And you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, either . . .

Speaking as someone who has never been the mayor of a town of 6,000, and thus has never had the crushing weight of responsibility of telling the town librarian she would be fired unless she did as she was told and pulled the books I personally didn’t like off the shelves, I know that anyone who reads this will take my words with a wee bit of salt–but I am just a teensy weensy bit worried about John McCain’s judgment.  I differ with him on a lot of issues, but I always respected the man, and respected him deeply.  I listened to his speech the other night and thought, the world and the nation would be in better shape if he, and not George W. and his pals, had been in charge these last eight years. 

 But Palin is ridiculous. 

Her speech was ok– lots of high school valedictorians are on to the little trick of echoing the book of Ecclesiastes (a time for this, a time for that.)  So I would rate her right up there with a pretty good high school graduate.  Yes, that is better than George Bush, but that doesn’t mean much, now does it? And she delivered the speech quite nicely– there’s your beauty pageant training.  Because she did not learn her speech and debate skills in philosophy classes–that much is clear. 

She is a liar– she keeps repeating the same line about telling Congress “no thanks” to that bridge to Terabithia, in the face of all the facts that she supported the project until Congress cut off the funding.  Pretty brazen.  Why does she keep saying she cut taxes in Alaska when they don’t even pay state income tax up there?  She’s a liar.  That’s why.  But repeating brazen lies over and over again is a tried and true trick, as proved by Adolph Hitler, himself.  Repeat a lie often enough, and people will believe it is the truth.  She claims she has foreign policy experience because she lives so close to Russia– but geeze, we have more Russians, Ukrainians, Moldovans and Lithuanians on the N-Judah bus line any given day in San Francisco than she has never encountered.  If proximity to a foreign border gives you foreign policy experience, I think most of San Diego county is better qualified than she is. 

How many black folks live in Alaska?  Does she have any plans to go into black neighborhoods and talk to the people who live there?  She hasn’t so far– she only goes to places where white folks holding tupperware jello molds chant “Sara! Sara!”  She was on fire to get her ex brother in law fired because he shot an extra moose during hunting season, using his wife’s permit–but is that really a good reason to fire the guy?  Is that the worst problem they have in Alaska?  What about armed robberies in the neighborhood? 

We have this lady from the middle of nowhere, lying her head off, kissing every evangelical rear in the country, and that’s who they want to put in the number 2 position in our government?  In our beautiful, crazy, freedom- loving,complicated country?  Did my father join the Marines and fight in a foreign war so some small-minded lady in sticky-looking lip gloss and heels can run giddy, mean and rough-shod over librarians?

Today is the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our people.  Those people died because we believe in freedom of speech and religion in this country–that is the essential reason why they were targeted.  Does Palin really understand what those freedoms mean?  Or does she think freedom means you have a right to be her religion, and nothing else? 

I started off saying I had always respected John McCain– but I have to tell you, I have lost most of it with this “lipstick” soap opera the last few days.  That’s gutter politics they’re practicing.  I guess they broke down and hired Karl Rove– who else would come up with the psycho idea of calling  Obama –Obama of all people!–a sexist? For crying out loud.  No, Senator McCain, you can’t put lipstick on a pig.  And your economic “plan” is the pig we are talking about.  And you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear either. 

You work that one out.