When I first heard about the Sarah Palin pick I was jumping for joy. I knew who she was as soon as I heard the name, and my first thought about her was Troopergate. I mean, how stupid could McCain be to pick a running-mate who was already embroiled in scandal. This election was going to be a cakewalk.
As the weekend continued, more stories of Sarah Palin's inadequacies began to surface. Her extreme lack of any foreign policy experience was at the top of the list, and that added to the excitement. Then there was the connection to Ted Stevens and her support for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it.
Every day it seems that new, more damning information is uncovered about Governor Palin. There's the Pledge of Allegiance gaffe, and her supposed membership in a secessionist organization, not to mention her total anti-woman positions that rival those of Pat Robertson (or Buchanan if you prefer a more secular Pat).
Then the rumor-mill began to work overtime, and the game started to become a drag. The baby-gate (non-)scandal manufactured by the tin-foil hatters really started to make things drag, and the game suddenly wasn't as much fun as I thought it was going to be.
The vehemence of those pushing the rumors made me sick to my stomach, not just because they were baseless in origin and in my opinion slanderous, but because they used Bristol Palin, a teenager, in a purely political attack against her own mother.
Now, the game isn't fun at all. There are so many scandals and lies and cover-ups happening so quickly it's nearly overwhelming, and I'm beginning to wonder if I have the stomach for it.
At what point do we stop and say we've done enough damage? If the past few days are any indication, chances are better than average that morning is going to bring with it another Palin scandal, another day of horrible press for the Governor and her family. The next day will likely bring even more, and on and on until November.
At first I thought this would be kind of fun, but now, well, in a way I'm starting to feel more pity than excitement. Not so much for Sarah Palin, but mostly for her children, especially those old enough to understand what's happening.
I truly feel deep compassion for Bristol, who a week ago was like thousands of other young women, facing an unexpected pregnancy and uncertain about her future. But now... what should be a private matter between Bristol and her family, something hard enough to deal with by itself, is now front-page news throughout the world. Bristol does not deserve this kind of attention, and certainly doesn't need the added stress this kind of attention brings with it.
Now I'm at that point where I really don't want to play this game any more. How much more can one family take, especially in such a short period of time? Then again, Sarah Palin and to some extent her husband did bring this on themselves, so of course I'll continue to play the game. But I won't enjoy it, not like I thought I would.
Watching the destruction of a politician, especially a far-right politician, sounds like a lot of fun. But when you stop to think that there are real people involved, with real feelings and real hopes and dreams for their children, it leaves a really bad taste in the mouth.