myerstownherald.com

The recent jokes that David Letterman made about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her children has elicited a strong response from Palin, and strong reaction from people who support her. The joke about Palin’s children should not have been made at all. The children of political figures of either party should be off limits to comedians.
The Herald dislikes the joke about Palin herself, however, because it feeds into a popular stereotype that Palin is somehow inexperienced, gets by on her looks or does not belong on the national stage.
This joke misses the mark because if Palin were president right now, she likely could do a better job running the country than President Obama.
It is true that Palin does not have much experience in economics or foreign policy, and when running as a vice presidential candidate, she did not come up with completely discernible views on either subject.
However, it is safe to say Palin would not pursue economic policies that would put the country trillions of dollars in debt. She would not have nationalized car companies. She would not be looking to massively raise taxes to pay for irresponsible spending. She would not be pursuing a health-care plan that also will cost trillions and may actually make the quality of health care worse. Despite what her critics say about her, Palin could easily have avoided these simple and obvious pitfalls.
Although critics have derided Palin’s lack of experience, her tenure as Alaska governor does provide an accurate forecast about what she would have done if she had the opportunity to be president. Although there have been minor instances in which Palin may have condoned wasteful spending, she did not embark on the wholesale irresponsibility now being practiced in Washington. As president, Palin would have at least tried to reduce the deficit, rather than increase wasteful spending with abandon.
If Palin were elected president, she would not have much foreign policy experience. But she does have the courage to challenge what she does not believe is right, as she showed when she took on the Republican Party in Alaska. In dealing with the current situation in Iran, Palin would not have been timid in backing the protestors calling for more democracy. She has the right instincts to deal with this situation.
Palin also favored domestic energy production, which would have brought energy prices down. She does not have an environmental agenda that calls for higher energy prices to promote other forms of energy that may not work and may not prove cost effective on a large scale, all the while driving up people’s energy bills.
It is true that Obama is better than Palin in answering questions one on one with television interviewers. This skill is one that Palin probably will never be able to match. But when Palin and Obama each gave prepared speeches during the campaign, Palin was at least as good, if not better. On the issues, that really matter, though, Palin would be able to run the United States much more effectively than the current administration.
Of course, Palin never was nominated to be president. But if she ever does get that chance, people should look past her problems in dealing with television interviews. She has the ability to lead the country in the right direction.