Palin is a bad choice because she represents neither "Change" or "Experience"

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

which the pundits keep telling me this election is about.

Palin would be change only in the most superficial sense if you are talking strictly gender. I don't know of any strong female leader or politician who was elected BECAUSE of their gender, as McCain cynically hopes for Palin, they were typically elected DESPITE their gender. If someone is elected or selected BECAUSE of their gender, than that is tokenism plain and simple. Hillary was no token, Margaret Thatcher was no token , Golda Meir was no token. Since there doesn't seem to be any other real or valid reason for selecting her, Palin appears to be a token. My opinion.

Palin also offers no change since she is a throwback to the same old divisive wedge issues the Republicans have used for years to keep our system in a partisan morass - known as guns, God and gays. This is the group that McCain built his so-called "maverick" reputation working against ( famously calling them "agents of intolerance") that he has now capitulated completely to. Some of the people Palin represents are about as fringe as you can get from the broader, more tolerant American mainstream - creationism as science, no sex education or contraception, homosexuality as sin, etc. If "Change is supposed to equate to "Progress" than Palin comes up short.

"Experience" - Republican talking heads can talk until they are blue in the face about her "executive" experience - most of us have seen through the ruse that a small town mayor and year and a half governor are pretty lacking in the type of experience that one would normally expect from a Vice Presidential or Presidential candidate. Sarah Palin is beginning her journey through the cauldron of public and media vetting. Obama has made it through the cauldron - he has undergone intense scrutiny and mountains of negative press and he still emerged out the other side and convinced people to vote for him on his merits, not his shortcomings. It's up to Palin to do the same thing.

I'm even going to cede a point to the Republicans who blather on and on about the Palin and Obama experience levels being relatively similar, just to make my next point simpler.

Obama is EXCEPTIONAL. The American public recognizes that, the media recognizes that, his supporters recognize it, his detractors recognize it, other countries and their people recognize that. He has the power to inspire and unify even formerly disorganized factions. When people expressed concern about his experience, he addressed it concretely. He went to other countries, he spoke to their leaders, and he surrounded himself with the best possible people. I think we have already reaped the results of an increase in American image and prestige and he's not even in office yet.

Palin is not running against Obama per se, she is running against Joe Biden. America can decide pretty quickly I imagine which person they feel most comfortable with having a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

McCain/Palin = No Change/Bad Judgment

Obama/Biden - Change AND Experience

[OmahaBlueDog]

1. I disagree. With McSame a 72 year old cancer survivor, she's running against Obama as well

I am not an actuary, but I'd have to guess that the odds of a male @ 72 cancer survivor in a high stress job passing prior to 76 from natural causes is someting on the order of 1 in 3 -- maybe 1 in 4. Folks need to be reminded that when you look at Palin, you need to act as if she will become President.

And OBTW, they tout her executive experience over Obama's. McSame has a much political executive experience as Obama -- which would be none.