The Columbus Dispatcharticle on John McCain’s announcement yesterday that he had selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for his vice presidential running mate contained this about the reaction of a campaign spokesperson for the Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama:
The Obama campaign criticized Palin as too conservative on issues such as abortion and argued that she would not be fit to assume the presidency.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said that McCain was willing to put “the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign-policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.”
Someone in the Obama campaign had better tell Bill Burton to clam up on “the experience issue.” Palin has served in elective office longer than the Illinois senator and for most of that time, since she was elected mayor in 1992, has been as what the political scientists call an “administrative decision maker.” Obama has no such experience. Nor does his running mate, Senator Joseph Biden.
Palin is lacking in foreign policy experience. So is Obama.
There may be plenty of reasons for the Obama campaign to go after Governor Palin. But it would be best for them not to mention experience, the Illinois senator’s lack of which is a major concern of American voters.