Poker vs. craps; Obama vs. McCain
August 29th, 2008 at 11:54am Pat Cunningham
I’m not the first observer to suggest that the respective gaming choices of Barack Obama and John McCain bespeak their personalities and political styles.
McCain likes to shoot craps, which is almost entirely a game of luck. Obama prefers poker, where skill is a more important factor.
This difference, it seems to me, is reflected in the choices of running mates made by McCain and Obama.
The Democratic nominee went with a calculated — and safe — choice, Joe Biden, who brings experience to the table. The Republican nominee has rolled the dice with the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a politician of comparatively sparse experience (none at the federal level) but presumably a lot of charm.
The choice of Palin suggests a degree of desperation on McCain’s part. If he thought his chances of winning were pretty good, he would have gone a safer route by picking a Republican with federal experience to go along with conservative bona fides.
If McCain thinks the Palin choice will be a game-changer and will attract a lot of disgruntled Hillary Clinton Democrats, I expect that he’s going to be disappointed. But then, perhaps he had no other option. Perhaps his only hope was to roll the dice.
UPDATE: One of the geniuses at Fox News says Palin does, in fact, have foreign-policy experience because — get ready — her state is near Russia:
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/IwWGS73v4_k" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized
9 Comments Add your own
1. Optimistic1 | August 29th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
So no experience is fine for POTUS but not for Vice? Seems odd to me.
Was that solid Poker mentality the same that allowed Mr. Obama to say he wouldn’t run for Prez in 08 or the one that allowed himself to get too cozy with Rezko? If anyone will beat Obama/Biden, it will be Rezko and his pals or Obama’s lack of experience, not McCain/Palin. Note Biden’s own Rezko’esque political adviser in below article. Between Biden’s own kids issues and the named guy in article below, he may have a little more baggage than first glance showed even considering all the video of him sticking his foot in his mouth about “Clean and Articulate” black men as well as the “On the Job Training” comment about Obama just a few months ago.
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/aug/28/longtime-biden-backer-linked-to-rezko/
2. LD | August 29th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Maybe the GOP feels they can push her around. She won’t have the experience or knowledge to challenge their McSame-Old policies.
Was anyone else reminded of when Bush picked Harriet Meyers to be a Supreme Court Justice?
3. Pat Cunningham | August 29th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Optimistic1: Keep up the good work. Keep combing the Moonie Times for stories about Rezko and other stuff that nobody gives a damn about. While you’re at it, you might want to look into stories about the McCains’ ties to organized crime. Here’s a good place to start:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57354
4. LD | August 29th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Pat, and don’t forget McCain ties to G Gordon Liddy.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0504chapmanmay04,0,6238795.column
How’s that for a 60s radical?
5. Pat Cunningham | August 29th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Good one, LD. I think I’ll make a full-blown post of it.
6. Craig Knauss | August 29th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
“Fox News says Palin does, in fact, have foreign-policy experience because — get ready — her state is near Russia…”
And don’t forget Canada! Ya, hey!
7. Optimistic1 | August 29th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/757340,CST-NWS-watchdog24.article
Nothing I love better than when Pat sources World Net Daily, Good Stuff! Don’t believe the Sun Times or Wash Times? How about your own paper Big Guy??? Not that I won’t argue you guys print some crap nobody cares about mind you…
http://www.rrstar.com/homepage/x1529765192
This is nothing good for Obama, ignore it all you want. If Rezko has a tune to sing, your guy is done (Except in IL because we apparently love corruption on both sides of the aisle here).
Was Liddy Convicted of 16 counts in June of 2008 LD? Good luck on that segway. I agree on Ayers wiht Obama, non issue. Rezko, little too close, little to dirty for comfort level of most I think.
8. Menlo Bob | August 29th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Like any good poker player Obama keeps his cards hidden. Which is why he doesn’t want anyone looking into his records at UIC.
9. Mike Carroll | August 29th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
He’s BAAAACK!
Experience now seems to be an issue with Democrats now that Palin has been selected. How interesting.
From what I have seen thus far she looks like a good selection.
Nice bounce in the poll numbers from the Biden pick by the way.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed