Putting America First

This letter appeared in yesterday's Daily Item. It was written by Steva Stowell-Hardcastle, who is the volunteer team leader for the Obama campaign in Union County. Here is the (unabridged) text:

Our presidential candidates recently announced their Vice Presidential running mates. What vetting processes do these potential candidates go through in order to be second in line to lead one of the most powerful countries in the world? Are our presidential candidates putting America first in deciding who best will protect and lead us?

The President-Vice President team is similar to a married couple, or to business partners in a small locally owned business. Before anyone of us would jump into marriage or a business partnership we would want to get to know our prospective partners. What are his or her values, personality, track record, ethics, and capabilities? How would this spouse or business partner take care of our children or employees if I suddenly became incapacitated? I would be looking for someone who would be able to carry on, putting our family or employees before themselves.

When I look at the two vice-presidential nominees, I wonder which was picked for purely political reasons, and which was picked because the candidate put America first. Which one was picked for mere political gain, and which was picked for an ability to protect and lead America should the President become incapacitated? John McCain met Sarah Palin just once—once— before selecting her for his ticket. She has no foreign policy experience, though our country faces an international terrorist threat, two wars, growing tensions with Russia, and potential nuclear arms production in Iran. She has no experience in the federal government, although our economy is in recession, our healthcare costs are rising, and every year our children are less able to compete in the global economy because their schools simply don’t have enough money. John McCain has been campaigning for the presidency longer then Sarah Palin has been governor of Alaska.

Barack Obama has known Joe Biden, a native of Scranton, for years. He and his staff spent months studying twenty years worth of speeches and records from potential Vice Presidential candidates. Obama wanted to leave no doubt that his running mate—the person who would help him lead and protect our great country—would be experienced, strong, and dependable, and have the track record to prove it. And did Obama make the right choice? Biden chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He’s spent decades building personal relationships with heads of state around the world. His career is a record of commitment to fairness for the middle and working class citizen. He has protected the rights of women in our country, by defending equal pay for equal work and by writing and passing the Violence Against Women Act, a piece of legislation that has protected thousands of women and children who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Sarah Palin is surely an up-and-coming public servant and fine person. But there can be no doubt that her selection reflects McCain’s mere political game-playing, in particular an attempt to attract the vote of disappointed women and conservative Christians. This is nothing but a blatant disregard for our country’s security, should McCain become incapacitated. Palin was picked because, for McCain, the Republican Party comes first. Joe Biden can and will protect and lead America, should the task fall to him. It’s the Biden pick that puts America first.

Congratulations, Steva!

We will be making more of an effort from now on to publish Letters to the Editor (even those not published in the paper) here on the CSCC blog to encourage discussion. Have you written a letter recently? Or are about to? Send a copy to us, too!