• Kevin in Philly said:

  The idea that seems to be hinted at by Ferraro - that those who supported Senator Clinton should now consider McCain because he put a woman on his ticket - flies in the face of what Ferraro is supposed to be fighting for. Why should we determine who succeeds and who doesn't, who leads and who doesn't, who we vote for and who we don't, based on the gender of the person?

  Is it morally right, wise, or efficient for an employer to make a hiring decision based on gender without considering other factors? NO! So why should we vote based on gender? Would it be right for blacks to blindly follow Senator Obama based solely on the color of his skin? NO! So why should women do the same for Palin? Shouldn't women be asking, "Which ticket will make my life and this country better? Which candidate is most in line with my views on the issues? Who's governing philosophy do I agree with most?"?

  And, finally, didn't Ferraro-types help drive Democratic women leaders like Governor Sibelius and Governor Napalitano out of the VP running, claiming that they would accept no woman other than Hillary?

  August 29, 2008 2:28 PM

• Sarah said:

  Sorry this answer is long and boring but:  

  -  I am a Hillary supporter who seriously was thinking of voting for McCain until this morning.  

  I was either not going to vote at all, or actually vote Republican for the first and probably only time in my life.

  However, with this Palin pick I cannot vote for McCain.  I still like him personally, but she is ridiculously inexperienced and the danger of Roe v. Wade being overturned is way too high.  

  The Hillary supporters who were going to either 1)stay home or 2) vote McCain are NOT made up by the media, in my opinion.  

  Obama's vague rhetoric and lack of experience and willingness to talk to Iran without preconditions and inability to put principles before personal interest (Hillary for VP) really concern me.  

  Obama has a lot of shortcomings in my opinion however now McCain/Palin seem even worse.  

  I am not into the old age jokes (though I thought it would be hilarious if McCain announced his pick via messenger on a camel) - but you seriously have to consider how Palin could possibly step into #1 role if something happened to McCain.

  Women don't just want a woman.  Hillary won me over in the debates because of her BRAIN.  I was originally leaning towards Obama but all his answers got on my nerves.  Even last night I didn't find his speech very believable.   He said he would accomplish about a million things but does he have any idea HOW?    Hopefully he gets the right team together to help him, and puts his ego aside to let the Clintons do all the great work they can.    

  Hillary was the most prepared, hard-working, logical, level-headed, informed and capable nominee by far.

  However I now actually think Obama/Biden are going to win by a landslide in which case I'll write in Hillary.

  If  it's NOT a landslide, I'll probably even vote Obama which a few days ago was completely out of the question.      

  August 29, 2008 2:33 PM

• lucy the dog said:

  "He said he would accomplish about a million things but does he have any idea HOW?"

  while i'm inclined to agree with your skepticism, i also told my wife that there was no way in hell he could run for president after she was so enthralled by his 2004 speech.

  and then when he ran, i told her there was no way in hell he could beat the clinton machine.

  you gotta hand it to the guy. he's pretty good at doing stuff that most people couldn't do.

  August 29, 2008 2:47 PM

• Nadine said:

  This choice leaves a bad taste - she is just the token woman on the team and I never liked affirmative action or quotas.  She seems to be just another trophy wife for McCain and I am sorry that she is being used like this.  It is very patronizing to her and to all women they are pandering to.  I will definitely not vote for this ticket although I would have loved a strong experienced woman like Hillary on the ticket.

  August 29, 2008 3:19 PM

• DANNA said:

  I don't believe any true Hillary person would ever be used like this...it's not just any woman, it's Hillary..we were not for her because she was a woman..but because she was that woman.  To think we are so stupid that any woman would do is just insulting! Obama was right!  McCain just doesn't get it!

  August 29, 2008 4:00 PM

• Sarah said:

  I just want to add...that politics aside I feel really sorry for McCain all of a sudden, the way one might feel sorry for their dad.  Like, poor dad.  

  McCain has an amazing history, and has truly sacrificed for his country like very few people have, he has integrity and it is real.   But, this is just SUCH  a crazy and clueless choice!!!  

  I do think he has real respect for Hillary Clinton (they're personal friends) and was not trying to be condescending towards women.  I am sure he thought this was some brilliant and bold and inspiring move but in fact it's a disaster.   And I really feel bad for him, seriously.   McCain is a good guy, no matter what you think politically- but it's over now.    

  Hello President Obama!   I really hope you surprise me and manage to live up to the promises as above poster says.    

  August 29, 2008 4:01 PM

• Heather said:

  Well I was a Hillary supporter.... now I will be voting for the McCain ticket... I don't know what it is but Obama to me reminds me  of a talented Puppet with good speech writers

  August 29, 2008 4:53 PM

• ToniInOregon said:

  As an avid Hillary supporter, I was prepared to be very angry if Obama picked another woman as VP instad of Hillary.

  Likewise, what is good for the goose is good for the gooser. I am angry at McCain. McCain thinks he can win my vote with a surrogate for Hillary. Well, Palin's views are the antithesis of Senator Clinton's feminist values, and her work is "palin'" compare to Hillary's accomplishments.

