Honestly, my most important thoughts on Palin are that her politics are such that I would never vote for them. I wasn’t going to vote for McCain anyhow. Adding her to the ticket just makes it completely obvious that unless Obama says he’s going to sell us off to Iran, I’m going to vote for Obama.

Most of my feelings of anger about her selection, though, are directed at the McCain camp and the GOP — not at Palin. The first is my feeling that the GOP picked a woman in the hopes that it would strike a chord with former Hillary supporters, regardless of the woman’s record or policies. Personally, I find that offensive. The second is my awareness that she was not McCain’s first or second choice. She was the last minute choice when McCain was backed against the wall by the GOP to have a pro-life VP. This added to my firm belief that McCain is no longer in control of his campaign. He is not allowed to give informal interviews. He’s not allowed to use his cell phone. He is never, for a moment, allowed to go off script. I liked McCain before this campaign, for the reasons that I thought he was his own person and I thought he had integrity. I thought McCain would valiantly go down in flames with a piss poor campaign if it meant he did things his way. He hasn’t, and I’ve been incredibly disappointed by his actions and words (and his lack of action) in this campaign.

The third, and biggest, reason for my anger is that McCain/GOP have lied about her record, her positions, her experience, and her qualifications repeatedly. Even after being called out on the inaccuracies, they continue to argue the same dishonest points. Palin has strong points all her own. There is no need to fake foreign policy experience or to lie about her support of pork barrel projects in Alaska to make conservative women or men like her. Palin is a likeable woman with strong Republican creds, and I feel that Republicans would do her (and themselves) more justice by owning up to her flaws and addressing the strengths she has which will help her to quickly overcome them. She is, obviously, a smart and capable lady. If the McCain camp hadn’t wasted the last several months talking about experience, then they could admit now that the reason why she is a good candidate has nothing to do with her experience, but with her intelligence, ability to learn quickly, and ability to leap into new positions and perform well, even without 20 years of proven leadership under her belt. Of course to say the truth would mean undermining several months of mudslinging and admitting that maybe they haven’t been running the most honest or honorable campaign.

I’m not completely critical of Palin. I think she has good qualities, and I would even go so far as to say she’s the kind of role model conservative young women in particular need. I’m continually impressed by her husband’s support of her and her career, and her strength in taking on the kind of positions she’s held with young children at home. I congratulate her on the historic campaign she will run. She has accomplished a lot, for a woman or a man, and I think that to argue against that would be wrong. I think criticizing her or her family for her daughter’s current situation is also wrong, hypocritical, and beyond self-righteous. It is, more importantly, none of our business.

All the same, I think there were better choices for female leadership within the Republican party. I disagree with her religious beliefs, which bleed into her political beliefs, and I will spend my entire life preventing people with those kinds of beliefs from rising to power and attempting to enforce their narrow and backwards views upon my life and the lives of others. I question how ethical her leadership in Alaska was, and I am not convinced she’s the epitome of reform that McCain has made her out to be. She’s more honest than the group of Republicans that were in place before her, granted, but that’s not saying a whole heck of a lot.

I don’t think she was properly vetted. I don’t think she was the best choice. Choosing her has made me question even further McCain’s judgment, integrity, and leadership ability within his own party. I don’t think this will prove to be a fruitful or wise decision in the long run, and I will be surprised if it’s a successful one.

Note: My issues with Palin have less to do with her religious beliefs than with her desire to force them on me in the form of legislation. I think people are entitled to live and believe as they choose, and I respect their right to a choice even if I don’t agree with what they choose. I expect the same in return, though, and I have little patience for those who insist that because my lifestyle is different, it is somehow less valid than their own or I am somehow less entitled to it.