Into the scrum I go

I am finally getting into the fray about Palin. Up to this point, I really didn't feel like I needed or wanted to do this as so may other lefty bloggers were doing it better than I could have, but I decided to put up a post about this article. McCain is defending Palin and saying that this vetting controversy is "faux media scandal designed to destroy the first female Republican nominee for vice president" and that the media is just an ol' boys club that is trying to destroy Palin. I am not so sure I can totally disagree about the mainstream media being male centered and male run, but so is the GOP. Just because you now have a female VP nominee, does not mean you no longer an old boys club. We still live in a patriarchal society where men are valued over women and a female VP does not seem to be as impressive to me as the fact that Democrats had a viable presidential candidate. I did not see any females even mentioned for the Republicans when it came time for possible presidential nominees. McCain is also saying that Palin is subject to gender bias in the media, yeah no shit Sherlock. I didn't hear him speaking out when Clinton was viciously attacked by the media and by other candidates. Where was McCain standing up for women earlier in the presidential campaign? Am I supposed to believe that if Clinton had become the presidential nominee or even the VP nominee McCain would not have been launching all kinds of sexist ads and comments toward her? Of course not, he would have been firing as many dirty shots as he could.

The other issue, of course, that keeps coming up is the lack of experience for Palin. Former Governor of Massachusetts Jane Swift is now being quoted as saying that Palin is more prepared to be the president of the U.S. than Obama. And on what planet is this women living? How does six years as the mayor of Wasilla and four years as governor of Alaska give her that much experience? Although Alaska is a large state geographically, it is one of the least populous states and really how do you compare a short span as a governor to the same amount of time working in Washington as a Senator? Where is Palin's foreign policy experience? What is her policy on healthcare, energy, the Iraq War, or Social Security? McCain is not a young man, knowing her views on these issues will most likely become very important.

UPDATE: Sorry I gave Gov. Palin more years as a Governor than I should have. She has had only two years, not four.