Is Garrison Keillor rellay criticizing Gov. Sarah Palin as a "lightweight" while he exhorts Minnesotans to vote for their next Senator from the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party... Al Franken?

Hmmm, I don't believe Mr. Keillor used the word "lightweight" in describing Mrs. Palin. No, no he didn't. I went back and checked, and no he didn't use that word. That's your word, but you put quote marks around it as if you were quoting Mr. Keillor. He did however praise her "perkiness", which seems to be the only thing he said about her. The rest of Mr. Keillor's comment in which he speaks directly of Mrs. Palin is about John McCain. Most of the article was about issueless distractions and bait and switch and smoke and mirrors and even silly things like flag pins that, you know, Republicans normally use as a way to win elections. I can see from your comment that your career as a Republican propagandist is coming along quite nicely. Rove must be proud of you.

Now that you mention it though, she really is, and let me quote you directly, a "lightweight". And while Al Franken might also fall into that category in your estimation, he wasn't picked to run for Vice President alongside a 72 year old man with multiple caners and possibly other health problems we are not privy to. But that is no reason to wish for her failure at becoming the next Vice President. It's because of what she believes, which is far scarier than any lack of meaningful experience.

I really believe you guys/gals need to lay off the "experience" thing for the most part. It's what she BELIEVES about everything that is so freakin' weird. She's a weirdo. THAT's what you need to be stressing.

She doesn't accept scientific conclusions based on empirical data.

She doesn't believe in government help except when she does.

She believes the earth is less than 10,000 years old.

She wants to force women to carry all pregnancies to term no matter what the circumstances, including rape and incest.

She doesn't accept that global warming is caused either entirely, or in part, by human activity despite all scientific evidence to the contrary.

She thinks Polar Bears have it okay and we shouldn't concern ourselves with their fate.

She thinks Big Oil is just dandy in every way.

She thinks her preacher ought to be the one to decide for everyone else what love is and how and by whom that is allowed to be expressed.

She thinks shooting guns and killing things makes her a better person.

She believes in The Rapture.

Imagine this crazy woman as President of the United States! At least Reagan didn't believe half that crap and we had the added luck that he was brain dead for his second term so they kept him away from the controls.

She's a dingbat. To hell with her experience.

He listened to way too many wussy Democratic handlers. They have been useless as teats on a boar hog. They advise reaction instead of action, and they wouldn't understand a frame if they bumped their heads on it going through the door. James Carville turns my stomach, but he knows how to fight. That's what the voters want, somebody who will fight for them. Literally.

This is a spot on analysis of course, and what worries me. The American voter has been treated to these "personality contests" for decades. The American voter is also just shallow, corrupt and ignorant enough to fall for it. Obviously. The press is largely to blame for this.

It's about the ratings. Mammon is God in this country and it will be our undoing as a Republic as many cultural and political historians and critics, poets and judges have remarked.

In the VP debate,

Biden should ask her how old the Earth is. - bungo pony

HA! He won't be allowed to ask her anything. It will all be carefully scripted and controlled to accommodate her total lack of knowledge and understanding of the world. She'll get the pass the RNC wants.

More of this, please

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEfwX6WWsKY

Yes, please yes, god yes, more of this! Every day more of this! I wrote the campaign last night. I wrote Obama's campaign and and the DNC and Joe Biden and asked for more of this. Please, this is what we need to hear. More of this. Take the fight to them.

Oh have no fear. If Obama is elected, you'll see the mainstream media will soon find their aggressive and adversarial chops.

Judging from comments that I have seen here at Salon, it is men who are obsessed with Palin's looks. - AKASmith

Your point is taken AK, but I'm not and I'm a man. She's as sexless to me as a pit bull. I could give a rat's ass how she looks and I don't care what kind of mother she is. None of that is of any consequence whatsoever to me as a citizen. What I care about are the crazy things she believes, the things she has done as a public servant, and the horror she would be if she ever ascended to the Presidency.

I agree with the consensus here. Ignore Palin. It's McCain we need to defeat. She's gone when he's gone.

But you can't possibly say that at 72 years-of-age.....he's got nothing to bring, not the least of which was the wisdom to offer up...that plucky Gal he's chosen as his running-mate. - Maxine Weiss

Maxine, he didn't choose her. Someone else did. The campaign managers, the RNC, somebody else other than McCain. He wanted Lieberman. This has been widely reported in the press. Please do keep up.