American Women Living Abroad Say NO

I am an American woman living is Switzerland for the past 28 years and I have voted—via absentee ballot—in every presidential election since my 18th birthday in 1978. In all that time, I have never been so appalled and dismayed by a Vice-Presidential nomination such as that of Sarah Palin....

First, I am amazed that someone so inexperienced and completely unqualified would even be considered for such an important position. The decision by Senator John McCain was extremely rash; obviously, neither his team nor he adequately researched Ms. Palin’s background nor did they examine it with much scrutiny.

Second, as a woman, I am ashamed that when this particular glass ceiling was finally broken, it was by a woman who has done absolutely nothing during her entire political career to improve or advance the status of woman. Names such as Hilary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, Sandra Day O’Connor, etc., come to mind, but not once have I heard Sarah Palin's name mentioned as a champion for women's rights and/or their advancement in the political arena.

Third, as an American living abroad, I find it extremely reckless, not to mention dangerous, to nominate someone with absolutely no foreign policy experience! Especially when one considers present world events—from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the Iranian and North Korean nuclear situations, to mention just a few.

The nomination of Sarah Palin is a very obvious and painful slap in the face to every American woman. To have chosen a woman who is the antithesis to everything for which we have fought is surely an abominable insult to every one of the women and men who have helped the advancement of woman in America—and around the world.
-Jennifer N., 48, Geneva, Switzerland

Sarah Palin, by the Numbers

Sarah Palin may lie, but numbers don't. Her record speaks for itself:

2007: the year in which Sarah Palin first obtained a passport (Source)

312: the number of nights during her first 19 months in office that Palin charged taxpayers a "per diem" totaling $16,951 forstaying in her own home -- an allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business (Source)

$500 to $1,200: the fee that Wasilla charged rape victims to pay for post-sexual assault medical exams, after the city cut funds during Palin's tenure that had previously covered the exams (Source)

$150: the cash payment offered by the Palin administration to hunters who turn in legs of freshly killed wolves gunned down from airplanes (Source)

3: the number of times during her first few weeks as mayor that Palin inquired with the Wasilla librarian about banning books (Source)

3: the number of months after the censorship discussion that Palin fired the librarian (Source)

100: the approximate number of Wasilla residents who rallied to support the librarian, prompting Palin to withdraw her termination letter (Source)

0: the number of foreign heads of state Palin has met (Source)

0: the number of commands Palin has issued as head of the Alaska National Guard (Source)

2: the number of times in Palin's ABC News interview that she said the word "nucular" (Source)

0: Wasilla's long-term debt when Palin took office in 1996 (Source)

$18.6 million: the long-term debt Palin racked up by the time she left office in 2002, amounting to about $3,000 per resident (Source)

$50,000: the amount of city funds Palin used without authorization to redecorate the Wasilla mayor's office, including adding flocked, red wallpaper that made it look "like a bordello," according to a former Wasilla City Council member (Source)

33: the percentage by which Palin increased the budget of Wasilla during her tenure, despite billing herself as a fiscal conservative and champion of smaller government (Source)

25: the percentage by which Palin raised the local sales tax in Wasilla to pay for a sports center, despite claims that she cut taxes (Source)

$27 million: the total amount of federal earmarks Palin secured for Wasilla's town of 6,700 people while she was mayor, thanks to the help of a Washington lobbyist with ties to indicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and convicted felon Jack Abramoff (Source)

3: the number of times John McCain specifically criticized earmarks requested by Sarah Palin when she was mayor of Wasilla, citing them as examples of wasteful spending (Source)

$453 million: the total amount of earmarks Palin has asked U.S. taxpayers to fund for Alaska projects over the past two years, despite McCain's insistence that she hasn't sought earmarks or special-interest spending from Congress (Source)

$506.34: the amount of federal earmarks Alaska residents will receive per capita in 2008, the highest level of any state (Source)

$223 million: the earmark secured for the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" that Palin initially supported (Source)

See more Sarah Palin numbers of note here

Women say STEP DOWN

The nomination of Sarah Palin by the Republican party is a travesty. This decision not only brings into question McCain’s judgment, but it shows his complete irresponsibility and pure political agenda. This decision jeopardizes the leadership our country and puts the United States of America in a very vulnerable place in the world. I call for Sarah Palin to step down from her nomination!
-Carole H., GA

It is time to remove Sarah Palin from the Republican ticket and replace her with an experienced politician we don't have to vet. The Republican party needs to restore honor and integrity to the election process. Sarah Palin has made a joke out of it.
-Cindy A., WA

As a US citizen I strongly object to Sarah Palin as a Vice Presidential candidate. She is a joke to women all over the United States and should step down as VP running mate.
-Nicole C., 38, Salt Lake City, UT

Sarah Palin is a threat to our country and our freedoms. She is unprepared to take on the task of US VP, as well as inarticulate. We would be a laughing stock of the world is she comes into office, worse than we are now. I hope she has the decency to step down from her party's ticket. What was John McCain thinking?
-Paula K., 50, Plainfield, NH

Palin’s lack of experience is terrifying when she would be second in command to leading our country - especially with the age and health concerns of the presidential candidate.
She says that she is representing the women of the country, but is not for women's rights. Don't use your gender to try and get people to overlook the fact that you are no where near qualified, but then turn your back on that gender in all of your beliefs. If Sarah Palin is actually for women, she should do us all a favor and step down.
-Michelle L., GA

Mrs. Palin, your stand on rape victims is beyond comprehension. Have you ever been raped, had a child raped, and saw attacker go free? Do you know what that does to a person mentally, as well as physically? My daughter suffered such a rape, and to have forced her to carry a child not conceived in love, but violence would have been a death sentence for her. The rape alone was mentally upsetting enough she had to be placed in a out patient facility to get counseling, to recognize such attacks are not the fault of the victim. Your stand, to not only blame the victim, but to force them to pay for thier own rape kits is beyond inhumanity, its just grotesque and cruel.
A VP is suppose to put their personal agenda aside, and represent the American people and their needs first, placing personal wants and beliefs last. If you cannot do that, please, step down now and let someone in who can.
-Maria T., St. Louis, MO

When I witness Sarah's actions, I see only blind, reckless ambition. She is playing with the lives and security of more than 300 million Americans, not to mention people in the rest of the world who are all affected by the actions of this country. If Sarah truly loved America, she would step back and say, "Thank you for your nomination, but I am not qualified to be Vice President (and potentially President)." Her actions are especially frightening because her running mate is 72 years old.
Sarah, you are not qualified. Please show your love for our country and step down.
-Carla Z., San Jose, CA

The best thing for Gov. Palin, not to mention the United States of America, is for her to step down now. It would spare her and her family from further scrutiny and humiliation and the country from a woman who is not ready, and may never be ready, to lead.
-Joan C., 72, Easton, MD

Please add momentum by writing a letter to your local paper today asking Palin to step down.
- The Eds.

Undecided women make their decision.

I am a recent college graduate, registered as an Independent, who was too young to vote in the last election. I was so excited with the opportunity to get involved and educate myself on the views and policies of both candidates, unfortunately John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as VP has left me with no choice at all.
I feel disrespected as a woman by the arrogance of the GOP! Their nomination of Sarah Palin is an absolute slap in the face.
Every time I watch her speak, batting her eyelashes and smiling amiably as she simultaneously embarrasses herself and her party with her obvious disregard for facts or knowledge, I am appalled! The women of this country have worked far to hard to gain the equality I am SO proud to now enjoy as a woman for us too throw it all away. I never thought that I would be basing my first vote, something that I honestly have waited a long time for, on the inadequacies of a vice-presidential candidate rather than the capabilities of a presidential candidate.
-Rachael K., 21, Buffalo, NY

As a woman living in this wonderful country of ours, I am appalled that John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin certainly doesn’t represent or uphold the interests of many American women including myself. I am totally aghast that the extreme right of the Republican Party has taken such a foothold that they could convince John McCain to choose her as his running mate. Doesn’t say too much for Senator McCain! Additionally, everyone has the right to believe what they want, but to think that your extremest views be the law of the land is incredulous. Originally, I was undecided as to whom to support, but with Sarah Palin on this Republican ticket, the choice has become no choice. Change is desperately needed. Let’s all make it happen!!!
-Arline A., 70, Fort Myers, Florida

I was undecided about my vote for president until Palin was selected.
-Sharon D., 60, Lansing, Michigan

I was undecided whom to vote for until Palin joined the ticket with McCain. It is McCain picked her because of her gender, not her accomplishments or what she stands for. Make no mistake, she is a religious zealot who is power hungry and will act to undo everything women have fought for all these years. McCain and Palin will but place this country in more economic jeopardy than currently present, a depression, which most of us have not seen in a lifetime. Palin is ill prepared to be VP. We would only know the full extent of her crazy radical zealot views if elected. Let's all make sure this does not happen. It is vital for our country, our daughter's and women everywhere that we all vote NO TO PALIN
-Linda H., physician from Denver, CO

I was an undecided voter until the selection of Sarah Palin as the VP on the McCain ticket. I was absolutely dumbfounded that he would pick someone so totally unprepared to be a Vice President, let alone President. She in no way represents me or my beliefs. I am now retired but I was a full-time working mother. I want better than this for my daughter's future and intend to vote for Barack Obama who I think will represent the issues I care about as a woman and American.
-Pam Y., 58, Camarillo, CA

I was undecided until the Sarah Palin nomination. If this was done to appeal to women voters, it did the opposite for me.
What an insult to women if the Republican Party thinks we don't look at issues. She reminds me of Dan Quayle... just a pretty face. Even worse than that, Ms. Palin represents the idea that women can be our own worse enemies. Tapping someone as closed-minded and intolerant as Ms. Palin for V.P., a heartbeat away from the highest office in the land, is irresponsible. I don't think women will overlook the facts, just to get a woman into that office.
If we are going to do it, let's do it right! Let's be proud of the woman chosen, proud of her intelligence, knowledge, open mindedness, and wise leadership, not because she's pretty and hard-line.
-Esther D.

As a registered Independent, I'd been holding out in deciding which way to go on this election. However, once I saw Sarah Palin being interviewed by our gentlest journalist, (Charles Gibson), and watched her hem, haw and try to bluff her way through questions that even I knew the answers to, ("the Bush doctrine?"), it was a much easier decision.
This is the ultimate insult to ALL women.
-Jeanie C, 52, Los Angeles, California

Governor Palin does not represent me as a woman and if John McCain was so shallow to think that just because she is a woman, all woman would vote for her/ them, he is and was very mistaken. It took us long enough to get we are now and by electing this pair, women would take a giant step back.
-Janice L. 59 years wise, Independent Voter, Lake Park, Florida

As a previously undecided voter, McCain's "choice" of Sarah Palin has cemented my support for Senator Obama. Sarah Palin is a slap in the face to every female in this country. I am not only insulted by her selection but also by her views, her intellect, her corny, canned responses and cliché sound bites. The Republican party's audacity to select such a woefully inadequate candidate is even more offensive. She is nothing more than window dressing, if she were not attractive she would NEVER have been considered for VP. Her nomination confirms the Republican leadership is truly arrogant and outrageously out of touch. As an educated, female voter, who has NEVER missed an election, I pride myself on carefully considering candidates regardless of party affiliation, it is not my priority to "identify" with a candidate or to select someone with whom I would want to "have a beer" . I require candidates who have the ability and intellect to accomplish the task at hand. Simply put, Sarah Palin can not do the job and would be an embarrassment. Period.
I will not gamble my country's future on Sen. McCain's ridiculous choice for second in command.
-Angie P., Florida Swim mom

Conservative columnist calls for Palin to step down

Few of the voices on this website ever supported Governor Palin as a viable Vice Presidential candidate--most of us knew it was a farce from day one. But yesterday, a former Palin supporter, conservative National Review columnist Kathleen Parker, called for Palin to step down.

In an article titled "Palin Problem," Parker writes:

"Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example of many from her interview with Hannity: “Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.”
[...]

If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."

Link to the complete article here.

