DISQUS

Hear hear! The vast majority of people were not swayed by attacks on her personal decisions anyways. They were swayed by her either her folks charisma (for) or inept handling of policy questions and poor judgment (against). Besides, Pres. Obama had let roll off even more vicious attacks and lies than Palin did - he still won.

You keep after her, Laura! You do us all a service with your fair and dogged journalism.

Your reporting over the last month or so has revealed the true contours of Palin's political skills. They lie in her chutzpah, savvy maneuvering to follow popular sentiment, rewarding friends and punishing enemies and being at the right time and the right place. These are basic skills for any politician, and can be used for self-serving purposes or for the greater good. Unfortunately, Palin appears to lean toward self-serving. Further, she has values at odds with U.S. popular sentiment and virtually no political or diplomatic experience that would give her the judgment she needs to run the country. Her political skills show her to be a promising politician (assuming the skeletons in her closet are not more numerous than revealed) but she is far from ready for the level of responsibly that McCain has thrust her into, and that she so egotistically believes she is ready for.

I commend you and the WI for mucking around in the local political history of Wasilla to understand our potential vice president better. What makes Ms. Palin really different from other national politicians who came from small towns, e.g., Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, is that she came back after college to start her political career there.

Growing up in an equally small town, I have a keen awareness of how difficult it is to get to the bottom of things through written records and small town papers. And because everyone knows each other, e.g., went to school with each other, the political is always personal, and people's real reasons for political actions can be both hidden or blown out of proportion. In a sense, local politics is simply a continuation of one's high school politics.

I wonder to what degree Ms. Palin will uniquely bring this small-town culture to the White House, if her ticket wins? I expect and demand that my president, and vice-president, have a cosmopolitan perspective of the world - which I have no doubt can be achieved equally by a big-city or small town kid. One does not need to be born with it. But one needs the capacity and willingness to learn it. Will we rally learn how she really views the world and how to make political decisions before she potentially takes office?

Please stay in Wasilla a few more days and keep digging.

BTW - I am riveted by the blow-by-blow reporting on Twitter and the WI.