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Wednesday, September 3, 2008 12:00 AM

McCain: No, really, we vetted her!

As revelations about Sarah Palin mount, the McCain team scrambles to dispel reports that they didn't know what they were getting into.

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  • Wednesday, September 3, 2008 06:03 PM

    It's about character and competence, not experience

    The Palin nomination is a disaster for those of us who hate her policies. But maybe not a disaster for those who love her policies. What is good for Obama is, it reframes the "experience" argument. Who is going to think Palin's two years of "executive" experience is going to be a reason to vote for McCain-Palin? Anyone who looks at Palin as a reason to support the GOP is not interested in experience, they are interested in electing a religious soulmate. If experience is important, everyone knows Biden has a lot more.

    But now the talking point is, "Yes, but McCain has more experience than Obama". Really? He has been a senator longer. And he certainly has been running for the top job longer. But what, I wonder, is the real difference between a guy who's been a in Congress since my grown child was born, and someone who's been a senator for four years? A big difference in the Senate, which runs on seniority. But in terms of the ability to be president? I wonder.

    What this race is about is (1) character and (2) competence, including the likelihood the winner will appoint competent people. I leave it to the reader to figure out who wins in those categories.

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