dumb as a fence post, was how an alaskan voter described ms palin in a recent posting. the question is how dumb is the american voter if it chooses someone - in the event of mccain being "incapacitated" - with such a dearth of experience to lead this country and economy through some of the most difficult times this nation has ever faced.

She seemed unfamiliar with McCain's plans for Iraq as recently as mid-August. This shows a fundamental lack of curiosity about world affairs, as Senator McCain has made his plans clear during numerous debates, town hall meetings, and other speeches.

Attention off Obama? Check! Isn't that the whole idea? Divert the message from the Candidate with the credentials and intelligence to run the country so we can all chase mice with brooms while no one listens to WHAT COULD BE DONE TO CHANGE THE COUNTRY FOR THE BETTER. McCain and this Rovian tactic definitely accomplished the task of diverting any news coverage of Obama's electrifying speech of Thursday night's DNC. A historical moment for all the world to muse over, except THE USA. Too busy chasing the skirt of Sarah Palin, just like John McCain. Back on message people! The country is in trouble and our choice is Obama/Biden or back to ROVE and GANG.

Scary to think there would be even the smallest possibility that she could become president of our country in a heartbeat. As someone who has gone through eight birthing sessions in my lifetime, it is beyond comprehension how a woman, after starting labor, could give a speech in Texas, get on an airplane and travel eight hours to Alaska. And then this already mother of four rode another couple of hours to reach a certain medical facility where another child was born. Is this woman crazy in addition to being unconcerned about the well-being of the new baby? Something is rotten in Denmark, as my mom used to say.

Suppose Chelsea had gotten pregnant at 17. What name would the repugnicans not have called her? What part of her would Rush not have clawed off with his fingernails? They would have eaten her mother alive since she would have been deemd to be a totally unfit mother.

I want to second the observation of Lynne about McCain's satisfaction with the manner in which he makes decisions ("I make them as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can. Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint" -- *Worth the Fighting For*, 2002.) That's all well and good for a private person, in his private affairs. But McCain is asking us to elect him to conduct PUBLIC affairs, on OUR behalf. Imagine a surgeon who invited you to be so jocularly bland about the consequences his his impulsiveness while your kid is under the knife. You'd be out of his office in a heartbeat. It's one thing to tolerate someone who cheerfully lives with the consequences of his private fecklessness. It's quite another to appoint someone as a trustee to conduct the nation's business in a spirit of bland disregard for the consequences of his reckless judgments upon the res publica.

