Over the past three decades, I have liked and supported the views of the Republican Party. I have voted for more Republicans than Democrats. Bush has changed all that. McCain has driven me further toward political independence. Both have been an increasingly composite product of those who hide in the wings, anxiously directing and overseeing their protege's performance, too afraid to come out and show themselves.

That said, any woman who believes Sarah Palin represents change aimed at elevating the status of women should be stripped of her second X chromosome.

Palin appears a political puppet, coached by Rove & Co and other ex-Bushmen/women, carefully programmed and paraded out expressly for the purpose of ensuring uninterrupted continuation of royal oil's and hand picked nations' manipulation of/stranglehold on, every possible arm of the U.S. government.

If 'Saracuda' proves McCain's silver bullet, and the Republicans indeed bag their limit of votes this term, such verification that Americans approve of Cheney/Rove & Co. indeed is of great concern to those of us whom subscribe to rewarding hard work and intelligence vs. who one knows and how many zeroes come after their account numbers.

Interestingly enough, I don't believe even Palin knows the extent to which she's likely being played. She would be perfect as president for this group--seeking out advice at every turn, offering the opportunity to fill 'er up with the chosen doctrine du jour.

I have been working toward the elevation of intelligent women to positions of power for a very long time and am truly diminished by the approach, attitude and dialogue promoted by this campaign.

If I were Sarah Palin and the GOBs continued to push the media in an "I'm so insulted" argument over anything from lipstick and family to experience and nepotism, I would be incensed that the real discussion, for both her and Mr. McCain, is not focused on what I would do to improve public education, on WHOM and by HOW MUCH I would decrease/increase taxes, how I would wrangle the country's financial mess created by the Bush administration back down to a manageable number, and most importantly, how I would go about repairing the damage done to the U.S. internationally over the past eight years. Tough to do when your passport pages are blank and your frame of reference so limited.

Fine by me if Saracuda gets a leg up from first dude. She likely needs it handling all the supermom tasks with such ease while looking so put together while slaying government dragons.

That said, however, let's get to the meat and potatoes of this campaign, please. Education? Yeah, both candidates want to improve it. Please tell us how. Economy? Yeah, both candidates want to change regulatory oversight. But how? Taxes? Yeah, both say the other side will raise and they will lower. Details, please.

If I were Saracuda and truly interested in improving the state of the American family and making a difference as a role model for women in government, I would be insulted by the consistent coverage that seems more fitting of a pop idol than an important politician. With concern she may be manipulated as a Karl Rove/Cheney puppet who will perform beautifully in the plan, I'd like to hear her speak her own words in response to some real issues. If she's so good, what's she afraid of?