Palin's great executive experience

[Paro]

So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as one of her qualifications for running the roughly $2 million agency.



In 1997, Ms. Palin fired the longtime city attorney, Richard Deuser, after he issued the stop-work order on a home being built by Don Showers, another of her campaign supporters.

Your attorney, Mr. Showers told Ms. Palin, is costing me lots of money.

“She told me she’d like to see him fired,” Mr. Showers recalled. “But she couldn’t do it herself because the City Council hires the city attorney.” Ms. Palin told him to write the council members to complain.

Meanwhile, Ms. Palin pushed the issue from the inside. “She started the ball rolling,” said Ms. Patrick, who also favored the firing. Mr. Deuser was soon replaced by Ken Jacobus — then the State Republican Party’s general counsel.

“Professionals were either forced out or fired,” Mr. Deuser said.


Mr. Parnell, the lieutenant governor, praised Ms. Palin’s appointments. “The people she hires are competent, qualified, top-notch people,” he said.

Ms. Palin chose Talis Colberg, a borough assemblyman from the Matanuska valley, as her attorney general, provoking a bewildered question from the legal community: “Who?” Mr. Colberg, who did not return calls, moved from a one-room building in the valley to one of the most powerful offices in the state, supervising some 500 people.

“I called him and asked, ‘Do you know how to supervise people?’ ” said a family friend, Kathy Wells. “He said, ‘No, but I think I’ll get some help.’ ”

The Wasilla High School yearbook archive now doubles as a veritable directory of state government. Ms. Palin appointed Mr. Bitney, her former junior high school band-mate, as her legislative director and chose another classmate, Joe Austerman, to manage the economic development office for $82,908 a year. Mr. Austerman had established an Alaska franchise for Mailboxes Etc.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26691018/

The full article is kind of long. I am willing to accept that government jobs will be filled with a bias towards the party in power. This is a bit extreme. Qualifications should matter a little. Getting rid of the good old boy network is a good thing. Replacing it with the Sarah Palin close personal friends network is not. Qualifications should not be a distant third to loyalty and secrecy. There are appointments here that make Harriet Miers look qualified for the SCOTUS. Picking a small town lawyer to be the attorney general is pathetic.

[Eimon Gnome]

When one of the party platforms is the government does not work, are you at all surprised to see that they prove their point when elected?

[The Mad Hatter]

Originally Posted by Paro

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26691018/

The full article is kind of long. I am willing to accept that government jobs will be filled with a bias towards the party in power. This is a bit extreme. Qualifications should matter a little. Getting rid of the good old boy network is a good thing. Replacing it with the Sarah Palin close personal friends network is not. Qualifications should not be a distant third to loyalty and secrecy. There are appointments here that make Harriet Miers look qualified for the SCOTUS. Picking a small town lawyer to be the attorney general is pathetic.

In other words, the maverick/change candidate would run things just like W.

[Wigmeister General]

a few observations:

Her experience is much better than mine.
Her experience exceeds Obama's.
Her experience exceeds Biden's.

She's the best VP candidate ever.

[Paro]

Originally Posted by Wigmeister General

a few observations:

Her experience is much better than mine.
Her experience exceeds Obama's.
Her experience exceeds Biden's.

She's the best VP candidate ever.

You forgot:

Her experience exceeds McCain's.

[win diesel]

Originally Posted by Paro

You forgot:

Her experience exceeds McCain's.

Nope. Commanded a military unit. Life and death decisions.

Hierarchy is... Military Command > Governor > Long term senator > Newbie senator/campaigner

[The Mad Hatter]

Originally Posted by win diesel

Nope. Commanded a military unit. Life and death decisions.

Hierarchy is... Military Command > Governor > Long term senator > Newbie senator/campaigner

[The McChosen One]

Originally Posted by The Mad Hatter

Hatter, more than most, would know what the koolaid tastes like.

[win diesel]

Originally Posted by The Mad Hatter

You are right. I may have to rethink my position. The pic is a very powerful counter argument. lol

[whisper]

Originally Posted by win diesel

Nope. Commanded a military unit. Life and death decisions.

Hierarchy is... Military Command > Governor > Long term senator > Newbie senator/campaigner

Counter argument:
Grant, Taylor, Pierce, Nixon, Harrison, and Garfield.