Women say NO – Part 24

I share your dismay over Sarah Palin's nomination for Vice President. Her views are alien to the majority of women, and her lack of experience on the national scene is frightening. McCain, for whatever reason, has galvinized the women to vote against his ticket, rather than for it, and certainly has pushed the Independents to vote for Obama. I question her ethics as well as her knowledge and understanding of the United States as a whole, as compared to her small town and underpopulated state. If it weren't so serious, it would be amusing. I'm looking forward to her debate with Joe Biden; it should be a wake-up call to those who think her nomination is just what the country needs.
-Sandra L., Maryland

Ms. Palin is poorly informed, poorly prepared, biased, and not in touch with millions of other women who must survive in this nation. She has no concept of scientific fact nor, apparently, the capability or desire to learn such. She must not and cannot be placed into the position of No. 2 in the White House. She and her backers are a danger to not only the women of this country, but the women and men of the world.
-Kathy U., North Las Vegas, NV

I am 70 years old and live in Olympia, WA. I thought I'd never live to see the day when a woman chosen to be the VP candidate has such archaic beliefs. Please! The GOP must have been out of their minds to choose her. You can be sure I'll vote for Obama!
-Marge P., 70, Olympia, WA

I do not support Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket. I appreciate the fact she is a woman and I would love more women in political offices—the higher the office the better. However, I don't agree with most of what Sarah Palin stands for; if she were a man with this platform I wouldn't look twice. I will not change my mind simply because we are of the same gender.
-Stefanie E., 37, Mentor, OH

Picking Ms. Palin as the vice presidential nominee is truly frightening to me. I am a mother of two young girls and I can't imagine what would happen if someone such as Ms. Palin was to obtain a political office as important as being second in command of this country. She is far from being a person who would inspire women of any age in promoting women's issues or rights. Her extreme views are not only frightening but also far from mainstream opinion. It is blatantly obvious that Senator McCain didn't pick Ms. Palin because of her experience. Ms. Palin's public comments and interviews so far have been an embarrassment to this country. He picked her for purely political reasons. We may never be told exactly why, but if it was to get women's votes he is completely off base. If Palin was picked to cater to the far extreme right then that shows that McCain is not a "maverick." He is just another Republican politician falling in line and doing what his party says instead of what is best for this country.
-Christina M., Colorado

I totally agree that she's not qualified. Every time I hear her talk I feel that she is just bashing Obama and doesn't have any real knowledge of politics or plain common sense. Anyway, she definitely shouldn't be VP, wish I could vote though. Good luck in keeping her out of office!
-Grace S., 15, Seattle

I am a woman, and I say no to Sarah Palin (and John McCain). I am very concerned with all environmental issues including global warming. How can McCain, who claims to be concerned with global warming and supposedly wants to come up with a plan to decrease emissions, choose a vice-presidential candidate who does not believe that global warming is caused by human activities AND place her in charge of energy affairs? I also support a woman's right to choose and I'm greatly concerned for the welfare of young girls and women if Roe vs. Wade is overturned. The last thing we need is a return of the dark days of back alley abortions and wire hangers. Taking away the right to legal abortion will not stop women from seeking them, It will only result in serious injury and death to countless women and children. I thought Bush was a nightmare, but in my opinion Sarah Palin is far worse. I will be voting for Obama, hoping that the cultural climate in this country will begin to shift from fear and control to one of hope and freedom.
-Laura C.

I am strongly against Sarah Palin in any nationally elected office. I believe many of her views are scary, but especially her views on abortion are a huge step backwards from the work that we and our mothers and grandmothers have worked for, for women’s rights! MY mother almost died in 1947 when she had to wait to have the then required number of doctors certify that she needed an abortion. I was two years old; she was so sick from the toxemia that had started in her body, she was unable to even hold me on her lap for quite awhile.
-Janette H., 63, Lake Elsinore, CA

I am against Sarah Palin because she does not reflect family values (left a special needs infant after 3 days to go back to work? pregnant teen daughter—obviously a lack of attention to her own family led to this crisis. Note to Sarah: sex ed. and birth control would have prevented the pregnancy); because her educational and business experience are weak (BA in Journalism? 5 years to complete? Sportscaster?); because her leadership and governmental experiences are weak (less than 2 years as Governor for the 4th smallest state by population in the US); and because she does not speak for mainstream women of America—and she certainly does not represent my values.
-Laura J., 48, Jeffersonville, IN

Republican Women Say NO - Part 4

As a Republican who believed in the GOP when it really represented conservative values, I am stunned and ashamed that John McCain decided to run a campaign with a person who has been caught in lie after lie from the beginning, ones that he himself has repeated. It is unbelievable to me that someone of so little consequence could actually represent intelligent people. I think the Republican Party must have been so desperate for someone exciting that they didn't look any farther than her face. And they're complaining about unfair treatment for Sara Palin? I guess they forgot about their own treatment of Hillary Clinton. Ms. Palin jumped in the water with the sharks, so she can expect to get bitten.
-Marti R. from a Red State

As a Republican, I was cautiously optimistic until Sarah Palin's selection. As a single mother, former Army sergeant, but foremost as an American, my whole-hearted support will now go to Obama/Biden as the best course for my country. Sarah Palin's political views represent the absolute worst and most dangerous course this country could take. That she navigated some political waters in the past with a modicum of success has failed to keep her from becoming the Republican Party's next puppet and McCain (her puppet master) couldn't be more of a disappointment once again.
-Elizabeth C.

As a Republican, I am appalled that McCain has picked Palin as his running mate. It's like his campaign committee sat around a table and said, "Hey, who is that women governor of Alaska...what's her name? Let's put her on the ticket. That'll get us some women votes!" It's the final nail in the coffin. I have officially declared my switching to the other side.....Vote for Obama!
-Susan Z., 56, Sarasota, FL

As a republican woman, I stand firmly AGAINST the decision to pick Sarah Palin as Vice President. She sets women back decades, and stands against everything this country has worked so hard for.
-Kaitlin T., 24, Ashburn, VA

Although I registered as a Republican this year, as a woman I cannot vote for the McCain/Palin ticket. I do not believe the choosing of Sarah Palin as running mate is a step forward for women. Someone who does not protect mother Earth has no right calling herself a woman before other women… Putting profit before planet is the same old song and dance.
-Jan

I am registered as a Republican but will not vote for this ticket in November. As I understand it, it was under Sarah Palin that it became legal to hunt wolves from aircraft in Alaska. This is a horrific sport. Hunting for food is fine, but killing or maiming an animal and leaving it to suffer for sport is unconscionable.
-Wendy B., 51, Lehigh Acres, FL

I am concerned about both Sarah Palin, a relatively inexperienced Governor who stands for issues and beliefs diametrically opposed to mine, and John McCain. There were other times during which I would have considered McCain as a Republican I might be able to support. Now, however, I feel he has sold his soul to the conservative segment of his party. We can ill afford to elect him, since he is making it apparent that if elected he would continue the policies of the current administration.
-Eileen S., Connecticut

I cannot believe that the Republicans picked a virtual unknown to run for Vice President… She does not represent me as a woman in any way, shape, or form; and as a Republican, I am going to cross over to the other side and vote for the Obama ticket. Sorry, Republicans, but I no longer vote on a straight ticket. As Mark Twain said, "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Barb, Denver, CO

I think the American women will be served a great injustice if McCain/Palin get control of our country. Our rights are going to be taken away, and our daughters may be thrown back into the dark ages... McCain/Palin will NOT get my vote!
-Dee L., formerly registered as a Republican, Illinois

I do not support the nomination of Sarah Palin as Vice-President on the Republican ticket. She is against nearly everything that I stand for, particularly as the mother of two daughters and grandmother of a granddaughter. In fact, I will not be voting as a Republican in November, but as a concerned citizen of the United States, which I love.
-Patricia A., Maryland

A Pennsylvanian Woman Says NO

I have been a Republican my whole life. And as a Republican, I have seen the party change from one of fiscal responsibility and middle-of-the-road policies to a more controlling, fearful party that seems to have little understanding of the economics of today. I have been a public school teacher my whole life. As a teacher, I have seen the results of a lack of sex education and the support of anti-abortion beliefs. Children in my classrooms were neglected because parents didn't really want them, and the parents couldn't, or didn't, take steps to prevent pregnancy. I have participated on committees when people have sought to have books removed from school libraries for a variety of reasons. I have read about other cultures in other parts of the world where governments control, or try to control, how their citizens live.

Seeing all this over the years, I find it hard to envision Sarah Palin leading us along a good path. She seems to be a very controlling person who wants to tell us what to read and how to plan for our families. Ms. Palin has proposed removing particular books from the public library in her community because she did not think other people should be allowed to read them (as if she was wiser than the other members of the community). She has also vocalized her belief that pregnancies must be carried to term no matter what the surrounding issues are (in essence making decisions for all others with no regard for their particular circumstances). She has no more foreign policy knowledge than I probably have and no tolerance for those who disagree with her. How in the world women who supported Hillary Clinton can be expected to support Sarah Palin is beyond me. Other than being the same gender, the two women are polar opposites. I find it insulting that Republican decision-makers can think that women who followed Hillary Clinton will suddenly see the light and vote for Sarah Palin. Do they really think we vote as an uninformed block for women as opposed to voting for the person (man or woman) who will do the best job?

I am now a Democrat voting for whomever seems the best person for the job. And this time, it is not John McCain and Sarah Palin.
-Barb T., 64, suburbs of Philadelphia

Republican Women Say NO - Part 3

I am a Republican through and through, but this year for the first time in my life—and my husband's—we will be voting Democrat. We are most disappointed in the party of our choice by selecting an individual, whether they be male or female, that is so inexperienced. We believe that she was selected not with the best interest of the country but to get Senator McCain elected as President. We believe with such an important position as Vice President of our country that this was a very poor decision. The attention that her nomination has garnered is another major concern of ours. The United States is in such a mess at this time we feel that this election should be about issues and should not be the circus that it has become.
-Janet J., Bella Vista, AR

I am a Republican woman who is voting for Obama/Biden. Sarah Palin is not for women's rights, and she is so extreme that this will set back women's rights 100 years. She lies about nearly everything, revealing her to be a fraud. McCain has picked someone who will hurt our nation, and this choice has showed his incompetence in so many ways. Wake up America.
-Barbara B., Ocean Township, NJ

I am a Republican fed up with Bush. I used to be interested in McCain, but have wavered in the last 2 months. With the addition of Palin to the McCain ticket, and the subsequent misleading advertising and dishonest campaign tactics of secrecy and manipulation, I see that our GOP party is still hijacked by the same types of people who have been running the Bush administration. It is clear that Palin is incredibly excited to be in her current position, the way a high school homecoming queen candidate might be, and is willing to say anything, do anything to promote "her" election. She doesn't stand for Republican Party values any more than McCain does now, and neither one of them will win the GOP back for those of us who feel abandoned. If McCain had chosen a solid Republican female with governor credentials, like Christy Whitman, I would feel secure that he would be well balanced. But I cannot support the McCain-Palin ticket. Bob Barr is our most reasonable alternative.
Karen H., 41, Pennsylvania

Sarah Palin is a wolf in sheep's clothing. She maybe able to fool most Republicans into thinking she ready to lead our country but I am not fooled! I want a leader who can listen to many experts in finance, economics, education and military strategy and then after much deliberation make a decision from critical analysis not based on his or her gut reaction or instinct. I want a leader who will 'BLINK', THINK and THEN ACT accordingly with an informed decision. Sarah Palin is impulsive, irrational and ill-informed—not a leader I would trust with a nation I hold so dear. McCain's lack of judgement in choosing Sarah Palin is why I am a Republican voting Democratic in this election. Obama has my vote!
-Lisa B., 46, Arizona

I want to express my disgust and disappointment in the Republican party for choosing Palin as the VP elect. Not only is she a poor choice because she is unqualified (I run a business with a bigger staff and budget than she does) she also does not represent the women of this country, nor the men. We want freedom of speech and freedom of choice. She is a token and we, as women should be insulted that she has been chosen to represent females, let alone United States citizens. I am embarrassed to say I am a Republican, and this ticket is NOT one to support. I hope we are all smart enough to look at the evidence and not just applaud them for picking a woman... she is like a wolf in sheep's clothing.... she does NOT represent any American woman that I know. PLEASE do not let her represent our country and lose all of our rights.
-Kelly M., 41, Northridge, CA

I knew that I was not alone in feeling that this choice of Vice President was only to win, not thinking of the people of our country. Palin does not stand for most of the women in the USA; beliefs, international issues, and the it's my way or no way. We will get no where if we continue that attitude. I am a Republican woman and I am scared.
-Sonya P., 53

I am all about women stepping forward and taking our rightful place among the leadership of this great nation. However, not this woman, not this time. With dread I listen to the media whip up the masses in response to this demagogue, and I ask myself why? Why can’t people see the truth, rather than being blinded by the Palin propaganda machine. If Sarah Palin has it her way, a very dark and Orwellian future looms before us. A future where creationism is taught in school, there is no division between church and state, choice is abolished, everyone has guns but no other civil liberties, and where the environmental issues are ridiculed as liberal lies. I am a Republican….. or was. And usually, the VP choice is just a detail, not such an issue. However, given McCain’s age, there is a higher probability that Sarah Palin may rise to the highest office in the land. She is not qualified—and this situation terrifies me and has called me into action more than any other election has ever done. I am not against her womanhood or teenage daughter, I am a woman with a teenaged daughter myself. However, I am against her Christian conservative, anti-environmental, and inexperienced platform. Please join my voice to the others, and heed our concerns.
-Maria L., 42, Annandale, VA

An Ohioan Woman Says NO

Admittedly, I am against knee-jerk reactions to situations that frighten me. In the case of Sarah Palin assuming the role of Vice President, and possibly President, I feel no different. My knowledge of her beliefs, interests, accomplishments, and political agenda is only what I've read recently in the media. With that said, based on the hype, and my own common sense, I can honestly say that she does not represent me. She may very well represent the image of a strong woman who's made her mark in Alaska, where men are men, and tough is good. Not bad qualities for a politician. She sounds competitive, and resourceful. Not bad either, except that George W. Bush possesses the very same qualities (minus the appearance of intelligence).

