We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming

I don't usually comment on politics, but I need to vent. So feel free to let your eyes glaze over and skip on to the pictures in the prior or subsequent posts.

Palin as potential VP does not seem like a bad choice so far - despite all the criticisms and late-breaking revelations.

But what was McCain thinking, if (as preliminary news reports suggest) he didn't finish looking into her background before publicly announcing her as his running-mate? A key theme of the Obama campaign is that McCain is just a continuation of the Bush years; and a good deal of the public is already convinced or at least rather suspicious that Bush didn't do his homework before overthrowing Saddam Hussein. So an over-hasty declaration of an imperfectly vetted VP candidate (if that's what happened) would play directly into Obama's hands.

Now, about some of the criticisms of Palin that have surfaced, here are some initial reactions:

• Daughter pregnant and unwed at 17! Um, OK. On the evidence currently available to me, I have to say, "So what?" There are other family matters -- such as a politician's past or current infidelity -- that could call into question his/her values, trustworthiness, judgment and self-control. However, a daughter's decisions in the areas of sex and birth control do not, without more, reflect poorly on the candidate.
  
  Perhaps Sarah Palin could be criticized for not being a stay-at-home mom who is constantly monitoring her children's whereabouts, but I'm not sure that's a fair criticism in this day and age... and surely that particular parenting technique would backfire in any event.
  
  
• Lack of experience! Palin does not have national-level, let alone international, experience. Not so good. But she does have prior executive branch experience, which is something that Obama does not. In fact, I'm not sure that McCain or Biden have any executive branch experience either. (Do they?) Sure, Palin's executive branch experience is at the small-city level, and just two years at the state level. But it's still something she brings to the table that the others don't, for what it's worth.
  
  And based on the recent New Yorker article on Obama's rise through Chicago politics, it would seem Palin has more experience in bucking her political party's machine than Obama does.
  
  
• Creationism in the schools! This is an interesting criticism, since the states - not the feds - have traditionally dictated the content of school curricula. The basis for the claim that Palin thinks creationism should be taught in schools apparently dates from October 2006 during her race for governor.
  
  First thing to note here is that she did not suggest force-feeding students a creationist world view:

"Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides."

Second thing to note is that she was not campaigning to require - or even permit - creationism to be taught in Alaskan schools, and in fact she disavowed any intent to introduce creationism into the curriculum or to require religion or creationist sympathies as a "litmus test" for her education appointees.

So the bottom line is that I'm not ready to write off the McCain/Palin ticket at this point, and I'm still hoping for an interesting and illuminating race over the next two months....

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For those who are interested, my source on the creationism issue is a contemporaneous article from the Anchorage Daily News:

Palin was answering a question from the moderator near the conclusion of Wednesday night's televised debate on KAKM Channel 7 when she said, "Teach both [i.e., evolution and creationism]. 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."

* * * In an interview Thursday, Palin said she meant only to say that discussion of alternative views should be allowed to arise in Alaska classrooms:

"I don't think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn't have to be part of the curriculum."

She added that, if elected, she would not push the state Board of Education to add such creation-based alternatives to the state's required curriculum. * * * "I won't have religion as a litmus test, or anybody's personal opinion on evolution or creationism," Palin said.

Palin has occasionally discussed her lifelong Christian faith during the governor's race but said teaching creationism is nothing she has campaigned about or even given much thought to. * * *

Tom Kizzia, "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News (10/27/06).