While much has been said about John McCain's VP pick in the last several days, few are actually saying what I feel are the few things that it is most important be said.
On her qualifications for the job of VP of, or, indeed, President of the US: People keep debating whether her experiences as a councilperson in / the mayor of her home town, and her short stint as Governor of Alaska are the kinds of experiences that prepare one for those offices. This is not really the best way to measure her readiness, in my mind. That is because it would be hard to deny that, in general, being a mayor and a governor are definitely things that help a person prepare for the job(s) Ms Palin is vying to hold. The question we ought to be asking is "Is she AS qualified to hold the office of VP of, or, President of, the US as John McCain is? Is she AS qualified to hold either of those offices as Joe Biden is?
The answer is "No, she isn't." And it is not even a close call. With DECADES of experience in Washington, both John McCain and Joe Biden are WELL qualified for the job(s) she now seeks. Regardless of party, no one with any serious political instincts or leanings could deny this. In that light, by that comparison, she is VASTLY UNDERQUALIFIED for the job(s), and shouldn't be in the running for it(/ them). Even Barak Obama can say he has spent time in Washington, and has learned the ropes of that very unique environment a bit.
Is she, perhaps, qualified and knowledgable enough about numerous important issues to be a key Presidential advisor? She may indeed be. Is she qualified to perhaps hold a cabinet position? I would say that she is, depending upon the department in question. But to be VP of, or President of, the US? No. Not in 2008 she isn't. Not remotely.
On the question of her daughter's pregnancy: People on the right seem keep framing it in terms of issue of abortion, and how her daughter's decision to have the baby helps to show that she and her family consistently choose life. The framing of this issue ought, instead, to be the question of whether or not Mrs. Palin, a fierce "abstinence only" supporter / advocate, taught her daughter "abstinence only", and whether, if the answer to that question is "Yes", she still thinks that that is what our schoolkids should all be likewise taught. This is because, if she DID teach her daughter "abstinence only", it clearly did not work for her, and clearly, she ought not to advocate that we all do likewise, lest she be guilty of a brand of hypocracy.
On the question of whether she ought to work in such a demanding job as that of VP of, or President of, the US with 5 kids at home: People on the right and some women seem to keep saying that asking this question is unfair and sexist. They keep saying that Mrs Palin is more than capable of being a mom and doing the job(s) she seeks to do, just as much as any MAN is, and as much as any other woman, with children at home, would be suited to do, or whom is currently DOING, other similarly high demand jobs, like that of CEO, etc., is. They point out that no one ever asked Bill Clinton this question, and that no one is asking it of Barak Obama.
Well, ofcourse, women ARE capable of raising families and working in high demand positions. The question is, how WELL does each woman, OR man, for that matter, individually, manage it? In the case of Ms Palin, the individual woman in question was not able to be in a high demand job and, at the same time, parent her minor children, along side their father, well enough to keep atleast one of them from having sex and getting pregnant. That is, under Mrs Palin and her husband's parental watch, the teenaged Bristol got pregnant. The question needs to be asked: Would she have gotten pregnant, if her mom had been home more often, to help her dad parent her, instead of behind the Mayoral or Gubenatorial desk however often Mrs Palin was, and, further, what will become of Mrs. Palin's other daughters if their mother, a full HALF of the team parenting the 5 Palin children, takes on the second highest office in the land? It IS a legitimate question.
Oh, and, for the record, lest they forget, Chelsey Clinton, just as Barak Obama's daughters are not, whilst HE is running for President, wasn't a pregnant teenager when Bill Clinton was running for President. Bristol IS a pregnant teenager, therefore, Mrs Palin's ability to hold such high office and simultaneously be enough of a vigilant mom to help her husband raise their kids and keep them safe and...not pregnant...IS a fair point of contention, as, to this point, it would seem her ability to do the latter, whilst holding jobs somewhat less demanding than those she now seeks, was a touch lacking.