The somewhat surprising announcement of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain’s running mate Friday now will ensure history is made whoever is elected president in November.
“I’m a lot more excited now, and the fact that she’s truly an outsider to Washington will really help the ticket,” said Del. Warren Miller, R-Howard.
“It’ll also attract women. It appears that she was a real reformer in Alaskan politics.”
A governor since 2006, Palin, 44, would be the first female vice president, and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama would be the first black president.
Bold and inspired
Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, a Republican, called McCain’s pick “bold, inspired and historic.”
“Adding someone with executive experience is important. Having served both as a legislator and executive, I can attest to the importance of having a running mate with executive experience,” he said in a statement.
“Sarah Palin has a reputation as an independent thinker and has not hesitated to irk the Republican establishment on ethics reform and other issues.”
Uplifting prospect
While Republicans voiced satisfaction with McCain’s selection, Democrats said the prospect of a Obama presidency was also uplifting.
“It was truly inspiring to be on the floor as Barack Obama became the first African American to be nominated by a major party for president of the United states,” said Baltimore City Mayor Sheila Dixon, on witnessing his acceptance speech Thursday in Denver.
“For those of us who watched — even as small children — the early days of the struggle for civil rights, it was a moment to be cherished.”
Bipartisan support
During his convention speech Wednesday, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Baltimore City, said Obama knew that today’s problems needed bipartisan support.
Obama’s support in pulling troops out of Iraq and putting more in Afghanistan is now being pursued by the Bush administration, he said. Obama had likened a McCain presidency as an extension of a Bush White House.
Vision and experience
Many of the local lawmakers not at the Democratic National Convention gathered at the Greene Turtle restaurant in Columbia.
“The speech had all the right things and described how we’ll get the change we need to move the country forward,” said Howard County Councilman Calvin Ball, referring to Obama’s speech Thursday.
“An Obama and [Joseph] Biden ticket offers the vision and experience we need and demonstrates once again how Senator Obama has great judgment.”
Obama selected Sen. Biden, of Delaware, as his running mate this past week, ending weeks of speculation about his choice.
Biden has been praised for adding foreign policy credentials and a senior presence to Obama’s campaign.
Hope for the future
But critics say Biden has made several political blunders throughout the years, which he quickly corrected, and he once thought Obama was too inexperienced and not ready to be president.
In his speech, Obama criticized McCain, of Arizona, for being out of touch with the needs of the country.
“He came across as really sincere and showed that our country more than anything needs a uniter and not a divider,” said Del. Shane Pendergrass, D-Howard, a former Hillary Clinton supporter. “I think there’s a sense of loss for her, but there’s a hope in him for the future.”
With the Democratic convention over, McCain and Palin will speak again at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., this week.
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