Shaking Up the Presidential Campaign

By Vania Vargas

On Friday, August 29, Sen. John McCain announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, which caused a flood of mixed reactions from both the Republican Party as well as from the Democratic Party.  Palin, a political figure not known to the world until recently, is quickly trying to find a name for herself as a “fighter” against Washington politics, alongside Sen. John McCain. 

As McCain stated, “She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight against the same old Washington politics of me first and country second". However, not everyone is as confident as Sen. John McCain on his choice in his running mate. Many view Gov. Palin as inexperienced and incapable of governing a country as commander in chief, if unfortunate events were to allow her to do so.  With Gov. Palin on the ticket, the G.O.P. has become even more united than previously before.  Her more conservative views on political issues have helped ease the worries of many Republicans.  The McCain-Palin ticket is advocating change. Even though the Democratic Party argues that this assumption is misleading, seeing that McCain voted 90 percent of the time with President Bush.  Also, political experts argue that Gov. Palin’s conservative views are extremely similar, if not almost identical to those held by the current administration.

 

Palin’s candidacy has surprised the Democratic Party as well as the nation. Many see McCain’s pick as ironic, allowing the fact that he had often criticized Senator Barack Obama for not having enough experience.  As Obama stated, “It was just like a month ago they were all saying, `oh, it’s experience, experience, experience.’ Then they chose Palin and they started talking about change, change, change”.

 

With Palin on the ticket, Sen. McCain has been able to bounce forward in the polls, taking a slight lead on Sen. Obama. We cannot predict how this election will end; however, whether we agree with her views or not, we can certainly claim that Palin’s charisma has shaken up this year’s presidential election.