I don't give a rat's ass how much money the GOP spent on Sarah Palin's clothes.
Here's what I do care about, and care about strongly: Sarah Palin, as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, did not know Africa was a continent. She did not know which countries are members of NAFTA. I do not want to embarrass her for being dumb. That's a cheap, cruel laugh that lets her off the hook. If she cared to know these basic facts she would know. The very serious problem here is that she does not want to know, and that I do not respect at all. That makes me angry. My Vice President had damn well better care to have knowledge of the world far, far beyond a 5th grade level.
The Republicans knew she was dangerously unprepared, and yet they tried to hide it and install her in the second highest office in the country. This is a behavior tantamount to a taxi cab company sending out a drunken cab driver. They have become selfish and derelict.
Just before Nixon became President he argued a case before the Supreme Court that is considered by many legal scholars to be the finest presentation before the high court in it's illustrious history. Now look at what the GOP is throwing against the wall: Sarah Palin? The GOP has become awful. They have lost their self respect. They are truly, profoundly, perhaps irretrievably lost during this country's hour of need. Its game time and they are a no show.
Back in 2000 I assumed conservative voters saw something in W they truly, sincerely valued. I am so sorry to say that I am no longer sure that is the case. My Republican countrymen just voted for a person unqualified to teach 5th grade in a Presidential election. They voted for a woman who cares so little for the world she doesn't care to know Africa is a continent. Nobody in a clear, sober frame of mind could do such a thing. Something is wrong. There are 56 million Americans who would put our country in the hands of an ambitious boob. A truly ugly and dangerous spirit has been brought to light in these new revelations about Sarah Palin. W was no accident.
Republicans can no longer be trusted to run qualified candidates. Apparently they'll run a corpse if its dumb enough. That is a very, very bad thing, as they have been known to win the occasional election.
It has now become necessary to insist that every Republican candidate from this sobering point forward be tested on basic political doctrine, basic history, and basic geography. I urge all media to take nothing for granted. Make them prove they are qualified. They must go on TV and stand in front of a map and name all the continents, all the oceans and all the world's countries. I do not want to find out what GOP candidates don't know after the election.
There are stories coming out now that Palin aggressively lobbied for the VP nod. She should not have ambitions for higher office. Her ambition should be to go back to 5th grade and begin the long process of preparing herself for a complex and dangerous world.
Thank God there were Republican like George Will who stood up and said Palin was unacceptable. He cares more about his country than his party, and I respect that tremendously.
John McCain looked me in the eye and asked me to put my faith in Sarah Palin. I'm not a knee jerk Democrat. I actually listen to both sides and take them seriously and I consider everything my country's candidates say. I seriously considered voting for John McCain. I consider it my sacred duty to do nothing less. When he found out who she really was, he should have let her go. Obama would have rightly jumped on him for his impulsiveness and lack of judgment, but McCain would have proven he really does put America first and can correct mistakes, and I want those qualities in a President. He would still have the world's respect and trust. And what if he had won and these truths about Palin had come out? It would have crippled his Presidency at a time when the last thing we need is a lack of faith in our leadership.
From now on I will always equate John McCain with self annihilation. If you knowingly run a candidate that cannot possibly handle the job of President then to me you no longer exist. I have zero respect for you. Bury yourself in a hole and go away. I'd rather nail your balls to the floor and set the house on fire than speak your name.
I now make this bold prediction: The Republican Party is going to shatter into pieces within the next six years. Out of the ruins will come the DubyaRovePalin/Village Idiot Party who thinks "President" = "Pope" and "voters" = "sheep", and the respectable Social Conservatives Who Believe In Knowledge and Small Government Party.
The DubyaRovePalin/Village Idiots will win control of the once noble name Republican. The social conservatives who believe in knowledge and small government will most likely turn to the Democratic Party and solidify it as a centrist movement, which will push the far left toward the Greens and Libertarians.