Linda Lingle
How Many Wasillas Does It Take to Make a Vice President?
Republicans have spent much of the past week scoffing at claims that Sarah Palin's political experience—which includes six years as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, and 20 months as the governor of the 47th largest state in the union—raises questions about her preparation to lead the United States of America.
In particular, they have played up Palin's "executive experience," calculating that the repetition of this term will lead voters to ignore or overlook the fact that 87 percent of this experience was in a town with a population roughly three times larger than that of a large college dormitory.
"I find it reminiscent when I hear Democrat party leaders and their surrogates questioning Sarah's experience," Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle said at the G. read more »
Lingle Explains a G.O.P. Criticism of Obama
ST. PAUL—After Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin’s speeches last night, I saw Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii, who delivered a speech in praise of her fellownon-contiguous-state leader earlier in the program.
I asked her what she thought of Giuliani’s criticism of Barack Obama for switching positions on issues, which is something Giuliani and most of the Republican presidential candidates were criticized for as wel.
“I think that there are times when you do change your position in politics. I’ve done it,” she said. “It’s when you learn new information, when you find out something you didn’t know. And I think that’s a wise thing to do. read more »
Now or Never for G.O.P. Attacks on Obama
The main strategic knock on the last night's primetime G.O.P. convention session was its decided lack of red meat-attacks on Barack Obama. Instead, the evening was given over to building John McCain's biography and to framing his campaign as a principled crusade that rises above partisan politics.
Good enough, but with Sarah Palin slated to speak tonight and John McCain on tap for tomorrow night, when will the Republicans showcase the kind of bare-knuckled (and highly effective) attacks on Obama that they directed at John Kerry in New York four years ago?
A look at tonight's schedule and the some of the speech excerpts pre-released this afternoon suggests they will try to kill two birds with one stone this evening. read more »
