In a country where we claim 80% of its people know the government, economy, and even tact are headed in an obvious downward spiral, one would believe an absolutely shallow and one-dimensional speech would automatically turn-off every last average american voter? She pleases the select few as the rest of the country is numb.

AGREED! Palin read a speech written for whomever McCain's selection was, which was most certainly a "more of the same" tome for hard conservatives to hang their hats on. We must face that there will always be a percentage of people who don't want things to change no matter what. Her lack of specifics was no doubt an intentional bow to McCain's judgement and leadership, however confused and backward that is. A speech from nowhere to nowhere! Doesn't she look good though?

thank you for this...i'm absolutely disgusted by her speech...their candidacy...the gop's politics...

Thank you Will Bunch for expressing exactly what I was feeling during the speech which was it was nothing but an attack speech with tough talk and no real solutions unless you count as a solution the same failed policies and rhetoric of the current administration. What I have picked up on in these last few hours is how similar Sarah Palin is to our current vice president Dick Cheney. They are both from states with less than a million people, have ties to the oil industry and both want to drill in Anwar even though McCain has been against that presumably until now. They both want to stay in Iraq no matter what the cost until we win which will be never. They both do not have any plans for the economy except to give tax breaks to the rich, and hopefull while she is out hunting she will not shoot anyone in the face.

Palin underscored Obama's lack of executive experience as she put down community organizers as she exalted her role of major in a town of about 5000 citizens. "Nowhere" in her speech we can find any evidence of the "executive" experience her boss acquired in the military or during his years in the Senate. But her effort was well packaged and delivered as required by the occasion. It is my hope the people of this country look well inside this package because whatever she has to offer will be difficult to find.

Thank you so much for this beautiful piece. It was a birthday gift to me.

This was a great piece on "Pitbull" Palin, but I have to ask if YOU saw Obama's speech. Palin's remarks about "Greek columns" was a cheap shot (has she ever seen the White House or the Capitol building?), but there were indeed Greek columns onstage during Obama's Invesco speech. Check out the photos here: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/08/28/2008-08-28_barack_obamas_invesco_stage_is_greek_tem.html

Palin? hmm... any relation? Could she actually be a Monty Python joke? I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay, she's a creationist from Prudhoe Bay!

Thank you, Will. Your articulate article highlights many of the gross "disconnects" contained in Palin's speech last night. There was a disheartening lack of grace in her recitation of nasty personal attacks and outright distortion of her "record" and "experience." In fact, her attitude and smug condescension served only to swerve the discourse over the next 60 days or so into the gutter; or at least that's what she and her scriptwriters are hoping will be the result, for obviously they have no intention of "changing" anything that the Bush Administration has put into place over the past eight years (except, perhaps, the errant "pro-environmental" decision or two that happened to slip through, such as keeping polar bears on the endangered species list). Apparently the only way she can make serving as mayor of a remote town of 9,000 people (albeit while bringing in bacon of $27 million) and governor of very nearly the least populated state in the union is to castigate and disparage the hard work of those who sacrifice money and power to work with those who have the least. Wow, that's impressive, Sarah. It's also a shocking commentary on the state of the Republican party that the crowd at that convention went out of their skulls in support of a sneering, nasty, self-appointed "pit bull with lipstick," when one considers the hate-filled, venomous castigation they've hurled on Hillary Clinton lo these past 16 years. It is ironic that the snarling pit bull we saw and listened to last night is the furthest cry from Hillary Clinton in almost every respect - yet Sarah Palin epitomizes nearly every ugly trait the right wing extremist Republicans have accused Hillary of being. Sarah Palin is what right wing Republican extremists fear most. Someone who would impose ON EVERYONE IN THIS COUNTRY her views of how to live life, raise a family, and educate our children (to name only a few issues she views with blinders). She is what they fear most. Yet they will blindly rally around her and her rigid ideology. The Obama-Biden campaign and all people who want to live in the country we were raised to believe we live in need to relentlessly point out the inconsistencies and outright lies that pour out of her mouth. We must show the world that we will not be bullied by a pit bull, particularly since the only reason she has a platform from which to speak is because of the work of individuals she now scorns.

