SNL's Sarah Palin's Interview by Katie Couric

So very glad I stay up to watch SNL tonight. Tina Fey is pure genius.

Sarah Palin Should Bow Out?

Kathleen Parker, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, wrote a column today saying that Sarah Palin should bow out of the campaign. Her reasons are numerous and I could not disagree more.

I started to leave a comment, but the more I wrote, the more I realized this was really a blog post.

Kathleen Parker: "She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first."

Let me just say I do not and have never thought Sarah Palin was a good choice for McCain's VP. I loathe Sarah Palin and everything she believes in. As a rape survivor, I am sick at the idea of having to pay for my own rape kit and that if she had her way, I would not be allowed the choice to terminate any resulting pregnancy (I was fortunate enough to not get pregnant). My head wants to explode when I think about what she would do to the progress in women's equality.

Sarah Palin's understanding of foreign policy and the economy, the biggest issues of this election and probably of the next 4 to 8 years or more, is embarrassing for her and the country. That the GOP could not find a better qualified running mate to "shake up" John McCain's campaign is laughable and insulting. It is inexcusable that the GOP has not been able to better educate and prepare their Vice Presidential candidate for even the most obvious questions.

That said, Sarah Palin CANNOT withdraw.

John McCain chose her and the GOP celebrated her. As we have seen time and time again, they obviously did both without any sort of vetting. Had Barack Obama not vetted his running mate (and let's be clear, John McCain had almost 6 months to find and vet his choice, but Barack Obama had less than half that time), we would see non-stop 24/7 ads about it from the GOP all the way to the election.

Kathleen Parker falsely believes that "no one would criticize a mother who wants to put her family first" and I could not disagree more. If Sarah Palin were to drop out citing her family as her reason, there would be very loud whispers for years to come that a woman couldn't really take on the task of being Vice President, much less being President. Future women candidates for President will be scrutinized with "are you SURE you can put the Country above your family?" It will be used as evidence to bolster the "women can't really do it all" argument that some people still believe.

18 million cracks in the glass ceiling will become barely visible.

Don't misunderstand me, I believe that motherhood is the most important (and least appreciated and underpaid) job in the world. And I believe that women CAN have it all. I believe that women SHOULD be CEOs, Nobel Prize winners, and Heads of State. But there are choices we all have to make in our lives and a balance we each have to strike for ourselves. When the choice you make is to become a heart beat away from being the President, unfortunately, you've lost the luxury of saying "I change my mind" 38 days before the election.

The impulsiveness of both John McCain and Sarah Palin says volumes about the type of judgement they both have, but they both made this bed and it's time they slept in it.

As I've said, I'm no fan of Sarah Palin and I pray every night that the McCain-Palin ticket loses this election, but Sarah Palin has to see this through. She owes that to the women and girls of America.

I Have Foreign Policy Experience According to Sarah Palin's Logic!

Yes I do! How? Well, let me explain it to you . . .

I live in Illinois, just outside of Chicago. Chicago is on Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes not only share borders with the United States, but also with Canada (a foreign country). I've spent time in Texas and California. Both states share borders with Mexico (ANOTHER foreign country). I ALSO used to live in Washington DC, where there are many embassies. All of those embassies are not really part of the US. They are actually part of the territory of their home countries. That means that all the time I spent on Embassy Row, I was really visiting foreign countries. Furthermore, I personally travelled to the Bahamas when I was 10. And, I have been heavily involved in foreign trade due to the fact that most of what I purchase all has "Made in China" stamped on it somewhere. My junior high boyfriend was also 100% Greek, so I have personally been involved in numerous diplomatic missions and negotiations. I also regularly provide economic stimulus packages to Thailand by eating at my favorite Thai restaurant. See, I really am a foreign policy expert.

Let's watch Sarah Palin's logic about her foreign policy experience in her interview with Katie Couric . . . . And you'll love how she's finally figured out that Canada is her neighbor too! I think my favorite part is the disgust on Katie's face and also that no one can say there was sexism involved since Katie Couric is a woman.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Here's the transcript from America Blog.

Those Damn Community Organizers

Ever since I heard Candy Crowley on CNN report the line about Community Organizers from an early copy of Palin's speech released to the press yesterday afternoon, I have been completely incensed.

I had to resist the urge not to throw things at my TV last night when she actually said it. My only saving grace was that I didn't want to punish myself by breaking my TV.

This morning, FranIam wrote a great post about how difficult it is for her to remain positive this morning in light of that speech. I gotta give FranIam kudos, she's really working hard to resist the urge to reach into the muck that the GOP is spouting.

In her post, Fran also asked for the opinions of her readers and what we thought of the speech. I commented about the community organizing line and I can't stop thinking about that comment.

