Juno From Juneau

Sarah Palin's 17 year-old daughter is pregnant. Bring on the Field Day!!!

The esteemed Governor is a strong supporter of abstinence only education. So, uh, how's that working out for you?

Aside from the hypocrisy issue is the much more important question of McCain's judgment. Choosing a running mate is the first major executive decision a presidential candidate makes. According to the New York Times, the vetting of Sarah Palin was a rushed, slipshod affair. As we have all heard by now, John McCain had met her ONCE before offering her the position. There is no evidence that anyone in Alaska was EVER asked ANYTHING about her. For his part, McCain claims Palin was "thoroughly vetted" and that he knew she was under investigation for the firing of a state trooper and that her teenage daughter was pregnant. And this still seemed like the way to go, Senator?!?! God forbid you drop dead in the next four years, you feel this is the VERY BEST person in the country to step in for you? Bullshit. There's no way you think that. You wouldn't even vote for this woman if she was running in the Republican primary and you weren't. You'd vote for someone with experience and a history of reaching across the aisle. I think.

In addition, in an election everyone seems to agree is an important turning point for our nation, Senator McCain chose a running mate who was sure to provide a distraction from the issues. Instead of giving his convention its best chance to direct the political conversation in this country towards the issues Republicans care about, McCain has given us a week of Baby Drama. Supposedly, McCain wanted Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge but bowed to pressure from Christian conservatives and instead went with the impulsive Palin hail mary. Country first? Really?

Now for me, McCain's judgment and Palin's hypocrisy are the two most important issues in this argument. I'm reluctant to discuss one's ability as a mother but as Rachael says, "If your first words that you've ever spoken to 99.9% of Americans are: your kids names and 'I'm just a hockeymom' - then your parenting is not off limits."

Since I kind of see her point, we'll explore this further in Juno From Juneau part deux...