So, Gov. Palin thinks that it's great that the Founders provided so much flexibility in the role of the Vice President:
IFILL: Governor, you mentioned a moment ago the constitution might give the vice president more power than it has in the past. Do you believe as Vice President Cheney does, that the Executive Branch does not hold complete sway over the office of the vice presidency, that it is also a member of the Legislative Branch?
PALIN: Well, our founding fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the vice president. ... Yeah, so I do agree with him that we have a lot of flexibility in there, and we'll do what we have to do to administer very appropriately the plans that are needed for this nation....
What exactly did the Constitution say about the role? Joe Biden's response led me to Article 1, Sect. 3: "The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided." That seems pretty cut and dried, to me. You have one job, and one job only - break a tie. (In fact, the section also allows for the election of a pro tem President, in the case of the Vice-President's unavailability.) That's it, the extent of the VPs Legislative responsibilities.
What do you think? Is Sarah Palin unaware of "what the VP really does"? Or, does she see herself in the role that Dick Cheney has carved for himself, having extra-Constitutional powers? Which do you find more frightening?
UPDATE: If you really want to be afraid...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#27015517
A place for Polite, Passionate discussion about Politics in America. Sharing opinions, elightening our fellows and saving the Republic - one post at a time!
Rules of Engagement:
Unsigned posts will be deleted! You don't have to sign up for anything, but you do need to sign your posts. If you are going to write something, have the courage to stand by your words. (I'm not talking names, here. Just some consistent screen name.) I don't care how wonderful you think I am, I will still delete your unsigned posts. Cowards are NO LONGER WELCOME!
We don't need JFK, we need FDR!!!
"Governments can err, Presidents do make mistakes, but the immortal Dante tells us that divine justice weighs the sins of the cold-blooded and the sins of the warm-hearted in different scales.
Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.
There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny."
From Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech accepting his party's nomination for President - Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia, PA, June 27, 1936.
Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.
There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny."
From Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech accepting his party's nomination for President - Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia, PA, June 27, 1936.
About Me
- J.M. Ferretti
- A bleeding heart liberal, who knows deep down inside that Right and Left are closer than we think. I believe that Progressives are under-represented in the Democratic Party and that it's not too late for true Republicans to reclaim the GOP. Power to We The People!!!
Some of my favorite things
- www.thomhartmann.com
- "Meet John Doe" starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck
- "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" starring Jimmy Stewart & Jean Arthur
- "Mr. Conservative: Goldwater on Goldwater"
- "Screwed: the undeclared war against the middle class - and what we can do about it" by Thom Hartmann
6 comments:
Aw, heck... if the president should show up drunk at the olympics, someone's gotta take the ol' keys to the snowmachine!
~
McCain/Palin does indeed = more of the same. Hate the Democrats if you will, voter. Hate the idea of a biracial man as president. Fear, if you must, that your earnings might be taxed to support the infrastructure of the society of which you are a part. But know this: if you think the Bush administration has taken things too far, you ain't seen nothin' yet when it comes to these two 'mavericks'.
~
Welcome home, ferret! You were missed :) (and suza, too)
Palin didn't understand the question. She didn't have a clue. She just confidently recited the gist of the original question.
Palin in the end will be a dead weight drag on the McCain campaign. Too many voters will disagree with her or recognize her lack of experience or her essential stupidity (or all three). McCain will lose votes for choosing her.
Biden impressed me a bit. I tend to think of him as a sanitized Teddy Kennedy. Of course, that's not fair, just shorthand. But the (always thought-of, always unthinkable) prospect of him moving from VP to President certainly doesn't frighten me; he's very competent. And I can imagine him doing a lot as VP.
That question and answer exchange was the most disturbing part of the debate for me. Ignorant and power-hungry--not a good combination.
I vote with DSG. But I'd put a modifier in front of one of the adjectives and make it WILLFULLY ignorant an power hungry.
Good lord, where did this woman come from? What has she been thinking up there, in what is essentially another country with only the most tenuous connection to the rest said country.
At any rate, I don't think she's strong enough to sieze the sort of power that Cheney has (however much she might drool at the thought) and I don't think that McCain is weak or foolish enough to let her (unless he has some sort of unexpected illness...now, why am I thinking of MacBeth?).
She's a very cunning political animal, and although I think that translates well to a rural state with a population less than that of the city of SF, I'm less certain of how her "golly gee" quasi-sincerity translates to others. It might seem condescending. Personally, I think she's too in way over her head and not quite as clever as she thinks she is.
(and thanks TS...I love to travel, but I love coming home).
Palin may WANT to be the sort of Veep who pulls the strings, a la G.H.W. Bush or Cheney, and with McCain being somewhat 'out-of-touch', you could see why she might see an opportunity there. But she doesn't have the strong agendum of a Cheney (make money for KBR, STAT!), although she is big on Drill Drill Drill...and she isn't as connected as that old Spook G.H.W. Bush. So I think Sarah America dreams in vain...
And welcome back, FH! ;-)
Uh-oh is right. Dems had better be worried. I've been listening to different men of differing political persuasion talk about the upcoming election. A couple of things come through: Obama is Black, and Sarah Palin should be running for president.
On another note, how does a two-time city council woman, two-time mayor of Wassila, get nominated and elected for Governor? Then V.P.? I'll tell ya. Read up on her oil interest background. McCain must think she's the mother of all fields to be tapped...
Post a Comment