Does Size Matter?
If you’ve ever had a case of insomnia and watched late-night TV then there is a good chance you have seen the commercial that begs the question - does size matter? In America, it would appear that size does matter. How big is your home, how big is your car, how big is your bank account, how big is your…let’s not go there. Well, let’s apply this to politics. It seems people are having a tough time with Sarah Palin just being a governor and somehow not being experienced enough for the position of Vice President. A little history lesson. George W. Bush was just a governor, Bill Clinton was just a governor, Ronald Reagan was just a governor, Jimmy Carter was just a governor, how about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Woodrow Wilson, William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, Rutherford Hayes, Andrew Johnson, James Polk, Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, James Monroe, and Thomas Jefferson. And by the way, all of these men were also Presidents. In the name of size matters, let’s go ahead and break that down.
| Governor | State | Size of State in Square Miles |
| Sarah Palin | Alaska | 656,425 |
| George W. Bush | Texas | 268,601 |
| Ronald Reagan | California | 163,707 |
| Jimmy Carter | State | 59,441 |
| Franklin Delano Roosevelt | New York | 54,475 |
| Grover Cleveland | New York | 54,475 |
| Martin Van Buren | New York | 54,475 |
| Bill Clinton | Arkansas | 53,182 |
| William McKinley | Ohio | 44,828 |
| Rutherford Hayes | Ohio | 44,828 |
| John Tyler | Virginia | 42,769 |
| James Monroe | Virginia | 42,769 |
| Thomas Jefferson | Virginia | 42,769 |
| Andrew Johnson | Tennessee | 42,146 |
| James Polk | Tennessee | 42,146 |
| Calvin Coolidge | Massachusetts | 10,555 |
| Woodrow Wilson | New Jersey | 8,722 |
And just in case you were wondering let’s compare the current candidates.
| Candidate | State | Size of State in Square Miles |
| Sarah Palin | Alaska | 656,425 |
| John McCain | Arizona | 114,006 |
| Barack Obama | Illinois | 57,918 |
| Joe Biden | Deleware | 2,489 |
As you can see Sarah Palin is running the largest state in the United States of America. Now what is causing all the dread and anxiety when it comes to her being the Republican Vice Presidential candidate. What did these other former governors have that she does not have? Could it be she is mainstream America? Maybe it’s her strong conservative convictions. Or maybe, watch out Dems, she is a woman. Whatever the reason for all the fuss it’s perfectly clear that when it comes to being the Chief Executive of the state of Alaska Sarah Palin has bragging rights and can claim, “mine’s bigger than yours!”