Seems that the real buffon is Will Bunch, the author of the article. The LATimes, which had been so in love with Obama is telling a different story about her qualifactions than some of the pretend "liberal" sites are posting. Some bloggers who were former Obama supporters actually have the audacity to say that some Democrats are having "buyer's remorse". I most certainly understand why: Sarah Palin, as governor, takes on energy companies A hard-line supporter of state controls, she's earned public acclaim, angered industry giants, allied with Democrats and alienated fellow Republicans. By Kim Murphy and Tom Hamburger Los Angeles Times Staff Writers September 4, 2008 ANCHORAGE — Days after she was sworn in as governor, Sarah Palin began to clean house at the department of natural resources, firing and demoting several top officials and eventually appointing a new director at the agency that oversees the energy companies that provide the state with 85% of its revenue. The shake-up was an early sign that this newly elected Republican governor was not like any of her predecessors -- she was determined not to cave in to the energy industry, the state's lifeblood. "The governor is not a negotiator. She is a non-negotiator. She draws lines in the sand," said Tim Bradner, an oil industry analyst for Platts Oilgram and the Alaska Journal of Commerce. Palin, in her inaugural speech, had another way of putting it: "I will unambiguously, steadfastly and doggedly guard the interests of this great state as a mother naturally guards her own," she said. Palin's willingness to take on powerful interests in her state drew the attention of Sen. John McCain, who has praised his running mate as a reformer. Since becoming governor in December 2006, Palin has tripled production taxes on oil and seized control of a proposed $30-billion natural gas pipeline from the traditional oil giants. The Palin administration now stands in a nerve-racking face off with the multibillion-dollar oil industry interests that have for 40 years been the bedrock of the state's politics and economy. Who blinks first -- Palin, or companies like BP Alaska, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil -- will determine who controls transport of Alaska's massive untapped gas resources and future tax revenues for a state dependent on petroleum revenues for 85% of its budget. Most analysts are predicting that it won't be Palin who yields. "She has been more adversarial with the producers than any previous governor," said Democratic state Rep. Mike Doogan, whom Palin courted -- with cupcakes -- to power her oil program through the Legislature this year. Palin's showdown with the oil companies has earned her enormous public acclaim but alienated her from all but a handful of Republican legislators and forced her to develop working alliances with Democrats. She has taken on the leadership of the state Republican Party at a time when a growing number of Alaskan politicians are being indicted on corruption charges because of their ties to the oil industry. "I'm a Democrat. She's a Republican. But she and I have a larger alliance with each other than we do with our own parties," said Ray Metcalfe, a former state legislator who has long complained about corruption. "We have a Republican governor who is not part of the system, and she has set out to reform the party." Palin's independent approach to politics recalls the kind of Republicanism championed, at least rhetorically, by another maverick: McCain. "She came into office with a single focus, and that was to undo everything the previous governor had done, and to do as much as she could to prevent Alaska's oil producers from having any participation in any development of an Alaska natural gas line," said Republican state Rep. Mike Hawker, who chairs the state House budget committee. At least 40 Republicans were opposed to the enormous oil production tax increase crafted in the Legislature, he said, but Palin "cut a deal with the Democratic caucus." "She rode the tide of vindictive populism against the oil and gas industry in this state," he said. The connections between oil and power go back to the earliest days of Alaskan statehood. Four of the 10 largest oil fields in North America are on the North Slope, contributing an estimated $5 billion to the state's economy, according to the Alaska Oil and Gas Assn. Palin is a strong supporter of expanding drilling across the North Slope and in some other environmentally sensitive regions. Unlike McCain, she favors opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil production. But her hard line on expanding state control has flummoxed oil executives. They have warned that the higher taxes will discourage investment in oil production at a time when Alaska must compete with other fields around the world for oil capital. "The governor pushed for an increase in taxes and the Legislature went along. That was totally their right to do so, but we were pretty clear going in what the long-term consequences would be," said Steve Rinehart, spokesman for BP Exploration. He said the company has decided to place one of its North Slope projects on hold as a result of the tax increase. "It was a bread-and-butter oil field development, and a billion dollars' worth of work. We decided it doesn't make sense in the current tax environment," Rinehart said. The showdown comes at a crucial time, when oil flows from the North Slope down the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline are barely half what they were at their peak in 1988. Palin not only wants a greater share of what's left for state coffers, but has also told oil companies they must develop the leases they have or give them up -- a challenge to producers who may have been waiting for marginal oil and gas fields to become economical before investing millions more in them. Last month, the Palin administration revoked 13 ExxonMobil leases on the North Slope project known as Point Thomson, a field believed to hold up to 7 trillion cubic feet of gas, or about a quarter of the North Slope's known reserves. Palin's administration has also squared into an epic standoff with North Slope producers over a proposed $30-billion, 1,700-mile pipeline that would for the first time allow gas to be transported to markets in the Lower 48. ExxonMobil, BP and ConocoPhillips own rights to most of the gas on the North Slope, and have sought long-term tax guarantees before signing on to build the transit facility, which would be the largest private enterprise project in North American history. Palin's negotiators have offered only medium-term tax promises and do not want the gas producers holding monopoly control over the facility. The dispute came to a showdown in the Legislature last month, when Palin succeeded in offering the license -- accompanied by a state subsidy of $500 million -- to Canada-based Trans-Canada Corp. She cut the North Slope producers out of the loop. But in a stunning war of nerves, ConocoPhillips and BP have launched a private pipeline project of their own, announcing they will spend $600 million to begin construction within five years. "We're trying to break this logjam and move the project forward," said Bud Fackrell, president of Denali, the company formed to build the pipeline. The Republican governor's hard line on the oil companies has stirred concern among energy executives across the country. In Washington, energy lobbyists have prepared reports on Palin's record. Her pro-drilling stance "reminds me a lot of Dick Cheney," said Scott Segal, a prominent D.C. energy lobbyist. But her policy of taxing windfall energy profits is disconcerting, he said. "That approach is anathema to oilmen." kim.murphy@latimes.com tom.hamburger@latimes.com