Here are some emails from very reliable and reasonable Alaskan friends for your consideration about Ms. Palin: She is inexperienced and very rightwing.From what I know of her Sarah Palin does not confer with her commissioners, but only confers with her friends from her home town of Wasilla. She makes decisions based on them, not what the agencies need. She is also under investigation for illegally firing her commissioner of public safety because he wouldn't fire her ex-brother-in-law who is a state trouper. This is being investigated by an outside investigator hired by our legislature I suggest you go to http://www.adn.com and read up on our newspaper's articles about her. When she became mayor of Wasilla she did not support an expansion of the library and had a run-in with the Wasilla museum. She does not believe people should have access to ALL books. She's all into censorship. Her husband is part native and she plays that up. He is also a champion snowmachiner - if that qualifies him to be first dude (which is what they call him). There are a bunch of stories on the Anchorage Daily News website that should be able to fill you in some on her abilities (none). Also, if you get to an article you can't open let me know. I can get them through my library card (I have access to the archives). As you can see I don't have much good to say about her. The one good thing she did was undo some of the really bad things Frank Murkowski did as governor - which lulled me into complacency for a while. He had moved the habitat division of Fish and Game to the Department of Natural Resources which did away with oversight of resource development by Fish and Game. She moved Habitat back to Fish and Game. Hope this helps. She is no Hillary Clinton and her views are diametrically opposed to Hillary Clinton's. She is not the answer for women who are disappointed that Hillary did not win the primary or is not on the ticket. Please do not be taken in by her or the ploy to use her to get disaffected Hillary Clinton voters. She doesn NOT support women's rights and is a poor choice to be VP with such little experience. Here is the other letter: Concerns about Gov. Sarah Palin, from someone familiar with Alaska: Dear Friends, Please feel free to pass this on to any of your friends who are Republican or undecided voters. Most of my personal friends know that my counseling work has taken me to Alaska frequently since 1996. I have many friends there and although I remain resident in New Mexico, have followed Alaskan politics closely. Although I greatly respect and honor Gov. Palin's decision to lovingly raise her recently born baby who has Down syndrome, I have great concern that her inflexible position against a women's right to choose abortion would force other women in her position to give birth to their babies, regardless of their personal circumstances. At the same time, her support for Republican policies would guarantee that most of these women would not have access to or financial support towards the huge amount of health care, physical therapy, and special education that is so important to the beautiful souls born with Down syndrome, and their families. In addition, I have concerns about Gov. Palin's inexperience of the world. She served honorably as the mayor of Wasilla, a beautiful town of 8,500 people, about 40 miles outside Anchorage, populated by farmers, Anchorage commuters, and folks who love a semi-rural lifestyle. Apparently Gov. Palin was fortunate to be able to be a stay-at-home mom, a choice lots of women I know would like to make for at least a few years, until four years ago when she entered politics. Considering Sen. McCain's health history of bouts with melanoma, which thankfully were caught early, and his age of 72, those considering voting for him must consider very carefully whether they want a small-town mayor with two years' experience as a state governor a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Do you really think Gov. Palin is capable of facing down Russia's Putin and Medvadev, pursuing Osama bin Laden, or ensuring nuclear non-proliferation in Iran and North Korea? In addition, one must consider Gov. Palin's stance on the environment. Like many Republicans, she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a move opposed by the Gwich'in Nation of Alaska Native people and the Canadian branch of the Gwichi'in people. Drilling there would threaten the fragile Arctic eco-system and the sacred breeding grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd on which American and Canadian Gwich'ins depend for subsistence. In return we would get a nine-month supply of oil ten years from now (never mind that if we are still using oil ten years from now, we are in serious trouble). I have not been fortunate enough to visit ANWR, but I did attend the Gwich'in Gathering in 1998 and interviewed elders, young leaders, and ordinary people about their feelings on this issue. In an almost unbelievable recent move, Gov. Palin has sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take the polar bear off the Endangered Species list, which would have the effect of opening more areas to possible drilling for the same fossil fuels that are causing the problem of global climate change. Meanwhile, today's news reports (8/29/08) indicate that the Arctic ice shelf off of Alaska has seen more extensive melting than in recorded history---and melting is due to continue for at least another month. The very existence of polar bears and walrus is already threatened by the disappearance of ice near the food-rich continental shelf. A filmmaker friend in Anchorage told me that her friend in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service informed her that 90% of walrus babies died during last year's breeding season. Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are clearly the Big Oil Ticket---in my opinion not an appropriate choice for the perilous challenges of a 21st century economy and reality in which the U.S. must first wean itself off of dependence on foreign oil, and the entire world must in short order break its addiction to fossil fuels. Please think carefully before you cast your vote, and if you are a woman, remember that is was only 88 years ago that American women got the vote. We owe it to the sacrifices of our ancestors to participate in our political process. In hope of a better future, Sincerely, Debra Denker Santa Fe, New Mexico

Let's be accurate, here. Let's not forget some fairly recent history, as the mass media would prefer you to. You shouldn't be asking what the Repubicans WOULD have called Chelsea Clinton if she had gotten pregnant in her teens, you should be asking what Twitchy McCain actually DID call her, publicly, with no provocation, or excuse, when she was a mere teen-ager: Ugly. This proves to me that not only is McCain rather a heartless bastard, but a blind one to boot. I don't recall anyone passing any such judgments on any of HIS kids! Am I suggesting that we need to excoriate Palin's daughter? No. But we should damned well be asking how bloody great of a parent this idealogue mom of hers really is, and if we really want her vision of abstinence-only, breederism-parenting rammed down the throat of the entire country. -Or perhaps, given worldwide shortages of pretty much everything, I guess 6.5 BILLION people JUST ISN"T ENOUGH?