Just My Opinion, Vol. 1

A brief word to our readership: The following blog entry is not the fluffy type that you are used to here. It's not the usual daily recap of what we did along with pictures of our girls...

What it is, is my opinion on things going on in the world today. Some of you probably won't agree with it and may want to skip over it. Since I have things I like to rant about (typically to Jeni) I figured I'd just use this as my outlet instead of boring her with it...





So, with that warning... On with the show!



For those of you who don't know me well, I'm a self-proclaimed independent. I don't identify with a particular party on all of the issues. I do proudly say that I never voted for George W. Bush and "I TOLD YOU SO!" to those who discussed politics with me prior to both the 2000 and 2004 elections... I enter every political race with an open mind to both sides and do a ton of research on the candidates before making a decision... As Jeni mentioned in an earlier post, I watch both party's conventions and watch every debate during the presidential election years... I also think it's extremely important to hear all sides and opinions, no matter how biased and skewed, thus I frequently listen to Rush, O'Reilly, Hannity and watch Olbermann. I'm also a frequent reader of online editorials from both conservative and liberal writers.

Anyway, as for today's headline...

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet your Republican VP Candidate.

Ms. Palin is the current governor of the state of Alaska.

Honestly, I have to admit that I had no idea who she was when I first heard rumors of her being chosen as the VP candidate. I had to do some research on her to find out if this boosted the McCain ticket or hurt it....

If you've tuned into the daily political talk shows (like I did) you'd, of course, hear statements like "She's a home run!" "Perfect choice!" "What a great pick!" That coming from folks like Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, and Rush Limbaugh... I haven't heard Hannity yet, but I'm sure there will be more salivating from him as well.

Now, I'm sure Ms. Palin is a fine lady. However, I think that's the one main reason she was selected: She's a lady. As a man, I can only make this statement as a guess: if I were an intelligent woman, I'd be insulted by this pick. If you check out her resume, she's vastly underqualified when compared to others who were supposedly on McCain's short list. You can not honestly tell me that she was the most qualified choice and the best person to step in, God forbid, in a McCain presidency. What would really irk me as a woman, would be that John McCain and the GOP apparently think so little of the intelligence level and symplicity of my gender that they believe that picking a woman, no matter how qualified, would sway me to vote for him.

I really believe that's what's going on with this selection. With the constant pounding of Obama about how he's "not ready to lead" and doesn't have enough experience, McCain basically stated that experience was the #1 criteria to run our country... Then he selects someone who's longest tenure in public office is being on a city council of a town with a population smaller than my hometown of FESTUS! Don't insult my intelligence and tell me she was the most qualified.

Already this morning I've heard the defense that she's the perfect choice for the following reasons:

She's a mother of 5!

She's young!

She's an NRA member!

She's anti-abortion!

Her son is going to Iraq!

She has a child who has Downs Syndrome!

....wait... WHAT? What the heck does that have to do with anything? I actually heard that on nearly every show... They pointed out that her youngest child has Downs Syndrome. Why is that anyone's business?

And the oddest justification came from Laura Ingraham... She actually said that Ms. Palin should have a good understanding of foreign policy because she was the governor of Alaska and Alaska is RIGHT NEXT TO RUSSIA! I didn't make that up.

I know this stuff is typical political spin, but what I keep going back to is the woman issue. Maybe I'm giving a lot of folks in the general population too much credit, but I find it extremely hard to believe that the average undecided female voter would look at this choice and it would sway their vote toward McCain. I'll give women the benefit of the doubt and believe they'll see this choice for what it really is: A gimmick. It's a gimmick that the men in the GOP believe will bring in the female voter. It's a gimmick that they believe will appease the female voters who they've ignored and overlooked when it came to REAL issues for so long. It's a condescending little pat on the head to women... "There, there, dear. Don't worry. See, we appreciate you." It's pandering. It should insult them. It reminds me of the 2004 Republican convention when they trotted out whatever minorities in their party they could find on stage to show they were a party of inclusion... but when you looked at the audience it was whiter than a Gap Store in Iowa.

Ms. Palin probably satisfies a lot of hardcore conservatives with her positions on things like gun control and abortion. I can respect that completely. But please, don't pee on my foot and tell me its raining by telling me she was selected because of her credentials and being a women wasn't the main factor.

The thoughts expressed in this post aren't necessarily those of both Matt & Jeni.

It's America, feel free to comment if you agree or disagree.