Speech to Nowhere? How about a look at Obama's speech: PAUL STREET ON WHAT WAS NOT SAID IN OBAMA'S SPEECH http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/18645 Obama did not call for deep cuts in the U.S. military budget to free up billions and even trillions of dollars for social programs to end poverty and reduce inequality in America. He did not pick up on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to argue that the U.S. should stop spending half of its federal budget on a mammoth "defense" (actually about what the Pentagon calls "forward force projection") system that maintains more than 720 foreign military bases (located across nearly every nation on Earth) and accounts for half the world's military spending. Obama did not note that this vast and expensive Empire poses a grave threat to the physical and economic security and the political freedom of U.S. citizens by diverting money from social programs, provoking "anti-American" anger and "blowback" around the world and justifying U.S. attacks on civil liberties at home and abroad. Obama did not join King in observing that a nation reaches "spiritual death" when it spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year on a cancerous military-industrial complex while millions of its own children live in poverty. He did not call for the introduction of free health care for all, paid for by the federal government. He did not propose a government guarantee of meaningful, socially useful and decently remunerative employment to everyone who needs a job. He did not call for massive government housing relief for millions dealing with foreclosure and eviction. He did not call for a guaranteed national income set at the real cost of a minimally decent living in the U.S. He did not denounce the grotesque mal-distribution of wealth in the U.S., the world's most unequal industrialized and wealth top-heavy state by far - a nation where the top 1 percent owns 40 percent of the wealth and a probably larger share of its politicians and policymakers. He said that "this country of ours has more wealth than any other nation" without bothering to mention the profoundly regressive way in which that "national wealth" is allotted insides the U.S. He said nothing about the harshly fixed lines of class immobility which ensure that the children of rich parents tend to stay rich (no matter how "personally irresponsible" the Few's progeny may be) while children of poor parents tend to stay poor no matter how "personally responsible" they may be in the U.S. He did not mention the shocking and growing number of Americans living in poverty and extreme poverty He did not call for radical changes in the nation's tax and spending policies to fund social uplift and reconstruction. -- "The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." --Steve Biko

