A few more thoughts on Sarah Palin

To use a baseball anaolgy, Sarah Palin has done well in AAA. Now she's being asked to bat cleanup for the Yankees, and there's no real reason to think she's up to the job.

Four or eight years from now, after having a chance to build a track record in a position of real responsibility, maybe she would make a strong V.P. candidate. Maybe she serves a couple terms as governor, and gets herself elected to the Senate. Maybe she authors some legislation and gets some visa stamps on that brand-new passport of hers. After all, she seems to have some of the prerequisite characteristics:

Palin might be one tough cookie. I had a boss at my first gig in New York, working for TIME Online, who was also one tough cookie. That boss, Janice, was smart, no-nonsense, likable and professional. She knew a lot about a lot of issues, as you'd expect of an editor for TIME. Palin may also be one tough cookie. But that doesn't qualify her to be president.

Palin might be an admirable person. She is raising a child with Down Syndrome and dealing with a rebellious teenage daughter who is proving to be a challenging kid. But America is filled with millions of great people -- even other people who have raised kids with Down Syndrome. They're not necessarily qualified to be President.

Palin might have an ability to get things done. If I lived in Wasilla, I know that during those long Alaskan winters, I'd appreciate the hockey arena she worked to build as mayor. Hell, I'd even think it was worth the debt the town took on to make it happen. And as governor, it seems she did move quickly on some of her agenda. But that is still small potatoes. Lots of people get lots more important things done everyday, and mostly, they're not qualified to be President.

Palin might have some real political skills. She fought to the top of Alaska's old-boys club, delivered a much-admired speech (at least in some quarters) and seems to be more polished than you'd expect. But then we didn't expect much, and every state capitol has a few truly skilled politicians in-house. So that doesn't really qualify her to be President.

None of that qualifies her to be President of the United States of America. Not even close.

There is no G.E.D. to replace actual experience in national and international issues. Maybe in 4 or 8 years, Palin would be ready to make a bid for one of America's top offices. I'd still disagree with her politics. But at least she'd have some preparation.