How many governors do you know who send their 18 year old sons to the front lines in the fifth year of a "lost" war and tell interviewers that they well up with tears when they see soldiers in uniform in airports?

I never understood the, "would you send your son?," BS, on either side of the ideological divide. Last I checked, Track Palin was 18 and joined up of his own free will, and there's not a damn thing Palin could do about it even if she disapproved. It was a poor gimmick when Michael Moore did it in Fahrenheit 911, and it's a poor gimmick when right wingers hold it up as a virtue of Palin's.

Track Palin gets my respect for going to Iraq, and only Track Palin.

There aren't any front lines any more, in case you hadn't noticed. Just a big blurry mess of shit.

Is Sarah really very maternal? Perhaps the children were simply an excuse for quitting the goldfish bowl...it is also possible, and even probable, that Alaska was no longer fun and the obligation to constantly defend herself became a chore. Added to that, the McCain group kept leaking such unsavory stories about her...how dare those ingrates do that to their point guard! It is true I am not very fond of Palin and therefore, not very charitable, but I can't shake the feeling that motherhood had very little to do with her decision!

No, reproducing five times is not an accomplishment, dear. As my sainted grandmother used to observe, animals do the same all the time.

Being a good parent, in contrast, is an accomplishment, but Palin's track record as a parent is not good. "Strong, maternal women" equip their children to make good choices, so they don't get pregnant at 17.

Even if Palin were a stellar parent, however, this would not make her an adequate politician. She is not intelligent. She is not resilient. I'm hard-pressed to name a single quality she possesses that recommends her as a leader.

You're the same writer who criticized Amy Carter for being a "tomboy," aren't you? Don't tell me -- let me guess: Sexism is the new feminism! Active, self-actualized little girls are defective and fertile women who scorn to be called intellectual set the tone for the future of American womanhood.

Brava, Ms. Fortini!

Strong maternal woman? Sarah Palin? This is almost as bad as Camille Paglia's gushing over this nut. Try former beauty queen diva. Really. She has exploited her kids, and the people drawn to her are haters who revel in her willingness to engage in Ann Colter style attacks on people. The only reason Ann couldn't match Sarah were she to run herself, is just that she is too damn homely.

If Sarah Palin really was tough and really believed she should be president she would have gone back to Alaska, done her job and studied very hard for the next 4 years. She would have learned her lessons from her failed campaign. Instead she plays the victim and retreats behind her children. She insists on demonstrating her lack of knowledge about any of the major issues facing our world over and over again.

How many governors do you know who send their 18 year old sons to the front lines in the fifth year of a "lost" war and tell interviewers that they well up with tears when they see soldiers in uniform in airports?

While crying at airports is certainly no disqualification in my book, it's not high on my list of qualifications, either. The ability to form a coherent sentence extemporaneously definitely is. I don't see how anyone with a modicum of intelligence could expect less from their elected leaders than they would of a food server whom they were in charge of hiring.

Also, It's not okay for a male politician to admit he would even be capable of crying if he were to get shot in the crotch with a bazooka. I'd also wager that the very same people who lionize Palin for her hypothetical, soldier-induced tears demonized Hillary for being weak and girly.

For the record, I was nonplussed by Hillary's tears because they were so self-serving, but that's a different discussion.

No, I don't believe it. You have got to be joking.

Is this what American newspapers looked like in 1929 and 1930? Is this the sort of crap they were concerned with then?

(Say, and using the word "meme" was a nice touch. Made it sound real intellectual like.)

This woman was running for Vice-President of the United States, not of her local PTA. You know, the position Lyndon Johnson held in 1963 when he was promoted, and George H. W. Bush held in 1981 when he came very closed to being promoted.

Right. That job.

Is there anyone, truly, who thinks she was even marginally qualified? (And that any of this . . . stuff . . . has anything remotely to do with any semblance of a qualification?)

No. Sorry.

I cannot and do not believe America has fallen this far this fast.

Tremendous stuff.

Just in case someone here would like to read about something real, here are the links.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n01/lanc01_.html

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n20/lanc01_.html

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n10/lanc01_.html

For a bunch of folks sitting in your parents' basements and typing on this blog, I am amazed at how well you think you know all the answers based only on the other blogs you read. One can only hope that the tables aren't turned one day and people from around the world begin judging you based soley on misinformation and half-truthes.

Was she ready? Maybe. Maybe not. But look honestly at the thin resume of our current Community Organizer in Chief and you have to put him in the same bucket. Arguably she has more executive experience than he has. She just does have the same PR people.

And as for inarticulate, PLEASE. I have two words for you: Joe Biden. One of the better decisions by our Community Organizer in Chief (or to be more precise - David Axelrod): make sure Joe Biden can screw up very little and gets as little air time as possible.