Bravo Will, excellent piece. Let's just hope the MSM wakes up and does their homework, and quickly and consistently outs both Palin and the GOP for the way they are misrepresenting (basically lying) themselves to the American public! I wrote a piece myself called, The GOP Serves Itself First, The Nation Next And The People Last. It's absolutely mind boggling how many people are letting the GOP get away with one of the biggest lies to hit the airways in quite some time, namely that they are the ones that care more about country than party. Anyone capable of critical thinking knows that the exact opposite is true.

It is election time again + HOTMAIL is attempting to block email from this fine author about a hockey mom pitbull. The GOP, HOTMAIL + FOX NEWS thinking is part of USA in 1858 NOT in 2008. The GOP has occupied the Whitehouse for 20 of 28 years, and IRAQ for 7 years; and, USA and IRAQ never threatened the GOP.

I totally agree, but of the people who are as yet undecided, how many will read/listen between the lines, past the jingoism, bullying, duplicity, "triple standards" on her family values, etc. The Obama campaign has some thoughtful Democratic ideas. The McCain show doesn't even offer much in terms of thoughtful conservative views to dis/agree with. Make no mistake: there is no debate here in any meaningful sense. If the Dems don't want to lose this one, too, they best come up with a realistic battle plan, I'm afraid,

Well put. You could have omitted the first laudatory paragraph, as we'll be hearing those points ad nauseum for weeks to come from the other side. Sarah Palin is certainly a live grenade of a reactionary politician. Makes us wonder how many more of these are set to go off among the ranks of the far right. So the "base" got their pit bulldog. I hope they feel some vindication. This woman is one of the most offensive demagogues I've heard since Grover Norquist or Newt Gingrich. All bluster and bile and no wisdom or insight. Is this what voters want? You tell me: a uniter or a divider? Fortunately, she managed to offend most minorities and centrist voters whose support she needs the most. How many of us have worked for a crank like her as some point in our lives. For the record, her facts are more than a little skewed if not downright false. There is not "plenty" of oil and gas in the North Slope and it certainly won't make us end our dependence on foreign oil. There might be 2-5 years of supply, then what do we do? Typical of Republican/far right propaganda, there is no easy solution to our energy situation. It took decades to get where we are and dependence on fossil fuel won't be overcome by producing very expensive offshore fuel. Ask the petroleum geologists, ignore the politicians. Another whopper, right out of the right-wing terror manual, was the claim that Obama will raise taxes. It's clear, when reactionaries use this lie, they're talking to their "base" of $200K/yr. and up true believers. They can make such a blasphemous statement and get a response from the blue-bloods that receive dividends and stipends that might be affected by Obama's economic policy. The most absurd nonsense was the comment about "victory" in Iraq. When you have a room full of military hawks who are convinced we can hang onto a client state in Iraq, keep fuel prices down and convert the Middle East to some sort of shopping mall for military contractors and oil companies; not to mention the idle pleasure seekers in Dubai, it's understandable this nonsense is popular. To the rest of us, especially those who understand a thing or two about history and cultural upheaval, it's more than annoying; it’s downright scary. Just ask the British or the Russians how smart nation building in the Middle East and Central Asia can be.

What a difference two weeks make. Check out the article in the September 8, 2008 New Yorker, when Palin, in an interview with Philip Gourevitch, was praising Obama, and pointing out their similarities http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2008/09/08/080908ta_talk_gourevitch It seems Palin went to the 'undisclosed location' for a 'Schmidtzing' She obviously personalized her speech, but it was vintage Rovian divisive vitriol in its dishonesty and pandering. Too bad. We really could use change.

