it's the malicious propagandists like that barebacking fascist Andrew Sullivan and hypocrite Huffington who should be concerned.

While I do not share Palin's political views I respect her right to hold them....this is still a democracy, no? Journalists need to go back to being journalists rather than carrying water for one politician while demonizing his/her opponents. That's not reporting ...that's propaganda and should be left to campaign managers not to professional journalists in a democratic society.

Good for her. Let this be a wake up call to the media. Check and double check your sources ...don't just fabricate and slander like a bunch of junior high schoolers and try to pass it off as news.

Recently I bought a telescope. Not a little department store telescope, but rather the larger kind that amateur astronomers play with.

I got this particular one because the optical and electronic fabrication is done right here in the USA...in Irvine, California.

However, when I opened the boxes there was a big sticker on the heavy duty tripod: Made in China.

So you see, it's not even completely our choice anymore.

Sarah will have time to tour the nation and help GOP candidates as she did Chambliss in GA.

Her rock-star status attracts crowds automatically.

GOP is afraid negative "state-run press" as Rush calls it, in the tank for O'Bama will continue to savage her and take the GOP down with it.

Her buoyancy will overshadow all the naysayers and will save the country from the power of the incumbent in Congress.

Clinton was more of a centrist but was still shocked when presented with Newt and Company in '94.

This and the economy helped Clinton in '96 when the Republicans next-in-line practice backfired with Dole.

"I'm not saying she isn't a devout evangelical Christian, and might well have intense beliefs."

If it's OK for SP to have "intense beliefs", then it's OK for me and many others to have intense beliefs that are very different from hers.

"she notes that when running near Alaska's mountains, she stands in awe of God's creation, as well as the evolutionary process of glaciers and such. Actually mentions evolution."

How old does SP think the earth is?

How old do *you* think the earth is?

"The "real America" line almost certainly originated with McCain's people, who wrote her speeches."

But she said it. She's responsible for what she says.

I heard the speech; according to her I'm not a "real American". Why should I vote for someone who would say that about me?

"Besides, I would guess that Sarah would gladly take that one back -- e.g., Colin Powell took offense on behalf of the Bronx -- if those who took offense would meet her half way, in a spirit of reconciliation and friendship."

Why should I do that? I never said *she* wasn't a "real American" but she said I'm not one.

"On the "why do I like her front,' let's just focus for a minute on politics. I think the government should spend less money -- she cut spending while serving as governor."

By how much? And what was cut?

A politician can cut costs short-term by cutting back on maintenance, training, capital improvements and similar things. Trouble is, the long-term effects often cost far more.

Do you think rape victims should pay for their own evidence kits? Do you think the other 49 states should pay hundreds of millions of dollars for 'bridges to nowhere'? Do you think Alaska, despite having huge oil and mineral revenues, should continue to receive huge tax support from the other states? (Alaska has consistently been at or near the top of the list in terms of getting more back in taxes than it sends to Washington DC).

"More generally, I don't think politics is rocket science."

Why not? The problems we face are complex and long-term. Such problems are not solved by simple bromides and lack of attention to relevant details.

Take something like energy policy. It's a complex mix of energy sources, energy needs, environmental and safety issues, economic factors and political factors. Do you really think SP has even a basic understanding of the various issues surrounding energy policy? I don't.

Heck, at one point she made it clear she really doesn't understand that all crude oil isn't the same - which is basic Petroleum 101!

"In closing, I understand completely the argument that Palin is a small town girl who can be well liked, but should not be president."

She can also be disliked, because she thinks she should be president.

"I disagree; I think she would be a fine president."

WHY? She can't even remember what newspapers or magazines she reads. She can't even get a simple quote right, nor put it in context.

What qualifications does she have to be president? What experience, what education, what world-view?

I have seen NOTHING about SP that tells me she would make a decent president. Nothing at all.

Do you really think that, of all the candidates the GOP could put forth, that SP is the best possible choice?

"But the part I don't understand is not liking her in the first place. Or just respecting her, in a validation sense."

The problem is that SP thinks she is qualified to tell everyone how to live their lives, and to pass judgement on all of us. She wants to talk but not listen; lecture but not learn.

I say she isn't qualified at all.

The thing that gets forgotten by the folks on the right is that the politicians are the employees of the people, not the other way around.

A political campaign is essentially a months-long job interview, in which the candidates try to convince the people to hire them for a given period of time.

SP failed the interview spectacularly.

"she's landed in the briar patch in terms of earning power, adoration, and future potential."

None of which qualifies her to be president or even mayor of a small town. What you're really saying is that the whole governor/VP candidate gigs were just a way to advance herself, not to do anything for others.

There are lots of entertainers, athletes, and others who have lots of earning power, adoration, and future potential, but they're not qualified to be president either.

"She can do whatever she likes."

Including QUITTING without giving a coherent reason.

The troops can't quit; doing so is called desertion. Millions of hard-working Americans of all kinds can't/won't quit either; they have a sense of duty and responsibility to others.

But SP couldn't even finish one term as governor of Alaska. She QUIT. Why should I vote for, or respect, a QUITTER with no sense of duty or responsibility to the job she was campaigned to do, promised to do, and was hired to do?

She won't even say WHY she quit; not in clear English, anyway.

I suspect she quit for one or both of the following reasons:

1) She got a job offer to be in "the media", such as a TV or radio show. More money, more visibility, more attention, less work and no real responsibility.

2) She realized at some level that she really doesn't want to be governor of Alaska, because it involves some boring things like reading long reports and other paperwork, making decisions on complicated issues, being criticized and held responsible for mistakes, etc. I bet there's an enormous backlog of work waiting for the new governor!

So she walked out on the people of Alaska.

If elected to some other office, how do we know SP won't walk out on it, too?