A Knot In My Stomach

[Alison] I was dismayed when Sarah Palin made a decent showing during the vice presidential debate although her colloquialisms made me repeatedly cringe. I woke up this morning with such a knot in my stomach. What was causing it, a sore back, thinking about too little work, bills? No, Sarah Palin as VP candidate with John McCain. I told my husband, "If that ticket wins, we're moving to Australia." He thought I was overreacting but I don't think so.

She looks to me like a female George W. Bush and these last eight years have been VERY painful in so many ways - politically, economically, socially, globally, environmentally... Here are some of the similarities:
Palin: unwillingness to think about issues (What Bush doctrine? Georgia?).
Bush: went into Iraq against Colin Powell's advice and all the evidence that Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11, no weapons of mass destruction.

Palin: cronyism (putting friends at high salaries in political office, hiring for loyalty instead of competence, firing everyone from the previous administration).
Bush: remember Brownie and Katrina and LOTS of other conflict of interest appointments.

Palin: cluelessness about people, the world, the economy, pretty much everything.
Bush: completely disconnected from reality, judging from his comments.

Palin: creating a protective political environment where nobody disagrees with her opinion (extremely scary trait in potential world leader).
Bush: Ask Colin Powell or Valerie Plame, among others.

Palin: no engagement or interest in anything outside of the USA (no passport at 44 until last year).
Bush: plummeted world opinion about the US to an all-time low internationally and appointed unacceptable UN representative in a sly way, during a recess.

I could go on as I differ in my values from Sarah Palin in too many ways to count. She is probably a nice enough woman and clearly spunky BUT TOTALLY UNQUALIFIED TO BE EVEN A VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN THIS ELECTION. Sorry but that's really how I feel. Finally, I am so insulted as a woman by this choice. With all the extraordinarily competent women in politics today, that McCain chose Sarah Palin, who isn't (in my opinion) just blows my mind. I will do anything in my power to see Obama and Biden win in November because the world McCain and Palin would create is too horrible to even consider. OK, rant over for now.

We don't usually talk politics in my entrepreneur women's group so please forgive me if you, my friends and colleagues, disagree. Freedom of speech is an American right (1st Amendment) that Sarah Palin would not support as VP (judging from her attempt to ban books from the library in her town).