Right on. I don't even know how to comment, because I'm just amazed at how crazy this world has gotten, and I'm sure it'll get worse.

The last sentence of the fourth to last paragraph should read the word "not" instead of "now" Seventh paragraph from the top in the first sentence change "you" to "your" for "your definition ..."

When is Palin going to be asked some serious questions and be forced to explain the raft of lies and half truths she has been spouting? I hope that reporters do not avoid questioning her for fear of being called sexist. For them NOT to demand answers is sexist....treating her specially because of her gender.

For people who are actually interested in what Palin says she stands for, and seeing what she does indeed stand for, please visit: http://www.grizzlybay.org/SarahPalinInfoPage.htm The shots of her with the Grizzly throw on the couch and her parent's "trophy" head collection are my favorites. Nothing like having a woman who opposes Roe v. Wade as the second most powerful person on the planet. "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." T. Jefferson

My husband and I watched the first 10 minutes of Sarah's speech, turned off the TV, then went to bed. Neither of us slept last night. We were devastated; scared for our country and our children. Do we really want a HOCKEY MOM for Vice President? Haven't we already had enough of the inept and "macho" in the White House? I'm embarrassed for the Republican Party. Now, how do they get out of this?

This is absolutely the best analysis of Palin's speech I've seen yet. Her "speech" was nothing short of wallowing political rhetoric that told us nothing about how all these problems we have in America are gonna get fixed. She did show one thing though, she's really good at slinging gooey, smelly one-liners. That was it, sling out a short stink ball and wait for the crowd to roar. Frankly, I was embarrassed for our democratic process. How in the world can a 20-month Governor of a state with a population the size of Austin, Texas, who has spent 13 of those months nurturing a baby, be allowed to stand anywhere and throw mud balls at a serious political candidate for the POTUS who displays more savvy political thinking and leadership character every day than she can only aspire to emulate in a whole term in office? I can only surmise that republicans resort to these libelous egregious tactics (offensive allegories, false and stupid one-liners, spurious name-calling, and out-and-out lying) because they lack the honesty and wisdom (intelligence?) to formulate and articulate real solutions to our country's problems. And, it just really surprises me that so many people actually swallow this petty and vile political campaigning. Sign me "Disgusted" with Republicans.

Not impressed. Not by anything this lightweight has done, nor how she's raised her kids. Also upset that the speech was written by a speechwriter for George Bush and that it was done on the country's dime...that is, you and I paid for this piece of garbage. The whole thing is too disgusting for words and the prairie twang hurts my ears as well.

Since McCain is now marching lock-step with the neocons, why be surprised that his VP pick sounds just like Cheney? It's clear why he finished 5th from the bottom of a class of 800 in the Naval Academy.

Someone wanted to know more about what Palin stands for - well apart from the fact she has chosen to be VP over taking care of her mentally retarded 4 month old baby, this says it all: Despite strong scientific, ethical and public opposition to aerial hunting, Sarah Palin has… Proposed paying a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf. Approved a $400,000 state-funded propaganda campaign to promote aerial hunting. Introduced legislation to make it even easier to use aircraft to hunt wolves and bears. https://secure.defenders.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=c406_090308palinwolf Warning: This video contains images of aerial hunting of wolves -- a brutal and needless practice that Governor Palin has fought hard to promote and expand. This is barbaric and horrifying!!!!!!!!!! If Palin is elected and represents the USA, then the country deserves to burn in HELL! FYI: Palin does not believe that Polar Bears are an endangered species and also fair game. This woman is a f*****g sick BITCH!!!!!!!!

It's too bad that John McCain didn't pick a real woman instead of a self-centered twit. This is the kind of female that gives all of the truly accomplished women in this country a bad name. What an insult! I, as an independent, will NEVER again vote for a Republican. These people make me sick.

