By Jonathan Allen CQ Staff
Published: 09-02-08
For all of the political comparisons Sarah Palin will inevitably draw from New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to former Tennessee Rep. Davy Crockett there is one Republicans are hoping will stick: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama .
If they can turn the debate to a comparison of the resumes records and talents of Obama and Palin — a No. 1 vs. No. 2 argument — their presidential nominee John McCain will come out ahead of both they appear to believe. If it works the device would elevate Palin’s stature lower Obama’s and leave McCain’s unchanged.
“The choice is Obama vs. Palin and she has done things rather than talk about things” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham a close McCain confidante. “Compared to Barack Obama she is ready to be president of the United States by a country mile.
Never mind that most voters had never heard of Palin the rookie governor of Alaska when she was named to McCain’s ticket last Friday. Nor do Republicans seem to be worried that many of their top elected officials have never met her.
Indeed Republicans say they welcome a discussion of experience in the presidential debate.
“Any effort to attack Palin on experience raises the comparision with Obama and she’s had more experience in the real world doing real things than Obama” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich R-Ga. said.
Republicans have taken to pointing out that Palin’s 21 months in the governor’s office and previous tenure as mayor of Wasilla her small hometown represent more executive experience than Obama and his running mate longtime Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. have together. Some add in McCain to the Senate crew for effect.
“She has far more executive experience and has been forced to balance budgets cut projects address corruption in an executive fashion that neither Sen. Obama nor Sen. Biden has ever done” McCain policy director Doug Holtz-Eakin said at a lunch with reporters. “She will obviously gain experience between now and the election and will reveal herself to be perfectly capable of doing this job. It’s common for governors to run for president and I think a standard part of that dialogue is: Is this person ready for the national stage? And in the past we’ve decided yes. And we will again decide that with Gov. Palin.”
But pollster political analyst and Republican Frank Luntz the author of Words that Work said that just pairing Obama and Palin in debate isn’t likely to net the presidency for McCain.
“They have to demonstrate that she is not just qualified and capable but intellectually and emotionally prepared to be president” Luntz said. “She’s on her way but she’s not there yet.”
Richard Rubin contributed to this story
