Before you dismiss the fact that Sarah Palin is Commander of the Alaska National Guard consider this.

Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from ballistic missile attacks. It's on permanent active duty, unlike other Guard units.

As governor of Alaska , Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counter-terrorism. Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's and certainly by far exceeds Obama's.

She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security's counter-terrorism plans.

Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to the entire country's defense. Given Alaska's proximity to Russia , she may have security clearances we don't even know about.

According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to keeping secrets.

She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is.

I agree, she has kept the Polar Bears and Eskimos at bay for the last 2 years. Well Done!

Republicans can spin this anyway they want, but she is inexperienced.

I think Obama is too inexperienced, which the repubs have pointed out...then they turn around and pick someone with even less experience.

Come on, stop the spin, admit she has little to no experience to lead the ENTIRE country should McCain croak.

I would say she has as much experiance as any other Governor who has been president, and she would only be VP.

Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia, 1779-81
James Monroe, Governor of Virginia, 1799-1802
Andrew Jackson, Governor of the Florida Territory, 1821
Martin Van Buren, Governor of New York, 1829
William Henry Harrison, Territorial Governor of Indiana, 1801-13
John Tyler, Governor of Virginia, 1825-26
James Knox Polk, Governor of Tennessee, 1839-41
Andrew Johnson, Governor of Tennessee, 1853-57, Military Governor of Tennessee, 1862-65
Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Governor of Ohio, 1868-72, Governor of Ohio, 1876-77
Grover Cleveland, Governor of New York, 1883-85
William McKinley, Governor of Ohio, 1892-96
Theodore Roosevelt, Governor of New York, 1898-1900
William Howard Taft, Governor of the Philippines, 1901-04
Woodrow Wilson, Governor of New Jersey, 1911-13
Calvin Coolidge, Governor of Massachusetts, 1919-20
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Governor of New York, 1929-33
James Earl Carter, Jr., Governor of Georgia, 1971-75
Ronald Wilson Reagan, Governor of California, 1967-75
William Jefferson Clinton, Governor of Arkansas, 1978-80, 1982-92
George Walker Bush, Governor of Texas, 1995-2000;

15 senators and 18 members of the House have gone on to become president and some of those overlap with the Governors (Jackson for one who stands out at the moment). Spin it however you want to, over the course of history it would seem that Americans think Governors have more experiance leading then just congressmen. Assuming that the people were thinking that when they voted back then.

quote:

then they turn around and pick someone with even less experience.

Actually she has more experience then Obama;

Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska, city council from 1992 to 1996, then won two terms as mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002. In November 2006, Palin was elected the governor of Alaska.

Obama was elected to the Senate in November 2004.

That's 12 years to 4 years, while not significant, to say that she is "even less experienced" is incorrect.

quote:

Before you dismiss the fact that Sarah Palin is Commander of the Alaska National Guard consider this…

As governor of Alaska , Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counter-terrorism. Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's and certainly by far exceeds Obama's.

And before you PLAGIARIZE someone else’s spin again, here’s some actual facts to consider:

Obama:
-Senate Foreign Relations Committee
-Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs

Biden:
-Senate Foreign Relations Committee

So, yeah. Not only is that statement potentially a bit backwards (as it applies to Obama and Biden), but it goes beyond even a broad definition of “stretching the truth”. Here’s what Gen. Campbell of the AK guard has to say about it:

"Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin "extremely responsive and smart" and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.

But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations."

http://www.sacbee.com/838/story/1208814.html

Whether one thinks the woman is experienced enough or not, the statement you pasted is utter garbage.

Freshmen US Senator Obama served on the Foreign Relations Commitee for (what?) less than a year. And during that less-than-a-year, they met how many times? For how many hours?

The empty-suit has been a post-graduate law school assistant professor and a community organizer (what ever that is). He has been a civil rights lawyer who never tried a case. A State Senator for a number of years and then a less-than-one year US Senator. I am supposed to trust his judgement and his experience? Surely you jest.

That's a different subject entirely. YOU posted regarding their exposure to classified material.

Palin deals with state emergencies with the guard, NOT national ones. I'll double check later, but I believe it was actually our current POTUS who instituted that change, in the wake of 9/11.

The Dem ticket, on the other hand - however often they meet in committee - ARE involved in arenas which have a direct impact on National Security.

And suggesting that Palin "may" have secret-squirrel type clearances given her proximity to Russia is nothing short of trying to pass off weak speculation as a National Security credential.

I'm not suggesting you trust Obama - you should (and obviously have) decide that for yourself. I'm only saying that the BS above about her and the guard is exactly that.

I agree with one item. I should have vetted the story before copying and pasting it from an email.

Good - and I'll agree that Obama is highly inexperienced. Though I still plan to vote for him.

quote:

Originally posted by Daring_Rooster:
Good - and I'll agree that Obama is highly inexperienced. Though I still plan to vote for him.

Sadly it will be a wasted vote.

Eh - I doubt it. My county may be mostly Republican, however I DO live in CA - and my guess is that McCain has not a snowball's chance of capturing that state in the general election.

The Land of Fruits and Nuts?

Which one are you?

quote:

She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security's counter-terrorism plans.

Before this starts to impress anyone, DHS "incorporates" just about every swinging di$& who WANTS to be "incorproated" into their counter-terrorism "plan", especially in AK, where the amount of territory that needs to be watched far outstrips the number of available watchers. In Juneau they had private pilot clubs and other civic groups like the Rotary likewise "incorporated" into whatever "plans" they may have drawn up.

If anyone claims this supposed-DHS nexus - or working with the ASDF, which was treated like a joke when I lived in AK - as any kind of resume bullet purporting to underline their "experience," they're very hard-up.

quote:

The Land of Fruits and Nuts?

Which one are you?

Well, I live in the Sierra Mountains - so I guess that would make me a "pine nut".

I admit that our state can be weird at times...more than willing to elect Republican Governors, but a Prez? Not so much.

In fact, in the last 25 years there's been only ONE Democrat elected Gov. in CA...and the people of CA voted to recall him.