Side by Side Obama/Palin Experience Comparison

[Heather MC]

Taken From Dailykos
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/20...485/447/581295

Now this woman has made some accomplishments in her lifetime. I think the republicans are trying really hard to pull this sexism card. Especialyl that Bachman woman on CNN. However, we aren't saying that she hasn't accomplished anything...we are just saying she isn't QUALIFIED TO BE VICE PRESIDENT. Who in their right mind would want someone who list as part of their TOP accomplishments and qualifications Hockey Mom and Mother of 5. I am sorry those are great attributes to someones character but that doesn't qualify you as VP. Are we suppose to disqualify the woman who doesn't have any children? Anywayss.


________________________

1980 - 1984
Obama: B.A. in political science with a specialization in international relations from Columbia University.

Palin: Wasilla High School, captain of the state-champion basketball team. Miss Wasilla, runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant, also Miss Congeniality, although that is now disputed.
Him: Ivy League degree.
Her: tiara.

1985 - 1990
Obama: moved to Chicago; became a community organizer as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization on Chicago's far South Side. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization.

Moved to Boston to attend Harvard Law School. Selected as an editor and then elected president of the Harvard Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors.

Palin: Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, with a minor in political science from the University of Idaho. Brief stint as a sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations; left to join her husband in commercial fishing.
Him: sterling legal education.
Her: sportscaster.

1991 - 1995
Obama: graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School; received contract and advance to write a book ("Dreams from my Father") as well as a fellowship at the University of Chicago Law School. Directed the Illinois Project Vote from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers that achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be. Appointed as a Lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago. Joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development. Active in several community organizations, usually as a board member.

Palin: member of the Alasaka Independence Party which advocates "Alaska First". Elected to Wasilla city council.

Him: Expert on our nation's fundamental legal principles.
Her: plotted to leave the Union; thinks Pledge of Allegiance was written by our founding fathers, doesn't know what a Vice President does.

1996 - 2000
Obama: promoted to Senior Lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. Elected to the Illinois Senate. Sponsored more than 800 bills. In 2000, lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.

Palin: elected as mayor of Wasilla (population 5,470), defeating the incumbent by a total of 616 votes to 413. Town budget, $8 million (3 millionths of the Federal budget), approximately 100 employees. Reduced property taxes but increased sales taxes. Fired the Wasilla police chief, citing a failure to support her administration. (He then sued Palin on the grounds that he was fired because he supported the campaign of Palin's opponent, but his suit was dismissed when the judge ruled that Palin had the right under state law to fire city employees, even for political reasons.) Hired a DC lobbyist to bring $27 million in earmarks to the city. Wasilla had zero debt when she entered office but she left it with indebtedness of over $22 million, including $15 million-plus for construction of a hockey center which was built on a piece of property that the city didn’t even have clear title to, a matter that is still in litigation.
Him: sponsored 800 bills.
Her: swayed 616 voters.

2001 - 2004
Obama: reelected in 2002 and became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee.

Publicly spoke out against the invasion of Iraq BEFORE the congressional authorization in 2002, and then again before the actual invasion in 2003.

Wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

November 2004: elected to the US Senate, receiving over 3.5 million votes, more than 70% of total.

Palin: elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. Unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor, coming in second in a five-way race in the Republican primary, receiving 19,000 votes. Appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, served as chairman from 2003 to 2004 and also served as Ethics Supervisor. Resigned in protest over the "lack of ethics" of fellow Republican members. Exposed the state Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, for doing party work on public time and working closely with a company he was supposed to be regulating. Director of Ted Stevens' 527 group.
Him: demonstrated the wisdom to oppose the Iraq folly before it even began.
Her: hasn't really though much about Iraq - despite the fact that 17 Alaskans have died there

2005 to present
Obama: Sworn in as the fifth-ever African-American U.S. senator. Worked with Republican Senator Lugar to author and implement a program to locate and dismantle stray Russian WMD's. Designated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as the party's point man on ethics. Worked with Russ Feingold to pass a major ethics/lobbying reform bill. Cosponsored, with John McCain, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act. Called for increased fuel efficiency standards (3 percent every year for 15 years). Assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Veterans' Affairs, and Homeland Security. Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Waged a tremendous battle to become the Democratic presidential nominee. Currently manages 2,500 campaign employees and a budget of $40-$50 million/month.

