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Ponnuru: "Governor For Two Minutes;" "Token;" "Reckless"
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — Ramesh Ponnuru deserves major props for this very honest post: Both the pros and the cons are pretty obvious. I’m going to focus on the cons, mostly because conservatives right now seem to be paying them less attention. The pros: She’s a pro-life conservative reformer from outside Washington, and a woman. The pick signals a boldness and willingness to mix things up that the McCain campaign, like Republicans generally, need. The cons: Inexperience. Palin has been governor for about two minutes. Thanks to McCain’s decision, Palin could be ...

Roger Ailes — Ramesh Pornmumu's not happy: Palin has been governor for about two minutes. Thanks to McCain's decision, Palin could be commander-in-chief next year. That may strike people as a reckless choice; it strikes me that way. And McCain's age raised the stakes on this issue. McCain doesn't care; he won't have to live with the conseqeunces. Can anyone say with a straight face that Palin would have gotten picked if she were a man? Yeah, but the same thing could be said about Clarence Thomas. The other Special Needs bloggers seem ...

Conservative Skeptics on Palin
The Page by Mark Halperin —

Pessimistic blogger feeling pessimistic about pick
Hot Air » Top Picks — Pessimistic blogger feeling pessimistic about pick posted at 3:37 pm on August 29, 2008 by Allahpundit Send to a Friend | printer-friendly Ponnuru , Halperin , and Jonah Goldberg have fleshed out most of the negatives so read them first, paying particular attention to Goldberg’s point about Palin’s parochialism. The Dan Quayle narrative is already circling overhead in search of a gaffe to alight on, which is why, fairly or not, Obama’s lack of experience isn’t as damaging as hers. Whatever you think of Barry O, he’s got intelligence to spare to ...

So Far McCain's First Executive Decision Is Going Over Like A Lead Balloon-- What A Contrast With Obama's Choice Of Biden!
DownWithTyranny! — ... (might as well start at the bottom of the barrel): "She may not be ready for primetime. The heartbeat-from-the-presidency issue is a real one." Yeah, might be. Sharing the bottom of that barrel with Jonah is Ramesh Ponnuru, also writing for National Review. He's trying to play down what a terrible choice she is but he's clearly very worried: ...

Standing on the Corner
Comments from Left Field — At least one inhabitant of wingnuttia has a thin wire still connected to reality: Both the pros and the cons are pretty obvious. I’m going to focus on the cons, mostly because conservatives right now seem to be paying them less attention. … The cons: Inexperience. Palin has been governor for about two minutes. Thanks to McCain’s decision, Palin could be commander-in-chief next year. That may strike people as a reckless choice; it strikes me that way. And McCain’s age raised the ...

Desperately Seeking Susan
Agitprop: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Propaganda — ... be magnified to "prove" that she's a hick who's out of her depth. She'll have to be letter perfect, especially in the debate with Biden, to convince independents she's up to it. If she isn't, I think McCain's support in the center will collapse as people worry, as I did with Pawlenty and now with Palin herself, that we're handing the keys to the kingdom to a totally unknown quantity who's one 72-year-old heartbeat away from being commander-in-chief. NRO: Cold Water on Palin Palin has been governor for about two minutes. Thanks to ...

Palin: the stuff keeps piling up
The Reality-Based Community — ... ] 2. Ramesh Ponnuru must have gotten the placebo Kool-Aid today; he notices that not only does Palin take the "experience" card out of McCain's hand, he takes the "affirmative action" card as well. 3. I finally figured out what the Dems' reaction should have been. (Someone told me Carolyn Maloney said something like it, but I can't find a link.) "Congratulations to John McCain and the Republican Party for putting a woman on the ticket, only 24 years after the Democrats did. That's less time than it usually takes them to catch up," I would have added, though only under my ...

Defining Sarah Palin
The Caucus — ... ) and the unsettling notion that there is little time for the public and the campaign to learn more about Ms. Palin. Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist and commentator, declared that the short fall season would make defining the governor a game of “jump ball” between the two parties. And at the National Review Online, several editors and commentators gave mixed to thumbs-down reviews to Mr. McCain’s decision. For one, Ramesh Ponnuru cited Governor Palin’s inexperience and prowess as a debater, especially against an opponent as formidable as Senator Biden. And he also ...

More on Sarah Palin
Sister Toldjah — ... point piece up about some of the positives Palin brings to the GOP ticket and to the presidential campaign on the whole.   I linked up earlier to Ed Morrissey’s pro argument. NRO’s The Corner has had a lively discussion today about Palin, and some of the pro arguments can be found here, here, and here.  Con arguments can be found here, here, and here (that last one is a ...

Ponnuru on Palin
PoliBlog: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts — Via the Corner Ramesh Ponnuru mentions some pros and cons of the Palin pick, and focuses on the cons. Specifically: Inexperience. Palin has been governor for about two minutes. Thanks to McCain’s decision, Palin could be commander-in-chief next year. That may strike people as a reckless choice; it strikes me that way. And McCain’s age raised the stakes on this issue. As a political matter, it undercuts the case against Obama. Conservatives are pointing out that it is tricky for the Obama campaign to raise the issue of ...

Sensible Criticism of Sarah Palin
GayPatriot — ... some pretty solid points, so make sure to check out his post — and, if you have time, the comments section which follows.  (H/t Instapundit.) I’ll make my case to Dale when we have dinner next Monday in Minnesota. Of those who blog National Review, David Frum offered the harshest assessment of Palin, wondering whether she was the irresponsible choice. Ramesh Ponnuru has been similarly skeptical, throwing cold water on Palin. On the whole, these guys do offer some strong arguments. If ...

Some Conservatives Air Concerns Over Palin
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed — ... warm bucket of p***' category." Goldberg is less critical than openly worried: "It all comes down to whether Palin holds up under intense scrutiny. If it looks like this was purely a stunt, then McCain's critics will be right that his "country first" mantra rings a bit hollow. If, on the other hand, she proves to be as impressive as she seems, no one will care about how small Wasilla is. All I can say is I hope McCain's vetters did their job." Ponnuru, in turn, raised a laundry list of doubts: "Inexperience. Palin has been governor for about two ...

McCain’s Folly
PoliPundit.com — ... who took down the entrenched, corrupt Alaska Republican Party machine. In addition to her impressive record in Alaskan government, Palin brings an astonishingly wide-ranging personal background: marathon runner, moose hunter, beauty queen, sports reporter, mother of five, high school basketball star. Though public opinion of the selection was generally positive, it was the words of several critics that gave “McCain’s Folly” its name — most notably, the ninnies at the National Review and jilted McCain groupie Lindsey Graham who “push[ed] so hard for Mr. ...

Coming 'Round on Palin
Wizbang — ... , Ramesh Ponnuru has re-evaluated his initial evaluation ( Cold Water on Palin ) of the choice of Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate. Nice to see him come 'round. As for the cons: I did not foresee the way the experience issue would play out. I thought that picking Palin would reduce the salience of the experience question: Any time that Republicans brought it up, Democrats would use Palin to make Obama look experienced. I did not imagine that the Democrats would instead raise the salience of the issue by going on offense against Palin's inexperience, because it seemed to me ...