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Read other letters about this article
As it has been pointed out in other letters, there are many (16% of the populace?) for whom all the things said about Palin in this article could only increase, insofar as it were possible, their desire to vote for her; there's nothing that can be said that would convince them otherwise. They are not the ones that can be reached, but there are many more who can but are now inclined to give Palin the benefit of a doubt.
(Unsurprisingly enough, this is directly analogous to what we must do in the Muslim world: there aren't that many religious fanatics or secularists, but the vast middle range of humanity may be willing to support fanatics, out of frustration, or the vague feeling that they personally are not Godly enough, and so can get points by supporting the more religious.)
That being so, all my (opposing) side's arguments in this really ought to be pitched to the middle---the ones who aren't wackos (to use a rigourously-defined, technical, term), but have learned to be tolerant of their friends and relatives who are wackos but are harmless---which a Vice President or President Palin definitely would not be. They need to be convinced that the President isn't like an extra member of their family or social circle, or the national symbol of what we are---or at least is much more than that: she is a person in control of more power than you can easily imagine, with enormous power for good or evil.
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This in fact sounds like old anti-Obama rhetoric, but for me there are a couple of strong differences: exposure, educability, and character. Obama has been on the national stage for a few years, and has done a job of national importance and subject to national scrutiny in that time. Obama seems intensely curious about the world, and doesn't seem like he already knows all he need know. And, finally, Obama's insistence that the suffering of any American should bother all Americans speaks of someone who can call Americans to do more for each other out of simple rachmones.
(McCain, on the other hand, might call on us to help each other out of respect for "unit cohesion", but also might just blame our problems on a lack of State-mandated early-morning group calisthenics in uniform; Palin would be happy to assist the Godly, or even give some thin gruel to the un-Godly if they sit through the sermon---and would back the McCain exercise program, as long as the uniform were sweat-pants, hooded sweat-shirt, and WWJD bracelet....)
</aside>
In any event, I hope the middle will see that this is no-one to trust to behave sanely and decently, regardless of her ideology, and that no-one who would select her for this office should be trusted either.
