a few (unoriginal) thoughts on Palin
Since I grew up in Alaska (Seward from infancy to age 6, Chugiak until age 12, visiting my dad in Eagle River twice a year up to age 18, irregular visits since then) people have been asking me about the nomination. I don't know much, since I mostly follow AK politics via my dad's news of the latest corruption scandals. Prior to the nomination I didn't even know her name, though her primary victory in the governor's race made me happy because Young, Stevens and Murkowski had been in power as long as I could remember.
Firstly, I find it odd to hear Wasilla reffered to as "a suburb of Anchorage." Here is a map of where the two are in relation to each other:
View Larger Map
Following the map from Anchorage to Wasilla you pass through Eagle River and Chugiak. If you follow what it calls highway 1 to Palmer and Sutton you see there area where my dad has a "cabin" (12'x24'structure). Anyhow, back to my point.
It's a 42 mile drive according to Google Maps. The argument in favor of calling it a suburb is that many people do commute from Wasilla to work in Anchorage. The community has changed greatly from how I knew it as a kid, with massive growth. What feels wrong to me about calling it a suburb is that there is so much undeveloped space between Anchorage and it. I picture suburbs as being congruous with the city with which they're associated. As you can see from the map, that is far from the case. Many of the definitions in dictionaries agree with me.
Yesterday on NPR one of the news casters or commentators referred to it as "that small town." I was annoyed that he couldn't remember the name (or have it written in front of him).
In that news segment he also said that many Republicans feel the negative press will help them because people will think it's unfair. We shall see.
My main response to much of what I'm seeing about her (which tends to come from people to the left) is this: they didn't pick her to try to make you happy. It doesn't matter to them what the New York Times thinks about the choice. The people who decide elections don't read the New York Times. What matters is two things (1) how this helps them turn out the base and (2) how it plays to swing voters. It clearly helps the first and we'll see about the second. Their concerns and sources of information are quite different than the people going off about McCain's poor choice of running mate.
Firstly, I find it odd to hear Wasilla reffered to as "a suburb of Anchorage." Here is a map of where the two are in relation to each other:
View Larger Map
Following the map from Anchorage to Wasilla you pass through Eagle River and Chugiak. If you follow what it calls highway 1 to Palmer and Sutton you see there area where my dad has a "cabin" (12'x24'structure). Anyhow, back to my point.
It's a 42 mile drive according to Google Maps. The argument in favor of calling it a suburb is that many people do commute from Wasilla to work in Anchorage. The community has changed greatly from how I knew it as a kid, with massive growth. What feels wrong to me about calling it a suburb is that there is so much undeveloped space between Anchorage and it. I picture suburbs as being congruous with the city with which they're associated. As you can see from the map, that is far from the case. Many of the definitions in dictionaries agree with me.
Yesterday on NPR one of the news casters or commentators referred to it as "that small town." I was annoyed that he couldn't remember the name (or have it written in front of him).
In that news segment he also said that many Republicans feel the negative press will help them because people will think it's unfair. We shall see.
My main response to much of what I'm seeing about her (which tends to come from people to the left) is this: they didn't pick her to try to make you happy. It doesn't matter to them what the New York Times thinks about the choice. The people who decide elections don't read the New York Times. What matters is two things (1) how this helps them turn out the base and (2) how it plays to swing voters. It clearly helps the first and we'll see about the second. Their concerns and sources of information are quite different than the people going off about McCain's poor choice of running mate.
posted by russell at
2:13 PM
2 Comments:
Well said. I have had the same thoughts about Wasilla; I needed the hear the last paragraph. Thank you
By
Rev. Judith's Journal, at 1:43 PM
The first major decision made by a presidential candidate is the choice of a vice presidential running mate. In 2008 we as voters are faced with a dilemma. John McCain’s choice for vice president shook up the campaign. Can we really afford to trust the future of our country to a man who would put a candidate with so little experience into such an important position? Who is John McCain going to pick to fill the other positions in his administration? This country needs leaders who will tap into and rely on experience, not history making political decisions.
Luke Robert Armstrong, Santa Barbara, California - September 10, 2008
By
Luke, at 10:13 AM
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