  My only choice now is to either not vote or hold my nose and vote for Obama in hope he will change his sexist leanings. I am now leaning toward Obama as the least worst alternative. I do not want to reward McCain for this shenanigin.

  Toni

  August 29, 2008 5:57 PM

• DZ said:

  Sounds like some people are never happy.  You say you want Youth, Palin is 3 years younger than Obama but with more executive experience.  You say you want a Women in the white house, the DNC throws Hillary under the bus and McCain selects Palin.  Very interesting!

  August 29, 2008 6:58 PM

• Sharon said:

  If Ferraro does semi-endorse McCain, do you blame her?  After what the Obama campaign did to her, she is suppose to grin ear to ear and back Obama?

  If she campaigned for McCain, I would be concerned, but I can see any woman getting a little excited about seeing a woman on the ticket.

  The media ignored "women" and the "historical element" of the Clinton campaign throughtout the primaries and if they continue to do so, they will be shocked on Election Day.

  August 29, 2008 7:00 PM

• Donna said:

  I think Sarah Palin is FABULOUS!!!  Beautiful, smart, athletic, and a terrific, down-to-earth leader who IS one of the real people.  I don't get it--a woman is not really a woman unless she is a LIB; a black is not really a black unless he is a LIBERAL.  It's just SO transparent.

  More than yesterday, I am SO voting McCain/Palin!

  August 29, 2008 8:52 PM

• Howard Stockton said:

  It is probably the case that by not explicitly supporting Barack Obama, Ferraro does not care about abortion rights; furthermore, examining her behavior in the 2008 election leads one to conclude this is because she is selfish, and her being past menopause makes her no longer interested in anyone's reproduction rights.  It's also likely she realizes she will never have sex again for the rest of her life.

  August 29, 2008 9:30 PM

• William in L.A. said:

  Kevin in Philly said: "Would it be right for blacks to blindly follow Senator Obama based solely on the color of his skin? NO!"  But the reality is that blacks vote ~95% for Obama, that is a higher percentage than Dukmejian got from Armenian voters when he ran for Governor in California, and it is the reason Hillary lost the nomination.

  August 29, 2008 9:50 PM

• Allen Buck said:

  I have to say that this still is a politically smart gamble as there were hundreds of protestors at the convention for Hillary. Many still feel she was treated unfairly by the media. Not to say this is the most moral of decisions, considering Mccain has been one to talk about women's rights until it benefit him politically. Its one of those areas where regardless he can gain a ton of angry Hillary supporters. The case really is that she collected over 18 million votes, many of the women who supported her were older and felt like it was them being made fun of as well. Mccain will be able to put a new face on an old ticket and gain votes in the process.

  August 29, 2008 11:15 PM

• LS said:

  “No self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her."  Susan B. Anthony

  How can any self-respecting woman vote for Obama after he and the Democratic Party treated Hillary so badly?  

  I voted for Hillary in Virginia's primary, and I will be voting for McCain/Palin in the General Election.  

  August 30, 2008 1:19 AM

• Sam said:

  Allen Buck says "this is still a politically smart gamble."

  I'm sorry, a 72-year-old, rich, white, compulsive gambling "conservative" who divorced his crippled former swimsuit model trophy wife #1, immediately married beer heiress trophy wife #2, and now chooses trophy "wife" #3 as a running mate...GAMBLING on the future of a nation fighting TWO wars while losing international support, with record deficits, despicable education standards (intelligent design anyone?), tarnished world image.

  So, when was the last time you went to Vegas trillions in debt?

  August 30, 2008 1:50 AM

• Rob said:

  I thought I was going to vote for Obama all the way until a couple weeks ago with his choice of Biden as VP. It makes me doubt there actually will be any change, or if he's just full of fluff.

  While I initially reacted with bewilderment about Palin's pick, it reminded me about why I originally liked McCain -- he has a proven record of reform, or change. Haven't decided whether her inexperience is too much, but at the least the race just got a little more interesting

  August 30, 2008 2:35 AM

• jvp said:

  Women believe that McCain only chose her because she is a woman. This surprisingly telling at to how we value ourselves, that we would only be picked for our gender. We might be less cynical and consider that she actually brings more to the table than just her gender, and that McCain knows that. We might try to view it from the perspective that once someone was smart and realized a woman, no matter what she believes was worth the risk because she demonstrates many of the qualities that McCain values. Do you think that the other candidates brought anything to the table other than the same refrain. McCain was smart. Call me naive, but cynicism sometimes blinds one to that which is actually positive!

  August 30, 2008 3:01 AM

• Bob Neer said:

  Great post, David. I would be surprised if Ferraro  actually does endorse McCain, but even if she does I think her views reflect only a tiny extremist fringe, and not the overwhelming majority of Clinton supporters. The reasons for this are as explained by Massachusetts state Reps. Khan and Balser in the piece of mine you cited: (1) as Khan said, Senator Clinton and President Clinton have led their supporters into Obama's camp -- with eloquence and reason, in my opinion; and (2) as Balser said more bluntly, "A victory by John McCain would go against everything Hillary Clinton has fought for her entire life." Indeed, those general arguments were the basis for my thesis that this "rift" is a media invention; the three leaders I cited in my piece were examples. I think recent developments in Massachusetts support my conclusion: as Senate President Murray said today, "This is a desperate and cynical attempt to lure women voters and capitalize on the success of Hillary Clinton. ... You can't just pick any woman for the job. They are not interchangeable."  