Here's my comment:

I was over-the-top offended by many parts of her speech, but the line that will stay with me forever was the line that in 1 sentence managed to insult every volunteer helping those less fortunate in America:

"I guess being mayor of a small town is kinda like being a community organizer, except I had responsibilities."

Volunteers who help people with no voice have responsibilities too. Those responsibilities may not come in the form of municipal code, but they're a code from a much higher power - our conscious. The responsibilities of volunteers come from that place deep in our souls that won't allow us to ignore the poor, weak and the suffering. As far as I'm concerned, that's the highest calling there is and the most important responsibility we have as humans.

If not for those "community organizers" you clearly hate so much, would the
"community" previously known as the 13 Colonies have come together and risen up
against England? What do you think the Founding Fathers were? They weren't born
with that title. They were fucking COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS.

Oh, and that work you did on the PTA . . . THAT was Community Organizing too.

And all that GOTV stuff that goes on around election day? Community Organizing.

Rallying a group of volunteers to send care packages to the troops in Iraq, including your uber-patriotic son, Track? Community Organizing.

I could go on.

To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, "Governor, I know community organizers. I've
worked with them. They're friends of mine. Governor, you're no Community
Organizer."

Here's a few more things that occurred to me a few minutes ago (when I really should be focused on work) . . .

I guess you're gonna have to give up your relationship with Christianity, Sarah. Your messiah, Jesus Christ, was also a Community Organizer. He had no "responsibilities," except the ones to God and the rest of humankind.

You know your cute hubby, Todd Palin, the First Dude? You love to talk about how he's a union member. Do you know who started unions? Community Organizers.

And one more thing Sarah Palin, you know those women who came together in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries to fight for women's suffrage and ultimately made it possible for the likes of you to be standing at the GOP Convention and (God help us) a candidate for Vice President in 2008? You know those women, right? Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Lucretia Mott, Jane Addams, Helen Kendrick Johnson, Jeannette Rankin, Alice Duer Miller, M. Carey Thomas, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Olympia Brown, Maud Younger, Caroline Severence, and many many more.

They were ALL Community Organizers.

Before you go dissing Community Organizers with a cute, yet shrill (yep, I said it) sound bite, maybe you should think for a moment who fought for your rights and exactly how it is you are able to be where you are today.

In case you're unaware Sarah, Ordinary People CAN Change the World. The fact is, they usually do.

Community Organizers, Sarah. It all starts with Community Organizers.

Gas Tax Holiday - Good or Bad?

One of John McCain's favorite ideas is the Gas Tax Holiday. He spoke about it this morning (link to follow).

A Gas Tax Holiday is a period of time when there are no taxes on gasoline. In this case, it would be Federal Taxes. State and/or local taxes would remain. If you drive a regular car, you would save, in theory, 18.4 cents per gallon. If you use diesel, in theory, you would save 24.4 cents per gallon.

There are a few things I don't understand about this idea.

1. On McCain's own website, he's a total of 4 lines to this idea. So you don't have to click on the link, here's his policy: "John McCain Believes We Should Institute A Summer Gas Tax Holiday. Hard-working American families are suffering from higher gasoline prices. John McCain calls on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day." Hasn't he thought more about his favorite idea?

2. Originally, he proposed that the Gas Tax Holiday would run from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but recently, the AP reported that he wanted to extend it without saying how long he wants to extend it. Specifics. I'd like specifics.

3. It seems to me that the 18.4 or 24.4 cents per gallon is not just "fun money," but rather it is used to pay for things such as roads, schools, and the like. These aren't luxuries, like a trip to Dairy Queen might be. We need these things. Where will the money come from to pay for them if we have a Gas Tax Holiday? Or will we have a tax increase after the tax is reinstated to recover the money lost during the Gas Tax Holiday?

4. Gas station owners claim that despite $4+ per gallon prices, they are struggling and only make about 10 - 12 cents per gallon and that gets eaten up with credit card charges. The idea behind a Gas Tax Holiday is that the price of gas will go down from say $4.18 a gallon (with the tax) to $4 a gallon (without the tax), but what's the motivation for the gas station that's been struggling, and in some cases losing money, to lower their prices? Won't they just think to themselves "thank goodness! I can finally make up some of those profits I've been losing?" I know you're thinking that if the Shell station on one corner lowers their prices, the BP across the street will follow. But what if none of them lower their prices? They're certainly not required to do so.

5. Won't people be even more irritated when the Federal Gas Tax is reinstated? And then what?

6. Would John and Cindy McCain be willing to personally cover the financial losses to the Federal Government from their vast beer fortune?

Discuss.