Sarah Palin's husband isn't an oil worker. He WAS an oil worker and is a sometimes commercial fisherman, as well as a dedicated dogsled racer. What he's been gainfully doing for the past year, however, is raising their 4 - and now 5 - kids. In other words, he's been a stay-at-home dad while his politically-ambitious wife involved herself in semi-big-league politics and who wants to move to the big leagues as an aspiring vice president.

He cooks, handles domestic chores, and drives the kids to their activities and, now, apparently deals with their special-needs-4-month-old's diapers and feeding schedules.

(An aside: Why would a dedicated right-to-lifer have genetic tests done during her pregnancy? Hmmm....)

This, by the way, is not a criticism of stay-at-home dads. I think each of us has to do what we do best and what's best for our families. But how are those conservative voters out there going to take this news?

Oh, and a big thanks to the writer who reminded us that just 20 months ago this former beauty queen served as mayor of the small Alaskan town that selected her for both of those positions.

Qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency? Give me a break!!!!!!!!!!!

Juliebird: I agree that many people joined and served early on (first in Afghanistan because they thought they were going after a real enemy, and then in Iraq because they were duped into thinking it was a front on the so-called "war on terror") for all the reasons you stated. But that was then and this is now, with enlistments way down, stop-losses, re-deployments, questionable use of the National Guard, and Blackwater-type paid soldiers. The Palin's son enlisted in 2007. So, I would agree with your cynical side that says it may be because of her political ambitions. Pretty pathetic, wouldn't you say?

Oh, one more thing. Another writer indicated that Sarah Palin's husband was an oil company executive. Not true. Another record that needs to be set straight. His highest level was as a supervisor, from what I've read, and he quit last year because of the possible conflict of interest between the oil company and his wife's position as governor. How he managed to do the job with the oil company and also take summers off to work as a commercial fisherman I won't even pretend to figure out.

To those so-called feminists who say they'll vote for the McCain-Palin ticket because they're still angry at the Democrats for not selecting Hillary (and I still am a Clinton supporter but am a Democrat and a Liberal first, who cares about this country more than I care about this "gotcha" and "getting even" crap) - and who are old enough to remember the ERA days - I'll like to put out there this two-word reminder: PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY.

For those who don't know who she is, then stifle your silly comments. For those who do, then look at the similarities of ultra-conservative Sarah Palin and Phyllis Schlafly. Same mold. Same philosophy. Same "queen bee" entitlement attitude.

And stop tossing about the ERA issue when it's likely that very few of you worked day in and day out for passage for almost a decade. To you, the ERA is nothing more than a symbol. It's not a reality wherein the movement itself resulted in many key successes and opened doors that most of you don't even know were closed 30-40 years ago. And would remain closed if the Phyllis Schlaflys (and the junior Schlafly who calls herself Sarah Palin) of the world had their way.

In those days, Democrat, Republican and Independent women worked side by side for the ERA and other laws to correct the injustices enforced upon women. I worked with many fine feminist Republican women. I also regularly faced down Phyllis Schlafly and her cohorts in the Illinois State Capitol, and that's why I KNOW that Sarah Palin isn't a true feminist like she purports to be and the GOP wants us to believe she is.

Senators Obama and Biden aren't what many of us wanted for the Democrat party choice this important election year. But they're far and away the (possibly) last best hope for the future of reproductive rights, equal pay for equal work, prevention of violence against women (remember when PS called shelters "R & R for married women"?), and equal treatment under the law in all aspects of our lives.

They're also the last best hope for our environment, for ending the war madness we've been dealing with throughout the Cheney/Bush administration, for the educational needs of our children, for health-care reform, for the movement into an advanced technological future required to compete worldwide, for the repair of our infrastructure, for the economic reform needed after too many years of pandering to corporate greed....

TODAY IN PALIN - and especially the links - made me laugh out loud. I especially liked the MySpace link in which Levi (the Bristol baby's daddy) says he doesn't want kids. Oops!

Then there's this quote from Sarah Palin: "A reporter once asked me about it during the campaign, and I assured him I was trying to be as frumpy as I could by wearing my hair on top of my head and these schoolmarm glasses.” I think that's particularly funny since I heard that those schoolmarm glasses she wears are fake! Maybe someone should check that out, ya think?

Of course, the photo with the dead caribou is awful. But it shows that Palin IS a better shot than Dick Cheney--if any of that is something one wants to brag about. (Don't they eat mooseburgers there? I wonder if caribouburgers are an inferior substitute?)

Any mother who would throw her daughter under the train to protect her own political ambitions should be, at the very least, called out on it. That is not what a loving mother does!