[quote=Lil Dancer[/quote]
Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background: (my comments are in italics)

She was elected Alaska 's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience. But she does have domestic public adminstration experience - something that none of the three Senators in the race have.

Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest. As are many other people for all sorts of reasons (me, included). When we kill the most indefensible among us because they are inconvenient and too young to resist, it's not a far jump to kill those who are inconvenient and too old to resist.

She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. So? I voted for Jesse Jackson, Ross Perot and George Bush. At least she isn't a main-stream lemming-type follower.

Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools. [i]So, she doesn't believe mankind is a descendant of pond scum and the dinosaur. Many others don't either. The last time I checked, Darwin's "missing ]

She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change. Planet Earth has evolved many times in its history, and no one can say what it's true temperature and clilmate is supposed to be. EVERYTHING causes climate change, and mankind is not as important as it thinks it is.

She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska. What surprises me is that people in Florida, Illinois, New York and California seem to think they know what's better for Alaska than Alaskans, and at the same time don't want anyone interfering with their State's Rights.

How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position. One would think this choice was thoughtful and deliberate. Sen. McCain hasn't done anything I've seen that constitutes recklessness.

In addcition, she is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. Not to sound too religious, but the last perfect person I've been told to walk this Planet was crucified - everyone else IS far from perfect. As surprising as it may seem, hunters and fisher[wo]men are probably the MOST environmentally concerned people in this country and elsewhere. They appreciate the environment from up-close-and-personal, and not from Manhattan high-rises or other urban pueblos. Yes, there is an investigation concerning an alleged incident in Alaska - as there will probably be one about untra-special mortgage deals for a certain Senator from a Chicago "businessman." And until just a couple dozen months ago, Sen. Obama was still working in Illinois - and his DC experience, based on his record of missed votes, doesn't add to much...

I'm also looking for as much scrutiny of Gov Palin as I am of the 3 Senators in the race. I don't expect it all to be rosy and perfect for her, as it surely isn't for the 3 Senators. However, there seems to be a bitterness being shown towards this Vice Presidential candidate, with forced comparisons to her versus the Democratic Presidential candidate. Gov. Palin as VP as opposed to Sen. Biden would seem like the natural comparison. If that's not the case, and its viewed as an Obama-Palin campaign, the good Senator's record of public adminstration and responsiblity may be seen as lacking....