Presidential Candidate? You Betcha!

I like Sarah Palin. She brings a fresh and honest approach to national politics that appeals to many people who do not live within 100 miles of blue water. However her decision to resign as Governor of Alaska is truly mystifying.

One ought to run for president based upon what they have done. We have seen very clearly what happens when the people elect a celebrity rather than a person of substance. Substance comes from accumulating years of experience in a position of trust and responsibility. Experience and accomplishment transforms one from a political preacher to the choir to someone that can reach a broader audience who might not generally agree with you.

Few occupations prepare one for the presidency more than two terms as governor of a state. Sarah Palin as state governor had the ability to speak to the burdens that Obama's failed policies place upon her state, its people, and its industry. She could also complain that the empty policy towards North Korea placed her state in the line of fire of that country's nuclear arsenal. Alaska was purchased by Secretary of State William Seward (Republican of course) as a strategic asset. Did she not understand the politically strategic position she used to enjoy? The media didn't like her, but as a state governor they had to pay attention to her. Unfortunately by shedding her position of responsibility, she will be pushed farther into the realm of celebrity and farther away from serious politics. That is not my wish, but it is the way of the media world.

I can understand that she felt that she was trying to sit on two stools balancing her ambition to be president with her job as Alaska governor. In spending too much time in the lower forty-eight, she was losing the allegiance of the people in her own state. It was an honest decision made by an honest person and that in itself is respectable, even if I see it as unwise and missing a huge opportunity.

In such a situation, the aspiring president should cut back on the campaigning and continue proving in their work that they ought to be trusted at the next level. Sarah Palin has only given more ammunition to her critics and that is unfortunate. Winning the GOP nomination means convincing Republicans. We have a different standard than Democrats in expecting a candidate to bring a resume to the table. They nominated a man for president strictly based upon the fact that he could read in a pretty voice.

Like I said, I like Sarah Palin. I just do not see how quitting her job to be a full time candidate will help her ambitions.

Could Sarah Palin Offer a Radical Solution to North Korea?

North Korea now has missiles capable of reaching Alaska. Their promises to arm them with nuclear weapons ought to chill every American.

Democrats spent more time waging war against those trying to open Alaska's resources than discussing national security. Now that President Bush is gone, North Korea has no fear of America.

Here's a radical idea. In the absence of a presidential concern over US security, perhaps a governor in an emergency can step up.

Assuming that the Alaska Air National Guard has the capability, it ought to adopt its own contingency plan. Should North Korea continue to menace the United States, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin should adopt a plan to take control of the Alaska National Guard and launch attacks on North Korean facilities.

Sounds very extreme, but who ever anticipated a president who would dither in the face of such a threat. I am not advocating an attack now, but simply for Governor Palin to plan for the possibility that an emergency could happen and Obama not respond.

Constitutionally Governor Palin could face no federal punishment as far as I know for this sort of action. She does, however, have the obligation to defend lives and property.

After all if several oil wells are a threat to Alaska's fragile ecosystem, imagine an atomic bomb.