When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said,(…)When asked about Iraq, she said, “I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq.”

Her own son, her firstborn child, was going to be deployed there very shortly at that point, and that was all she had to say about it?

Anyway, cheers JG, the questions being written off as sexist are (perhaps apart from the “how will she take care of her family”) for the most part legitimate. We all deserve to know more about her past and her abilities.

Is that the group the New York Times erroneously said Sarah Palin belonged to?

“TrooperGate stuff”

Which we can just assume she s guilty of, right? (As PBS did.)

“Bridge to Nowhere”

Someone who actually claimed Obama didnt renege on his pledge about Public Financing is on thin ice here, IMO. And Obama or Biden never changed their opinion about anything? Oh…thats right Biden used to be Pro-Life. Do we have to can his ass now?

“her tax-friendly past”

Hey, if her being a mayor doesnt count as experience and is unimportant than obviously the policies she pursued as mayor would be just as unimportant.

“her supporting an Iraq withdrawal far before other Republicans”

Yes, because no other Republican had similar doubts, and Biden and Obama had the good sense to back it. Oh, wait a second…Obama is STILL against the surge.

What I’m saying is it’s patently wrong for the McCain camp to simply start characterizing nearly all questions about Palin’s background as being sexist and partisan. And the idea that they’re now limiting access to her when few know anything about her is CRAZY. She should be treated like any other serious political contender and should have to stand up for herself and answer the tough questions. We’ve expected nothing less from every single person in this race in the last 19 months…so why would any of you settle for a shift like this now?

Her speech tonight in a highly receptive, partisan venue is not an adequate answer to the legitimate questions raised so far in the past 5 days. I’m not talking about that nonsense about her son not being her own. That was blogosphere BS. I’m talking about the stuff about her husband being part of a secessionist group and the TrooperGate stuff and the Bridge to Nowhere and her tax-friendly past and her supporting an Iraq withdrawal far before other Republicans thought it was wise.

Again, I’m looking for this person to stand on her own and legitimately answer questions that would be posed to any serious presidential or vice presidential candidate. So far that hasn’t happened and you can’t blame the media for that.

Defend her if you will, but she’s literally too inexperienced. And if you say so is Barrack, I’m gonna smack you down. 8 years in illinois state senate, his time at harvard and his accolades, Time in chicago as a public organizer, 3years in the senate (foreign affairs committee, veteran affairs, environment and public works committee. He’s vastly more experienced. This will come to be known when she gets into interviews and debates. 1.5 years as Alaska’s governors, of one of the least populated states in the nation, rich on oil revenues… Does not add up to anything OBama has done. Oh, and she was mayor of a town that was like 1/20th the size of OBama’s State Congressional District. Take the partisan blinders off.

The truth is usually the best strategy. All we have to do is tell it.

Sorry. I DO know who you are…really.

:-)

And vice-versa.

I think what you are seeing is a defensive reaction to what are viewed as ad hominem attacks. (And yes, questioning Palin’s creditibility because of her daughters behavior is an ad hominem…and a double standard as, for example, no MSM outlet did the same when Gore’s son got caught by police at a pot smoking blowout when in high school).

So is there a “circle the wagons” thing going on? Absolutely. And, yes, as a result a lot of the reactions you see will be more reflexive than deliberate. But I dont think Palin (or anyone else) is paranoid to believe she has enemies in well (press) credentialed places.

the accusation that someone is a token just doesn’t stick when the accused demonstrates substance.

Or a grand capacity for vacuous eloquence.

So folks, in case anyone missed it, go ahead and delve into the actual facts, in detail. Find out who Palin really is, and make up your own mind.

Don’t dismiss her before you’ve even considered her. What is so fricken complicated about that?

I am finding the anti-Palin spin to be almost surreal and substantially out of touch with the response she is drawing. Of course, she could show herself incapable, unprepared, and a lightwieght tonight. But if (when?) she doesn’t, I think the Obamaphiles better get back to the drawing board.

The problem they’ll face if Palin shows her mettle is this: the accusation that someone is a token just doesn’t stick when the accused demonstrates substance.

I get that you don’t like the harsh light that has been shone (boy that doesn’t seem like a word, but it is) on Palin these past five days.

It’s been ugly.

You don’t have to take it as gospel, and by all means be critical of it. But a reasonable person should at least look at what is coming out because we have almost nothing Palin and whether you care to be a realist about it or not, John McCain is 72 years old. She has a very good chance of being president.

Very good.

I understand you don’t like the treatment, but what I do not understand is the undying oath of fealty that people are displaying toward her. We know nothing about her except a few talking points that have been put out—and some of that is easily questionable.

Apply some critical thinking skills here, folks. To steal a line, American is advanced citizenship. What is happening might be ugly, but questioning her credibility and ability is fair at this point. If she had been a likely candidate before last Friday, the public would have had a chance to better and more slowly get a read on her, but McCain made a political decision to mitigate the impact of the Democratic Convention by keeping her a secret and blowing the doors off the opening of the presidential campaign.

I am not going to give up my right—and no one should be asked to—to ask questions about this woman and then come to judgment. Our Founding Fathers fought for independence so we would have a right to analyze and vote responsibly. You ask questions. You get answers. You evaluate the answers. You make decisions. But it all starts with questions.

If you don’t want to ask questions, and if the answers then turn in your voter registration card because you aren’t living up to your end of the bargain.