Here's what bothers me: I don't want another politician like George W. Bush, or perhaps worse. I want a President who encourages me to think for myself, one who isn't going to patronize me by telling me what I should read, believe, think, or feel. A leader isn't someone who comes to the table with their mind already made up; nor someone who is so independent that they say, "No thanks, I'm not interested in your perception." A leader listens to contrary opinions, and respects the ability of others to make responsible decisions based on their own beliefs, and their consciences. Ms. Palin sounds to me like someone who feels the need to control those who disagree with her. That's not Presidential.

We have all suffered through this kind of arrogance with George W. Bush for eight long and miserable years. Sarah Palin does not represent the librarian whose books were banned; nor the founding fathers who separated Church and State for good reason; nor the individuals who believe birth control should be their choice; nor those who are not afraid of fighting for the freedom to make these choices. Sarah Palin represents those who feel the need to control their personal space, and the personal space of others. Sarah Palin is not Presidential.

To those women who would vote for McCain/Palin because Hilary was not chosen, I'd point out that an X chromosome does not make an individual Presidential, anymore than a Y one does. Voting for Palin only to get a woman into the White House, is short-sighted, and could be disastrous to our country. I would like nothing more than to see a woman achieve what we've waited years for. Let us remember the differences that separate women such as Joan of Arc versus women like Eva Braun. We all know women we wouldn't want governing us. Let's agree to make Palin one of them.
-Margaret S., 63 years young, Columbus, OH

Independent Women Say NO - Part 3

At first I was confounded by the RNC's pic for McCain's running mate, but it didn't take long for me to become appalled and deeply concerned. This woman is an insult to our gender in my opinion, and it is VERY scary to think of someone with so little wisdom or experience catapulting to the Co-pilot's Seat of this country. Are we really so shallow in our thinking as to allow this to happen? Lord save us from ourselves! I am a registered Independent, and have long respected John McCain as a thoughtful and courageous man in the midst of a swarm of Neo-Cons. I also know that he wanted Lieberman for his running mate... But he hardly knew Sarah Palin. Considering McCain's age, the Republican VP pic is of paramount importance and this truly frightens me. A vote for Obama and Biden is a vote to save our country. Literally.
-Linda V., Tucson, AZ

I oppose John McCain’s choice of Governor Palin as his running mate for two reasons. First, I have always considered Senator McCain to be an outsider in the Republican political establishment. I respected his views on campaign finance reform. I have noticed that that ethical McCain has disappeared during the campaign, replaced by low political bickering, which has reduced the campaign to a war of nasty advertising on hot button conservative issues. Sarah Palin is nothing but a tool to solidify McCain’s appeal to his base. She symbolizes everything he is not—and distracts the media from the fact that McCain has never appealed to the Christian right. Second, if she were to assume the presidency, she is woefully underprepared to deal with the complexities of foreign relations in this age. This would leave her the prey of McCain’s political advisors—she would still be a tool, a figurehead directed by the military and establishment bureaucracy. Her experience in government is often compared to that of Senator Obama, but even as a political Independent I can see that he is, by virtue of his education and longer political experience, vastly more qualified. His answers to questions about foreign policy prove him much more knowledgeable. But I think we should also remember that the real choice is between Obama and McCain, not Obama and Palin.
-Indira G., 37, Cleveland, OH

1 step forward.... and 2 steps back for Women if McCain/Palin are elected.
-Cindy E., Registered independent, Cedar Rapids, IA

I have worked hard my whole life to be taken seriously. I am appalled that the Republican Party would attempt to overturn that work by offering an inexperienced, ill-prepared candidate as Vice President. Sarah Palin does NOT represent my views and I will not support her just because she is woman. I have been a registered Independent and have voted both GOP and Democrate always based on who I felt would lead my country well. The last eight years have been dificult to deal with and now to have that same ruling party try to cloud the issues by introducing a woman just for the sake of her being a woman – please don't insult my intelligence any further. Mr. Obama you have my VOTE!
-Linda B., 54, Los Gatos, CA

I feel Sarah Palin has one NO voice for me. She is entitled to have her own views and live HER life as she chooses. I don't believe she is entitled to tell me how to live MY life, NO government official should have this right. My religious beliefs may not be the same as hers, does this make me less of an American? I don't believe God requested this WAR, MAN did. I am pro choice, and as a women, would certainly struggle if ever needed to make this decision, but none the less, a decision I should have the right to make. I believe animal life is just as important as human life. I do understand the importance for some humane animal testing for research. I do not believe hunting was ever intended to take place from the air. This type of hunting only proves one thing she is not about fairness or equality. If she was, she would hunt from the ground, giving the animal a chance, to sense her presence, allowing them to hunt or flee as they do in their own surroundings. There is nothing fair about shooting an animal from overhead. All she represents to me is another women in the White House, she does not represent progress. She has the idea's of a male president in a women's body that's not progress.
-Stephanie C., registered Independent, Connecticut

I am a 52-year-old woman from Scottsdale, Arizona and I have never been as insulted as I was when John McCain recklessly pandered to his Republican base by selecting a totally unqualified running mate for his ticket. How dare he assume that women are nothing more than the sum of their hormones and will vote for a woman--any woman--based on gender. How dare he speak to the media (his 60 Minutes interview this week) and proclaim that someone who cannot even tell you what the Bush Doctrine is is ready for the job of president. Her preparation for the intellectual gymnastics and rigors of international and domestic finance and policy is nonexistent. Her academic preparation for the understanding of history and commerce in an ever-shrinking globe is minimal. I, for one, am not interested in a single penny of my tax dollars being used for her remedial training. She is not qualified for this job!
-Patricia M., 52, Scottsdale, AZ

I am a 67-year-old female registered Independent who has never been as frightened of the possibility of one candidate being a heart-beat away from the presidency of our nation as I am now. The nomination of Sarah Palin has made me fearful of what will happen to this country if the McCain/Palin ticket is voted into office. There are many extremely important issues facing the next president and vice-president. We need intelligent measured leaders who will use good processes to find solutions to reestablish this country as a powerful nation of integrity and morality. To think that John McCain chose such an inexperienced conservative person who knows very little about economics and international affairs shows he has poor judgment and acted not in the best interest of our country. That Sarah Palin could be President of the United States of America should make the electorate think very carefully when casting their vote.
-Marjorie V., 67

As a concerned independent female voter, I am adamantly opposed to Sarah Palin's nomination for VP of the US! It is a real slap in the face to even suggest that women who supported Hillary Clinton should now cast their votes for McCain with Palin at his side. Many of those same people are those who claimed Hillary Clinton didn't have enough experience.....but NOW they're all for this "Maverick" woman who's governor of a state with fewer people than the entire city of Chicago. I oppose vehemently!!!
-Jane K., Tucson, AZ

I am a 68-year-old independent voting woman. I have seen too much discrimination, socially and in employment, to allow a woman or a man take the gains that have been made in the last 30 years away. My daughter and my granddaughter deserve the right to choose the way they lead their lives. Sarah would take those choices from them. She will not get my vote, and thus the GOP will lose my vote for Senator McCain because of their irresponsible choice of a VP.
-Judy G., 68, Rhode Island

No, Thank You

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to express my outrage at the level to which John McCain and his ill-advised advisers were willing to stoop to get him elected president. The selection of Sarah Palin has only served to distract both presidential candidates from addressing the real issues. I am insulted as a women and as an American at the desperation of John McCain and his use of “Country First” as a campaign slogan. Clearly, this selection of Sarah Palin has everything to do with John McCain and his last possible chance to be elected. It is sad to see how far he has fallen in 8 years.

I have nothing to say about Sarah Palin that hasn’t already been said other than to ask what kind of America she believes in that she would even consider—given her lack of experience and questionable governing policies—the offer to run as McCain’s VP choice.
-Kathleen S., 60, Charlotte, NC

Independent Women Say NO - Part 2

I really wonder why the pollsters never call me: I am a white mother of four (two boys, two girls). I have been married to the father of my children for 15 years. I’m a Christian and a Sunday School teacher. I’m registered as an Independent and I live in a small, rural town. I’m also a working, professional woman who places a high priority on my family. I am HORRIFIED to hear people say that Sarah Palin in any way represents ME! No thank you. Her candidacy makes me so angry that I can hardly put my anger and frustration into words. It is incredibly insulting to me, as a woman and a mother that she puts herself out there as just one of “the girls”. I never, never want my kids—any of them, the boys or the girls—to face the possibility of living in an America run by Mrs. Palin. God help us!
-Julie G., 39, Windsor, VT

I am neither a white woman, nor a black woman; I am an American woman who was born and raised and has lived solely in the United States for almost 60 years. As an Independent, I am totally disappointed by the negative attack campaign that John McCain has supported during this presidential quest. I had seriously considered voting for him until those negative TV ads (the Britany Spears one was the kicker) started to hit the scene (and has continued with a vengeance). And as a discerning professional woman who loves this country, I cannot fathom why Mr. McCain thinks that I would want to vote for him and his VP choice, given that Ms. Palin represents everything that I am against in both political and personal pursuits. This is the last straw. No way will I vote for the McCain/Palin ticket. Sarah Palin is an embarrassment to a lot of women in this country; she clearly does not speak for me.
-Joyce N., 59, Arlington, MA

As an independent, I chose in the last election to vote for President Bush. It was a choice that I now regret. I say this to say, I'm not a long-term anti-Republican but there is nothing about the Bush administration that I would like to see continued; and McCain's candidacy has been so patently political (all strategy, no substance) that I can't take him seriously as a candidate. I saw little to support in him before he announced his running mate. The selection of Palin only served to destroy any hint of respect I ever had for the man. Palin is clearly the most unqualified, vapid and dangerous woman in politics. If she's the best that the Republican party can come up with as a potential VP and a (God help us) back up should something happen to McCain, I truly feel sorry for you (well no, not really). The real question is, did Palin really think that women would be so dense as to believe that calling herself a dog with lipstick was a good thing? Are we supposed to be so blind that we don't realize that the Republicans are running the foulest campaign I have seen in my lifetime as a distraction to the fact that both McCain and Palin are just not right for the Oval Office?
-Lois W., Orland Hills, IL

As an independent voter not affiliated with either party, I am saddened and offended by McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his VP. Sad because I think they might actually win (though it baffles me), offended because the choice is so patronizing. I accept that the choice of a woman for the VP spot was a smart strategic move for McCain, and that's just politics, but her? The first woman to get this close to the presidency should be someone who is actually qualified, not a political pawn who was chosen over more qualified women because of her celebrity style. Palin is on the wrong side of every issue that is important to me as a woman. The fact that she IS a woman does nothing to endear me, it only magnifies her ultra socially conservative positions all the more so. McCain has most certainly lost my vote.
-Jennifer C., 38, Potomac, MD

I am a 73-year-old retired social worker who registers as an Independent. However, McCain's pick of an inexperienced and arrogant women to be his Vice President clarified for me that my only choice is Obama. Ms. Palin frightens me both for my country and for my grandchildren who might have to reap the results of her so-called value-laden policies should she, God forbid, ever ascend to the Presidency.
-Jane B., 73

First, if Ms. Palin were a man, she would not have been considered for the VP position for a nanosecond. Second, she may very well have been a good mayor for her town (I have no idea if that’s so or not). Perhaps a good governor, but one with little experience for sure. But not nearly enough background to be V/P with a presidential candidate who is old! (I can use the word old, as I am too!) That she could become the president is very worrying to me. Finally, as an independent voter, I could not vote Republican this time because I question the judgment of Mr. McCain and the top people who would make this choice.
-Ellin L., North Conway, NH

As an Independent woman, I would like everyone to know that Sen. McCain's choice of Sarah Palin threw me back over the fence to Obama. I truly thought Senator McCain would put Country First; I respected his life history and his judgment. However, this choice, of a woman whose life history and judgment are questionable, was extremely disappointing.
-S. C.

