Dear Sarah Palin
You came on to the scene like a firecracker! You’ve kicked up dust, stirred the pot, and got people talking. However, now the whirlwind is calming and Americans can contemplate your role as a candidate for vice president.
The republican ticket needed someone young to appeal to the age group that Obama has rocked, and to counter concerns about McCain’s age and health. They needed someone charismatic to inspire and motivate Americans, like Obama has. They needed a minority! Someone who can break boundaries like Obama has and potentially will. They need a woman, because maybe you could grab some of the votes Hillary worked tirelessly for. You filled several gaps in the ticket, but also created gaping holes.
See, now as the dust settles, you are required to do more than spit out witty one-liner zingers, that had even the stuffiest of Republicans laughing at the convention. You had trouble with this during your television interview when you bickered with Charles Gibson – avoiding the questions you were not equipped with answers for. Americans are starting to question your history, experience, knowledge, and readiness (Even I knew what the Bush Doctrine was from watching MSNBC every once and awhile). You confidently talk about the fact that you will “control and reduce spending by millions of dollars,” but I can’t find or haven’t heard you say how. You contradict yourself when you say you value cultural diversity yet veto bills regarding homosexual rights. You will perpetuate McCain’s years of voting against women’s rights and legislation and that promoted NOW, the National Organization for Women who rarely back a presidential candidate to announce their endorsement of Obama.
Please don’t take credit for breaking the glass ceiling. Give credit to Hillary Clinton and the other women of politics, republican or democrat, who have vigilantly fought for health care reform, education, and the middle class at all levels of government for years. Women like Hillary who have lived, breathed, and ate politics since they were in college – about the time you were debating which evening gown to wear and what talent you were going to display that would bring home the crown.
If you are elected Vice President, you may consider it a giant step for women. In reality you are putting women so far back in time it is scary. Take the abortion issue. If you remove that particular right to chose, what other decisions and rights will be stripped from women? It is a bit sexist to keep Viagra covered by insurance but not birth control – while every child is a miracle from God, if you make birth control difficult to obtain or not covered by insurance, more kids will have kids, and our problems will be perpetuated. I still don’t know if you banned books and fired a librarian, or what exactly happened with your ex-brother-in-law, “Trooper Gate,” but with time, the truth on those issues will seep out, revealing more of your inadequacies. At least with these issues occupying the media and “news,” you can avoid defending your platform and experience or answering questions about government, policy, foreign affairs, or Russia (The place you can see from a part of Alaska).
Thank you for inspiring my 30-something brother who has never voted. Not only has he registered, but he has signed up to volunteer and campaign for Obama. Please understand this is a miracle, things must really be looking bad!
Good luck in the Vice Presidential debate. Please come with more than just funny one-liners, (the pit bull and lipstick thing caused such a raucous), or McCain war stories, and ineffective deflections. Also, for the safety of your son and his infantry, I don’t think you should exploit his deployment either. Hopefully you did your homework and learned about politics outside of the wonderful world of Alaska, because you have a lot of ground to make up to be considered a viable candidate for the Vice President of the United States.
Cordially,
Felicia
Concerned mom
Proud supporter of Barack Obama
Democrat por vida
