you knew it was coming, folks; can i (me? ndr?) possibly write a blog - during an election year, while i work in a department of government - with no political posts? wasn’t gonna happen.

the soup du jour is, of course, McCain’s choice for vice-president: the young and unheard-of governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. you can read all the news reports about her for yourself (for quick overviews, I recommend the features on CNN.com, Wallstreetjournal.com, and NYtimes.com).

i, of course, am delighted — i mean i’m just a woman voter, so really i will be voting for whatever party has a woman on the ticket. which party is Palin, anyway?

ok then, seriously: i am kinda impressed with the choice. my family’s had a volley of emails going back and forth all day with criticism, insights and jokes about it all, and while i haven’t officially made up my mind about who i’ll be voting for, i do think this was a decent shot from Camp McCain. and not (just) because Palin’s a woman. i’ll get to that in a second. i like Palin for who she is: i like her stance on political ethics; i like her record of challenging Big Oil. i like her fiscal responsibility, and that it extends to personal decisions (decommisioning the governor’s private jet). i like her pro-life position; i like her christian background. i like her fearlessness in politics, defeating the three-time incumbent to become governor.

But we all know that this election is about CHANGE. And of course, the Republicans needed something fresh on their ticket in an election so bedazzled with CHANGE, so putting a woman on the ticket wasn’t their worst idea ever. But do I believe that, just because she’s a woman, she equals real change? Of course not – that’d be like saying that just because a candidate was black, he was going to bring change. One of the best lines in The West Wing comes when one White House staffer says “It’s an election year; everyone is stupid,” and Charlie replies, “No, its an election year and everyone gets treated like they’re stupid.” I hope that we all know that what we look like is only what we look like – its not what we do, and its not what we’re capable of. If the McCain-Palin ticket brings change, its because of who they are; if Obama brings change, it’s because of who he is. It’s an indisputably momentous election for the US as far as equality goes, and i certainly don’t want to denegrate that in any way, but let’s not forget there are some issues at stake, too.

Back to Palin then: Yes, i know, she’s under investigation for firing a public safety commissioner who wouldn’t fire her ex-brother-in-law. but it seems like that’s not so straightforward. did she know he had been pressured to fire the EBIL? did she not offer him another position in leadership, that he refused? tricky. i’m going to have to withhold my judgement until i have read up some more on it. so far it seems to me like a kind of weak accusation, based on something that happened without her knowledge; but she hasn’t backed down from any of the investigations (which I admire). we’ll see.

and, yes, i also know that she doesn’t have much experience. (apparently, there’s a lot of that going around; i might try running next time). i don’t have much of a rebuttal to that (and this isnt meant as a defense of her. its just a blog post), but it’s certainly not something i’m excited about. but in the end, the way i see it is this: if i were a person who valued experience in candidates, i would be leaning towards McCain already. i don’t see anyone leaving McCain’s side because of Palin; I’m assuming she was chosen mostly as bait for undecided voters. If I were on the fence, someone who wanted some of that good old-fashioned conservatism AND the hope and change that Obama promises, I might find Palin a tempting deal-breaker. Obama wisely picked Biden, with all his experience, to balance the ticket; perhaps McCain has a little elbow room here? i don’t know. the experience that Palin does have seems solid gold to me, small-scale though it be - regulations for Big Oil (and that can’t be a bad thing these days), a mostly-supportive public, benefits to education, and an ultimately steadfast stance for the things she believes in (like ethics, reform and unity).

Plus how can you not love this: Time Magazine reports: She oversees a state that’s hardly shy about admiring her swept-back hair and celebrated smile. Bumper stickers and blogs have proclaimed Alaska and Palin: “Coldest State, Hottest Governor.”

other interesting articles: Why McCain Picked Palin (Time Magazine); an Alaskan’s hesitation about the choice (blogspot); McCain Picks Female Running Mate (BBC, with video clip); Republican commentary on the choice (Rollins on CNN.com); Democratic commentary on the choice (Begala on CNN.com);