Palin. Appalling.

I don't consider myself to be a political expert of any kind, but John McCain's decision for his VP is just insane. Clearly the Republicans are trying to reach out to disaffected Clinton supporters by surprising everyone with Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, who will be the only woman to appear on the ballot in the last two decades. I (like the rest of the sane world) have so many problems with this, it's hard to know where to start, but here are a few of them:

1. Palin is the governor of Alaska, which has roughly a quarter of Chicago's population. ALASKA. The GOP seriously wants to bring in someone to the presidency who has spent about a year as governor to the least populated state in the country, and was touting around PTA meetings as leadership experience prior to that? Her lack of experience, not only with domestic affairs but more importantly, foreign policy, is troubling at best. Some critics have compared McCain's choice of Palin to Bush's choice of Dan Quayle in 1988. At least Quayle was a senator within the continental U.S.....Palin was quoted saying 'I am honored to be chosen.' I'm sure she is honored. It will give her an excuse to enjoy sunlight a full 365 days a year.
   
2. McCain just celebrated his 72nd birthday on Friday. Within those 72 years, he has had four bouts of cancer and numerous surgeries. If he kicks the bucket while in office (entirely possible, if not extremely likely), handing over a Commander in Chief position to a self-proclaimed "hockey mom" is not exactly the best scenario.
   
3. Palin is anti-choice. She likes to refer to her family for validation on this belief, espousing the fact that she chose not to have an abortion for her fifth child after Palin and her husband learned of the in-utero infant's Down Syndrome diagnosis. Ummmm that's all well and good for you, but that doesn't mean everyone should have to birth a Downs infant if they choose not to. And for about a million other reasons, an anti-choice female VP is bad news bears.
   
4. Palin is evangelical Christian. This sort of plays into the whole anti-choice thing, but I am uncomfortable with the idea of an individual in office who brings with them such zealous religious beliefs. I mean, really, any denomination of Christianity that places a great deal of emphasis on Biblical authority is questionable.
   
5. As Senator Barbara Boxer said, Palin is a woman. Clinton is a woman. That's about as far as their similarities go. Any undecideds or independent voters who feel voting for the McCain/Palin ticket (merely because of Palin) would compensate for no H.R.C. on the ballot would be sorely mistaken.
   

Hopefully this 'strategic' move from the GOP will prove to voters that McCain lacks sound judgment (perhaps Alzheimer's is setting in?) and he should instead concentrate on enjoying his numerous homes around the country and playing golf.

Sarah Palin for Vice President!
haha thank you Erin