Very interesting.

She's sounds like exactly the kind of person I can't stand. But I also sort of feel sorry for her.

She has no idea what she has gotten into. Not having been vetted by McCane or the RNC, and being an absolute unknown to those other than the Alaskan few of this huge nation, in the next two months she is going to be subjected to a tsunami of public inquiry from every angle, every journalist, blogger, politico, and voter.

Barack Obama has been in some sort of national spotlight since he was the keynote speaker at the 2004 DNC. Then he ran for the senate in a race with national attention. Then he launched a campaign for the presidency in Feb. 2007 that subjected him to more than 57 contests in all fifty states, territories, and the District of Columbia (including primaries, caucuses, and hybrids of the two). In those contests he faced massive public scrutiny and kitchen sink politics. Yet he came out on top, beating all the early favorites, including some of the most vetted veterans of national politics, including Biden, Edwards, Dodd, Richardson, and Clinton. Clinton!

Plus he has written a best-selling memoir (one of THE best books I've ever read in that category) and a best-selling book on politics.

The guy is vetted.

And so is his running mate, the very public Joe Biden.

Now comes poor Sarah Palin's turn.

Did anyone watch her when asked about her experience in some store with McCain Saturday?

Lots of people in Alaska are familiar with her evasive tactics.

An 80% approval rating while 87% of Alaskans are positive that she's lying about her hand in having or trying to have her ex brother-in-law fired. Governor Palin appears to be very well-spoken, an advocate of political reform and yes a self-described hockey mom. But she's also a blatant liar who didn't think her plan to attempt to cover up her oldest daughters pregnancy would ever come back to haunt her.

I think she is being used and I feel a bit sorry for her. I think this choice is pathetic and the most 'telling' decision McCain has made. I just want to work hard to help get Obama and Biden elected so we can get on with getting our country back on track.

Late, Late Show host Craig Ferguson hit it on the head when he compared Palin to a "naughty librarian." Every straight male notices immediately that Palin exudes a kind of energetic, but very safe sexuality. She's every 15-year-old boy's sexual fantasy: the pretty (but not too intimidating) school teacher or neighbor's mom you wish would "jump your bones" in some closet somewhere. It's not surprising that so many commentators mention her looks. It's not that she's all that pretty (she's not)--it's just that she strongly projects a kind of enthusiastic and completely unthreatening sexuality. The effect is only heightened by her slightly disheveled bee-hive, her wide eyes, and her perky, "let's do it" smile.

I'm not a woman (maybe too obviously after the above paragraph), but I think if I were, a Paliin victory after a Clinton loss would make me really mad. Let's face it, part of the negative reaction so many have to Clinton is not because she's a woman per se--but because she's a somewhat dumpy post-menapausal woman in pants suits who just isn't very sexy. If Palin wins because she is sexy and Clinton loses because she isn't--what does that say about the state of feminism (and the state of women) in this country? If you're a woman, your accomplishments (or lack thereof) don't matter. Just bat your eyes and look pretty and willing and you'll get ahead.

And as I think about it, if Palin can beat Clinton because she's a better eye-batter--what does it say about the men of this country? How shallow are we?

Fortunately, I think once the initial infatuation with Sarah Barracuda, our new cheerleader-in-chief, is over, we'll all come to our senses and realize that Obama-Biden is a far more serious ticket than McCain-Palin. And we'll vote accordingly. At least I hope.

Can we say "Spiro T. Palin?" Come on, say it with me: SPIRO T. PALIN!