I wouldn’t want me to be the veep, and that’s Palin’s folk problem

3 comments October 9th, 2008

Newsweek has taken the words right out of my mouth in the magazine’s latest cover story: “The Palin problem.”

Shortly after Katie Couric’s interview with Sarah Palin, I was talking with one of my bosses at the News Tower, telling her that one of my biggest issues with Palin is I see much of me in her,  in that I’m you’re average Geo-six-pack kind of person. Unlike her, I can name big-city newspapers and national magazines I read. But like her, I’d have drawn a blank as well if asked to name Supreme Court decisions I disagree with.

I told my boss I could name at least one person who has recently worked in our office who would make a good U.S. vice president if he ever wanted to be, but that I sure wouldn’t want me to be the veep.

Now, Newsweek is focusing on the issue: A McCain adviser said Palin is on the ticket because she connects with everyday Americans. And Newsweek asks: Do we want leaders who are everyday folks, or do we want leaders who understand everyday folks? Therein lies an enormous difference.