Barack Obama's victory in the presidential election gave many Americans a feeling of hope and a new day dawning even though there is much to do to clean up the monstrous mess that Bush and his cronies have made over the last 8 years. Obama is a smart man who can articulate his plans for the future of America and restore our standing in the world with other nations and their leaders. The people he picks for his cabinet have to be able to carry out his overall plan or they wouldn't be there. Of course he does not want a bunch of yes men and women. He wants smart people with ideas to challenge and debate so the best decisions can be made to meet the challenges Americans face. I don't think we would have gotten this with a McCain/Palin White House. And if you think that Palin is your next great leader to turn the Republican Party around then I feel sort of sorry for you. Face it, the Republicans have been taken over by the right wing evangelical Bible thumpers from the South and in small pockets of some other states. But this country is more and more diverse, and the intellectuals of your party don't have much in common with the Bible thumpers. So if this is all you've got, how do you plan on winning a presidential election in the next 4 to 8 years? Palin is not going to get you anywhere.

I don't know if Sarah Palin is the future of the party, or if oil drilling, expense cutting, pipe line building, center-right economic policies will find favor nationally, along with pro-life views. I hope so, but can only speak for my one vote. If not, then I would rather be a pro-life zealot in Masada than a pro-choice Josephus in Rome. That appears to be the battleline within the party's wings.

I would love to banter with you further, but the last time I went down this road, it ended with some ad hominum derision (see letter batch above) backed by an editor of this site saluting it. I enjoy back and forth banter, but I can't fight the editors, too. It's their publication, after all.

I have tried as best I can to explain my regard for Gov. Palin. If you can imagine how Margaret Mitchell felt about the old time gals who inspired her to create her heroine; or how the south Bavarians feel about their local girl turned Austrian empress; or why Sarah Palin loves the rustic charm and beauty of the movie Hoosiers, you might have some idea of how I feel. For the rest, it's something tacky. I recently received a momento for my daughter to help her capture some of the feeling referenced above, and I hope someday it means something as valuable to her as the picture of Elisabeth of Bavaria an old time innkeeper once showed me near her birthplace at Lake Starnberg.

I am sure someone will deride for me for writing this message, but I thought it was worth a try. Knock yourselves out. I can't fight you all.