It is offensive to me and a total outrage that the Republican Party should think that delivering an attractive, charismatic female to the Presidential ticket is the way to win my vote. She does NOT represent my views in any way. I shudder at the thought of such an ignorant, inexperienced, misguided fundamentalist representing the whole of the United States to the rest of the world. I have left the Republican Party for good, and have reregistered as an Independent.
-Germaine G., 47, LA, California

Make Your Opinion Count

PBS is running an opinion poll on whether or not Sarah Palin is qualified to be Vice President. It's only a matter of clicking Yes, No, or Don't Know. You can make your opinion count here:

http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

After you vote, please send this on to others.

Lyra & Quinn

Independent Women Say NO - Part 1

I am a former Alaskan, but still an Alaskan in my heart. I was stunned and appalled by the appointment of Sarah Palin as the VP candidate. As an Independent, that absolutely slammed the lid shut on any possibility I would consider voting Republican this year. This appointment tells me the Republicans have no respect for the intelligence of the American people and that McCain will use any grandstanding stunt possible to win an election. I shudder to think of one so untrained and inept, not to mention radically right-wing, a heart-beat away from the presidency. Palin is a sop to women and a sop to the ultra-right wing of the party. It is obvious that McCain thinks women, in particular, are stupid and we'll fall for anything. There are strong, intelligent, well-qualified women in both parties—but Palin is not one of them. Why not Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine among many other qualified women?
-Marsha G., 59, Former Alaskan

I am 69 years old and registered as an independent. I find the selection of Sarah Palin a very disturbing choice for vice-president… There were many truly qualified women for John McCain to have chosen from. I can't believe that this was his choice. Let's hope that this phenomena will wear itself out as more and more is learned about Sarah Palin's policies and morals in government. I, and all my friends, will not vote for her. We are educators and business women who take government seriously. Our country has once again have become the laughing stock of the rest of the free world.
-Ann J., 69, Pescott, AZ

Sarah Palin has no business being vice-president, or God-forbid, president. I am one more woman, registered as an independent, who will NOT vote for McCain/Palin.
-Sue S., Charlotte, NC

As an independent voter, I am insulted that John McCain and his advisors would think that my vote would be secured by nominating a woman. I vote by judging the candidates by their records, their declarations and by how I want my country to go forward. Sarah Palin is not someone I want waiting in the wings in case Sen. McCain cannot serve out his presidency. I want a vice president I believe in, not a past beauty queen with very little federal government experience. The Republicans will NOT be getting this vote in November.
-Andi C., 55, Massachusetts

As an independent, I was of an open mind to Senator McCain before his choice of Sara Palin as his V.P. But clearly, Palin is not qualified to hold the position of V.P. of America, let alone the possibility of President if McCain is elected—which is very real considering the age and medical background of the Senator. The concept of Palin as President of the United States is the most ridicules idea and political trick I have yet heard of. It would be nothing short of disastrous under the best of circumstances, let alone the current state of global affairs. Does anyone have a brain out there? We must stop this potential catastrophe now. This proves just how incompetent and desperate John McCain really is.
-Rachel W., Colorado

Sarah Palin 's possible selection as vice-president of the United States is not a women's issue. It should not be a partisan issue. It is a question of common sense. As an independent voter, I have closely read the information available regarding Governor Palin's record. It is clear that Ms. Palin is in no way prepared to serve as vice-president of the United States in any than the most ceremonial aspects of that position. If this sadly uninformed, thoroughly doctrinaire politician is unqualified to be vice president, the real possibility of her serving as president must be deeply alarming to any thoughtful person regardless of gender or party affiliation.
-Paula Q., 66, Brooklyn, NY

I am a 46-year-old RN and mother of 3 who cannot stand the thought of Palin or McCain. I am registered as an independent and will be voting for Obama and Biden, who really do support women.
-S. C., 46, Ashland, OR

As an independent thinker, a working mother of five, past PTA vice president of my children's school, and a proud American woman, when Palin's nomination was announced, I kept my mind open to her. I had a lot of respect for McCain and thought, after all, it is McCain who chose her. The idea that she started out as "one of us" gave me a faint sense of connection with her. However, the more I learned about her and heard from her directly, my interest was soon replaced with deep offense. Palin and I share our gender, titles of mother, wife, and working woman, but that is all that we have in common. The more I hear her speak, she turns me off with her divisive and nasty messages and double talk. She is not my candidate, she is no Hillary, not even close. As for McCain, what a disappointment he turned out to be! He is a disgrace. How is this "Country First"? McCain lost my vote BIG TIME.
-Tami Z., Pacific Palisades, CA

I've been waiting most of my life for a presidential candidate who makes me WANT to vote for them, as opposed to voting for the lesser of two evils. Unfortunately, it isn't going to happen this time either. As an independent, I have voted Republican on a couple of occasions, but I can no longer tolerate 4 more years of the same rhetoric. It scares the living daylights out of me that we have this maverick running for VP who will not support stem cell research, nor a woman's right to choose, and she thinks that global warming is not increasing due to human foibles. The gender of the candidate does not concern me...the experience, and ability to think objectively, and keep one's religious convictions at bay is very important to me. If McCain gets in, we all need to pray that he has good health for 4 years.
-Mary M., Newburyport, MA

Sarah Palin has absolutely no qualifications to be vice president or president of the United States… By selecting her, John McCain has lost all of my respect and has put our country in harm’s way. I'm a 62-year-old woman who has voted since I was 21, and for 20 years I was a card-carrying member of the Republican party. When it was no longer the party of fiscal responsibility, and merely a mouthpiece for the religious right, I bailed out. As an Independent, and a social liberal, I could not possibly vote for McCain now because of his frightening choice for vice president.
-Mary E., 62

As an independent woman in the United States, I say NO to Sarah Palin. Our government should not be run by a right-wing woman who makes her decisions based on unscientific and archaic religious beliefs.
-Lisa B., Amherst Junction, WI

It is an insult to me to think that the republican candidate would think that I, as an independent woman voter, would consider Sarah Palin a comparable alternative to Hillary Clinton.
-Patricia K., Acra, NY

An Independent Woman Says NO

My name is Robin B, and I am 54 years old. I am a graduate of Stanford University and the U. of Idaho College of Law. After 27 years of full-time law practice (six as an in-house corporate lawyer, eight in a major Northwest regional law firm, first as an associate and then as a partner, and the remainder in a two-person firm with my husband as a real estate development lawyer), I retired on December 31, 2007. Since I first became eligible to vote, I have been registered as an Independent. I have voted for both Republican and Democratic candidates, and I have never been a "single-issue" voter but, rather, have typically evaluated each candidate and his or her positions on all issues in determining my voting choice. I have two children, a 19-year-old daughter in her first year of college, and a 17-year-old son who is a senior in high school. My husband, who is 60, retired when I did, and we are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives.

John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate diminishes and trivializes all that I have worked for and accomplished in my professional life. The choice strikes me as a cynical ploy to attract female and Christian-right voters without regard to Ms. Palin's ability or qualifications to service as Vice President and, if necessary, President. From personal experience, I know that there are innumerable women in the legal profession who excelled in first-rung colleges and in law school, who are superior lawyers and who have full and rich family lives in the best American tradition. I feel certain that there is a large pool of Republican women in this country, amenable to serving in public office, who have comparable qualifications in their chosen field. I don't see Sarah Palin as being in that talent pool. She appears, instead, to have been chosen for her looks, her cheer-leader personae, her ability to "spin" her own story, her ability to lacerate "enemies" with inaccuracies, and her knee-jerk positions on issues that deserve and need an approach that is as thoughtful and as complicated as the U.S. electorate.

If you are going to choose a woman to do a job in this country, choose her for her qualifications. The potential candidates are virtually unlimited.
-Robin B., 54, Portland, OR

Republican Women Say NO - Part 2

McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate is insulting to women and a reckless choice. Though a Republican, I cannot support this choice and look forward to voting for Obama in November.
-Joan W, Vero Beach, FL

I agree there should be no McCain/Palin for our country. I have been a lifelong Republican since the days of Kennedy and Nixon but this year McCain was nominated, and then he picked Palin—it's beyond belief! I do not like him at all, as I remember when he was involved in the "Keating Five," which is the reason he went after Campaign Finance Reform. I just can't believe he is still a senator... McCain knew he could not win on experience so he chose Palin as an agent of change—and change she is. A big change for the worst if they get in. She will bring this country down more than it already is. Her belief in the issues are too extreme for me. I pray they do not get in.
-Jan P., Massachusetts

I am a 72-year-old woman who has been a Republican for most of my life. I find the choice of Sarah Palin to be Vice President the most upsetting. I was thinking of voting for Obama, now I am for sure.
-M. M.

As a registered Republican, I cannot even think about voting for a woman like Sarah Palin on the ballot. We are just one heart attack from this far-right person who does not believe in separation of church and state. The US was founded on freedom of religion and speech. Not a gun-toting person who says she believes in censorship.
-L. F., Portland, OR

I am a registered Republican but will vote Democrat for Obams and Biden. Please note, I am not in favor of Sarah Palin for Vice President or any other US Office. She is a scary person with absolutely no smarts about our world and foreign affairs ... it makes my head spin that McCain would subject this woman to the public for elected office. I do not believe that McCain will be able to complete a term, if elected, and the result of having Sarah Palin for President is appalling and very, very scary. I was not in support of Hillary but at this time she looks like one of the most intelligent persons available to do a good job.
-Carol C., San Diego and Ensenada, CA

I am a 62-year-old woman, a former republican (now an independent - thanks to GWB), a mother, wife of over 40 years, a non-religious Christian (yes, there is such a thing because religion seems to have very little to do with true Christ-like behavior), a career woman yada-yada. The fact that Sarah Palin could be a heartbeat away from being President of the USA is terrifying. She is the antithisis of who I believe should be in the White House. Her views on energy, choice, the environment alone show her remarkable lack understanding. I haven't heard her utter one intelligent word on the economy. She is a disaster. Shame on McCain!
Elizabeth G., 62, Half Moon Bay, CA

Republican Women Say NO - Part 1

No way will I vote for the McCain Palin ticket. My mother is a life-long Republican who supported Hillary—Just the kind of woman the Republicans were targeting when they chose Palin. She was insulted that they would resort to such a ploy- Palin does not stand for anything my mom believes in. As for my Dad, he served in Congress with McCain and had one run-in with McCain's famous expletive-laced temper and so my dad will probably sit out the election rather than vote for either candidate. My point is that both my parents, loyal Republicans and in the case of my dad—a former politician who was very loyal to his party—are both against McCain and Palin. All I can say is I am glad my parents have finally seen the light!
-Eleanore M., 53, New York

I am very worried about the McCain ticket. I was not so worried until he selected Palin. I consider myself a moderate Republican, about to become once again an Independent. Sarah Palin scares me! I can only think that McCain was pandering to the far right of his party. That's a group I wish not to be affiliated with.
-Margaret P.

Putting a woman such as Sarah Palin on the ticket as the VP nominee is a slap in the face to women everywhere, and especially to the many other quite capable and much more qualified Republican women out there. She does not represent the women I know. It is women like her who have made things so difficult for the rest of us. I believe it was Gloria Steinhem who said Palin was a younger version of Phyllis Schaffley and boy was she right!!
-Rita D., 57, Southern Indiana

I will NOT vote Republican for president and neither should any other woman! Sara Palin does NOt represent women's needs.
-Sheri M.

Women say NO – Part 23

"Unless our conception of patriotism is progressive, it cannot hope to embody the real affection and the real interest of the nation."