All I have to say is... Stepford Palin

I am appalled, terrified, embarrassed and deeply disturbed that the level of discourse is so crude, slanderous and juvenile. Carl Rove is definitely a returning presence in the election.

I agree with most every thing said about Palin in all these commentaries. I do not condone aerial hunting of wolves and bears especially when they are needed to keep the herd trimmed down that starve to death when they can`t find food because of the snow and ice. Would someone please tell me what is in Alaska they could possibly hurt? Except maybe the people who have moved into their territory for lack of common sense. She talks a good line but that is what it is, " A Big Line ". As far as Obama not speaking on certain issues in his speech there is no way every thing can be covered in one speech unless they ae going to stand there for 3 days covering what everyone thinks is so important. What is important is to not have any more Bush/Cheney in the White House and that is what we will have if these two are put into office. As far as taking on big oil? She is all for drilling up in the Arctic area where the polar bears and walrus live. It`s uncool in fact about her is uncool.

Look what happens when salmon is eaten to much. The FDA warns pregnant women not to eat salmon more than twice a month. Mercury and other toxins could damage the brains of a developing fetus. http://www.culturechange.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=187&Itemid=33

McCain's "choice" of VP really doesn't matter-Palin & the speeches are just a distraction because THERE WON"T BE AN ELECTION...has anyone noticed that Cheney is in Georgia??? While the sheeple are distracted by the debacle in Minnesota, Cheney is engineering an "event" that will insure his continued stranglehold on our country. The Bush-Cheney cabal has no intention of walking away, and risk the possibility of being held accountable for their treasonous actions. Look for a major "security threat" to occur shortly, most likely a military engagement with Russia, that will result in declaration of martial law & "suspension" of the elections. We've let them get away with too much for too long...it's too late

The Bimbo factor... that Sarah Palin brings to this campaign is unmistakable. Americans do not want serious debate that will tax their gray cells. They just want something pleasant to munch on and something good to look at. Sarah Palin provides both of these and no wonder she is viewed "favorably" by a higher percentage of Americans than McCain or Obama! America deserves this empty soundbox!

Reading a terrorist suspect his rights... I come from a long line of Eastern Republicans and I have completely lost faith in the direction of the grand old party. The idea expressed by Mrs. Palin and by Mr. Romney in their speeches where they both seem to be suggesting that America abandon its legal system which is based upon and rooted in the fundamental and foundational concept of the presumption of innocence should cause all Americans, Democrat and Republican, to ask, "With what are you suggesting we replace it ?". This is not getting alot of attention in the Media, but it should roar in the ears of any patriotic American as a covert call to highjack and overturn the rule of law and destroy our beloved Republic . I would like to hear a speech from someone on the right or the left about the rule of law and the fundmentals of American law and the extreme danger of allowing ourselves to move away from being a nation of laws. In such a speech I think it would be wise to remind Americans that freedom is risky and requires our courage and commitment to a better world through the rule of law and that the giving up freedom for safety brings neither. If you build a cage around liberty and freedom, they cease live. I would rather be free in a dangerous world than be a slave in a safe compound. Most folks don't seem to understand what is being proposed in these little jokes from the Republican podium. Mr. Romney may indeed believe that the sun will rise in the West and that the American Criminal Justice system should be based upon the presumption of guilt, but someone really ought to speak up and remind everyone that the sun actually rises in the east and that America is a Constitutional Democracy based upon a deep and abiding belief in equal justice with the presumption of innocence at its core. America was born in open rebellion to authoritarianism and the inquisitorial legal system that accompanies it . This is the home of the brave. The floating of these ideas at the RNC is embarrassing and insulting to the grand old party and to America and it is obviously a contiunuation down the slippery slope toward fasicsm begun by the Bush / Cheney regime. Perhaps Mr. Romney and Mrs. Palin along with the "new" Republican party would like to secede from the Union and start their own country? Best of luck!

