Being a woman, I read with some interest Judith Warner's blog in the New York Times, where she professes pity for Sarah Palin. 

It made me groan.  I feel no pity for Palin whatsoever. 

What I have noticed recently is how well rested she looks.  I would expect to she her looking a bit frayed around the edges, with dark circles under her eyes from putting in overtime trying to learn the issues.  And I don't see that, not one little bit.  One would think she'd be burning the candle at both ends, learning as much as she can to become a credit to this ticket.  Either than isn't happening, or the McCain campaign has decided the fresh pretty face is more important than actual substance.

I also don't see desperation or panic in her face.  I think she is narcissitic enough to assent to being on the ticket when she is utterly unqualified.  She sees being on the ticket as a mark of her superiority.

Palin also doesn't have a record of being especially compassionate for people who aren't her own.  Let's not feel sorry for her. 

A lot has been made about McCain's lack of eye contact with Obama, and certainly, watching him made me uncomfortable.  All that grimacing and grinning and squinting when he wasn't talking really impacted my ability to listen to him when he was speaking.  What I saw was a nasty, twitchy control freak.

So on foreign policy, do we want a President who acts this way when talking to another head of state?  Maybe that is why he doesn't want to speak to, or negotiate with, any head of state that isn't 100% on his side -- because he can't hold himself together well enough to listen in a calm and respectful manner.  

Don't Americans usually want that calm, rational, look-you-in-the-eye sort of President who will project a strong image to both them and to the rest of the world?  That is where I thought Obama's comments regarding restoring the image of the U.S. to the rest of the world were excellent.  Bush has torn that image down, and did the man standing next to Obama show the qualities needed to restore that image, or would he only build on the Bush legacy, only in an even more disrespectful and unlikable manner?