975.
LeMay was a firm believer in achieving victory while minimizing American casualties. And he certainly showed expertise in actually putting his ideas into practice when he was allowed to do so with Japan. Many of us might not have been born had our fathers or grandfathers been killed invading Japan.
David123
A Ridiculious Post...
dbecraft Sunday, November 23rd at 5:05AM EST (link)Just what I would expect from today’s power Republicans. I’m sorry, but being in power is not the goal - it is to change the way the country is governed, ie., honestly, smaller government, lower taxes, less Federal control, etc.
Many of you seem to think that the goal is to obtain power - like the democrat model.
Well, if you do not support honesty, integrity, small government, limited social interaction (via laws) then you are only supporting the Democrats in the long run.
Bring me honest statesmen and I will attempt to move the world! It’s been very difficult to even vote for the GOP these days. We need drastic change immediately!
Formally known as Deagle… “Golf is a way of life…”
Sorry, but
Andy Smith Sunday, November 23rd at 8:56AM EST (link)I can only agree with you to a point. I think the vast majority of us want all of those things, but how can we do it when we’re in the minority? Do you think we’ll have smaller government and lower taxes with Obama, Reid, and Pelosi running DC?
“Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”-Abraham Lincoln
In short, "INSPIRING"...
Deskpilot Sunday, November 23rd at 9:35AM EST (link)is the best way that I can describe her selection. I offer this anecdote as proof.
When I started my new job last week, I got the customary walk around to meet all the people that I would work with, names and areas of expertise. Our TEAM is exactly that, a TEAM. No one has a monopoly on information. Sharing is KEY to our sucess.
In the days that followed, I went back through the gammut to personally introduce myself and what I had hoped to contribute to my new team. One of the first gentelmen that I met invited me in to his well appointed cube, complete with family pictures throughout. As he got to the story of his sucess and subsequent promotion, he reflected that the timing couldn’t have been better. At the same time that he was promoted and getting used to the added privleges and responsibilities, he and he wife were blessed with a daughter with special needs.
Four years later, his daughter continues to improve despite the nay-sayers in the medical field. It appears that the doctors of great universities still can’t comprehend the power of love in the healing and well being of children with special needs.
Somehow, I asked a great question, “Would I be wrong to ask, did you hear some one special call out to you in the recent campaign?”
His face lit up like the White House Christmas tree. “Absolutely! I never got involved in politics before. And to make it worse, I’ve ALWAYS been a Democrat, like everyone else in my family. But when I heard about her infant son, that got me to pay attention to her, and then her, “You’ll have a friend and an advocate in the White House,” line, she had me.”
He and his wife immediately changed their registration fm D to R and volunteered what little time they could scrape together in support of the campaign.
He looked deep into her political history, unlike the ANYONE in the media, and he said, ‘I came to understand her, I came to understand that there was a woman and a mother, who happened to chose public service as a career, and to do that to the best of her ability, and to commit herself to her employer, the people, in the same way that soldiers and sailors, like yourself, have to commit wholly to the job you voluteered for.’
We parted our introductory meeting, both knowing that we “knew” eachother, could turn to eachother in the bore of our day and gain a smile.
It was truly an inpiring moment for me. New to an ofice environment, where friends and family warned me to stay away from politics, even after the election, I was able to listen to a man, ask a SINGLE question, and come to understand him and kindle a new frienship.
That’s what inspiring people do…
If you can read this, thank a teacher; If you can still read it in English, you’re welcome.
Deskpilot, AM(H)1 (AW), USN(Ret)
Merry Christmas to All
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can still read it in English, You’re Welcome
Deskpilot, AM(H)1 (AW), USN (Ret)
Join the RedState Strike Force
In short, "INSPIRING"...
Deskpilot Sunday, November 23rd at 9:36AM EST (link)is the best way that I can describe her selection. I offer this anecdote as proof.
When I started my new job last week, I got the customary walk around to meet all the people that I would work with, names and areas of expertise. Our TEAM is exactly that, a TEAM. No one has a monopoly on information. Sharing is KEY to our sucess.
In the days that followed, I went back through the gammut to personally introduce myself and what I had hoped to contribute to my new team. One of the first gentelmen that I met invited me in to his well appointed cube, complete with family pictures throughout. As he got to the story of his sucess and subsequent promotion, he reflected that the timing couldn’t have been better. At the same time that he was promoted and getting used to the added privleges and responsibilities, he and he wife were blessed with a daughter with special needs.
Four years later, his daughter continues to improve despite the nay-sayers in the medical field. It appears that the doctors of great universities still can’t comprehend the power of love in the healing and well being of children with special needs.
Somehow, I asked a great question, “Would I be wrong to ask, did you hear some one special call out to you in the recent campaign?”
