Palin: Pit Bull or Pig?

Much has been written this week about Sarah Palin -- her lack of credentials, her well-documented lying, her pathetic interview with Charles Gibson, her shallow knowledge base, her dysfunctional family, her vengeful, calculating personality and her big-g god and guns philosophy. This whole phenomena of people going ga-ga over her has me totally baffled. I can't imagine why people want this woman to lead our country as she surely would lead wimpy McCain around by the nose! The media tells us that her popularity is because people can identify her, she is the woman next door. Oh, spare me! What about those of us who want something a little more dignified for a leader? Someone with real credentials, intelligence, compassion, ethics, experience and dignity? Palin has none of that.

Thank the small-g gods that her nomination is beginning to implode -- it is easy to track her lies and her strange world view and the media is on to her:  the bridge to nowhere and other earmarks; her bullying tactics; her non-trip to Iraq; her secretive budget process in Alaska; her firing of people she can't bully and hiring of high school chums she can control; her eBay sale; her support of Alaskan secessionists; and on and on. 

I'm reminded of one of my favorite JFK quotes: 

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie: 

deliberate, continued, and dishonest; 

but the myth: 

persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.

I'm bothered by all the McCain/Palin lies, but I'm even more troubled by the myths they (and their promoters) have perpetuated. The myths about themselves: reform mavericks, Country First, family values, we are just like you, experienced, ready to lead, have the answers, etc. They are persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Myths aren't true, but they are very difficult to debunk.

Even worse are the myths the McCain/Palin ticket has promoted about Barack Obama: that he is a Muslim, an elitist, a sexist, not ready to lead, promotes comprehensive sex education for kindergarten students, will raise your taxes, etc. Again the myths aren't true, but they are persistent and persuasive and don't ever seem to go away.

Our only hope lies in the belief that the majority of voting citizens are smart, intelligent and able to think critically about the issues in this election. Anyone want to give me odds on this one? 

This is the most important election in my lifetime -- and I'm old! Isn't it time we set the bar higher? Set our sights on hope, peace and opportunity, rather than on ignorance, fear and despair?