Conservative dirt on Palin doesn't help the Republican cause

Recently I came across a conservative (well, maybe that was an understatement) blogger site the was basically a Democrat bashing ground. Mixed within the pile of conservative opinion was this gem of an article. The title of the blog post is "Here's the list of dirt on Palin: its brevity provides a stunning contrast to the volumes of dirt on Obama."

The blogger is trying to give the impression that because this list is so short, that means Sarah PalinSarah Palin must be a great candidate! I say to voters everywhere, why don't we read them (and I know there will be more before this election is over) and think to ourselves "is this woman really qualified to be milliseconds away from leading the most economically significant country of the free western world?"

Here's the blogger's list of Palin "dirt" (I've added my comments in italics after each one).

• Her 17 yr old daughter had sex before marriage and is 5 months pregnant. She plans to marry the father. The Governor advised Team McCain of this issue before the decision was made and McCain consciously decided this was not an issue (clearly the governor did NOT advise the McCain "team" before hand. In fact, there is now speculation that she tried to cover it up and secretly marry her daughter off)
• The father of Bristol's child, Levi, is 18 yr old. His MySpace includes the words I'm a f*cking redneck. (I'm not even sure why this one is in here. Although I think what he said was stupid, he is a teenager. I have teenagers. They don't always behave as if they are screwed in quite as tight as they should be now do they.)
• The Governor prefers to live in a world with an emphasis on abstinence education for teens (Uhm.. yeah, and we see how well that's been working for her now don't we.)
• Her husband received a DUI conviction 22 years ago (I think this is relatively moot and inconsequential. People, as the Republicans have enjoyed saying lately, make mistakes. What happened twenty two years ago, one time!? Now if there were more since then, I might be more concerned.)
• Palin was once associated with a group that lobbied since the 1970s for the right to hold a referendum on whether Alaska should secede from the United States. Its motto, "Alaska First", contrasts sharply with the John McCainJohn McCain campaign slogan: "Country First." She and her husband once attended one of its conventions. Both Palins joined the Republican party in 1996. Its unclear whether she was ever a member of the Alaska First group (This was a new one for me. I think it just points out her neo-conservative leanings. It is a bit scary if you think about it. I prefer my leaders a bit more moderate than that!)
• Palin as Governor was in favor of the "Road to Nowhere" before she voted as governor to cut it off. Also she's more than likely come into contact with the State's long standing Senator, Ted Stevens who was recently charged with accepting some free construction services and failing to report them to the Senate. (A, so in one of only a handful of campaign promises she's had a chance to even make, she backs down. Honestly, there could be some very good reasons for having changed her mind once she took office. After all, things are a lot different looking out, than they are looking in right?)
• In 1999, Palin wore a Buchanan for President badge when the candidate showed up in the town in which she was Mayor. (Not really sure why this is on here either; people shift their allegances often in politics. I'd be more concerned about her relative lack of experience.)
• A large Alaskan police trooper was married to Palin's sister and used Palin's nephew's body for tazer practice...he was 10 years old at the time. Palin may have overstepped the mark in pushing his boss to fire him from his job. She hired a lawyer to represent her when this became a scandal. (Uhm.. gee... does anyone smell roasted pig? Now I can't get the Beverly Hillbillies theme song out of my head!)
• Palin once said she appreciated the fact that Obama was talking about change, as she too was in favor of change. (This hardly seems like "dirt" but okay, they were trying to make a point I guess.)
• Palin apparently went on an airplane late in her last pregnancy. (Again, this seems a bit moot. Wouldn't it be wonderful if pregnant women didn't have to work, clean floors, stand on their feet hours at a time, and could stay relatively reclused while we patiently wait nine months. Not!)
• Palin finished second in the Miss Alaska Beauty competition. After the competition she was photoed in a strapless dress which has been circulated ad nauseum by the vicious left under the tag of a topless/nude photo. (I too agree that the extent to which the media has gone to try to find anything nasty against Palin is ridiculous. However, to McCain I say, "you wanted an element of surprise, I think you got it!")
• Palin used to be a sportscaster on TV. (To this I would add, this was the only job she has ever held! She wasn't involved in extra-curricular activities at any of the five colleges she attended before graduating, and aside from the PTA, she hasn't held a position at all. THAT does concern me.)
• Palin was mayor of a city of 9,000 people before being voted to become the Governor of Alaska. (I'm not sure if the size of the state, or the town she was mayor in, would bother me if she just had more years under her belt running anything other than a PTA meeting.)
• When asked for an instant reaction to the Iraq war, she admitted that her primary focus in recent years had been on Alaska not Iraq. (Uhm yeah! This does bother me, and it should bother anyone who votes for the Republican ticket. Literally this woman could become President in a milisecond. Do we really think someone who hasn't been "paying attention" to foreign affairs, let alone national ones, is ready?)
• When asked about becoming the VP a few months ago Palin apparently said she wasn't in the running, and said dismissively I'm not sure what VP's do...(damn good question) (This just goes to show the political naivity of Palin, and what comes across as a seeming disregard for how others will react to what she says. And honestly, it reflects her judgment in public circumstances. The radio host incident - below - is another perfect example of this; she comes across as someone who just doesn't seem to "get it", and I'm not sure if she does.)
• Palin hunts and fishes. She has been photographed standing over a dead caribou. (Again, they must have added this for conservative, cynical emphasis.)
• In January the Alaskan Governor repeatedly laughed on air as a talk-radio host described one of her political opponents as a “cancer” and a “b****”. The opponent in question, Lyda Green, the Alaskan state senate president, is a cancer survivor (Times UK) (Ah yeah, doesn't that bother anyone else? This is a woman at the top of the ticket for the "family values" party (and this is a Republican defending her for it!). Wow, that's all I can say.)

It appears fairly likely that these will not be the only issues to surface in the coming weeks. In fact there are a myriad of other issues that are actually relevant to a political campaign that bother me (like her belief that our environmental concerns have not been created by humans, her strong NRA stance which won't work in Chicago like it works in Alaska, and others).

For those who feel that the media, and really everyone, is being unfair to Palin by bringing up these issues, all I can say is this - what else is there to consider? If you think about it, she has no record, there is no signficant length of service in which to truly judge her qualifications for such a high office, she herself has paraded around as a reform candidate, yet her family appears to be falling prey to the same difficulties and problems as many families in America. How can you tout yourself as the "conservative voice of change" when behind the scenes it pretty much business as usual?

I think it is pretty fair to say that when McCain decided to gamble with this woman by adding her to the ticket last-minute (please, don't even try to tell me it was a surprise on purpose!), he was taking the risk that many women like you and me were going to simply pull the lever in favor of a mommy VP without taking the time to consider her full, true qualifications to lead this nation. THAT to me is insulting, and it degrades the very important part that women play in American politics. As far as I'm concerned, just the idea of it reflects on McCain's understanding (or lack thereof) of women voters in this country.