Crossposted at MyDD and DailyKos

Guys, please Rec this one up!

Governor Palin, we would like to apologize.  Some of us among the Netroots have been, shall we say, overzealous in looking for ways to turn your nomination into a liability for your party.  It seems the world has no shortage of wood-be Woodwards and Bernsteins.  The saner among us have been hitherto unable to restrain those wanted to believe in these scurrilous rumors.

If we have hurt your family we are truly sorry.  We are better people than these stories would have you believe.  We wish you and your family nothing but good health and good times.  Alaska is a great place for a family, no?

Again, the families of the candidates should be off-limits.  What they do, where they pray, and how they relate have nothing to do with us, and should certainly never be used for the purpose of an attack.

Blogs do not (yet) drive public opinion. The overwhelming majority of voters have probably never heard of DailyKos and certainly haven't heard of MyDD.  We aren't there yet.  We aren't much better than an echo chamber.  We can raise money pretty well and we're not that bad at organizing.  We can, on occasion, do some good opposition research (though the Republican bloggers have done a better job of it thus far).

We really aren't kind of a big deal (yet).  This is very important and it speaks to a misunderstanding.  We're self-centered, and we overestimate both the good we can do, and the damage we can wreak.

Alaska has a population of roughly 670,000.  The 1970 census shows that Cleveland had a population of 750,829, and the 1980 census shows a popuation of 573,912.  Then Mayor Dennis Kucinich had executive control over a population (during his term, which ran from 1977 to 1979) roughly equivalent to the modern population of Alaska.  The "Boy Mayor" was a dismal failure, leading the city of Cleveland to default on its debt.  However, he'd had a full two years running the place.  I live not far South of Cleveland, so the story is known to me.  

Sarah Palin has been in charge of Alaska for about 18 months.  Anyone care to point out to the Republicans that Congressman Kucinich was more qualified prior to winning his seat?

Dan Quayle, met Sarah Palin.  Sarah Palin, met 1988.

This pick is a disaster in many ways.  I find that it is my civil duty to list them, so here goes:

1.  McCain experience attack meme?  Dead.  She has 19 months experience as the Governor of Alaska.  Otherwise, she was mayor of a small town, and a Beauty Queen, (love those pics, BTW).  She is now a heartbeat away from running the country.  How comforting.

2. Bush/Cheney big oil?  She's so deeply immersed in big oil, it makes Cheney look like Al Gore.  No maverick environmentalist here.  Alternative energy?  No!  Let's fucking drill some more, and some more, and some more.