About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I mentioned Sarah Palin to Mrs. Jackpine as my choice for Veep. God bless her, Mrs. Jackpine has better things to do most of the time, and simply said "Who?".

Like most of the country, she was totally unprepared for the appearance of Sarah "Barracuda" Palin on the national scene.

Since the announcement a week ago, which prompted my earlier post entitled "McCain hits a Grand Slam....", we have had a chance to witness the some grand drama and histrionics. And we're just getting started, unless I miss my guess.

What attracted me to the Palin candidacy, and will have my undivided attention 'til election day, is what I am now labelling the Country Mouse Syndrome.

I spent a fair bit of time tracking down and carefully reading the Op/Eds from such places as New York and Boston, all of them penned by women. The venom and vitriol was astonishing, but my surprise then turned to anger, then to wonder, and finally to pity.

Those gals don't get it. Sad to say, they never will.

Read the poor gal in the following link, and then go down and read the comments from her oh-so-learned East Coast sisterhood. Its truly sad - but read the link, and then come back to my comments.

http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/

What the Warner chick and her followers really don't seem to understand is that there is a very big and real world outside the confines of their effete communities. Beyond the block their condominium/coop sits on is the real world, populated by real people. They simply have no clue how to deal with a motivated and intelligent woman - one who has grown up dealing with the real world.

They picked on Sarah's family, and she went on to deliver her speech a few nights ago, where she cut their boy BHO down to size, and did it with a grin. They continue to belittle her background and education and hometown. Sadly, they don't realize that in the real world it is folks like Sarah Palin who are the educated, erudite and accomplished people. The very institutions that the East Coast elite sneer at are surprisingly enough the superior institutions.

This is going to be even more fun than I could have hoped for. The Country Mouse is taking names and kicking @$$.

For now.

Can she stand up to it over the next two months? Can she reassure a jaded country that, if McCain keels over from cancer, she can step into the presidency and do a strong job?

Issues, shmissues. If she can be a force in the land, it's because of character, not issues. She partly showed her character in meeting the challenge of the RNC introduction to America. But an introduction is just that. Is there enough substance for subsequent chapters?

This will be VERY interesting.

Jackpine, interesting post, but I think you're off base this time.

The reason that intelligent, educated, "East Coast Sisterhood" types look down on Palin has nothing to do with what you've penned. It's simply that they were hoping that glass ceiling with "18 million cracks" would be broken by someone in the top 1,000 to be qualified to be V.P.

Instead, they got Sarah.

If you knew any "East Coast" types you'd know that. They're angry that someone in the ninety-seventh tier of women is the first one up for the Executive Branch (you can't count Ferraro, she had no chance!). Instead of Hillary, or Elizabeth Dole, or heck, even Carly Fiona or Condoleeza, we get a warm body who's going to "shake up the race".

So when "elitist" women are angry, that's why. You can say they don't "get it" but they do. This sista isn't part of the sisterhood, true, but she's also not qualified. Plain & simple.

All we've heard the past couple of days is how fired up the base is about Palin. It'll be interesting to see how that choice plays to Middle America when they realize she's one step behind a guy who's 143 years old.

Ah Max, you're making my evening!

What is "the sistahood" and just how are we to adequately judge the qualifications?

By any objective measure, Ms. Palin is at least as well qualified as the Presidential candidate for the Dems. That much is not even up for review or debate. Its a fact.

My point was, and you have taken the bait like a ravenous northern just after ice-out, is that she has been seriously understimated based on geography and social "class" (or more rightly, the lack thereof).

Like I said, this is going to be fun.

Heck, even Biden is showing signs of an intelligence I didn't know he was capable of in discussing Sarah Palin. His carefully chosen comments (not the usual Biden Bluster) point to a man carefully taking the measure of a formidable opponent. After all, this is the gal who took down Murkowski on his home turf.

And as for her opponent Joe Biden, the Beltway intellectual with a butt-load of experience..... Read on fellow travelers, for a little background on Mr. Biden. Please pay careful note to his class rating! Who was it again who said we needed the brightest and the best in high office????

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DB143FF93BA2575AC0A961948260


Ninety-seventh tier for Ms. Palin? We'll see.

I'm with you JPR. It will be interesting. I don't know how it will end, but one thing seems certain, and that is that Palin is probably the only one of the 4 candidates (Pres and VP) who could tell you how much a gallon of milk costs (just an example of a real person in the real world). Now, that doesn't mean by itself a qualification of the job, but to me and many people (I think) it makes me identify with her more, trust her more, and know (think?) that she is more like me than the others. Maybe not, but it makes me more comfortable.

