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Name: steb
Location: Malta, NY
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Where’s the outrage…

So Obama has a minister that hates the US and fosters racial divide, is friends with an avowed terrorist that participated in the bombing of the Pentagon, and has ties to a convicted felon. It scares people that Palin is a member of an anti-abortion group called Feminists for Life (FFL), maybe due in part as some are trying to portray her as a right to life extremist. FFL doesn’t endorse or support candidates of any party, and their mission is to address the unmet needs of women who are pregnant or parenting. FFL has a college outreach program that challenges college and university administrators to provide resources for pregnant and parenting students. Preconception issues including abstinence and contraception are outside their mission. Palin is pro-contraception (Anchorage Daily News), which seems to align with non-extremist views.

Palin also believes creationism should be taught in our schools. Some see this as backwards or scary. But if you consider we teach our kids about Kwanza and Islam in schools, why shouldn’t creationism as a part of Christianity be taught? These should all be part of our children’s humanities education. Palin says "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information....Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher.” (Anchorage Daily News).

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Do as I say not as I do…

All talking heads as well as democratic leaders and mouth pieces seem to be having a field day chuckling and snickering in the most condescending way about the gun toting, moose meat eating, beauty queen, card carrying union member, blue collar, sportscaster wanna be, hockey mom, small town mayor turned small state governor that is now the Republican VP candidate. It’s incredulous that the party that aligns itself with everyday working class people is bashing someone with such a diverse background. The LA Times, Washington Post, and NY Times all raced to publish pictures of Palin standing in front of a kill, pictures of her in snowmobile garb, and pictures of her at local council meetings. You have to wonder how this will play out with swing state voters. Are they as offended as the highbrow crowd by hunting, snowmobiling, and everyday life?
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Moose meat…

Alaska brings us moose meat and salmon, Texas bbq, Wisconsin cheese, Maine lobster, Georgia peaches, California wine, North Carolina livermush, Oklahoma okra, Vermont maple sugar, and Washington apples. What’s the point? If this candidate came from the inner city, Hollywood, the beltway, or the sushi eating and wine sipping crowd, would we hear those same snickers? If you have relatives that live in Alaska, you have an understanding that eating moose meat is as common as eating crabs in Maryland. Seeing a moose wander onto the golf course is as common as Floridians seeing alligators in their lakes. Foreign to those that live in the beltway or major metropolitan areas, yes. Since Governor Palin’s husband and children are of Eskimo descent should we assume there is some undercurrent of discrimination and disrespect underway or should we just assume ignorance?
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What’s all this about credentials…

All governors have the same knock, limited to no experience on the world stage and foreign affairs, yet this country has elected 16 governors as their president and 11 governors VP. 15 senators have been elected president.

As mayor, Palin was the Chief Executive Officer of her town, managing financials, personnel, services, and capital improvements, yes for a small town. She’s now a 1st term governor of Alaska. There is no arguing that Alaska is a small state, but she is a governor none the less. Palin does have some unique credentials which the talking heads continue to downplay or just plain ignore. Energy independence is one of this country’s biggest issues, impacting national security, the economy, and our lifestyle. Palin thoroughly understands the energy landscape, and how energy rich Alaska plays into national security by lessening the US’s dependency on foreign suppliers. She’s already proven she can tangle with big oil and come out with a win-win for business, the environment, jobs, and people. She’s also tangled with her own party big wigs and won those battles. Her approval rating as governor is 80% (New York Times). She is has no foreign affairs credentials, having only traveled to visit with Alaska’s National Guard stationed in Kuwait.

Obama does have an Ivy League education, is an attorney, a community organizer, Illinois state senator, and now is a 1st term US senator. Much of his time as a senator has been spent on his own presidential campaign. Obama does have the ability to draw enormous crowds here and abroad. He also lacks foreign affair credentials. He tried to quiet that criticism and took a trip abroad in July. His travel cost taxpayers about $28,000. Eight other freshman senators took office the same time as Obama, and the next closest spent $19,200 of taxpayer’s money on travel (NY York Times).

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So what really needs to change…

Bush has an approval rating of 31%, but the democratic led Congress is at 12%, and has not hit above 15% since the beginning of the year (Washington Post). Based on the approval rating Americans do not like what the democratic led congress has accomplished. So just how does the Obama/Biden ticket make a case for change? Both have voted along democratic party lines 96.0% of the time (Washington Post) compared to McCain at 88% (Washington Post). Ironically, McCain who is being billed as “More of the Same” actually deviates from the Republican party line 3 times more than Obama and Biden deviate from their party, the party that controls Congress and has an all time low approval rating. So which is really more of the same and which actually will drive change? Both McCain and Palin cross party lines, and their parties for that matter, at risk to their own political careers.

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A heartbeat away or the heartbeat…

Which is more important, voting for an experienced presidential candidate or an experienced VP candidate? McCain and Obama’s experience, credentials, and ideology need to be compared. Looking at their voting records it appears they have common ground around immigration, stem cell research, gay marriage, the environment, and energy independence. Where they diverge is on taxes, national security, and social programs.

You have to ask why Obama tapped long time Delaware senator Joe Biden as his VP. Biden’s serving in his 6th consecutive term in the Senate and is on the judiciary and foreign relations committees. Biden brings strong credentials, just as McCain does. But Biden isn’t running as the presidential candidate against McCain, and Biden isn’t running against Palin. Anyway you slice it, the democratic presidential candidate has less experience governing than the republican presidential or VP candidate.

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Does size really matter…

Alaska is a small state and ranks 47th in state population. Do you ever recall a presidential or vice presidential credentials being questioned based on the size of the state they govern? Former democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean was Vermont's governor, 49th in state population. Former democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson of New Mexico, ranks 36thin state population with less than 2 million. Former democratic presidential candidate George McGovern was governor of South Dakota, 46th in state population. 7 states have a population of less than 1 million, so does that mean that the governors of these small states can not be considered to lead this country based on the size of their state? 8 states have a population between 1 and 2 million. 6 states have a population between 2 and 3 million, including Arkansas. President Bill Clinton was Arkansas’ governor, 32nd in state population.
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