David Brooks has a piece today on Governor Palin. In summary: Not ready. An excerpt (highlight is mine):
Sarah Palin has many virtues. If you wanted someone to destroy a corrupt establishment, she’d be your woman. But the constructive act of governance is another matter. She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness.
This isn’t true. The Weekly Standard has a great piece out today on how Gov. Palin is “the most experienced politician on either ticket” in regard to the most important national issue of the day: energy. An excerpt:
Prior to being governor, Palin served on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a state entity that manages the state’s oil and gas leases. Part of the Commission’s management charge is to balance the potential conflict between Alaska’s short term revenue interest from high production rates with the longer term interests of maximizing ultimate recovery from slower extraction. In other words, Palin has been a hands-on decision maker dealing with the technicalities of reservoir engineering science within the policy-making context of federalism and economic policy. Her voice of experience should be a welcome one in the debate over energy policy.
I guess serving on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is a lot like being a board member with Bill Ayers and the Chicago Anneberg Challenge, only with responsibilities.