—Jane Addams

Can you imagine facing the possible meltdown of the world-wide financial system with Sarah Palin as our President? Field-dressing a moose and shuttling your kid to hockey practices, even running the State of Alaska, does not equip you to determine whether or not to bail out AIG. We need the smartest, most capable people in place to get us out of the mess we're in—and Sarah Palin isn't one of them.
-Katie R., 44, Los Altos, CA

I am 65 years old, never a feminist, but a woman who cherishes the rights and freedoms that we have earned to date and need to see strengthened and enhanced. Like many others, I am appalled that McCain thinks any woman will fit the bill…country first? What is this 72 year old guy thinking…or is he? His age and quickly bowing to the powers of the right is disgusting! His choice of Palin reflects his loss of integrity.
-Lindarose B., 65

I find the appointment of Sarah Palin to be the running mate for John McCain insulting. Mrs. Palin does not possess the education, experience or judgment to become Commander-in-Chief if that should become necessary. Senator McCain must have an extraordinary contempt for the American people to be willing to have a person so unqualified to be Vice President on his ticket that he would actually think Americans would not see this for the pandering it is. Perhaps in another time this pandering would be acceptable but with the economic situation, the fact that we are at war, etc., makes this choice almost an act of treason. Senator McCain and Ms. Palin will not be getting my vote or my husband’s vote or my two sons vote or my three daughters votes.
-Kathleen P., 62, Ohio

By selecting someone as inexperienced, incompetent, and intolerant as Sarah Palin, John McCain shows that he has no true concern for his nation or its citizens. He’s older and not in the best health, yet he doesn’t care if his choice means that America stands a good chance of being governed by such an inappropriate and flatly frightening person. Ladies, gentlemen: We’re not voting for someone like ourselves, who drives to soccer games or likes a beer with the guys. We’re voting for the most intelligent, able person we can find. Those people are not John McCain or Sarah Palin. One more thought: I’m tired of people who are actually anti-choice being called pro-life. No one is truly pro-life who enjoys shooting defenseless timber wolves from an airplane and draping her office couch with a huge bear skin.
-Anne B., 61, Arlington, VA

This is another pretty, glib, wealthy woman who really has no interest, much less an idea, of real women. She has set us all back years. My entire opinion of John McCain has changed since he selected her. Truly qualified Republican woman should be aghast and insulted. Let us begin her defeat.
-Merle M., Huntington Beach, CA

I cannot believe John McCain could be so irresponsible to pick such an unqualified woman for the most important possible job in this country. Especially with our critical economic crisis at this time... Even if he were to be President, he has admitted in the past that he knows nothing about economics. Our country is in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and to think that a young woman who has no education beyond a B.A degree, and never even had a Passport until 2006 could tackle this enormous job is absolutely ridiculous!
-Gigi M.

This woman in NO way speaks for me, my generation, my status as a mother, my status as a mother of an enlisted soldier or just a fellow human being. She stands for all of the things that women should guard against.
-Natalie M., 46, Paxton, MA

We have had eight years under Bush where decisions were made based on what our President would like to believe rather than on the hard facts. With Ms. Palin second in command, we risk again having such a leader. You need only look at the failures of this administration to see why Ms. Palin is such a theat to the future well being of our great country.
-Bonnie M., 61, California

While England, Israel, Argentina and Sri Lanka are just a few countries who have had women heads of state. America is well behind in our ability to access women as equals. This present nomination is clearly indicative that men still view women as a "trophy." ... As Vice President, especially to a 72 year old President, it is essential that this person be ready to step into the President's chair seamlessly. Palin is not able to address the complex dangers of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, or Pakistan. I guarantee that she is just as confused about the Shites and Sunnis then her running mate. She is not experienced enough or knowledgeable enough to address the economic and social disasters that have to be redressed in order for the United States to regain their footing on the world stage... Women are ready and able to lead this country. It simply isn't Sarah.
-M.L.L.E. Arant

As an American woman and voter, I firmly oppose Sarah Palin for the Vice Presidency. Her position on virtually every issue is contrary to what I believe to be in the best interest of the United States—which would be centrally focusing on development of alternative renewable energy, solving the huge economic crises, protecting the environment, valuing the separation of church and state. Palin has no significant foreign policy credentials in order to address this country's relationships with the rest of the world.
-Beverly M. ,71, Cleveland, OH

I'm a moderate, middle class, working mother and small business owner who has voted both Democrat and Republican over the past 24 years. Despite being a diligent voter, until this election I've never been politically active. I believe that McCain's choice of Governor Sarah Palin for Vice President is irresponsible. Regardless of where either McCain or Palin actually stand on the issues, putting anyone (man or woman) "one heartbeat from the presidency" who has so little leadership experience representing the large and diverse populations that comprise our country; anyone whose actual record of accomplishments are both uncertain and preliminary; and anyone who (admittedly) has so little understanding and knowledge of the major issues facing our nation – putting anyone like this so close to assuming one of the most powerful positions in the world is irresponsible. It is irresponsible because no matter how good Sarah Palin could be, she is not seasoned enough yet to be that effective and the result is that it will be others – who have not been elected – who will be calling the shots in the event that McCain, a 72 year old cancer survivor, cannot perform his duties. For a conservative's view on her lack of experience, read David Brook's NY Times 9/15/08 Op-Ed ) With this message I'm becoming politically active for the first time in my adult life. I'm walking door-to-door, calling my neighbors, emailing my friends. I'm asking YOU to think about what is important to you this November and I'm asking you to get active too in whatever way you can.
-Dana T., 46, Arlington, VA

If McCain's choice of a running mate is an example of his judgment, heaven help us if he is elected president.
-Dorothy R., Schuylerville, NY

It was very irresponsible on John McCain's part to offer up to the country a person who basically wouldn't know the first thing about governing this country and all its complexities. If this ticket wins, it's a disaster for all of us. It will be the end of USA as we know it.
-Margareta J.

As the first woman in Iowa to be allowed to join the Carpenters Local union, I know that a woman in a nontraditional job is hard to do. Sarah Palin does not stand for me. She does not know what it is like to truly fight for equality.
-Susan M., Winterset, IA

Sarah Palin has allowed inflated ambition and the seductions of potential position and power to subvert any common sense and reasoned reflection on her part. Her selection reflects cynicism about and contempt for the United States, as a country and as a people, the country's challenges, needs, and governance. If elected, she will continue to be the tool of those who do not have the best interests of OUR country at heart. If Sarah Palin was a true patriot, she would withdraw from the campaign.
-Andrea S., 63, Ellensburg, WA

The hype she has generated is especially troubling to me because the next administration will play a powerful role in shaping the Supreme Court for years to come. I fear that a woman's right to choose is in danger, that our wildlife refuges will be destroyed for a minimal supply of oil, that special interests will continue to take precendence over middle class Americans, that my children will not be educated about the wonders of evolution, and that our economy will continue to suffer from deregulation and an unwinable war. Most of all, I fear that a person with no international experience--someone who has only traveled to Canda and Mexico and never met a foreign leader--was chosen to be second in command for political propaganda. I urge all women to look beyond the one-liners and focus on what is important to them, their daughters, and their fellow Americans. Gov. Palin does not, and should not, represent me.
-Alexis S., 28, Colorado

I cannot vote for the McCain/Palin ticket. I was astounded when John McCain chose Palin as his running mate. If you possess any fear about subliminal terrorism then you should also harbor great concern that Palin's position is fundamentalist, extremist; and most bizarrely, anti-women's rights. Since John McCain in choosing Palin sends a clear message that they are like-minded in their philosophies and ideals.
-Wendy P., 49, FL

As a 56 year old married professional and homemaker I fear Sarah Palin almost as much as I would fear a fringe fundamentalist Muslim. She represents America's version of that narrow and extremist ideology, and is just as dangerous to our nation and the world. We need the best and the brightest navigating the future, whatever sex or race that may involve. I had supported Mrs. Clinton because of her brains and her values. Obama represents the same competencies, ethics and morals. Palin is a dangerous threat to our very freedom and future.
-Molly C., Los Angeles, CA

I am dismayed by the possibility that Sarah Palin might become either VP -- or even worse -- President of the US. She represents the opposite of all the values I hold dear. In Alaska she has already demonstrated cronyism, opposition to free speech, manipulativeness, and a gross disregard of established scientific conclusions re global warming and evolution. She is unprincipled. As a VP candidate she lies blatantly, & contradicts herself to fit the circumstances. She shows utter ignorance of the workings of the economy and foreign affairs, even the energy situation. Her "solutions" to complex issues are simplistic and dangerous. Worse, she substitutes blind fundamentalist religious faith for an intelligent ability to LEARN, to fill in the enormous gaps in her knowledge. Palin in the White House would be a disaster not only for the US but for the world, the planet.
-Jean B, age 79, Cambridge, MA

Sarah Palin has already demonstrated her contempt for the rule of law by disregarding the probe into her alleged abuse of power; that her appointee, Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg, is helping her in this, demonstrates not just contempt but cronyism as well. Leaders who simply ignore the laws which operate for everyone else, have gotten us energy policies we aren't able to probe, an unjustified war, and an unprecedented domestic survaillance program. We would like to believe that this chapter in our history will end with the exit of Bush and Cheney, but what little we know of Sarah Palin's current actions shows she sees nothing wrong with using her position both to get what she wants and to avoid reprecussions. We are already dealing with the fallout from leadership like hers. I shudder at the thought we could allow it again.
-Andrea L. Pinetop, AZ

This woman does not represent me or any of the women that I know in states all across the country. She represents the past, and we desperately need to move forward. She is not qualified to be president, should she be needed to be, so it is an insult to women that she was picked as a political maneuver.
-Daya K. age 59, Raleigh, NC

I am against Ms. Palin as Vice President of our USA. I know now for sure I will vote for Sen. Obama.
-Marjorie G., Vernal, UT.

I am a 49 year old woman who lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
I in no way support the nomination of Sarah Palin for Vice President.
I do not believe she is qualified for the job.
I do not agree with her politics or values.
I do not believe she could in any way unite or lead our support our country effectively.
I see her nomination as a distraction from the real needs and issues of our country.
I find it alarming that she would consider herself capable of stepping into the role of Vice-President.
I find it alarming that the Republican Party would consider her capable of stepping into the role of Vice-President.
I find it disturbing that some people would vote for her just because she is female.
I find it disturbing that the people who endorse her seem to be engaged by the entertainment value of her nomination rather than because they believe she would make a good Vice-President.
-J. W. Traynor, 49, Atlanta, GA

Women say NO - Part 22

"Small use it will be to save democracy for the race if we cannot save the race for democracy."
—Jeanette Rankin

I am a registered Republican. I was born in and have resided in San Francisco since graduating from college at UC Berkeley. That's right, there are Republicans who are Berkeley graduates and San Francisco residents. As a registered Republican, and as an accomplished professional woman with a law degree, I feel it is my duty to share my extreme distress over McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. She is not qualified to be the President of the United States and she does not represent Republican women. The worst part about the choice, is there are so many qualified Republican women that McCain could have selected, but I suppose he felt that Kay Bailey Hutchinson was "too old" and oh... that's right... she's also Pro Choice (as are many intelligent and educated Republican women of all ages). I have voted in every Presidential election since 1984 and my vote has elected the President in 4 of the 5 elections. (I voted for Dole over Clinton, but voted for Clinton over Bush Sr) I was undecided about Obama vs McCain until McCain selected Palin as his running mate. Although there are many things I do not like about McCain and his beliefs, most of them are related to his stance on social issues and when push came to shove, I would not have allowed that to force my decision on the President. However, I cannot in good conscience cast my vote for a anyone who would place Sarah Palin one heartbeat away from the Presidency. She doesn't have an opinion on Iraq and she doesn't "do the economy thing." What pray tell does she think the President is tasked with?
-Beth P., 42, San Francisco

If she doesn't have her own children's best interests at heart, and I see much to indicate that she does not, then she certainly isn't going to care about my children or my grandchildren.
I want a world where the woman representing my country on a global level knows what the residing President's doctrine is! There are many highly qualified and seasoned women in the Republican party who would and could serve this country well. They might even represent some of the same stances on key issues that Sarah Palin does. But they would not be as morally reprehensible.
-Robin S., 52, Vermont

Governor Palin is not knowledgeable or smart enough to say, "I don't know as much as I would like to about foreign affairs or the economy" or to acknowledge any doubts about accepting the VP candidate offer. Her unwillingness to speak anything other than written statements is alarming. She is performing, not showing her true positions. She has also not studied law or international affairs, she's done no graduate level work. Who wouldn't be embarrassed to brag that she can "see Russia" from Alaska -- she has never been there or worked internationally in any way. She only visited troops once! Wake up, Americans -- this isn't a vote for American Idol -- this is the President and VP, when we so, so badly need real leadership, and inspiration in the Oval Office.
-Dr. Marlene C., Silver Spring, MD

