what do i think about sarah palin?

a family member has been forwarding me all sorts of anti-palin commentary. finally i responded with a snarky "i am probably not as anti-palin as you think" and i think she fainted with shock - you need to put it in the context that i am more left than most left democrats, and pretty much a diehard feminist - and she wrote back "but don't you think palin isn't ready to be president?"

i sat on it for a day and then this was my reply:

... actually i think the whole "ready or not?" question is not even necessary - and certainly ironic when it comes from obama supporters (not you specifically, i mean in general) who claimed the question was irrelevant for their candidate, but now somehow crucial for the republican side.

i have lots of opinions about this election, but they probably don't fall into the neat package that most democrats portray. and while it may grab headlines, i really can't take any author seriously when their title is "caribou barbie" - this is what represents meaningful conversation??! but then again, for most democrats - they actually don't want any meaningful debate, they just have knee-jerk reactions (democrats good, republicans bad) in which they'll believe anything that the left-side press will write.

honestly, of course i disagree with the vast majority of palin's beliefs, values, and positions on many issues. however, i think the democrats (or at least the left-side press) is rutting around for anything - which usually turns out to be nothing - to try to discredit her. and it's just not going to work. first, because the kind of stuff they are bringing up really doesn't matter. the hypocrisy of the democrats for what should be a "scandal" is embarrassing. and second, because what the democrat party fails to remember again and again is that not everyone in the country is a left democrat.

i think the party made a huge mistake when they didn't pick hillary to be the vp nominee. not only did she win 48% of the party itself, but she obviously won over people that palin is going to appeal to. could they not understand what the demographics in the primary results indicated? biden is just not going to be a match for that. that's the difference between the republicans and democrats - the republicans pick people to win, and the democrats pick people they like.

it doesn't say much when probably the only reason i'll vote along the democrat ticket this year is because of the supreme court justices and not because i actually want to vote for the democrat nominee. the democratic party had every single thing going for it this year to make it a real election, to bring real issues to the forefront. that they haven't done it thus far, and from the look of the stuff the left-side press is dishing out - they probably won't - is depressing.

but then again, two months is a long time and who knows what will happen! but if it continues like this and obama and the democrats that support him don't change their strategy, he will lose ...

i haven't gotten a response yet :)

update: her response was about the supreme court issue, which i agree is very important. but this was my reply ...

the problem is ... for most of americans - even women - the supreme court is not the most important issue. the more the democrats mention that, the more they are preaching to the choir and missing what palin appeals to. the thing is that pro-choice and pro-life are values that many voters won't cross. the republicans are smart enough to know that and they don't bother with that issue. instead, they go after the other "gray" issues which leave many voters undecided. i think the biggest problem with the democrats is they dismiss and devalue what palin brings to the republican ticket - it's easy to call her a "caribou barbie," no? - and they don't seriously look at what she's going to bring in areas like ohio and michigan. we watched bill maher last night and he made fun of her and her "small town" experience and values. what the democrats forget is that most of the nation does not live in LA or NYC. i'm not saying i agree with those experiences or values - but i don't underestimate them and i don't belittle them - because i know that the states that matter also live like that.