hardboiled

pale in comparison

When considering which ticket to support, one needs to know the facts about the candidates. Although assumptions should not be made, Senator John McCain is 72 and has had four malignant melanomas removed. According to the American Cancer Society, only 66% of men who have a Stage IIA melanoma removed survive within ten years; Senator McCain had his StagIIA melanoma removed in 2000. Therefore, the real implications of a Sarah Palin presidency has to be examined given Senator McCain’s age and health issues. Inflammatory topics such as abortion rights and gay marriage rights will be avoided in this article because a) people’s stances on such topics are pre-established and are rarely subject to change and b) the president has relatively little impact on such issues as Congress is the only body that can pass national legislation on those topics. The following analysis on Palin will instead be done based upon her ability to understand issues of national importance and her leadership qualities.

Before becoming the GOP vice presidential hopeful, Palin had been governor of Alaska for a year and previously served as mayor of Wasilla. She rose to power on a platform of being a reformer of political ethics. Once in office, she replaced a lot of veteran officials with her own new team, claiming that she was cleaning up corrupt politics. In addition, to help the city expand its infrastructure she passed road and sewer bonds while cutting property taxes and raising the sales tax. When asked about her ability to be vice president, Palin cited her experience as mayor to be the foundation of her leadership skills. At the Republican National Convention, Palin backed up her executive credential by telling how as governor she constructed the deal to forward a gas pipeline project that would lead America in the direction towards energy independence. Palin also claims to have continued her ethics reform crusade by standing up to oil companies and their lobbyists. In addition, Palin sold the private jet and fired the private chef that was reserved for the Governor of Alaska, in an attempt to erase unnecessary costs. While these accomplishments are newsworthy, there are many things about Palin’s past experience that suggests she is not ready for the role of vice president.

As a mayor of a city numbering 5,500, Palin’s inexperience is clear as her largest project was actually building a new ice rink for the city. The mayor of Wasilla also had the responsibility of overseeing the library and history museum. During her term, Palin asked the local librarian about the process to censure books and fired both librarians and historians who disagreed with her policies. Palin also has a habit of appointing personal friends to government positions and giving them extremely high salaries. Franci Havemeister, a high school classmate of Palin, was appointed to the $95,000-a-year directorship of the State Division of Agriculture. Additionally, Palin’s magnum opus gas pipeline may actually never materialize. The project is very much insecure as construction has yet to be started and federal approval will not be given for several years. Even Palin’s image as an ethics reformer is tainted. She is currently being investigated by Alaska’s legislative council on charges of abuse of power. The charge brought against Palin is that she fired her public safety commissioner illegitimately because he would not fire her former brother in law. The cases of the former librarians and public safety commissioner reveal a style of leadership that is very much founded upon loyalty and intolerance for divergent ideas. The appointment of friends to positions of power to ensure loyalty to the executive is eerily reminiscent of George W. Bush’s administration. Furthermore, Palin’s strong position against earmarks (money given from Congress to local projects) as corrupt is extremely hypocritical seeing as how Governor Palin actually requested in the form of earmarks the most amount of money per capita out of all the states. Overall, Palin’s experience as an executive in Alaska fails to demonstrate strong leadership qualities.

The biggest issue for this upcoming election seems to be foreign policy and Palin displays little talent in that area. During her much hyped interview with Charles Gibson on ABC, Palin showed not only ignorance but also questionable judgment. While her willingness to engage in diplomacy over the issue of a possible nuclear Iran is admirable, she seems to be at lost in other issues. During Gibsons’s questions concerning U.S.- Russian relations, Palin’s view was ambiguous because while she said that she wanted to avoid a second Cold War, she also stated that America needed to be “vigilant” against Russia’s advances in Georgia. To even leave open the possibility of war with Russia is an extremely dangerous position. In addition, America is at war against terror and the president needs to know how to effectively combat terrorism. However, the following is an excerpt from Palin’s interview:

Gibson: “Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?”

Palin: “In what respect, Charlie?”

Gibson: “The Bush–well, what do you–what do you interpret it to be?”

Palin: “His world view.”

Exasperated, Gibson finally explained Palin that the Bush doctrine is the philosophy that America has the right to engage in preemptive war for anticipatory self defense. The Bush doctrine also includes a philosophy that emphasizes unilateral action, a “with us or against us” mindset, and a mission to spread democracy. When Palin’s ignorance on the Bush doctrine was lifted, she showed that she supported it. Palin responded to a question regarding the possibility of an invasion of Pakistan by saying, “We must not blink, Charlie, in making those tough decisions of where we go and even who we target.” This attitude of unblinking resolve to the mission is the same attitude that lead to the disastrous and baseless war in Iraq. After so many years of failed foreign policy based on firm resolve, it would seem wiser instead to conduct foreign policy with an open mind and careful considerations of policy consequences.

Palin also seems to be confused with the situation of Iraq. When addressing a brigade of soldiers who were being deployed to Iraq, Palin said that they were going to “defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the death of thousands of Americans.” However, the link between Iraq and the terrorist attacks on 9/11 has been discredited numerous times. Palin also mentioned that she sees “victory in sight in Iraq.” It is unclear as to what criterion a victory should be measured as, but it is clear that the situation in Iraq has actually not improved for a while now. In Iraq, anti-American animosity continues to grow and terrorist networks such as Al-Qaeda continues to operate. Palin’s claim brings back memories of President Bush’s own declaration of victory five years ago.

It is tiring and frustrating to see Asian Americans continue to treat politics with ambivalence. Who is elected president clearly will affect everyone. There were Asian Americans whose security was affected during the attacks on 9/11. There were Asian Americans affected by the government’s inability to provide clear aide to Hurricane Katrina victims. Asian Americans cannot escape the far reach of presidential decisions. Sarah Palin’s ability to manage a country of 300 million has yet to be seen, but her past experiences and current views are clear. To all Asian Americans: don’t let the next four years be shaped without your input. Go vote.

They say never to talk about politics or religion, but it is necessary today to address a need. The problem is that Asian Americans are not voting. The dominating stereotype is that Asian Americans are politically apathetic because they think politics is uninteresting and does not affect them. This is not reflective of all Asian Americans, but the statistics do perpetuate the stereotype. Asian Americans have the lowest voter turnout among all major racial groups. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in for the 2004 election, 44% of voting age Asian American citizens voted compared to 67% of non Hispanic whites, 60% of blacks, and 47% of Hispanics.

It is time for change. Asian Americans need to realize that politics do affect them and that only by active participation in the voting process then will their interests be advanced. Asian American citizens can no longer sit politically idle. The stakes have never been higher and contrary to popular belief, every vote counts; the results of the 2000 election by itself speaks volumes of the importance of voting. As of Monday, September 22, the Democratic ticket leads the Republican ticket by less than 2%. The next president will lead the new (or continue the current) era of American politics and their impact will without a doubt be felt by each and every single American. Whether the impact appears in taxes, education standards, the war on terrorism, or the economy, the decisions of the future president will shape American life for the next four years. With what is becoming a close election, it is time for Asian Americans to make a difference in politics and make our voices be heard.