"What luck for the rulers that people do not think." --Adolf Hitler

Silly people. You all seem to think there's actually going to be an election! Or, if "they" can't organize a reason to declare martial law and suspend civil rights completely before November, that the current admin is actually going to turn over power! I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Speaking of "change": Hey Buddy, can you spare a dime? When this Party starts talking about change, you know it's got to be chump change.

McCain and Palin ARE the bridge to nowhere!

She's like Bush, only more so: Cuter, more appealing, more articulate, but at least as far to the Radical Right as GWB. She'd never win a debate with the other VP candidate.

This is all a horse and pony show, the Washington Post is onto her work with Senator Stevens on his 'inner circle' committee, starting in 2003, which is when the big guys started grooming her for the big time . . . Paybacks can be hell, and accepting the VP position may have been something she really didn't have a choice in . . . There was MUCH speculation here in Alaska about why she even won the 2006 election for governor since she was running against popular and experienced former governor Tony Knowles, who had about a ten point lead going into the elections . . . MANY residents were totally shocked that Ms. Palin was going to be governor . . . in rural areas, which always vote Republican, the votes are often still hand-counted but in the 'big' cities, which are more likely to vote Democratic, voting is done by Opti-Scans, which can be hacked . . . This game has been going on a long time already, be careful when messin with Ted Stevens protege' ! (All appearances of antagonism between the two are for public consumption only, privately they're thick as thieves . . . oh wait, they ARE thieves . . . )

In answer to your question, "I'd surely like to hear what -- if anything -- she's done for special needs kids as governor of Alaska," I offer this clue: "Palin signed legislation updating eligibility for Alaska’s SCHIP program, Denali KidCare, to maintain the eligibility level–which had dropped to an effective rate of almost 150 percent of the poverty line due to inflation. However, by limiting eligibility to families living below 175 percent of the poverty line, Alaska’s eligibility criteria are still among the lowest in the nation. Palin did not support legislation to expand eligibility to higher levels. [National Conference of State Legislatures, 6/2008; Kaiser Network, 5/22/2007; Anchorage Daily News, 4/15/2008]

Too bad her "speech" wasn't given 2 days before the election, if there is one. There is plenty of time for this "love affair" engendered by the corrupt media to peter out - the truth will out. If we had a real two party system, maybe the opposing party would help to bring forth questions about her real self. Pity how we are getting the political system we deserve - since we as a nation haven't kept up with these liars and cheats and what they have been doing to the fabric of this once great nation- we fell asleep. Too late to wake UP? As one has commented, this speech wasn't for us but for the Elite who OWN this country. Russia and China go about obtaining their needs by making friends and buying it. This once great nation sees everything through corrupted eyes and tries to fill it needs by pushing smaller nations around (Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Georgia, Iran) - all against the WISHES of almost 80% of the American people. Now they tried Russia! The good countries are uniting against the sick & dieing eagle. Many have expressed the idea of the good American people uniting with the good Russian people to stop the corrupt Elites! What a dream! The Super-rich Elite have now come out of the shadows showing they are desperate. They are dividing the world between corrupt leaders and those who still want to be free and honest! Do we want to be free? Wake up America!

Palin is a typical right wing, evangelical woman. Add the beauty queen bit and she becomes more appealing, but she is typical of the right wing -- evangelical, closed-minded, and anti-science. She probably believes that the Earth was created in 7 actual 24 hour days and the Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of a whale and hopped out in great shape. Unless you've spent some time in a church with these people, you have no idea how ignorant these people are. When you talk to them about saving some species, their response is "God won't let us destroy anything he doesn't want destroyed." Yeah. Tell it to the polar bears. The thought of anyone like Palin as VP is terrifying.

Palin, Bush, and too many Americans are scientifically ignorant. They think we can continue to use oil at the rate we are using it and that drilling in the US will discover enough oil for us to use forever. Never mind the facts. Never mind estimates of how much oil is left, where it is, and the cost of getting it. We prove our ignorance by blissfully chanting "drill, baby, drill." What idiots!