Palin might be a neocon's dream...but she gives me nightmares

First off, let me apologize for the length of this post...and the array of links to external sites. But sometimes the story is best pieced together with diverse sources. Second, and more to the point, let me say that Sarah Palin’s complete and utter lack of experience is not the primary reason why the image of her in the White House makes me break out in a cold sweat. But before I get to what really scares me – let’s just take another look at what the almost-Miss-Alaska brings to the table.

Ok, so she is the 20-month-old Governor of a state that has a population roughly equal to the District of Columbia…excluding most of the suburbs. She controlled the purse strings of a state that has a smaller budget than the District of Columbia. Of course her state received more earmark dollars per capita than any State in the Union (a union she putatively wanted to leave as a member of the Alaska Independence Party). She is the de-facto head of the Alaska State Guard – but hasn’t got a clue as to what the Bush doctrine (of preemptive warfare) is and the impact it would have on her charges (who she thinks are on a mission from god, no less). Oh, she was also mayor of a city with a smaller population than my voting district. By these standards, Marion Berry is a more experienced potential vp candidate than she is. Except Marion has that scurrilous history that the republicans would surely pounce on...he was a community activist! (Gasp!)

And while we are at it…long before John McCain was warning us that the civilized world (of which he no longer appears to be a part) would come to an end if the inexperienced Barack Obama were elected president, this is what he had to say about ANOTHER Governor & ex-mayor:

“I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time. For 20-some years…I led. I didn't manage for profit…” – Transcript of John McCain addressing Mitt Romney in the Oct. 2007 Republican debates.

So…almost a year ago he eviscerated Romney for being inexperienced. In case you are wondering, he was governor for four years. Palin? 20 months. He also nearly defeated senator-for-life Ted Kennedy in 1994…no small feat. He graduated Cum Laude from Harvard Law and was a Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School. Yet, he was considered not ready to lead, by McCain. I guess Romney, unlike Palin, didn’t do well in the swimsuit competition.

But I’m not here to simply enumerate all of the reasons I believe Palin is not qualified to be Vice President. I’m here to warn that she represents all that is bad about George Bush. Namely: She is personally and politically vindictive. She prefers cronyism and loyalty over competence. She is secretive in an era where government demands to be more transparent. She promises to move the country even further to the extreme right, as she garners approval from the most fanatic of conservatives. She isn’t very bright. And she lies. Although, to be fair, she lies with the best of liars. (There is, in fact, a McCain fact checker website that is up to 51 lies...and counting.)

The prospect of having to endure four more years of the same miserable, failed policies of the worst president in the history of this nation scares the sh*t out of me. Unfortunately, I think that America is still not yet far enough removed from the days of segregation, anti-miscegenation and, yes, even slavery to come to grips with a black president. That’s a tragedy, because Obama comes at a time when we need to pay more than passing lip service to change. Not only is Obama qualified, he is absolutely the best person for the job. McCain & Palin? They are the stuff of which bad dreams are made.