I feel Sarah Palin is not addressing the issues at hand by relating to soccer moms, I am a mother of a daughter who played sports and was a cheerleader but this is not what I want to hear from a vice presidential candidate. John McCain chose her to go after the women’s vote. Well I know the great women of the USA can see through this one! So much attention has been on her these last few weeks that I do not remember who is the real presidential candidate! I was undecided until she was nominated and now I know for sure that we do not need 8 more years of republican damage, it is time to clean out Washington and pull together as a nation.
-Pam K., Allentown, PA

Mrs. Palin is the complete opposite of what a woman candidate should stand for, and if elected will move the country backward. I want my future daughters to know that they have the same opportunities and choices that I have had. The future is what frightens me about her, but the things that have happened in my past are what make me have no respect for her.
I was a rape victim at the age of 17, and chose to abort the resulting pregnancy on my 18th birthday. Continuing with that pregnancy would have not only affected my mental and emotional well-being, but also derailed my college education. If it were up to Sarah Palin the most traumatic experience of my life would have been compounded, and had I been unfortunate enough to live in her city at the time I would have had to pay for my own rape kit. The day this woman enters office is the day that women’s rights take a huge leap in the wrong direction.
-A. A., Bella Vista, AR

As a Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother I feel that Mrs. Palin stands for all the wrong things that we as women have been fighting for. A vote for her is a vote backwards for women. Please think about the women in your family before you vote for McCain/Palin.
-Sandy Q., MO

I believe the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate is pandering to the lowest common denominator of the American voting public. As a working mother of 2 terrific children who has managed to stay married to the same man for 33 years, and as a former Naval Officer who loves this country, I would like to add my voice to the ground swell of women who say emphatically that Sarah Palin not only does not represent me, and her presence on the platform is a mortifying embarrassment. Domestically her stance on issues of choice, stem cell research, sex education and science, risks setting the advances that women have worked so hard for back by decades. Based on what I have heard from her so far, Sarah Palin is so utterly uninformed, sophomoric and insular in her world view that it is simply unbelievable to me that she would be considered a reasonable choice as Vice President of the United States of America in anyone’s universe. The United States is truly at a “tipping point” in terms of our political, economic, and military influence on the world stage. The consequences of voting for a ticket so dramatically weakened by the choice of Sarah Palin is frightening.
-Laurel H., 57, Bainbridge Island, WA

If she wasn’t so pretty would she be as captivating? No! Put 50 pounds on her and gray hair, and then Americans would be talking substance and issues.
NO SARAH! NO WAY!
-Kathy F., Jupiter, FL

I am pro sex education, pro-choice and pro separation of church and state. I cannot imagine this last issue even being a consideration as it is against our constitutional law. I do not believe Sarah Palin is an appropriate, qualified candidate to be vice-president of our country, nor do I support her position on the above issues.
-Deborah S., 68, Blue Bell, PA

I come from a long line of Montana ranching women, and I absolutely believe that both of my grandmothers are turning in their graves at the idea that this woman represents the "average" American women. How dare she make light of people getting a serious education, working to better their communities, and then find it funny to compare supportive moms to pitbulls?!? What?!?! Keeping abortion legal isn't about liking abortion, Sarah, it's about trusting women to make decisions that are right for themselves and their families--much like you trusted your own daughter to do that. That trust is at the core of women supporting and representing each other. Sarah, you clearly don't support me, and you certainly don't represent me. You also don't represent any of the values my grandmothers taught me, and if I have anything to say about it, you never will.
-Kristi S., OR

In all my years of voting, I have never been so concerned for the future of my country and for my fellow Americans. The leader of the free world needs to be a lot smarter than I am. I don’t want someone who needs to cram for a week before she’s “let out” to speak on camera, being a heartbeat away from that position. I can understand the very rich and the very religious voting Republican but they are not the majority. Sarah Palin and I have only our gender in common. She does not speak for me.
-Mary G., 57, Des Moines, Iowa

I resent Palin's viewpoint, she doesn't reflect mine on the American scene. She is living in the dark ages. She is dictating her anti-views on sex education, pro-life, and the environment. She is anti-Polar Bears! They live on the ice floes, the oil digging destroys the ice, and that would be the end of these beautiful creatures. Palin has a skinned bear draped on her couch! UGH.
-Betty K, Age 90, Boca Raton, FL

Sarah Palin does NOT represent ALL women. she is more like George Bush than McCain is - not well educated/traveled/open to counsel. she is impulsive and shoots from the hip, all the while having complete confidence that she's 'right.' she is truly a heartbeat away from the presidency - too dangerous!!
-Mary S., 65, IL

Women say NO - Part 21

“No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots."
—Barbara Ehrenreich

Women have sacrificed and fought the long battles that have brought us to this point, and we cannot digress. We must forge AHEAD to work toward social and political justice, not just for women, but for all of our citizens. Our great country needs a progressive and empathic leader, who recognizes that we have a responsibility to our populace, and a responsibility to respect the established cultures of the international community. Ms. Palin does not speak to these values, which I hold very dear!
-K. L., Buffalo, NY

As someone who had an abortion at 18, I find Palin's pro-life views dangerous. I would have done ANYTHING to get out of the situation I was in. I even contemplated throwing myself down a flight of stairs but was afraid my parents would then find out I was pregnant. Had abortion not been safe and legal, who knows what I would have been forced to do. I do not regret my decision to have an abortion. It was, for me, the right decision. Who is she to take that decision away from me?
-Amy K., 43 and the proud mother of a 22-month-old son who was wanted more than Palin will ever know!

Guess what, Democrats have been including women in this process forever.
-They have sent 139 women to the House or representatives, Republican only 79.
-They have elected 22 women to the United States Senate, Republicans 13.
-Democrats have also elected 19 Female governors compared to the republicans at just 12. So Republicans watch out because we are not so easily hypnotized by a woman being brought into a place of power by politics, we have done it time and again, and we will not vote for someone who is not qualified for the job simply because she is a woman.
-Gina W., Winslow, AZ

As a younger voter here I have looked into the candidates very closely. We as women have the right to choose what we do and don't do, one leader cannot take away what we have worked for for so long.
-Katie H., 19, Mechanicsburg, PA

There is nothing in her record to support she is in the least qualified to be Vice-President and certainly not ready to lead this Country if put in that position. I believe she is a pawn used solely for political purposes by the Republicans in a desperate attempt to reclaim their position in the upcoming election. Historically the Republican Party has been very clear on how it viewed working mothers, especially ones with infants at home, yet suddenly they are exploiting a women in these circumstances. I find it very disheartening and a sad demonstration of "politics as usual!"
-Laurie S., 47, Rochester MN

Our first female leader of the United States is a crucial moment in our nation’s history. For my daughter. For all of us. It is quite clear to me that Sarah Palin is not the female role model that I want for my daughter. For my country.
That is why I say No Palin.
-Laura H., 49, Fort Wayne, IN

The assumption that, as a woman, Sarah Palin was a substitute for Hilary Clinton supporters is monstrously insulting. I am incredulous at the ludicrousness of this choice, given Palin's lack of experience, political record, and blithe ignorance of global realities. The more we learn, the more we cringe. Her nomination shames us.
-Janet D., 66, Chestertown, MD

Choosing Palin shows how short sighted the Republican party is and how little regard they have for the intelligence of women. It also demonstrates very poor judgment and how McCain is in the pocket of the conservative right wing of the republican party and again we may have a puppet in the white house with no backbone!
-Jan T., Portland, OR

Sarah Plain represents the opposite of change. She represents the male establishment fronting her as a smokescreen to try to win over women's votes. This is purely for political gain and ambition on her part. There is very little respect for the hard-fought battles and sacrifices of the women of our country. I deeply resent her claim that she is a representative for women's rights.
-Jennifer T., 42, Denver, CO

I cannot believe that the Republican party could be so stupid as to pick someone with NO experience for the roll as VP. It scares the hell out of me that she would be a heartbeat away from running this country.
-Judy L., CA

Pat Buchanan defended Sarah Palin's nomination by saying she is a beauty queen for God's sake. Women run as fast as you can and stand in line as long as you have to to vote against this nightmare.
-Linda H., Overland Park, KS

Women say NO - Part 20

"Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both."

—Eleanor Roosevelt

I am a fiscally conservative, socially liberal Republican. I am aghast at the choice the Republican ticket has made in Sarah Palin. If one took the time to look at the Republican ticket of how they would fiscally manage the mess we are in, one would actually see for him/herself that we would end up paying more taxes. Of course, Ms. Palin has no concern regarding that whatsoever. Her agenda is always personal and irrational to the needs of the greater good. I have been writing to Ms. Palin's administration since she took office out of concern for the wolves (brutal and inhumane aerial gunning of wolves) and the polar bears' loss of habitat. She has consistently showed no compassion for how outsiders view her policies. How would that bode for us as Americans if she runs our country with the same disregard? The U.S. is a part of the global community and she is completely unconnected from that responsibility and that role. I am so ashamed to be a Republican that I have re-registered as a Democrat this year because, frankly, they are more like original Republicans anyway (less government, more power to the people) and the Republicans are now about more government and less power to the people. She in no way represents an intelligent Republican woman and I don't want to be associated with Republican women if they identify with her ignorant and hypocritical platform.
-Susan W., 65, Flagstaff, AZ

If John McCain really did as he claims to put "country first" he would have never selected her, someone with a very weak background in government and too many personal challenges, regardless of her gender. (Also if he put country over his partisan tactics he would not be making false claims in attack ads. I respected him once, no longer, and I find Palin to be an embarrassment.)
-Tabb F., Gloucester, VA

As a nurse and happily married mother of 3 teenagers, I am aghast that the Republican Party feels they can win over the support of women to the candidacy of Sarah Palin. I absolutely believe that it is possible to have a family and a successful career, and encourage everyone to follow those two paths should they feel so inclined. However, I feel that Ms Palin is a caricature of everything I stand for. Her beliefs on the environment, foreign policy and sex education are not those of someone with a worldview, but rather of someone with a closed mind. That is the world of the 1950’s, not the world of today. Her interview with Charles Gibson reminded me of a job interview for a job you’re not really qualified for, but try to bluff your way through. Her belittling of the other candidates in the presidential race show a small minded person.
-Annemarie H., 51, Scottsdale, AZ

You would think that women all over this country were absolutely mesmerized by Sarah Palin and totally forgetting everything they strongly believed in. While I am not convinced that everything written or said about her is true, she did answer Charlie Gibson on some specific issues. Charlie asked, "Do you believe that Roe vs Wade should be overturned?" Her definitive answer was "Yes." She further elaborated she's against a woman's right to choose even in cases of rape and incest. Secondly, she's for "VICTORY" in Iraq. I wish someone would ask her what this victory would look like, 5, 10, 15 years from now. She claims that Hillary Clinton and her have a lot in common. The fact is that everything Hillary Clinton has worked for in the past 30 years, Sarah Palin is opposed to.
Vote your with conscience, vote for the person who stands for what you believe in!
-Anna C., 57, Oldsmar, FL

She did not even bother to be prepared for her first full media interview with Charlie Gibson (How embarrassing). She bobbed and weaved, avoiding any direct answers to the very direct questions she was asked (Possbily out of ignorance). Then, when the questions became just too difficult for her, she answered her interviewer with a cute smile and a wink (What political savvy). What are we to think about a Republican candidate, who when asked about a specific Bush policy on terrorism, gave an answer that clearly proved that she had no idea what Charlie Gibson was talking about? If this is what John McCain and the Republican party think the American people want and will follow, I think that they have made a very very huge mistake.
Barbara V.

