Who says Beauty Pageants are silly?

Wow. I guess that’s all I can say about the past week in politics. The DNC was quite the show. It did not seem surrounded in the typical “We’re the best, because we’re not them” and almost turned a corner towards what the political system might look in the future: A motivated electorate, engaged in the issues and making a point to participate not only at the ballot box, but in the streets and in their homes. I was especially excited to see the number of young people as the apathy of youth has been replaced by a debate over which candidate will serve my generation best. I have to admit the “Bush-McCain” routine had become so ubiquitous that by the end of the 4 days I had almost forgotten that Bush was not running for reelection. But I have to admit, to an extent McCain ran himself into that trap when he started vouching for off-shore drilling and ditching his own vision for immigration reform.

And then like that Poof! Less than 12 hours later I’m watching the 44 year-old governor of ALASKA be introduced as the VP candidate for the GOP party. Okay so let’s first deal with the “important” stuff. Congrats on being the first woman on the GOP national ticket, this is historical. Also, Palin is one of the few statewide Alaskan politicians not currently being investigated or indicted. I know there was some drama about her sister’s baby’s daddy, but I guess that’s been resolved for now. And, most importantly going from Mayor of a town of 5,000 to VP Candidate in less than a decade is a true accomplishment. But after all of that there begs the question, Why her?

Well if McCain followed my 3 rules for picking a VP nomination she satisfies 2.5 out of the 3. First, she is not as tall as him, and looks like she’s had no run-ins with skin cancer. Second, she’s young and adds a bit of pizzazz and 21^st century to the ticket. I give her a half for the name because McCain-Palin rhymes a little bit too much for me. Now if only we knew more about her and her experience. So far here are the details I’ve picked up: She was runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant, grew up in the Duct-Tape capital of Wasilla (where the Iditarod starts from), has 5 kids, is a life long member of the NRA and her husband is a ¼ Eskimo. I’m sure John and Sarah will have lots to talk about on their upcoming campaign trips, starting with rethinking that beehive on the back of her head.

I have decided maybe I should run for city council for Ye Olde Friendly Towne and maybe I too can be the VP candidate in a mere 8 years. First order of business will be bringing more liquor licenses to Uptown, which may cause me some grief in years to come, but at least I can count on Cindy McCain as a donor.