Palin

I was sooooo excited when she first came on the scene. I am staunchly pro-life and I don't see this as a relgious issue but as a human rights issue. I have a lot of other thoughts on that, but I suppose that's for another post :)

Anyhow, I really liked her conservative views on social issues and how she lived them. I liked her enthusiasm, her manner of speaking, and I will admit (and I am embarrassed to admit this), I liked that she was a woman. I thought that was like a cherry on top of the cake. Like, either way, we are making history with this election!

But over time, she began to wear on me. At first I didn't take it to seriously. I've always looked at vice prsidents and sideshows to get people into the big tent. Not important at all. Although I know this wasn't the case with Cheney, I do think the Bush administaration was a unique creation... a shameful one, where we didn't really have a president for eight years but rather a mouthpiece for the Project for a New American Century lead by Cheney, Rumsfeld and others.

I digress. I don't think that's going to happen with McCain. And I do like McCain. I was poised to vote for him in 08 and even more energized after the Palin announcement. But it was more like a sugar rush that soon plummeted. Reality hit and I realized that... Palin could actually be president... [please allow for a dumbfounded pause, possibly ending off with "Oh sh**"].

I heard this in an interview from Matt Damon that didn't make me think, but was a great simily for my concerns... and it's funny too:
"And it really, you know, was talking about it earlier, it's like a really bad Disney movie. You know, the hockey mom, you know, "I'm just a hockey mom from Alaska," and she's the president. And it's like she's facing down Vladimir Putin and you know, using the folksy stuff she learned at the hockey rink, you know, it's just absurd."

I laughed outloud when I heard that and then took serious "Oh Sh**" pause because it is so true.

Now, I know that people for her are going to say that I am scared of her being president because deep down, I'm scared of a woman president. But, for what it's worth, I would even prefer Clinton to her. Seriously. I would feel safer were Clinton answering that red phone at 3am.

But should McCain win, we are one bad heart beat away from Palin answering that same phone. A woman who has no international experience and no experience in Washington (sorry, that matters to me).

So many people say she is so "down to earth". And she is... and that is extremely endearing about her. Here's the thing I don't get, and perhaps a more important and all encompassing point to be made on American politics. Why do we care if they are "down to earth"? Since when was it wrong to expect that your president would be educated in an Ivy league school. I don't care if I like them as a person. I'm looking for them to come down to my level. PLEASE! Prove to me that you are smarter than I am and that you can lead AN ENTIRE COUNTRY. He or she can be as pompous as they want. Will I want to hang out with them? No. But if they are highly intelligent and prove from their history that they can work with others, I value that. Not whether they prefer Lousiana BBQ to Fine French Cuisine.

Now, certainly I don't ONLY care about their Ivy League education or how much time they spent in Washington. I care about the issues too: Economic, International and Social (for the most part).

I don't think I can vote for McCain at this point. I can't vote for Obama either. I think both would be disasterous in their own unique ways. So... I am, for the first time, venturing out into 3rd-party-land and completely hoping on Divine Providence to pick the least scary of two very scary tickets, because I don't know the answer.

I made a mistake with Bush. As socially conservative as I am, and as happy as I am that he appointed the Justices he did, I cannot stomach another term of a folksy "down to earth" president who is more in touch with our thoughts than with the subtlties of the issues. I don't want a Mr. or Miss America, I want a president who is smarter than I am.

So, whether you vote for McCain/Palin, Obama/Biden or some third party, don't worry about whom you'd rather have a beer with. Consider the issues and consider their experience not only in time, but in quality. Consider their education. We're not looking for a friend, we are looking for someone to hold the codes that could unleash a nuclear war.

Xpy