As far as the economy is concerned Palin-McCain will do nothing to help the middle class. After watching Palin in the Gibson interview it is difficult for me to understand why so many people are supporting her. What is wrong with the electorate? It is hard to imagine how people could want another 4 years of the same Bush policies (and it probably will be even worse).
-Ceil C, age 60, MN

Ms. Palin’s politics are reactionary and not well considered, her experience (though far more than mine) is close to nil for the position of VP. I have lived in Alaska and have a long time Alaskan resident in my family….what I have gleaned of her personal positions on women’s roles, reproductive rights, the environment and her methods of governance are miles from the return to honesty, integrity and self determination that we need in the White House. I believe her presence in national government would be dangerous for our nation.
-Lydia M. 54 yrs. Seattle, WA

It was clear watching her with Charles Gibson that she has a deep lack of knowledge and ignorance of international concerns. Nor does she truly understand what democracy is and how it works in a world wide scheme. Her canned answer on invading Palestinian countries either showed her lack of diplomacy, her lack of knowledge or her willingness to be a world dictator. All of which reflect that she is unfit to be a leader in the USA. What a bummer, out of all the women that could have been...
Patricia M, Denver, CO

I worry that in our country's media madness to see an attractive young face, many voters will not listen to the 1950's message that Sarah Palin brings. If she were a Democrat, the Republicans would say, "stay home and take care of your young family." For our sake, I wish she would have made that choice when asked to be the VP.
-Mary O., 53, Green Oaks, IL

She has not been truthful about her earmarks, and plays dirty pool to make her opponent look bad. Then she plays the vulnerable woman to escape backlash. That in my opinion is a deceitful way to conduct leadership, which I cannot respect as a woman.
I was a construction worker for 20 years. I never used the gender card to get ahead. I let my reputation as a hard worker speak for itself. Shame on McCain for hiding behind her while he attacks Obama and shame on Sarah Palin for condoning it.
-Vanessa H., mother and grandmother

First I want to say that I am an Evangelical Christian Southern female who opposes abortion; however, any seriously thoughtful Christian will admit that this is only one of several Biblical principles and no one candidate nor political party owns a consistent Christian platform. I am writing to state in the strongest of terms that I am appalled at the choice of Sarah Palin as the Republican VP nominee. It is difficult to find the words to express my dismay and discouragement over such a cynical, purely political decision by John McCain to choose such an unqualified person. It is my opinion that Ms. Palin’s experience as the mayor of a very small town and a new governor of the least populous state as well as her limited travel and education leave her lacking in exposure to the critical issues threatening our country. In addition, she exhibits a worrisomely simplistic and reactionary propensity with a seeming blithe disregard for the complexity and gravity of the office. In addition to these concerns, Ms. Palin’s smugness, arrogance, and lack of humility further guarantee that her election would continue our country’s disastrous course of the last eight years under the Bush/Cheney administration. For a man who claims to be a man of honor who puts “Country First”, it is so sadly ironic that he is willing to put our country (and our world) at such terrible risk.
-Susan M., MD

A plea.

I was raped at age 18. I was not impregnated but had I been I believe I am owed the choice to decide on motherhood. Palin stands for the destruction of choice. She is a contradiction in every aspect of the word. Please do not elect this woman as VP.

Please.

-A. T., 19, Santa Fe, NM

Women say NO - Part 19

"We must begin to tell our young/ There's a world waiting for you/ This is a quest that's just begun."

—Nina Simone

If I wanted to live in a theocracy, I'd move to Iran. This nomination is McCain's way of patting us all on our little heads and saying, "There you go, honey! Now don't worry your little head about this government stuff."
- Christin R.

I have been obsessed by this announcement since last week when the news came out. I am appalled by the talking heads that keep bashing the same nonsensical blather that she has all this experience and will be great for this country. We need to have women march on Washington before it is too late. I think the most informative news from inside Alaska is coming from http://mudflats.wordpress.com. They seem to know the most and speak about all the truths that are out there. It is a scary time to think that Ms. Palin could potentially be our next VP. I think that it reflects the status this country is in, that we could even think of electing her to national office with such a limited scope of the task at hand. I am pissed off. No Palin/McCain, no way.
-Diana D.

Sara Palin is the antithesis of all that I, as a strong, independent, conscientious women of today, was raised to believe in. While she is entitled to her opinions as they directly relate to herself and her loved ones, I cannot fathom a country that would willingly embrace her as the 2nd in command or the person who chose her as a running mate. McCain's choice as a running mate was a blatant attempt to attract the far right wing supporters that he has been unable to attract, and nothing more. The same contingency that helped elect the current President Bush. This was also an attempt to draw disappointed Hillary supporters based on the mere fact that it was a woman chosen to join him on the ticket. There is no comparison. It took the Republican Party 20 years longer than the Democratic Party to bring a woman into the field, and in doing so have managed to take women back 50 years.
-Anne M., 38, Phoenix, AZ

Never in my memory has there been a more inappropriate or unqualified person running for the office of vice president. If this is John McCain's first executive decision of sorts, we are in a lot of trouble as a nation. I am a 59 year old working class woman, and I can tell you that in no way do I relate to Sarah Palin and her antiquated, self absorbed vision of life. She may be fine as governor of Alaska, though I am not even sure of that; but she clearly has no business being a heartbeat away from the presidency. I have seen much of the Charles Gibson interview, and she proved herself to be arrogant, uniformed, self absorbed, patently ridiculous. She has been caught in lies repeatedly. I can go on and on, but I will not. I have no problem with a woman in office, but it needs to be a qualified, well-rounded, intelligent woman. This country has been through a difficult eight years and we need to regain our dignity and gain the world's respect. We need to be energized, not dragged down. We need tough, competent, intelligent leadership. That is not possible with Sarah Palin.
-Stephanie M., Yonkers, NY

After watching her first interview with "Charlie" Gibson (she must have said that 25 times, in a very condescending tone each time), she is obviously totally unprepared to address any National issues. Apparently McCain's advisors were unable to cram that knowledge into her head fast enough. She didn't have a clue what the Bush doctrine was. She's ready to invade anywhere she perceives a possible threat. The very idea that she will be available for interviews only after the journalists promise to treat her with proper "respect and deference" is ludicrous! You earn respect and women should be treated the same as men - isn't that what we've been fighting for forever?
-Diane R., 62, North Olmsted, OH

Ms. Palin's mind is so closed there is no possibility she can represent my views on any of the important issues facing our country. In fact she has already done an excellent job of deflecting national dialogue away from the war in Iraq, economy, energy crisis, and the environment.
-Pam K., 58, Zachary, LA

I am 49 years old and have discussed this with a number of peers. We old feminists just roll our eyes that anyone would think we would vote for the "Anti-Hillary" as we have dubbed Palin.
-Linda B., CO

Sarah does not represent me and I disagree with nearly everything she stands for. I have voted against her twice for mayor, once for Lt Gov, once for Gov and even for the hospital board. She should NOT be in a position of power.
- Betsy W., 55, Wasilla, AK

Palin is a gimmick sent out to energize the Republican extremists who swarmed the polls and ignorantly gave George Bush two election victories. She is the gun-toting hockey mom sent to shine a blinding light over the party's own distaste for McCain, once the most moderate Republican but now a puppet for the conservative base. She is protected and coddled by her "handlers", a direct imitation of the similarly invisible and unreachable current President. She has no business being anywhere near the second highest office in the land. The McCain camp cries "sexism!" anytime her views or qualifications are questioned, but it is more sexist (in reverse mode) to elect such an extreme and unqualified woman to high office, merely because she *is* a woman. I don't think even the hardest of the hard core Hillary backers are falling for this ruse. I too would love to see a woman elected to high office, but I want her to be legitimately qualified and legitimately vetted and legitimately chosen for her supreme knowledge of democratic government. Not because she is folksy, trash-talking arm-candy for a foundering candidate.
-Sue U., 42, Milwaukee, WI

I am an active retired professional and mother of 3 grown children who is working on a political campaign for the first time in my life. Why? Because the issues are so clear i.e. global warming, abortion, international policy, distribution of health care and education, not necessarily in that order. Sarah Palin is relatively uneducated and inexperienced. She has no significant international experience and exhibits personality traits of grudge-holding and vindictiveness which have been well-documented by many workers in her state. She is a pretty Christmas package with very questionable contents.
-Caroline M., 72, WA

One Week Later

Dear readers,

It's been one week since we sent out a letter to a few friends and family members asking them to respond to Sarah Palin's candidacy for Vice President. We had never done anything like this before. What motivated us? It's pretty simple: we were tired of feeling angry and helpless. We were thrilled to receive the first 100 letters in reply. Their eloquence and passion were inspiring, their rage and frustration palpable. Our disbelief began to mount as those 100 letters turned into 1,000 letters, which then turned into 10,000 letters. And as we sit here writing you now, we have reached nearly 100,000 letters.

What does all this mean? While this country is capable of shocking acts of slander, deception, and shameless cruelty—see the political ads running across your television screens, the ignoble headlines leafing out across the newspapers—we are also capable of generosity, of intelligence, and of kindness toward those who are unlike ourselves but for whom we would like to stand up anyway. To that end, many men have been writing in, expressing worry about the women and girls in their lives, and we thank them. Their words and yours, which have been flooding our in-box, are eloquent, thoughtful, and earnest. And furious. And right. 

Your letters often begin by saying that the possibility of a McCain/Palin presidency does not so much make you worry for yourself as for the lives and opportunities of your daughters and granddaughters, your sons and grandsons. It is this selflessness that is so moving to read again and again. As Betty W., 82, from MS, said, "Thank you for your efforts to consolidate our voices into a single chorus."

We want to thank all of you who have contributed your voice. We are working hard to post your letters, and we hope that you'll be patient. This website is for all of you. We hope you'll take solace in the words of your neighbors near and far, and that you'll become inspired to take further action so as to ensure that McCain/Palin are not elected. If a letter sent to 40 people can turn into 100,000 responses in one week, what can you do within your own community?

VIVA!

Lyra & Quinn

Women Say NO - Part 18

“To me success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world—that I am able to change it in positive ways.”
—Maxine Hong Kingston

As a woman and a registered Republican I am very concerned about the choice of Mrs. Palin as a vice-presidential candidate. I do not believe that she stands for most American woman as she is against a woman’s right to choose in medical decisions concerning her own body, she has demonstrated an intolerance for differing beliefs, she does not believe in birth control or sex education. I was planning on voting for McCain but the Republican ticket has lost my vote because of this choice.
–Carol C., Tiverton, RI

As a 78-year-old white woman, raised in a fundamentalist Protestant church and who worked full-time while raising a disabled child, I have some understanding of where Sarah Palin comes from. But in no way does she speak for me; not politically, ethically, or morally. In fact, she and her running mate, John McCain, represent the antithesis of most everything I learned from my grandmother, Josie Warren Hopkins (1875-1945). My grandmother was a housewife living in a small village in central Maine in the early days of the 20th century. She was a suffragette who worked very hard to make possible a woman's right to vote. But I can see her rolling wildly in her grave if American women use their precious vote to elect a McCain-Palin ticket. Given McCain's age, health issues, and family history, Palin could end up in the Oval Office. And then where would we be? Public education would become even more a disaster than it is now--creationism being added to the curriculum, sex education being removed, global warming dismissed as a fantasy, excellent books being banned from the library! Equality in this country is banned when she speaks out on same-sex relationships. And I shudder to even consider what she might do with her lack of understanding of foreign policy. No, for the sake of my grandma Josie's grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, and the great-great-great grands coming along, and for the sake of your own descendants, please join me in saying a loud and clear "NO" to Sarah Palin and to John McCain.
–Florence D.

I am an artist who works alone but am a resident of rural Mississippi delta land who is dedicated to community service for the enrichment of lives through the arts. I am 82 years old, and have been such a member of this community for 53 of them. My mother, a North Carolinian, and my grandmother, a Virginian, were both college graduates who devoted their lives to their families and to bettering their fellow citizens. We are environmentally aware and a part of our natural surroundings. But we are "on the internet" and standing for enlightenment and dead set against the likes of Sarah Palin. Thank you for your efforts to consolidate our single voices into a chorus.
–Betty W., 82, MS

I want to love a mother, governor and VP candidate, but Palin horrifies me, she seems to epitomize the American inability to be introspective, to polarize and see everything in terms of black and white, good or evil, right or wrong. This intolerance and inability to get out of a narrow perspective and see the divine spark in all is at the core of the danger America is creating for itself, and feeds the dissension in America. She has a sharp, but not a deep mind fast with the comebacks, but more interested in bullying an argument than in understanding the truth. I am horrified that McCain would risk her shallow thinking as a leader of America, and I am horrified that so many people are responding. I think this country is worth more.
–Heather R., Rolla, ND

Dear Ms. Palin—
Even in this very red state of Alabama, we know the difference between a show horse, a hobby horse, and a work horse. You do not represent working class women, farm wives or single mothers—ALL of whom turned to Hillary Clinton with great hopes. You charged women for their own rape kits when you were mayor in Wasilla. You use housekeepers and nannies to care for your kids. You don't want sex education in schools, but you let your daughter get pregnant! You do not now, nor will you ever speak for us!
–Gita H., Montgomery, AL

I'm a proud member of SEIU 668, a civil servant prevented by law from taking a position on candidates. However, we are able to express our position on issues and talk about how people stand on those issues. I previously spent 15 years from 1976 to 1991 working as a community organizer, all of those years for minimal wages, all but one of them with no pension plan. Those years were spent fighting for the rights of women, lesbians and gay men, racial and ethnic minorities, persons with AIDS, senior citizens, union members, children, families living in poverty... on issues like utility rates, toxic waste dumps, workplace hazards, health care costs, fair wages and housing, Social security and Medicare and medicaid, funding for AIDS research, addiction, the list goes on.

