I dont know what this world is coming to...

Its been a long time coming but its finally here. My first blog. As many of us do, in speaking to peers and colleagues, I have often spoken of creating my own blog. I, like the 300 million other Americans, have an opinion about things and enjoy discussing my opinion with others. I have learned a great deal from listening to the opinion of others and, as the title suggests, others have learned from my opinion. (At least I hope they have!)

With a war in Iraq, a failing economy, a military stretched thin, problems in health care and a potential recreation of the Cold War, why now...as if all the other things weren't enough?

The selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as the presumptive Republican candidate for VP. Yeah, that about did it.

Some may say, "Are you upset because she is a woman, that's sexist & misogynistic, etc.". Actually, I am not upset that he chose a woman. I am deeply concerned that he chose THAT woman. And for the record, sexism is this notion that we cannot critique a woman. Women and men are different but equal in many ways. Obama just ripped McCain. Do we now have to "be nice" to the lady. She is hoping to become Vice President of the United States of America. If she cant take the criticism, then she doesn't need the job. Here's my opinion why. A slightly different perspective from the professor...

Republicans and many conservatives alike, for decades, have complained about Affirmative Action. It is "unfair" to give someone a position for which he or she is not qualified. It has been called, "reverse discrimination", "unethical", "undemocratic", even "socialistic" and we all know how "socialism" is one of the many roots of all evil.

How, then, is it that Sen. McCain, who has rallied against Affirmative Action for years, has now chosen someone so unqualified for one of the most important and powerful jobs in the world? The media has shied away from this angle. Rather, the media focuses on how, "all the other candidates had problems too." Problems. Of course they did. But is Mitt Romney, a successful corporate executive and the former Governor of the great state of Massachusetts really "less" qualified than the governor of Alaska who was just the mayor of a town with a population of less than 6000? Does she really have more foreign policy experience than Joe Liberman? More national security experience than Tom Ridge? There are many other highly qualified women including Sen. Hutchinson from Texas and former NJ Governor Whitman. Why not them?

Two reasons - McCain is pandering to women AND pandering to the ultra-conservatives. So much for putting your nation ahead of your own political aspirations.

You see, Gov. Palin is the conservatives wet dream. She is against abortion, in all circumstances, including rape and incest. Even most pro-lifers make the rape/incest exception. Not Gov. Palin. She is for home-schooling and teaching Creationism in science class as an alternative to evolution. She believes in business first, jobs for Americans second. But hey, don't believe me, check out some of the Alaskan bloggers who know her.

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/#comments

And as for the 90% approval rating...its actually a bit over 60% due to the fact that she is under investigation for improper use of executive power. Hey, maybe she fits right into the McCain, Bush regime.

Either way, Republicans can no longer argue about how wrong it is to pick unqualified people to do a job. The US attorney scandal was bad enough. But they have picked someone who can potentially have to be sworn in as President of the United States. And as much as everyone feels like, "oh well she has a tough story and a good family and she is a regular person like me" we see where the last "regular" guy who was President got us. It has always seemed a tad ironic that we as Americans believe that we have the best military, we are the richest, smartest, freest and best nation in the world. At 232 years old, we are greater than nations that have been around for centuries. But our leader, the one who represents us to the rest of this world that we are greater than, should be an "average Joe (or Jane)" who just likes to BBQ and drink beer. Yeah. That fits.

Like I said, I don't know what this world (or at least our country) is coming to..but together, maybe through constructive dialogue, we can figure it out.