Ah, yes, soma’s a wonderful thing!

I’d rather have a VP with little experience than a President with little experience. At least her esperience is in the Executive Branch of a government.

Guess she forgot to put on the part about her 80% approval rating from the Alaskan citizenry. Sheesh.

Seems like the important thing to ask about Ms. Palin–who if nothing else can keep a crowd engaged when speaking–is whether someone with her credentials would have been considered had she not been a woman.

That is an important thing to ask, and the answer is probably no. The question I’ve got is whether people will start asking whether Barack Obama and his limited experience would’ve had any shot at the White House had he been a caucasian with an ordinary name…

I admire her chutzpah (loved the jet on e-bay), disagree with her politics (anti-choice, believes that religion can be presented as an alternative to science, not so much on preserving the planet), but in the end she comes up real short on experience in the political arena. You can diss politics all you want, but government in a democracy is about a political process, having the ability to listen to many sides and bring them together for the good of the country, in response to problems within and without. I don’t see that in her resume.

It’s always a hoot to listen to others rail about US ignorance. That’s obviously how we got to be the richest, freest and most powerful nation on Earth. Unfortunately for Europeans and Japanese they are too depressed to procreate.

Apart from dead people (who apparently can vote but not nominate in Obama’s Chicago), politics is about people.

Nah, all she had to do was be a Democrat…. Oh, and the pro-choice stuff would help too.

Is that you Barack? What are you doing hanging out here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Switzerland with George Clooney?

Among the comments I’ve read and heard, here and elsewhere:

* Palin’s personal life may be a distraction, what with imminent grandmotherhood and all — though Hillary’s apparently was not; we were, however, treated to any number of hagiographic screeds about how hard it was for her to balance a high-powered legal and political career while raising Chelsea. To her credit, Palin seems not to be convinced that somehow it takes a village to do anything.

* Palin has no experience — though she’s been the governor of a state with trade mission offices in China, Taiwan and Korea, among other places, and has engaged in meaningful discussions on Alaska trade matters with those countries. Obama has made a few speeches overseas, notably the one to a crowd waiting for the free beer and rock music at the Brandenburg Gate. The crowd was wildly enthusiastic; too bad he’s not running for president of Eruope. Biden’s foreign policy experience is undistinguished, unless you count his proposal that Iraq be configured in a three-way partition.

* With Palin the Republicans, say all the usual talking heads, are trying to pander to middle- and working class women. Would someone explain how that differs from the entire Hillary campaign, or from the fact that the Congressional Black Caucus and others ahve been shamelessly pandering to the black vote on behalf of Obama? Or is that somehow “good” racism and sexism?

* Obama and Biden, two men who live in mansions, are lawyers who went to exclusive schools, wshose cronies and associates are lobbyists and political insiders are quick to cite their claims that they are of “the people.” One wonders how such underprivileged pariahs did so well in such a cruel country. Particularly when they and other insiders now seem to be quailing at the specter of a woman with a real middle class upbringing who engages in all the outdoor stuff that most Alaskans engage in.

Gee, if only she had gone to Radcliffe and Harvard, had the obligatory two kids and wasn’t personally pro choice, we could get to hear all about her gravitas and stature.

Bill