Vera Belfiore – 9/5/08

This page was last updated on September 8, 2008.

McCain puts politics first; Vera Belfiore; Beaver County Times; September 5, 2008.

This is only one of at least six letters in four days (9/4 – 9/7) from local lefties upset (worried?) about John McCain selecting – and Republican delegates approving – Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP candidate. The “concern” has nothing to do with qualifications as the authors would have us believe. It’s clear these folks are afraid of Mrs. Palin because it demonstrates even the Republican VP candidate has more relevant experience than the entire Democrat ticket, unless you consider being an ACORN street organizer relevant experience. Let’s also keep in mind the questionable judgment of local lefties when it comes to their own choices. Do names like Joseph Glenn, Frank LaGrotta, Darla LaValle, Edward Piroli, Sean Ramaley, Lois Sutter, and Mike Veon ring a bell? Before lefties try to convince us Mr. McCain made a mistake, perhaps they need to look in the mirror.

And what of Mr. Obama’s choices? For a candidate who incessantly talks about “change” and “hope,” why does Mr. Obama surround himself with the same lefty activists, advisers, and politicians we’ve seen since at least the 1990s? Why would a true change agent select as his VP running mate a 35-year Washington insider (Joe Biden)?

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“As a supporter of Barack Obama, I wonder what in the world John McCain was thinking by picking a vice presidential running mate who has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, had been a mayor of a city about the size of Baden and is governor of a state with more moose and caribou than people.”

[RWC] Does it matter what college degree – if any – a candidate has? Does Ms. Belfiore believe there’s a specific degree required? FYI, Harry Truman didn’t have a college degree.

Ms. Belfiore demeans Mrs. Palin’s experience as a small town mayor and the governor of the largest state in the Union, but what executive positions have either Barack Obama or Joe Biden held? None, zero, zip. It’s so bad the Obama campaign is actually trying to claim running an election campaign is the equivalent to being a mayor and governor.

“I’m sure there are a few of Hillary Clinton’s disgruntled supporters who will vote for anybody with the same body parts, but those who vote with their heads will see that his choice of Sarah Palin is just McCain trying to win at any cost. He has put political games before the good of the country.”

[RWC] Ms. Belfiore asserts she’s “sure there are a few of Hillary Clinton’s disgruntled supporters who will vote for anybody with the same body parts.” Ms. Belfiore doesn’t mention the people who will vote for/against Mr. Obama simply because of skin color. Is it simply a coincidence blacks voted for Mr. Obama in lopsided numbers even in states won by Mrs. Clinton?

While Ms. Belfiore is sure Mr. McCain chose Gov. Palin because of “political games,” she never tells us why Mr. Obama chose Joe Biden. Remember, this is the Joe Biden that had to kill his 1988 campaign because of plagiarism and exaggerating his résumé. If Mr. Obama were so committed to “change,” why did he choose a 35-year Washington insider as a running mate? I don’t know for sure why Mr. Obama chose Mr. Biden, but it would be fair to opine Mr. Obama wanted to court white guys (not a strong demographic for Mr. Obama) in a state (PA) he lost badly to Mrs. Clinton in the primary, and Mr. Obama likely can’t afford to lose PA in the general election. Isn’t that playing “political games?”

“McCain is a 72-year-old man who has had skin cancer five times, and I sure don’t want a gun-toting female moose hunter with no foreign relations experience to sit across the table from the rulers of Iran or Pakistan if there was a crisis.”

[RWC] Are you kidding me? Circulate some photos of “gun-toting female moose hunter” Mrs. Palin in hunting camouflage felling and field dressing a moose and “the rulers of Iran or Pakistan” would be shaking in their boots. Better yet, have Mrs. Palin greet these guys wearing her hunting camouflage. <g>

I could be mistaken, but I don’t recall a similar complaint from Ms. Belfiore in 2004 when John Kerry showed up at an Ohio sporting goods store and asked, “Can I get me a hunting license here?” Maybe the difference was Mr. Kerry was hunting geese – not moose – and had to use borrowed hunting gear.

By the way, what is Mr. Obama’s “foreign relations experience,” beyond going on speech giving trip this summer?

“If ever there was an example of poor judgment, this is it.”

[RWC] If it’s such “an example of poor judgment,” why are you so concerned Ms. Belfiore?