Exclam!!!!!!!!!!
Those who have played chess professionally will immediately get the meaning of my title: exclam!
It refers to when a player makes a brilliant move within the game; a move so good that it has the potential to change the outcome from there on in. You see, in the game called chess -one of the oldest in the world- we record each player’s move(s) with symbols; and once you see an exclamation mark in brackets or parentheses (!) recorded next to a move, you are supposed to take a long hard look at the move and its relevance to the later outcome of the game. It sets the stage for the post-game analysis and for later evaluation. At the end of this presidential race in early November, we will all look back at John McCain’s gambit of yesterday and we will all see the genius in this move. Whoever advised him to make this selection deserves a raise. Win or lose it was a brilliant move.
In chess, we also have a symbol for recording a move that we can later deem a blunder (or too speculative); it’s a question mark (?). Sometimes recorders use asterisks (**); especially when they think this move will be the cause of the player’s obvious demise or downfall. Many writers have already questioned John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin (the republican governor of Alaska) as his vice-presidential running mate. They are all wrong.
Sarah Palin is no Dan Quale: she is Sarah Palin. She is spicy, attractive, spunky, feisty and intelligent. She is one hell of a woman; on every level. I have read about her many times in the past and near everything I read I appreciated. She was a college athlete, a beauty queen, the former mayor of a small town, a surprise winner of this governorship, and is now a fine stateswoman. She is a devoted wife and family-woman also.
No; I don’t share most of her political views, nor do I share her right-wing predisposition as it relates to the political spectrum, but I will share this: by the end of this campaign most Americans will get to love this woman. She has charisma, she has good looks, she speaks well (a lil squeaky-voiced sometimes/lol), and she is still very down to earth. She also happens to be the most popular governor of all 50. Her positive ratings in her home state hit the roof almost; and he likeability factor is also very high. John McCain made a brilliant move here; but many won’t see it: at least not yet.
Many here on these blogs will agree with Gatemouth: that this is a bad choice on McCain’s part. Remember that Gatemouth and others were adverse to me when I first wrote about Barack Obama; who he was, what he was doing, where he was going, and what his chances were. Back then they were all doubting Thomases, who would go to my comment section and write all kinds of crap about what I wrote then. Where are they today? What are they today? They are Barack Obama lackeys; last minute ass-kissers. Include a few electeds in this list; especially those who talked about Barack’s lack of experience then.
The same thing happened to my comment section when I said that Barack Obama blew it, by failing to select a woman as his running mate. The “Thomases” came up here with their usual “bs”. They have no imagination; they refuse to think outside the box. This is a change year; and by change I mean real change, not symbolic gestures. John McCain has tapped in to real change in a way that too many white boys would be unable to understand.
Sarah Palin is no Dan Quayle -as the talking heads have been already saying, all over mainstream media. I know Dan Quale; he was no friend of mine because he was an asshole. Period. He was one of those rich white-boys who feel that white-skin privileged is an entitlement. John McCain tapped into female anger, energy, frustrations, hopes, dreams and aspirations -all at the same time- with this stroke of genius. His selection of Sarah Palin was an exclam (!!!!). Period.
Stay tuned-in for part two of this.
2008 Elections | Sarah Palin

RESPONSE.
I don't apologise for using those adjectives because I KNOW that there are differences to being male and female; so the "politically correct" stuff doesn't faze me. What you are missing is he fact that the conservative base will be fired up by this selection (pro-life and pro-guns). The speculative stuff about the child being her daughter's, etc., etc., will have to be proven first befotre it affects her base.
I'm not missing those issues.
The pro-life, family-values voters are not a shoo-in, because they mostly believe that a mother's place is in the home (especially the mother of a special-needs infant!).
Now we learn that the 17-year-old daughter couldn't have been the baby's mother, because she is, in fact, five months pregnant at this moment! The McCain campaign claims they knew about this before Palin was tapped. Right. And she will soon, very soon, be married to the baby's father. This is a soap opera. And it's a great ad for Palin's parenting skills, as well as for her abstinence-only stand on sex ed.
The pro-gun faction would have turned out for McCain anyway - it's hard to think of anyone who loves guns (big guns!) more than he, absent Dick Cheney. And while they're not yet out of the game, the gun lobby doesn't command monolithic Republican votes the way they did a few years ago. Most Democrats in the rural areas where that's real issue are pro-gun, too.
As to there being differences between men and women, there sure are, and I'm glad. And while there will always be some people who'll make their choices based on factors like sex, it shouldn't be a factor in any thoughtful consideration of whether a candidate is qualified. I'm a woman and never supported Hillary Clinton, despite the fact that she's phenomenally more qualified than Palin, and despite the fact that I do think it would be nice to have a woman president, because I thought there were others better suited to the office.
You should leave the "wow, she's cute" reaction to the right-wing men who are drooling over her. You're better than that.

Creationism
Maybe it does energize the base, thats some base you know. I've heard she believes "creationism" should be taught in the public schools. That may in fact be a mainstream opinion in the US where 70% of the people believe in angels. I think she will make McCain look older and shorter than he actually is.














While I consider your work
second to none when writing about the local political scene, you may have made the same mistake regarding Palin as McCain did: insufficient vetting.
For a look at her less "spicy, attractive, spunky, feisty and intelligent" sides, please read here http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/31/104617/671/991/580751 regarding the details of the ongoing ethics investigation into her administration(the audiotape is essential listening).
Read here http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/31/11597/0342/569/581165
about her inability to administer a village of 6000 without resorting to the sort of political strongarming that seems to have become a hallmark of her governing style in Juneau.
Read here http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/31/1469/85335/817/580901 regarding disapproval by some on the religious right, especially women, of her career-and-family balancing act. Also please scroll through some of the comments to see the reactions of informed, experienced women, including MDs, regarding her extremely questionable judgment and odd behavior around the time of her most recent delivery, as well as growing speculation that there may be more to this story.
Oh, and that infamous "bridge to nowhere"? She was for it before she was against.
No, I'm afraid that's she's just another corrupt Republican hack from a corrupt Republican state. Add to that the fact that she's on the wrong side of just about every policy issue the country is currently concerned about, and she's not a (!!!!), but a (?) at best. Her personal appeal will no doubt gain the ticket some votes from right-wing men, who seem to be the group most impressed with her, if the polling is to be believed. But if the Obama campaign is half as smart as I think they are (and they're probably twice as smart as that), they'll keep their attention focussed, laser-like, where it should be: on John McCain. Today's ad on the Obama website was just right, IMO.
And "spicy, attractive, spunky, feisty"? If you don't think that's just a wee bit sexist, I suggest you try applying those adjectives to any male politician you can think of, whether you approve of their policies or not. So, could we have "spicy, attractive, spunky, feisty" Mitt Romney? Or "spicy, attractive, spunky, feisty" Barack Obama? How about "spicy, attractive, spunky, feisty" Shelly Silver?