Palin vs. the Bureaucracy
By Tom Shoop | Friday, August 29, 2008 | 01:44 PM
By Tom Shoop | Friday, August 29, 2008 | 01:44 PM
So why did John McCain pick little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate? To hear him tell it, one reason was her willingness to take on government employees. Among the attributes McCain lauded in introducing Palin today was her crusade on "entrenched bureaucracies" and "do-nothing bureaucrats."
Update: Here's some more specific info on Palin's experience as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, from her biography in the Almanac of American Politics:
Palin conflicted with the city’s staff and fired department heads who had stood by her predecessor, leading opponents to call her “Sarah Barracuda”, reviving a nickname she earned on the basketball court for her fierce and adversarial style.
Comments
Re: John J
You're confused, John. That's not a pig with lipstick, that's a pitbull.
Trell, Alaska is 2.5 times the size of Texas. Bet that kills your soul doesn't it? Sure makes Texas look second rate.
Sam McCord | Friday, September 05, 2008 | 11:28 AMI don't have to say anything else Dan, you've said enough to make my case for me.
W D Jackson | Tuesday, September 02, 2008 | 12:48 PMMy my so many personal attacks.. Its amazing that when the emperor wears no clothes everyone looks the other way. You only need to look at the TV and print coverage of the Rep's convention to see how 1 sided it is but the American public isn't fooled as McCain continues to run away with the election. The only positive thing I can say about the dem's ticket is 1 has taken money from the mob and the other has taken my money and given it to his kid, now that's a ticket we can all get behind
dan ketter | Tuesday, September 02, 2008 | 10:58 AMDoesn’t matter what color lipstick you put on a pig, it still a pig.
John Jira | Tuesday, September 02, 2008 | 10:19 AMI don't think Dan Keeter is a "liberal posing as a right wing kook". His is a very smart right wing kook that passed Carl Rove 101 on political mis-information with flying colors. Also, for what ever reason he hates Civil Service Employees with a passion.
W D Jackson | Tuesday, September 02, 2008 | 09:25 AMThe Palins have a lot of money. Where did it come from? What does the hubby do?
Oil money?
Wise Old Owl | Tuesday, September 02, 2008 | 08:01 AMIt has been clear for some time now that "Dan Ketter" is a liberal posing as a right-wing kook.
No question about it, just look back at some of his comments here.
A pure put-on. Kudos!
Reason and Right | Tuesday, September 02, 2008 | 07:38 AM"What is Truth", so famously uttered by P. Pilate so long ago! Now both parties are 'equal', Obama w/out much experience pulls in a divisive, arrogant hack (J. Biden)to bolster his image. Now the tired old vet McCain hopes to pull in the female vote with an inexperienced woman. Equal, yep. Maybe the better ticket would be McCain for Vice President, and Biden for President? Guess I'll have to check with Ross Perot to see what he's doing this November..
Trell: The governor of a state must take far more responsibility than a US Senator or Congressman. Most people do not comprehend this, but making ultimate decisions is far tougher than throwing in an opinion an doing 'Monday Morning' quarterbacking (while disclaiming true intent). Believe me, it is easier to be a branch chief, division chief, etc., where you throw up opinions (or votes 'that may be political' than to take final responsibilty. Even short experience as a 'Top Exec' far exceeds a couple of years as a back bencher.
opel | Monday, September 01, 2008 | 10:21 PMThe vitriol of the liberal(?) left continues to surprise me. WHile there are many legitimate issues to disagree on, why the HATE? I do not understand. Perhaps I am biased, though I consider my self independent, but to me the left is so full of hate that they have lost all credence.
opel | Monday, September 01, 2008 | 09:36 PMI've been hearing republican'ts say that she has executive experience because she has been the governor of Alaska. ALASKA!!!. Because she "manages" a $5Billion budget and a state that has less people and money than the city of Houston. One federal agency has more money than that. If repulsive-cans actually think this woman can run the country if something happens to mccain, i think there should be nationwide call to eliminate the entire party, because this is purely putting politics before country. This woman has no idea how to handle the problems of the rest of the country or this world. She probably has never been outside of Alaska (maybe canada; I guess that gives her foreign policy experience). The problems in alaska cannot equate to the problems in D.C., L.A., Houston, New Orleans, New York, Chicago, etc. I was a mccain fan until this election and when he started to sound just like the current good for nothing president. If elected, it would be the sequel of "Dumber and Dumbest" (Graduate 5th from the bottom of his class and i'm sure he had some help).
trell, houston | Monday, September 01, 2008 | 05:53 PMAnd I guess that “willingness to take on government employees” includes Palin's firing of a government employee for resisting an order to retaliate against state police officer. Ironically, in this case Palin denied taking on the “do-nothing bureaucrat” up until an audio tape surfaced.
Roger | Monday, September 01, 2008 | 04:36 PMDan, buddy, take a look at the same objective source as the Palin biography.
It notes that in his acceptance speech "Obama captivated [his] audience [who were] inspired by the master orator" as he dismissed the "celebrity" myth. He also induced labor of a Congressman's wife at the convention; miraculously bring beauty and new life into the world through the very utterance of his golden tongue. You Fox news fans wouldn't recognize objective coverage if it hit you in the head. And you call this miracle man "Osama". Shame on you!
Her pipeline plan was recently contracted to a Canadian company OVER US companies. Once the gas is piped to Canada it must THEN be shipped to the US.
MAkes sense to me?!?!
I don't recall any posts on Joe Biden about his son working for a lobbying firm that lobbies his dad.
I guess we won't see a balanced view on this blog. Post a sign I plan on voting for Osama and be done with it
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Government Executive Editor Tom Shoop takes a look at news and events affecting the federal bureaucracy, from the perspective of a longtime observer of government.
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