  August 31, 2008 1:13 AM

• Julie said:

  I voted for Hillary in the primary and I am a registered Democrat. Palin has more experience than Obama and is a very strong woman. Like many women over 40, I will be voting for McCain/Palin.  I may support limilted abortion rights but I unlike Obama I do not support infanticide.  I think it is Obama that has extreme views on this issue.

  August 31, 2008 1:27 PM

• aging cynic said:

  Getting back to the main subject:

  America is a centrist/center-right country. A faux-conservative vs. a historical leftist will be a gut check for us all. Whether smoking and brain aneurisms are more debilitating than Vietcong beatings and melanomas will dissolve into background static. We are still waiting for an example of Obama renouncing the Chicago power structure. Being Richie Daley's lapdog is "change"? Yikes!

  August 31, 2008 2:57 PM

• newsgurl said:

  Honorably retired from reporter/anchor job, I am now allowed to have an opinion and one of them is this: Women actually have a chance to influence the future of a country that is sliding downhill at an increasingly accelerated rate. Please consider the Republican party's performance over the last 8 years, like wasting a surplus and turning it into a huge deficit that YOUR DAUGHTERS and SONS and your grandchildren will have to pay for. George Bush and his hitmen have stirred up even more hatred in the middle east, making hard core enemies that REQUIRES endangering YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS in a fight without end. Do you think Democrats will appoint more people to the Supreme Court who will support big business and big pharma, and who will tell your daughter that if she is raped (one every six minutes in the U.S.) it is God's will and she must live with the consequences? Is it really any woman over a woman as committed to women as Hillary?

  September 8, 2008 1:13 PM

• Tomas Sancio said:

  The problem with Hillary now is that if Obama wins, she won't be able to run in 2012 and need to wait 8 more years, even if he is not reelected. But if she doesn't put her weight behind him, then she'll have less chance against a McCain reelection because she didn't attack him. Kind of like a real conundrum for Hillary.

  It's too bad Obama didn't select her as a VP, although his reason may have been that he didn't want people to think too much about gender nor race. Let's see if this decision proves to be his undoing.

  September 17, 2008 7:02 AM

• Peter said:

  So McCain might get the endorsement of Joe Lieberman *and* Geraldine Ferraro? Anyone ask John Edwards who he's supporting? :-)

  September 17, 2008 10:25 AM

• Canidae said:

  Julie said:

  "I may support limilted abortion rights but I unlike Obama I do not support infanticide."  

  Ugh... really, you really think he believes killing infants is ok?

  Did you know that Palin cut funding for special needs education.

  She also demanded that books be banned from the Wasilla library.

  And McCain crashed five planes.  

  Also you can pop popcorn using cell phones...

  http://www.factcheck.org

  September 17, 2008 10:53 AM

• Real American said:

  Actions speak louder than words. Obama talks. McCain walks. She'll endorse McCain/Palin.

  September 17, 2008 2:13 PM

• Bruce said:

  >>>>Did you know that Palin cut funding for special needs education.<<<<

  If your definition of cutting spending for special needs is tripling it from the year before than I would imagine you would want her to "cut funding" every time...Geez.  Stop believe everything Olbermann says and do some research on your own.

  Oh...maybe you were being sarcastic?  Maybe, maybe not...

  September 17, 2008 3:36 PM

• kwo said:

  Nadine said...

  "I will definitely not vote for this ticket although I would have loved a strong experienced woman like Hillary on the ticket."

  Please.  Four years in the Senate, no prior stint in any elected position, eight years as First Lady--this is not experience.  What Ferraro said about Obama applies equally well to Sen. Clinton: if she were anything besides Mrs. Bill Clinton she'd have no more shot at the presidency than Nancy Pelosi or Kay Hutchinson.

  September 17, 2008 6:27 PM

• Synova said:

  If you recall, Ferraro was accused of being racist early on for saying that Obama benefited from being black.  

  I think that made her really mad.

  It would not surprise me one bit if she actually did endorse McCain.

  September 17, 2008 10:44 PM

• Mh said:

  I like it when people say that they want a down-to-earth leader just like them.  Even when the people in question are just the opposite.

  Sure, Palin's down-to-earth.  But she's nothing like me.  She doesn't represent me or my beliefs any more than McCain does, nor do the common man airs they put on appeal to my (I would presume) "elitist" tendencies.  

  I have more in common with Obama's latte-drinking, arugula-eating, Ivy-educated, pensive, collected nature.  He, like me, instead of being on the ground, would rather look skyward.  I have no doubt that Palin's a strong person.

  But I'd rather have someone with more complexity, flexibility of thought, and not beset by a fatal incuriosity in the world leading a country I like to believe in.

  September 18, 2008 12:47 AM

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