GOP's convention chairman says Palin surpasses Obama as executive

ST. PAUL - In a possible preview of the GOP strategy to convince voters that Sarah Palin is qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, a top Republican declared yesterday that the first-term Alaska governor "has more executive experience than Senator Obama or Senator Biden or both of them put together."

Representative John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican National Convention chairman, bemoaned "the shots she is taking, especially from liberal elitist Democrat senators about her experience. I think they do so at their own peril.

"This is a chief executive of a state, and administrators have to make decisions," he told reporters at a luncheon sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. "Senators and congressmen get to vote yes or no."

Boehner touted Palin's lack of Washington experience as a plus. "It's this elitist attitude that they portray: 'My God, if you are not a Washington insider you can't possible know anything about what it takes to be president,' " he said.

Even when it comes to her relatively few national security credentials, including leading the Alaska National Guard, Boehner argued that Palin measures up well. "It is more than what Senator Obama has to offer. Just because you made two trips to Afghanistan and Iraq - two quick trips - does that make you an expert? Does that give you more experience?"

BRYAN BENDER

Barack Obama's campaign - surpised like the rest of the political world by John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate - is trying to adjust on the fly.

After initially sending out a blistering statement belittling the first-term Alaska governor as "the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience," the Democratic nominee's camp has since taken a two-track strategy toward Palin.

The candidate, himself, is nodding to the historic nature of her selection, while emphasizing the argument that she, like McCain, represents a continuation of President Bush. Obama's first TV ad on Palin makes the same point - rebutting the McCain campaign's portrayal of her as a younger maverick who will help him reform Washington.

"Well, he's made his choice," the announcer says in the Obama spot. "But, for the rest of us, there's still no change."

At an economic forum yesterday in Toledo, Ohio, Obama alluded to Palin without saying her name, telling about 200 people that she "seems like a very engaging person, nice person. But I've got to say, she's opposed, like John McCain is, to equal pay for equal work. That doesn't make much sense to me."

On a separate track, however, Obama's campaign is continuing to rip the choice of Palin, sending out one critical article or editorial after another and accusing him of pandering to the religious right. "It appears the only groups remotely enthused by the Palin pick are conservatives and evangelicals for whom the only consideration is strict adherence to far right ideology," Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in one missive.

And Obama's surrogates are trying to make the case that McCain failed his first true test of leadership with the choice.

GLOBE STAFF AND ASSOCIATED PRESS

One of the first national polls after Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was revealed as the Republican vice presidential nominee showed little change in a tight presidential race.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released last night gives the Democratic ticket of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden a 49 percent to 48 percent edge over the Republican ticket of Senator John McCain and Palin. That compares with a tie at 47 percent each when voters were asked earlier in August to choose between Obama and McCain, without running mates mentioned.

The survey, which was conducted Friday through Sunday, found that Palin seems to be making a good first impression, though a significant number of voters don't know her. She was viewed favorably by 38 percent of voters and unfavorably by 21 percent, while 20 percent had not heard of her and 21 percent said they had no opinion.

FOON RHEE

Barack Obama is doing his best to capitalize on the working-class and Pennsylvania roots of his running mate, Senator Joe Biden.

Biden hails from Scranton, and Pennsylvania, with its 21 electoral votes, is a huge prize in November. He is scheduled to march today in annual Labor Day parades in Scranton, as well as Pittsburgh.

The Obama campaign also released a TV ad that will air in northeast Pennsylvania in which Biden highlights his local connections, and vouches for Obama.

FOON RHEE