I have also spent time in DC, with elites, and I know it is a different world there, whether we want it to be or not. I know that many/most of them have no clue what it is like outside their world, and we know little of their world, I even discussed it with many of them, including a cousin of mine in the "Business of Secrecy" world. So the DC game must be played, but I think it would be good to get someone like her in there, even in the VP spot.

As for the sistahood, I don't give a [PoorWordUsage] about the East Coasties, male or female. Bunch of fast talking, egotistical windbags IMHO, but they do hold power, so whoever has to deal with them must play the game. I just hope whoever it is can also change how the game is played... at least a bit.

Not sure who I will vote for yet, but go Palin, shake the heck out of them and I hope you do well!

Why has she not been seen on TV in any interviews this last week??? You think reporters would be all over her with questions regarding her policies. I want to hear her ideas on this country and the direction she would like to see it taken regarding US policy. No speech writer, no script, hard questions with hard answers.....

Hahaha! I love catching pike just after ice-out. I was up in Canada over Labor Day & the biggest one we caught was a thick 36" fish that cut my buddies' leg open thrashing around in the boat. He was very angry! Thanks for the complement.

My point was that many women, & not just the Sisterhood, are upset because if McCain was looking for a well-qualified candidate, she wasn't it. He could have gone in many other more productive directions.

That said, I think if the 'scandals' don't hurt her, it was a canny choice. A lot of folks who don't pay a lot of attention to the election are going to be drawn to her because she's a feisty woman with a working-class background. If she can avoid making any grotesque mistakes or getting entangled in her past, she'll be an asset to the ticket...I think.

I finally had to sit down with my wife's US magazine last night to get the scoop on the Palin's family & some of the Alaska 'scandals' (I just felt my manly rating drop...oh, wait, I'm a liberal, never mind!). Frightening when US is publishing info that I haven't yet seen in the mainstream media. And those picture of Halle Berry...sorry, different board.

I agree with you on one thing. This race is going to be interesting.

shot down in flames!

All Media, FOX, ABC, MSN, US magazine and all the others are just a bunch of sorry saps looking to sell magazines or get you to watch their lame TV programming. I do not take one thing they report with a grain of salt. You can spin any story you like. Fair and consistent reporting takes morals and values.....these things are GONE in the media. All the above did in the interview is dodge the question...slime!

I wish there really was a way to learn about the candidates. One would have to be able to sit down with them and ask the questions yourself if you wanted to get a true read on them. One on one......

Talk about a pit bull in lipstick, she hung that guy out to dry.

He sounded like a first class idiot.

JP, I read the blog. Thanks for posting it.

I will agree with you, the blog demonstrates that Warner is a bit out of touch. Luckily I won't be relying on her to make my decision as to who to vote for.

Good for Fox. Defending the Conservative base. That's they're mandate, after all. I'm glad that anchor, or whomever she was, wasn't packing heat, or the US Editor would have been toast. Perhaps he should stick to who's dress is best!

I laughed out loud when I heard her say "We're interested in fair & balanced reporting". That's funny stuff coming from someone so obviously angry her new favorite conservative has been unfairly questioned!

I'd support her for V.P. She's a reporter, so she's as qualified as Palin.

Well, McCain wont put her out there to answer anything on her policies. If they do it will under a controlled environment.
The McCain party does not want to run the risk of her being in the position of answering questions on previous actions she has taken.
Like the abuse of power Two separate occasions that are in question. The fact she has gone to at least one meeting of furthering the cause of Alaska seceding from America and her husband being a big supporter in this. The flip flopping of the bridge to nowhere. The censorship of a library then firing librarian because she would not remove books from library.The fact she and McCain continue misrepresent and lie on the details of selling jet on ebay and for a profit.
They sure don't want to open the discussion on her stance on abortion.
McCain is afraid to let her campaign on her own. Heck he canceled an CNN interview when he was asked what if any emergencies has Gov Palin had to use the national guard. He said that was over the line and cancels interview

I just dont understand the hype behind this person runnig for VP. How does someone blindly follow someone. We have no idea where she stands on policy and the McCain party wont let her discuss policy.

Library books and meetings!!! This is all you have.

The Alaskan Independence Party's goal is the vote we were entitled to in 1958, one choice from among the following four alternatives:

1) Remain a Territory.
2) Become a separate and Independent Nation.
3) Accept Commonwealth status.
4) Become a State.


Nobody has said what option of these four that Governor Palin's husband believes in. I'm sure a lot of people have brought their spouse to something they didn't have much interest in, but because they attend doesn't mean they automatically are a member or believe in it.



Maybe more people should be doing some research instead of spewing garbage much like the bloggers living in their parent's basements, who's vain attempts to smear Governor Palin are failing. Half-truths and lies are the tools of the Democratic party, so I probably shouldn't be surprised at those claims of Governor Palin and her family.

I apologize if any of you live in your parent's basements and are offended by this.