Yes, there is a lot to admire about Sarah Palin; she did indeed get elected to the governorship of the State of Alaska so clearly she has political smarts. However, on the national stage a different kind of smarts is required - how about intelligence, curiosity, ability to grasp and deal with issues of import such as foreign policy, terrorism, acting as the commander-in-chief of the most formidable army in the world (and one that has been uselessly deployed in  in that quagmire known as Iraq so that W could get over his daddy issues).

Palin may be admirable for many qualities, but deep down at her core she is a vacuous non-entity without a wit of the intelligence and common sense that is required in a commander-in-chief. That McCain would have the temerity to insult the vast majority of the American public with her selection and try to pass it off as anything other then a hail Mary pass is indicative of his state of mind - which, given his performance over the last 60 days, is one of an old codger who is off his meds.

Sarah Palin is a curiosity - especially among the base. Those who go to the Palin-McCain rallies and then leave as soon as she is done and gramps begins to speak. Why do they leave when gramps gets up to speak - because he is boring and they know he is a loser; so why waste any time once the entertainment is over. 

Sarah Palin is a curiosity to the rest of America who continually wonders (to quote Peggy Lee) - is that all there is? Since she has not had many sit downs with the press and hasn't had the gonads to go on Meet The Press or any of the other Sunday morning political rituals - what do you expect? She keeps asking "Do we really know Barack Obama?"

The real question - even for the faithful - is do we really know Sarah Palin (Troopergate, NeimanMarcusgate, Expense Account gate, Bridge to Knowwhere gate; ad nauseum)? And, if she did face Meet The Press, what would she say? How could she possibly present her case to the American people absent prepared and staged remarks and with the aid of a teleprompter? How could she intelligently discuss her policy positions WHEN SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE VICE PRESIDENT DOES!

Does anyone at the RNC have a copy of the constitution?

Have they read it? (OH MY GOD - I forgot that Bush and Cheney have effectively cancelled the constitution for the last 8 years so she has a perfect, ready made excuse)

Why is that Republicans who always beat their breasts about the sanctity of the individual are so in favor of the intrusion of government in our lives and bedrooms - the disconnect in logic is so over the top that I wonder why any intelligent conservative can live with this hypocrisy - but then again commitment to party seems to comes before commitment to country; and propaganda and repetition will NOT change this fact.

At the end of the day who or what she is matters not. What does matter is the judgement of the Grumpy Old Politician who put her - unprepared as she was - onto the national stage to be a heartbeat away from the commander-in-chief chair. And if you think the thought of her having the ability to put her finger on the button is comfortable then you to are so far gone with partisan commitment that you have lost sight of the fact that we live in the 21st century and the person who has "command and control" needs to be first and foremost intelligent. McCain's choice of Palin is a straight indictment of his lack of judgement and will be one of the contributing factors to his total and complete defeat and the ultimate rout of the Republicans in 2008.  Mark my words his lack of judgement will mean majorities in the House and Senate and the loss of several governorships as well innumerable local races. The backdraft on the Republican brand - and all of the negativism of 2008 - will be enormous.

So with the results of this election rapidly shaping up, get ready to blame the Democrats for all that is wrong in the country as you will have the next 4 - maybe 8 - years to play the blame game. And no, I'm not getting cocky - I worry every night about this country and what we will be leaving to my grandchildren - but I am hopeful that the American public is NOT as stupid as Karl Rove and Steve Schmidt would have us believe and that common sense will prevail for once.

BTW Sarah Palin would make a wonderful talk show host - she is definitely a good entertainer. But potentially president of these United States - gimme a break!

PS. CNN reported an interesting fact tonight (courtesy of James Carville) - that other then elections in which a Bush or Nixon was on the ticket, the last Republican elected to the presidency was in 1928! Let's see, Eisehower-Nixon, Nixon-Agnew, Nixon-Ford, Reagan-Bush, Bush-Quayle, Bush-Cheney. N.B. Ford wasn't elected so he doesn't count.