This has all the relevancy of the Pat Buchanan lapel pin she wore at a gathering in his honor in Alaska. It is petty and tells us who the real Sarah Palin is: a woman so shallow on her own merits but so driven by ambition that she will allow herself to be Karl Rove’s pit bull (with lipstick, to be sure), mouthing words that no real Christian (remember I Corinthians 13. or the Golden Rule) would stoop to utter in order to follow the only game plan Rove can muster, which translaters to “divide and conquer” (“playing to the base” being a mere subtext in the strategy - which worked once but the base is onto it now and the Republican party is splintered all to hell because of it - and that’s just a small part of havoc it has caused). This underestimating of American intelligence (we are not all Joe Six-pack or Soccer Mom and even some of us who are have brains!) is such an insult and these tactics will find the chickens coming home to roost. If this is the worst thing, and the only thing, they can throw at Obama, what does that say? But a bit of examination of the history of both Palin and McCain makes it quite obvious that neither is in a position to throw mud. What angers me most is that we are in the darkest days of America and all this defamation of character and shallow attack mode takes all the focus from issues that are threatening us with an entire sea change in our lifestyles, our economy, and our foreign relations. Neither candidate voted against that horrible “bail out” that Americans clearly did not want. I agree that Sarah Palin is compromising any political future she might have, and I doubt that many women would say she represents their best interests. I’m hungry for a woman in higher office but not someone of this calibre. We deserve a woman we can respect and with intelligence, personal integrity and a history to support her. It is clear that Sarah Palin does not have these qualities. I find her to be a very real affront and so is this style of politics. I’m too good for that and so is the rest of America, male and female.

I will paraphrase Naomi Klein to express my own deepest convictions: for 7 years the present administration has orchestrated the transfer of public wealth into the hands of the private and now, for their last act, they are transferring private debt into the hands (or onto the backs) of the public. When Americans are screaming “No!!” and most financial analysts and experts are in agreement with them, how can it happen that this will forced upon us? And why did BOTH presidential candidates sign on? My message to my own representatives was this: “DO NOT APPROVE THE BAILOUT! Moving private debt into the hands and responsibility of the public is the most egregious example of capitalistic greed and avarice in my lifetime of 65 years!!” I am just sick over this. It has left me with serious questions about just how seriously I can take our claim to democracy.

Puh-leez! To be sure, there are those women to whom these things matter. But this is a Presidential Election for god’s sake and there are enormous issues stake, domestically and internationally. What we look for, at least those of us who have brains among our other organs/attributes, is gravitas, real knowledge of the issues (not something crammed into us in boot camp) and real-life experience on a stage large enough to translate to the world stage. The rules that apply are not respective of gender or any other subjective bias. To make this once more an object of political party versus objective critique is truly sad. Even Sarah Palin deserves better than that, and every voting woman certainly does.

Didn’t proofread… Should read, “as its final act, is now moving private debt into public hands.”

Naomi Klein says this best (and I paraphrase): the government has spent the last 7 years moving public wealth to private hands and, as it’s final act, is not moving private debt to public hands. That’s it in a nutshell. What amazes me is that this is being done AGAINST public will! And we call this a democracy? I am furious!

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” Thomas Jefferson 1802 ‘Nough said…

Am I alone in observing how very tightly scripted Palin was, reading from her personal prompters at every turn? Her answers were superficial, often off topic, a repetition of party mantra and delivered in that folksy syntax that does not say “head of state” in any language or setting. Her performance reminds me of high school debate prep, or cramming for an important exam or speech - how much of that prep data do you remember even months later even if you memorized the data so well you aced the performance? It is not a part of her ethic or experience and that is obvious. Does she have an important role to play in Republican politics in the future? That is quite likely. Is she ready for prime time now? That is extremely unlikely and this is not a situation that allows for intensive on-the-job training under the circumstances which center around two incontrovertible points: the gravity of the situation domestically and internationally, and McCain’s age and health status. It is very evident that this is an ambitious woman but I would respect her more if she tempered her overreaching with a bit of humility and the allowance for personal learning, growth and capacity for error. And I do not respect John McCain for choosing her, either for the position in which it puts her or for the position in which it puts us, the voters - especially those of us who are women. Joe Biden by contrast exudes experience and personal knowledge. His selection by a man many years his junior in years and experience speaks well for both of them. Given his often fiery, off-the-cuff delivery and gaffe-prone sound bites, his delivery was measured, thorough and calm. His knowledge of inside Washington is critical to the process and anyone who does not recognize the importance of that element, regardless of party or issue, does not understand anything about how institutional process is accomplished and how dismally unsuccessful “outsider,” “maverick” effort and outlook will be. Any “soccer mom” who thinks she might be equal to taking on Washington and/or is capable of understanding in depth the issues at stake, not to mention the protocol involved, is not only kidding herself, she is an affront to reality. This is not to deny ability, but to defer to experience and learning, to caution against hubris - that great elephant in the rooms of both the White House and the Congress. That old saying - one must change the system from within the system - in never more true than inside the Washington Beltway. To proffer anything else is to be extremely naive and perhaps pretentious.