US politics have been roiled for the past few days in reaction to the announcement of John McCain's running mate. Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska is an unknown to a national audience. She has very little political experience, having served in a significant policy-making office for less than two years. Although she aligns herself with conservative positions on social issues, and thus has been championed by conservative commentators, she has zero foreign policy background. Zero. To my mind she is not qualified to be Vice President.
Indeed, to any of her supporters I would ask (and I would also ask them to answer without changing the subject to Obama): Is Palin prepared to assume the role of Commander-in-Chief right now? Of course she is not. And that tells us a great deal about McCain's political ploy in all of this: he is not interested in governing but merely in seizing power. And just to be clear: there are women who I believe are prepared to assume the role of Commander-in-Chief. Hillary for one. On the Republican side: Condi Rich, obviously; even though I disagree with virtually all of her foreign policy decisions. But also various Republican women in the Senate, whom I might also disagree with. My beef with Palin is not her gender, but her unpreparedness. And this is not really a beef with Palin, but with McCain. He should not have chosen her.
But who cares what I think. My job, here on this blog at least, is to work through how today's news might be interpreted from the point of view of Confucianism and Taoism. And when I take the Taoist perspective (and put aside my personal political views), Sarah Palin looks pretty good.
Before we go any further, I will remind you that a couple of years ago I posted a piece (meant to be humorous!) that argued George W. Bush is a Taoist sage. And it is in that spirit that Paline, too, is a good Taoist candidate.
Remember, Taoism is deeply skeptical of human knowledge, our capacity to understand Way, and is also wary of our desire to act upon the world. Thus, the voice of a person who follows Way, in section 20 of the Tao Te Ching, says:
...People all have enough and more.
But I'm abandoned and destitute,
an absolute simpleton, this mind of mine so utterly
muddled and blank.
Others are bright and clear;
I'm dark and murky.
Others are confident and effective;
I'm pensive and withdrawn,
uneasy as boundless seas
or perennial mountain winds.
People all have a purpose in life,
but I'm inept, thoroughly useless and backward.
I'll never be like other people....
"Simpleton," "muddled," "Inept" - they may seem harsh words to describe Palin but they come close. She's obviously not ready for national executive power - and that makes her a perfect Taoist candidate!
But, just like Taoism as a philosophy, which was appropriated and used by Legalists in thier effort to seize and maintain power, Palin the Taoist candidate is being used by Legalist McCain, who is obviously without principles short of gaining power, to further a political project. Let's hope that, in this case, enough people will be able to see through the political machinations and not let the Taoist appeal obscure the Legalist power play.
"I'm pensive and withdrawn,
uneasy as boundless seas
or perennial mountain winds."
I haven't seen that in her yet.
"I'm inept, thoroughly useless and backward..."
can be a blunt weapon as well as an excuse.
Posted by: gmoke | September 01, 2008 at 10:59 PM
I guess your plea to not mention Obama betrays the fearful reality that he himself is a poor candidate.
So, why should anyone answer without bringing up Obama's own serious lack of executive experience when it is the more relevant issue?
Not even a full senate term and no other high public office makes one experienced to be President in this day and age?
Who is actually running for President in this election? It's not Palin.
But, if your main criterion is primarily to vote for a military Commander-in-Chief and not an executive to run the country, then the obvious choice is to vote for McCain.
Thus, to answer your question, the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate is as ready to be President as the Democratic Presdiential candidate.
Rather than adopt your judgmentalism as to McCain's choice, he and Palin seem to be a more complementary team in a positive way.
Posted by: Bruce T. | September 03, 2008 at 10:04 AM
Bruce,
I am happy to debate Obama's bone fides. He is obviously engaged and informed on foreign policy. He took the right position on Iraq, which has obviously been a strategic mistake for the US. I know the Republican talking point now is that things are settling down there now. And they are, militarily. But a fuller understanding of the nature of war, and its inevitable link to political conditions (Clausewitz anyone?), leads to a less sanguine view of the situation there. Simply put: what will happen now that the Shiite government is turning on the Sunni "Sons of Iraq," which had been the political foundation in Anbar and elsewhere? And what about the Kurds, who are getting restless over Kirkuk? Political conditions are very fraught and could cause an explosion of violence. Iraq is far from settled. Any yet we bleed hundreds of billions of dollars there, and thousands and thousands of lives. McCain does not have a strategy there; he has a vague frustration to try to achieve some notion of "honor" that was missing from Vietnam. He is striving for a past that never existed. Not a sound basis for foreign policy. Oh, and he wants to get tougher with Iran with a US military that has been depleted and weakened by the Iraq fiasco.
McCain is all bluster, no strategy. He has no sense of the limits of American power and an obvious reckless streak. Obama is the better choice.
You are, of course, entitled to your opinions. But changing the subject to Obama does not solve the Palin problem. The question remains: is she prepared to be Commander-in-Chief right now? She clearly is not. Which means all the Republican talk about the gravity and centrality of the "war on terror" is all political posturing. McCain is not a man of principle, as he makes himself out to be, he is merely a political calculator working desperately to gain power.
Posted by: Sam | September 03, 2008 at 10:37 AM
problem is, that the sage knows he/she is inept, stupid and more so. Mrs Palin doesn't, she thinks she's good and capable
ohh, perhaps you're right, the good sage doesn't know how inept and stupid she is.
Posted by: bert dalmolen | October 03, 2008 at 05:03 AM