Palin Comparison

Back in February, during the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, I watched some goober on C-SPAN interview Sarah Palin. It was just a few softball questions, and other than the one about whether she was interested in the vice-presidential nomination, which she deflected easily, I don’t remember much of the interview.

I do remember being impressed and thinking she might actually be a strong choice for a running mate. She came across as competent and knowledgeable and ... pleasant. Approachable. And, of course, she’s easy on the eyes. But I’m not one to be distracted by a pretty face. Much. For long. Whatever.

Then, a month or so ago, I read about the ongoing abuse of power investigation in Alaska. It was pretty obvious from the articles I read that Governor Palin fired a man solely because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law. I figured that put an end to all consideration of her as vice-presidential nominee.

So I was a bit surprised when The Original Maverick®, in a sign of his increasing desperation, went ahead and chose her for his running mate, even more so when the press started digging into her past. Turns out she’s a fundie. An honest to goodness, anti-science, teach-creationism-in-the-classroom, anti-abortion, abstinence-education-only, fundamentalist god-nazi. Shit!

I’ve grown used to Republican pandering to the religious right, but since the only god they truly worship is capitalism, I never figured they would actually let a fundie anywhere near the reins of power. This is truly scary. It’s bad enough that under darth Cheney vice-presidential powers have been greatly expanded and the office itself has essentially been moved outside the executive chain of command (and outside the law); a fundamentalist could do a great deal of damage to our country from there, but even worse, she would be one heartbeat away from the presidency, one heartbeat in the chest of the oldest president ever. The very thought of this woman making Supreme Court nominations gives me chills.

By making this pick, McCain has fully energized his evangelical base. When Sarah Palin makes her speech tonight, and flashes that 100 Megawatt smile, the bubba vote will be in the bag also. I still think this election is Obama’s to lose, but I also think it’s about to get a lot closer.

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