The Problems with Palin

We should have seen this coming. To stay in this race, McCain has to counter Obama's charisma and youth. By picking a VP who is young, female, and farther to the right, he dusts off his campaign and makes his ticket attractive to a much broader range of voters - including apostate democrats who are bitter about not being able to elect Hillary.

Sarah Palin is the Governor of Alaska. At the moment, there are three particular things about her which make me shudder at the thought of her in the executive branch.

1. Abortion

Governor Palin is against abortion. It's disappointing enough when women fight against their own rights over their own bodies. It's even more disappointing when those women back up their arguments using an antiquated Christian faith which, even if it wasn't a bunch of idle superstition, has nothing to say on the subject of fetuses.

But Governor Palin has taken her Christian pro-life position beyond mere theory. When her pre-natal testing revealed that her son-to-be had Downs Syndrome, she chose to give birth to a retarded baby.

This is a woman who knowingly rolled the dice with her baby's mental health. She got pregnant in her early forties, which, as she must have known, carries with it a massively increased risk of handicapped offspring. And then, when it was clear that the baby would indeed lead a mentally stunted life, she chose to have it, rather than commit the sensible, humane "sin" of aborting it. This earned her major street cred with the pro-life crowd. Personally, I find it vile.

2. Creationism

Regarding creationism and evolution in schools, Palin said in a 2006 interview:

"Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both."

Does she also advocate teaching alchemy alongside chemistry? What about the Copernican model of the universe - should students decide for themselves whether it makes more sense than the data our satellites and telescopes have gathered?

Debate is indeed an essential aspect of education, but presenting creationism alongside evolution may lead the credulous to believe that both are acceptable in the scientific community. Educators should indeed teach students about creationism, but only to hold it up as an example of what science isn't.

So far, Palin has kept silent on whether she thinks her personal religious views lean towards creationism, and whether they conflict with the theory of evolution. Surely her beliefs will be sounded exhaustively in the next two months, so we'll find out whether she's actually crazy or just supports tolerating craziness in the classroom.

3. Oil

Palin's husband Todd is an employee of BP, and Palin herself supports opening the Alaskan wilderness to oil development. But it should be clear by now that America's addiction to oil is something to be overcome, not nurtured.


All this being said, we must remember an important fact about the McCain/Palin ticket: McCain is not exactly in his prime. He's 72 years old and has a history of health problems. Were they to get elected, there is a significant chance that Palin would have to step up herself as president.

This throws into relief the good news about Palin: experience. In choosing Palin, the Republicans have disarmed themselves in the experience debate: surely they can no longer attack Obama on experience when their own VP is even younger and has no experience outside of a sparsely populated, noncontiguous state!