Palin: 2005: board member, Valley Hospital Association, which runs the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Wasilla.

Became youngest and first female Governor of Alaska, taking office in December, 2006. Received 114,600 votes. The population of Alaska is 683,478 and more than 50% of the state budget comes from oil revenues, not taxes as in other states. Gross State Product: $44 billion (including the oil revenue). Ranking 45 of 50.
Auctioned off the Governor's jet on eBay. Took on fellow-Republican Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the federal investigation into his financial dealings. Promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska. Helped pass a tax increase on oil company profits. Formed a sub-cabinet group of advisers to address climate change but does not accept that it is man-made. Objected to listing polar bears as an endangered species because it might hurt oil and gas development in the bears' habitat. Was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it. However, Alaska kept the federal money. Denied her daughter was pregnant before she confirmed it. Supported abstinence-only education.Currently under a bipartisan investigation for abuse of power for dismissing Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner. Commander-in-Chief of the Alaska National Guard, but has played no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. (The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.)

Obtained her first passport in 2007 to perform visits to the Alaska National Guard in Kuwait and Germany. (Foreign experience so limited that a stopover in Ireland listed on her resume.)

Him: Impressive figure on the national stage who knows how Congress works and is engaged with foreign policy issues.
Her: small state governor for 21 months; "next to Russia", but that is just 1 of the 190 countries in the world she has never been to.

Conclusion: the word "executive" is not some kind of magic force multiplier when placed in front of the word "experience".

[amborin]

1. sad and scary and wrong

for dems to even make this comparison

it's folly to descend onto their turf

and even ALLOW any comparison

the entire idea of a comparison should be dismissed as INSANE and IMPOSSIBLE

e. g. would you compare, say, Sen Barbara Boxer and Bay Buchanan?

of course not, people would bash the person in the face who even suggested it

but now dems are stupid enough to take the bait

this is just what Rove wanted

Rove was behind choosing Palin

[Cronus Protagonist]

2. Yup, these should be banned from DU

Demeaning to Obama.

[ProSense]

5. Nonsense

In an interview on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 Monday night, Obama was asked about whether his experience in the U.S. Senate dealing with weather-related situations compares to Palin’s executive experience running the state of Alaska and as the small town mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.

“My understanding is that Gov. Palin’s town, Wassilla, has I think 50 employees. We've got 2500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe 12 million dollars a year – we have a budget of about three times that just for the month,” Obama responded.

Our ability to manage large systems and to execute I think has been made clear over the past couple of years and certainly in terms of the legislation I’ve passed in the past couple of years, post-Katrina.”

link

It's an effective way to show how ludicrous the claim is that Palin and Obama are equally experienced.

[Cronus Protagonist]

8. Both that claim and the fact that Obama has to respond to it are demeaning to his image

Sorry you think that's nonsense, particularly from someone monikered Prosense, but why dignify such a ludicrous claim with a response as if the claim had any merit at all? Why is Obama comparing penis sizes with a clearly desperate female VP pick of his opponent, over charges that you and I both can see are clearly ludicrous?

IMHO he needs to stand toe to toe with McCain, not his new "sexy secretary".

[ProSense]

9. Right, because

Obama has no other voters to win over. They're all sold on his candidacy. He'll win by a landslide.

Let's ignore this and all ludicrous claims the GOP/media make from here on out. I'm pretty sure that's the way to win.

BTW, haven't all the GOP's claims been ludicrous? Should the campaign not have responded to those either?

Not only are you confusing intentionally highlighting a ridiculous claim with giving it merit, you're also advancing the notion that all voters see things as you do. Many people are going to tune into the campaigns for the first time between now and the election. You would have the media and GOP defining Obama as Palin's equal with no response from anyone or the campaign. That is ludicrous.




edited missing word.

[Cronus Protagonist]

13. Why do people make up crap, answer it themselves and pose like this?

If you want to make straw man arguments and shoot them down, you are clearly free to do so. However, you put words in my mouth that never were there...

I never said, or implied, that Obama has no voters to win over.
I never said, or implied, that we should ignore this and all ludicrous claims the GOP...

