Sarah Palin - Governor of Alaska 1

UPDATE: This is getting weirder and weirder by the minute. Palin's spokespeople just said that they decided to announce their daughter's pregnancy this morning in reaction to the Daily Kos claim that she concealed her daughter's alleged pregnancy earlier this year, and presented her daughter's baby as her own. Family shouldn't be an issue in this campaign, but of course the religious right never tires of making it one. Especially unwed mothers. I imagine that there's a good chance of an announcement within a few hours that Palin needs to drop out in order to "spend more time with her family, blah blah ..." Palin has been dealing with more problems within 72 hours of the announcement of her candidacy than Harriet Miers. Lots more folks are going to doubt McCain's ability to make informed decisions after this ongoing fiasco. I anticipate more bizarrely reactive responses from the McCain camp in the coming weeks ...

ORIGINAL POST (8/29/08): McCain is going to look like even more of a dirty old man with the former Miss Alaska runner-up at his side than he already does with Cindy. Lacking the intellectual firepower of a Condoleeza Rice, Palin will have a bit of a Miss Congeniality thing going on. McCain can no longer argue either for Obama's inexperience or for his excessive glamor. All I can say is that the possibility of having the mayor of Wasilla (pop 8,000) negotiate foreign policy is going to make Americans look even more insular in the eyes of the world.

UPDATE (8/29/08): There's a lot of unintended (I think) humor in all the headlines today: "McCain Taps Alaska Governor," etc. UPDATE: This looks more and more like an insult to women voters. Sad to see McCain, a man I authentically respect, insult our intelligence in this way, but fitman is right that we shouldn't be surprised. More than this, the choice is an insult to voters in general. As I began listening to Palin talk, I was going to say that she reminds me of all the reasons people hate PTA meetings ... and then Miss Congeniality explained today that she got her start in PTA meetings. All the reverse snobs will love that kind of fairy tale, of course. This was bad even when it was a movie. To anyone who thinks Obama has no more experience than Palin: ahem, it was harder for Obama to get into Harvard than for Palin to be elected Alaska governor, which she was handed by the good looks that made her runner-up in their beauty peagant. Nearly as many people apply to Harvard every year as vote in Alaska. It's actually less impressive than winning a seat as a Chicago alderman. I can live with McCain, but I cannot stand this anti-intellectual who has even less going on upstairs than Bush. Of course, the reverse snobs will jump on any attacks against such a pretty and wholesome lady, which she undoubtedly is. The only question remaining is: Are the American people stupid enough to make this fluffy underachiever just a heartbeat away from the presidency? Anyone who works hard in life should be insulted.