According to Joe Trippi, the choice of Sarah Palin represents less of an appeal to disaffected Hillary voters and more in the way of challenging Obama as an agent of change. He thinks that they are going to go after the Obama/Biden ticket as not doing enough to combat corruption within the Democratic party throughout his career.

If so, this sounds like tilting at windmills to me. Has there been that much corruption in the Democratic party over the last eight years? Usually, corruption occurs within the party holding power. Large corporate interests generally don't queue up to line the pockets of those with no power. The Democrats can be taken to task for not fighting the Republicans hard enough since 2000, but not for the current culture of corruption in Washington, D.C.

In the end, wouldn't this tack serve to underscore just how pervasive corruption is within the Republican party and that maybe they need to be out of power for a while?

It's breaking on the AP right now and DailyKos has the story.

they blame it on Hollywood and the film Juno...

Both of my conservative brothers and their conservative wives immediately said no way. Now this. It isn't funny - pregnant 17 year-old girls never are - and I think it puts the Republicans in the position of picking a more formidable running mate.

McCain has boxed himself in by saying that he knew of the pregnancy. I flat out don't believe that. And in the curiously worded statement released by the McCain camp this morning there was this:

"The despicable rumors that have been spread by liberal blogs, some even with Barack Obama's name in them, is a real anchor around the Democratic ticket, pulling them down in the mud in a way that certainly juxtaposes themselves against their 'campaign of change,"' a senior aide said.

Notice "some even with "Barack Obama's name in them". The McCain camp is trying to make it appear as though Obama's campaign is trying to use this news to their advantage when there is no proof that is the case.

McCain is a liar.

I agree that talking specifically about Mrs. Palin's daughter is off limits. However, the subject of teenage pregnancy isn't.

I don't believe John McCain knew about the pregnancy and I'm not sure I believe that Sarah Palin and her husband knew of it, either. I would not be voting for McCain/Palin under any circumstances since I disagree with them on so many issues so the only dog I have in this fight is that she will be president if something should happen to McCain.

Part of me is thrilled with this choice because it isn't being well-received in my neck of the woods, but another maybe more reasonable part is appalled. No matter how many people want to believe that it was white guilt or liberalism run amok or reverse racism that made many of us vote for Obama, it simply isn't true. I voted for him because I think he is the best candidate - I still do.

Mrs. Palin is under investigation and had to hire a defense attorney today, something that may have been overlooked because of other news events. This was a bad decision and no matter what John McCain does now, he is stuck with the fact that his first decision was not in the best interest of the country.

What some of us are saying is this isn't a situation in which we want to see our own daughters, nieces, and granddaughters. We want something more than making the best of a bad situation. We want better of those in leadership roles.

Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford all assumed office without being a governor and having executive experience. My recollection is that foreign policy experience was more highly desired, (probably due to the cold war), and that executive experience was touted when there was no foreign policy experience.

My mother and father always preferred senators and congressmen over governors as presidential candidates.

I'm content to leave Bristol and Levi alone. They didn't ask for this and I don't get any pleasure over the fact they've been pushed into an international spotlight.

McCain's knowledge of the pregnancy illustrates how clueless he is on women's issues. That he failed to recognize how much controversy a teen pregnancy would generate speaks volumes. The fact that Sarah Palin herself didn't realize it, or chose to overlook it tells me that Mrs. Palin is more than slightly self-absorbed.

McCain could have secured some kind of funding to help build a solar energy industry in Arizona, but he never has. Cutting pork barrel projects is a good thing, but not all government spending is bad - especially when we need to create new domestic energy sources. In fact, I can't think of anything McCain has done for the state of Arizona.

This is all about image - there's no there there.

Glad to hear your electricity is back on.

Woo-hoooooo!!!! I'm celebrating the good news, too.

Ike's position as Supreme Allied Commander qualifies as both executive and foreign policy experience in my book, even though I don't think he was balancing budgets. I was citing the fact that he hadn't been a governor which is what is usually referred to as executive experience.

You make a very good point which is executive experience can come from areas other than being a governor.