POT CALLS THE KETTLE "INEXPERIENCED"
by Dan Young, www.oneempowered.com

When asked by Anderson Cooper what his response is to republicans who say Governor Palin has more executive experience than he does, Obama said:

"Well, uh, you know, uh, my understanding is - is that, uh, Gov. Palin’s, uh, town, Wassilly, uh, has I think 50 employees, uh. We've got 2500, uh, in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe 12 million dollars a year, uh. Ya know, we have a budget of about three times that, uh, just for the month, uh. So I think that, uh, our ability to manage large systems, uh, and to, execute, uh, I think has been made clear over the last couple of years, uh, and certainly in terms of, uh, the legislation that I’ve passed just dealing with this issue post-katrina, uh, of how we handle emergency management. The fact that, uh, many of my recommendations were adopted and are being put in place, uh, as we speak, I think indicates the degree to which, uh, we can provide, uh, the kinds of support and good service that the American people expect."

Minimizing Governor Palin’s Experience
Overlooking, for the moment, the fact that he called Wasilla "Wasilly" and said "Uh" no less than 20 times in 57 seconds, Obama’s answer focused solely on Governor Palin’s mayoral experience and completely ignored her current role of running a state with a GDP of over 44 billion dollars. He also didn’t mention any of Palin’s other political accomplishments as a reformer and governor. Just a few examples:

• Defeated the Republican incumbent in the gubernatorial primary, then beat a former Democrat governor in the general election to become Alaska’s first female Governor and the youngest, at 42, in Alaskan history
• Elected twice to city council
• Elected twice as mayor (beating an incumbent) where she reduced property tax 40% and reduced the mayoral salary
• Served as the first female President of the Alaska Conference of Mayors
• Served as Commander in Chief of the Alaska National Guard, a vital first line of our nation’s defense (another female first)
• Chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and served as Ethics Supervisor
• She blew the whistle on the chairman of her own party, resulting in his resignation and a fine
• Vetoed over 300 spending proposals last year, representing over 230 million dollars
• Sold the state-owned private jet, saving the state millions of dollars
• Garnered the highest approval rating of any governor in the country

Watch: Newt Gingrich responds to "the experience question:"

Is Alaska an Insignificant State?
It’s not clear if pronouncing Wasilla as “WaSILLY” was intentionally condescending or just a Freudian slip. What Obama did make clear was that he believes the population and budget of the small town is insignificant, ignoring that Governor Palin’s career entails much more than being a past mayor. Many media pundits have made the same arguments about Alaska’s insignificance as a state. In total Gross Domestic Product, Alaska ranks 48th and 47th in terms of population (ahead of North Dakota, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and Wyoming. In GDP per capita, however, it’s a different story. In 2006, Alaska ranked sixth among states with a GDP per capita of $43,748, compared to the national average of $37,714. Delaware led the nation with the highest per capita GDP of $59,288.

                                                                        
Dan Young is a citizen-turned-online-journalist after becoming fed up with the media's blatant campaigning, the Democrats' double-standard, and the Republicans' reckless abandonment of fiscal responsibility.