His face lit up like the White House Christmas tree. “Absolutely! I never got involved in politics before. And to make it worse, I’ve ALWAYS been a Democrat, like everyone else in my family. But when I heard about her infant son, that got me to pay attention to her, and then her, “You’ll have a friend and an advocate in the White House,” line, she had me.”
He and his wife immediately changed their registration fm D to R and volunteered what little time they could scrape together in support of the campaign.
He looked deep into her political history, unlike the ANYONE in the media, and he said, ‘I came to understand her, I came to understand that there was a woman and a mother, who happened to chose public service as a career, and to do that to the best of her ability, and to commit herself to her employer, the people, in the same way that soldiers and sailors, like yourself, have to commit wholly to the job you voluteered for.’
We parted our introductory meeting, both knowing that we “knew” eachother, could turn to eachother in the bore of our day and gain a smile.
It was truly an inpiring moment for me. New to an ofice environment, where friends and family warned me to stay away from politics, even after the election, I was able to listen to a man, ask a SINGLE question, and come to understand him and kindle a new frienship.
That’s what inspiring people do…
If you can read this, thank a teacher; If you can still read it in English, you’re welcome.
Deskpilot, AM(H)1 (AW), USN(Ret)
Merry Christmas to All
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can still read it in English, You’re Welcome
Deskpilot, AM(H)1 (AW), USN (Ret)
Join the RedState Strike Force
SORRY...
Deskpilot Sunday, November 23rd at 10:29AM EST (link)It seems that I commited the worst blogger mistake. SUBMIT twice, instead of PREVIEW.
Deskpilot
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can still read it in English, You’re Welcome
Deskpilot, AM(H)1 (AW), USN (Ret)
Join the RedState Strike Force
Only One Who Can Energize
bc3 Sunday, November 23rd at 12:07PM EST (link)Sarah Palin is the only person that has been able to energize Republicans or conservatives since Ronald Reagan.
My greatest concern is that partisan bottom feeders (primarily former governors who will remain unnamed) will try to destroy Palin because of the threat she poses to their personal potitical ambitions.
The lengths that MSM and people (named and unnamed) in the GOP have gone to in an attempt to destroy Sarah Palin speaks volumes about her potential. To many (but not true conservatives) Sarah Palin is the most dangerous politician in the nation.
Go Sarah Go!
bc3
VPs Aren't Their Own Person
bc3 Sunday, November 23rd at 12:15PM EST (link)Unfortunately, when you agree to run as VP, you can’t contradict the head of the ticket. Sarah Palin was able to a degree on ANWR because she was so vocal on the subject before being selected and because she is from Alaska.
Imagine the uproar had she opposed McCain on the bailout or immigration reform. She was already accused of “going rogue.”
I agree the McCain campaign staff totally mishandled Palin. As sexist as it sounds, Nicole Wallace’s hushand should keep her barefoot and pregnant through the 2012 elections.
bc3
If there was ever a post worth reading twice it was yours.
David123 Sunday, November 23rd at 1:17PM EST (link)David123
Well...
Mark Kilmer Sunday, November 23rd at 4:17PM EST (link)You can do nothing positive with power if you do not have it in the first place.
The question of this post was, really, was GSP an electoral drain on the Republican ticket? The evidence I’ve observes indicates, as most have observed in these replies, that the opposite was true.
Do you want to ask if she were a good pick ideologically? From our standpoint,she was a good pick.
Thanks David
Deskpilot Sunday, November 23rd at 10:36PM EST (link)That story would have been woth writing twice, not COPY and PASTE. If Sarah has the fortitude to run again in ‘12, she can count on my support. I believe in her, I hear her walk the talk like no other politician in our time.
Her time will come, and I will be there to cheer her on and work to win the argument in the arena of ideas, and of course work hard to shovel off all of the $#!* that the MSM is likely to pile on.
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can still read it in English, You’re Welcome
Deskpilot, AM(H)1 (AW), USN (Ret)
Join the RedState Strike Force
If you mean 'best' then the answer is YES!
SirGladiator Sunday, November 23rd at 11:02PM EST (link)Sarah Palin is the best VP pick in modern times, maybe of all time. McCain instantly went from way behind to comfortably ahead. Its nobody fault but his own that his campaign didn’t use Sarah properly, hiding her from the media and the People, and then he came out in favor of the EXTREMELY unpopular 850 billion dollar Bailout. He defeated his own campaign with those blunders, none of which were remotely Sarah’s fault. She was awesome, she got the 60 thousand people in Florida on the same day Obama was getting 20 thousand in North Carolina, she owned Joe Biden in the VP debate while McCain was putting people to sleep in his debates, quite simply McCain is the past and Palin is the future. She almost dragged him across the finish line, but sadly for all of us his blunders were too huge for even Sarah to overcome. In four years it will be a totally different ballgame, and Sarah won’t have all that baggage to carry, just her natural awesomeness!