And answering a "ludicrous claim" in detail, surely lends it weight that it would not have if it were truly ludicrous.

In politics, the way to respond to a ludicrous claim is to say "that's ludicrous" and move on. The way NOT to respond to it is to add weight and substance to it by responding to it point by point, and that, is ALL that I asked from our side, which is to not add weight to ludicrous claims and not allow a comparison to be made between a VP pick and our actual POTUS candidate, which IMHO (note that, will you?), IMHO, is demeaning to our side.

Clearly, I want us to win, so don't get your panties in a twist over it. :P

[ProSense]

20. "I never said, or implied, that we should ignore this and all ludicrous claims the GOP..." Really?

"why dignify such a ludicrous claim with a response as if the claim had any merit at all?"

And this: "The way NOT to respond to it is to add weight and substance..."

Where is the "weight and substance" that was added?

The OP makes a mockery of the claim that Palin and Obama are equals. That's perfect.

[amborin]

17. you're misunderstanding linguistic power dynamics

no dem should be complacent

but no dem should take this bait and engage in comparisons between Obama and Palin

to do so is to fall for this rovian ruse

rather, dems should shape the discourse themselves

start attacking McCain.....on any number of fronts

his bad and impulsive decision making, his war mongering, etc.....

as folks said back in the late 90s, to Bill Clinton


don't cast pearls before swine

don't descend onto their turf, that's where they want to drag dems, so they can have the electorate witness this comparison.

[Cronus Protagonist]

18. Unfortunately

You are apparently casting pearls before swine :P

Hehe, but in a good way :P

I guess we all have to make the effort to educate those who are unaware of the power of public discourse and the epistemology of television.

[ProSense]

19. Please, you're a little too excited by the thought that Rove pulled a fast one.

Dumb choice, dumb move and Rove is irrelevant.

[amborin]

16. exactly

this is all part of lakoff's hoped for lesson on framing, which dems are slow to grasp

to even get something included in the discourse, no matter how idiotic, gives that topic and that thought legitimacy

this is something DEMS NEVER SEEM TO GET

so for rethugs to try to make a comparison between Obama and Palin is a ruse and bait for the naive dems

to even answer them, gives their position legitimacy

as someone said: DON'T DIGNIFY IT WITH ANY RESPONSE

[amborin]

15. effective for you, but not for the idiots who will be swayed by rove's tactics

[vaberella]

3. don't compare that flake to Obama. Just use the Repub talking points for Palin compared to McCain.

n/t

[chitty]

4. We Do Not Have To Defend Our Nominee Against

the worst Vice Presidential pick in modern times.

We are playing into their hands with this shit.

[Heather MC]

6. Maybe, but I am getting sick and tired of Obama's Surrogates having limp or no responses when

someone says
Palin has more experience than Obama

They can rebut with something on this list and then fire back with Obama is the POTUS Nominee
not VP

I do Love Carvilles response on CNN last night
that was right on and what more Surrogates need to do!

[wvbygod]

7. WTF is the dailykos taking the bait?

Comparing mccains VP to Obama is ignorant. Yeah I know it's more likely she would have
to step in since the ageism spread is opposite of the Obama/Biden ticket but it is still ignorant.

The kos would be wiser to hint that Bush/Putin suckered Obama into picking Biden while
then all of America gets focused on domestic issues until November. Maybe not wise but
wiser than this dead end screed.

[ProSense]

10. Are you saying

Obama is ignorant? See post #5, he drew a comparison or two himself, and then read post #9.

[wvbygod]

12. Of course not

I'm saying comparing the two that will never debate makes no sense. Debates are between
Pres/Pres and VP/VP.

As for comparing running a town against a campaign with a single focus makes no sense to
me either. All that may do is piss off small town dwellers who need to make local
decisions where their limited taxes go against a Presidential campaign where all the donated money
is earmarked for one cause...to elect a President.

Again, the jobs are different as apples and grapes and sometimes all the the sweetness needs to stay in the grapes.

[nc4bo]

11. I wish we wouldn't compare Obama to Palin are Apples & Oranges. Biden & Palen = Apples & Apples.nt

[Cronus Protagonist]

14. Me too, but some don't agree on here

It does make me question their motives.