I can hardly begin to express the depth of my anger at hearing Ms. Palin denigrate the many community organizers I worked with and proudly call my friends. Community Organizers make the world a better place, doing God's work day in and day out, night after night. To hear that convention audience laugh in response to her snide remarks really pissed me off. I didn't realize just how steamed I was until a dear friend (another longtime community activist) sent me an e-mail with this message: Jesus was a Community Organizer. Pontius Pilate was a Governor.
–Dixie W., Bethlehem, PA

I worked hard to get where I am. I was the first woman in my county to run for district judge back in 1990. I have two daughters and 3 granddaughters. I don’t want Palin taking women back to the dark ages. She certainly does not represent me! And she’s not doing well by her own children.
–Susan B., 59, Galveston, TX

Ms. Palin is no "model" Woman! Instead of helping to shatter glass ceilings, she seems to aspire to being one of the Good Old Boys holding others down. Sheer lip service from the Pitbull in Lipstick! Yet another Karl Rove mouthpiece!
Deborah G., old enough to see the hypocrisy, Latham, NY

The inclusion of Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket is an absolute insult to intelligent womanhood. The fact that McCain would choose her is an indication of his lack of intelligence or possible senility. Why isn't the media screaming about her lack of qualifications and her reactionary views on all of the important issues of this campaign? How can ANYONE take her seriously? There ought to be an uprising against her and the Republicans who are promoting her!
–Wendy C., 56, Gig Harbor, WA

Sarah Palin represents the slap of the dinosaur's tail—a deadly, horned swipe of a breed going extinct; quite likely, in her throes of excited thrashing, to kill off many individuals, many careers, many dearly held gains, won since 1963, for which many of us fought with our brains, our convictions, our blood, our time, our eloquence, and our money. Many women have earned the right to work, to be paid adequately, to choose our education, our politics, our lifestyle, our time to bear children, or make the choice not to bring children into the world. We have fought for the right to read widely, think thoroughly, discern carefully, live wisely, live well. Of course, not all women enjoy all these privileges and obligations, but many more women function as whole persons, as individuals, as thoughtful citizens today than several decades ago.

Are we ready to stand idly by while an old, ill man, watches Sarah's shapely behind, while fingering his wedding ring? Are we ready to give up our time to choose, our right to decide and let this mockery of a modern woman, this poorly educated bigot tramples our civil rights? Are we ready to die if our life is endangered by an unhealthy pregnancy? Are we willing to let Sarah Palin, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and the other megalomaniacs at the helm of the Republican party decide the course of our lives, our daughters' and granddaughters' lives?

Sarah Palin may be a pawn in the hands of the powerful, but be warned, she digs it. She is a danger to our bodies, our population, our educational system, our environment, our already-shredded international regard, our national debt, our dignity as American women. Even the power she gained as the mayor of a town of a mere 5000, immediately corrupted her; her wide swipes through the administration she inherited were so disruptive to that small government entity that an immediate remedy was set in place--an administrator had to be hired to do the job of running the town while she was mayor. And still, the surplus she inherited turned into a deficit--IMAGINE the damage she could orchestrate on a national level.

I say: Stop Sarah. McCain is old, not well. Sarah Palin is the epitome of an old-style woman: a ruthless pawn of powerful men, spewing platitudes that fit a by-gone world where human beings thought nature was to be harnessed, surmounted, as the means to progress. We know better now. Nature is telling us we are too many, too careless, too heedless of the natural consequences of our wasteful ways. We can use wind, solar power, conservation, diplomacy, intelligence, education, thoughtfulness, science, creativity and wisdom. Palin is against all these. She is a patsy for Rove and his greedy schemes. I am against her and all she stands for. I stand for being a thinking woman with brains and choices and rights and respect for the Earth.

Women! Think! Speak out! Talk with each other! Share the facts about Palin's term as mayor of a tiny city; extrapolate her incompetency at that level to the national and international level. Get out the vote. This is the most important election in many years. Keep Palin out of the White House. Yes, she's a woman, but she's unqualified and pig-headed.

I know this is not succinct. I feel compelled to send it anyway. Edit if you must. Thank you for your efforts to rally outcry.
–Sansea S., New Haven, Vermont

Sarah Palin represents everything I fear and dislike about my own country—the anti-intellectualism, the arrogance, the divorce between style and substance. We have to rise up and show we're better people than this.
–C. H., Fortuna, CA

First of all, thank you for doing this. Many of us have been pulling our hair out with fury, rage, depression, and disbelief that Sarah Palin received the Vice-Presidential nomination. Unfortunately we find ourselves at a moment in history where words and actions no longer have an equal relationship. Where the language of sincerity, thoughtfulness, and true intellect has been co-opted into a bad or suspect thing. Coupled with the sheer apathy and cynicism of American voters and their delusion that voting for someone "just like them" is actually a good thing leaves us at a potentially disastrous tipping point.

What is remarkable to me about Sarah Palin is that she seems to have no awareness that feminists of previous generations are what have made it possible for her to present her unwed, pregnant daughter without any public shame. As few as thirty years ago, Bristol would have been shipped off to have her baby in private and the child would have been put up for adoption. Because of Roe v. Wade feminists, unmarried women can now have children free from the shame of previous generations. Every generation of feminists has a burden or hurdle to overcome. Seventeen years ago Susan Faludi coined the term "backlash", but at this moment we are experiencing something infinitely worse: it's more like "whiplash". The powerful discrepancy between the image of a woman and what that woman represents is going to result in a dangerous election for all women.
–Jana H., St. Louis, MO

The strongest impression that Sarah Palin has made on me so far is that she will say and/or do ANYTHING to get what she wants. And she has a long history of doing just that. Most of what she brags about in her speeches is an outright lie! The governor's private chef, the governor's private jet, and the bridge to nowhere, for just a few quick, easy examples. The rest of her claims to fame are at best distortions of the truth. The Alaskan legislature took to wearing buttons that said, "Where's Sarah?" because she spent so little time in Juneau. Once again, the GOP is deceiving the American people in a most callous and calculating way—just because they put a skirt on this time doesn't change a damned thing!
–Peggy T., Lawrence, KS

Sarah Palin is by no means a maverick. Her political views and religious ideation appear to be taken directly from the mainstream teachings of the Christian Right. I would not vote for a man with those opinions and I consider it insulting that anyone would think we (women) would view a woman differently. While her outdoor hobbies, so-called prowess at hunting and sports, and contentious nature as a city and state official might make her an appealing character for some frontier fiction movie or mini-series, those characteristics by themselves do not constitute qualifications for being second-in-command of this country. After beating the experience drum for so long, John McCain has revealed himself for the hypocrite and cynical opportunist that he is through his choice of someone so abysmally unqualified.
–Ellen W., Oklahoma City, OK

My shocked reaction to McCain putting Palin on the ticket was almost visceral. She is patently unqualified to be President of the United States. When you add to that the fact that she reinforces in every way the typical Republican style of leading by force, leading without caring about understanding and compassion, leading in a way that creates contention instead of teamwork, it's nothing less than terrifying. Her stands on choice, the environment, religion, and more are clearly uninformed and archaic. But her self-absorbed sarcasm and her ability to repeat the Big Lie in order to get her way should be the fundamental reason women—and everyone, for that matter—reject her getting anywhere near the White House. The nature of true leadership is to provide hope for a better day--and that word and concept "Hope" is something that she has actually made fun of in her speeches. I, for one, wouldn't vote for anyone who makes fun of hope. Women in particular should project hope and love and caring for others, and Ms. Palin does none of this, choosing instead to be mean-spirited and accusatory in every single speech and action. I can only hope that with time, people will recognize this and realize that we need someone quite different from her to take us down the road to respect and REAL morality.
–Caralee W., Kanab, UT

John McCain's choice for Vice President takes women in this country several steps backwards. Just the fact that there is so much dialogue about her outward appearance and none about her inward qualities of compassion or empathy for women not just in the United States but the plight of women world wide, is of great concern to me. The rights and power of women may be severely compromised should we vote the Republican ticket.
–Jane L., Rawlins, WY

My name is Lenni G and I am 69 year old white female living in North Carolina. As anyone will tell you, it's really not wise to fool with 69 year old females no matter where they live. I am outraged that John McCain or more likely, the Republican Party, has decided to foist Sarah Palin on me and the rest of this country as a living, breathing example of what we women are, how we think and what we approve of in a vice presidential candidate. As Sharon Osbourne would say, "has the whole world gone barking mad?" Check it out people, McCain (Republican Party) did not choose a woman with real political and experience credentials. My guess is if they had, that woman would have refused the nomination as I would have, even though I have executive experience as President of my condo association and had budget responsibility for it. Surely this is the final joke of the Bush-Chaney/Republican Party gig in Washington. And, please note, there are a bunch of us women, and men, who are not laughing. We want our country back and we want it back right now.
–Lenni G., 69, NC

As a woman in Arizona, I say NO to Sarah Palin because of her professed views on the environment and global warming. Her narrow-minded denial of the best science the world has to offer would lead to devastating delay in addressing the problems. A tragedy for the US. and the world as a whole.
Lucy M., 61, AZ

My name is Venera B. and I am 76 years old. I live in western Washington State, near Russia, China and the whole South Pacific, much like Mrs. Palin. I am not qualified to run this country. I know from my many years on earth that women have great strength and I know we are not stupid - all we need to do is speak up! We cannot allow this insane choice for a candidate in Sarah Palin. But she is not the problem - our problem is the white old men that insist on running this country with their need to control, their archaic laws and ideas. Their lives are based on fear and ridiculous needs to dominate our pocketbook, our bodies and to shoot before thinking and talking. They also have a great need to distort the truth - in other words LYING.

This young woman from Alaska is being fooled with - she is their decoy - but she might be elected and then she could be a heartbeat away from being in charge of our lives. God help us. I would not be tolerant of such a closed mind and shallow ideas - of women not to have choices, of putting censorship in my path, including anyone who disagrees with her religious views or is quick to use a gun for SPORT (from a plane - which is illegal). How can I trust that she would understand other nations, cultures and needs - if she has not ventured much beyond her guarded ways? Mr. McCain needs to be mentally evaluated and I don't say this with insult. Anyone who went through that many years of trauma might have a damaged fuse and I don't want his hand on the button if he has had a bad day. We are getting the same food as Mr. Bush fed us, only a different plate. No on Mrs. Palin and No on Mr. McCain.
Ciao e Pace,
Venera B., 76, Washington State

Women say NO - Part 17

"I was the first American citizen to be elected to Congress in spite of the double drawbacks of being female and having skin darkened by melanin. When you put it that way, it sounds like a foolish reason for fame. In a just and free society it would be foolish." 

—Shirley Chisholm

I think Sarah Palin is an interesting and strong woman and entitled to her own beliefs and decisions as they pertain to her own life. I cannot vote for her. I don't believe she will represent or act according to the interests of the majority of American women. My feeling is that she thinks her personal beliefs and decisions are the right ones for every woman in America.
-JMD, 62, NC

I am a mother of three children, married and Catholic. Ms. Palin does not represent me as a woman living in the United States of America in 2008. She would not have in 1999 nor she would have represented my mother in 1970's but perhaps she would have been a perfect reflection of white conservative women in the 1950's and therefore a perfect representative for them those generations ago where there was an unpopular war and people calling for real change, she would have been perfect then. But we are not women of generations past, we are women of all shades of color living the embodiment of women who can call upon freedoms that no other country boasts. The American people have become distracted. Palin, participating in this election as a trojan horse, has come with phrases that involve animals and lipsticks, bridges to nowhere, and eBay, leading americans in to an abyss of distractions pulling away from the very sobering facts that who she represents and the policies she supports are a complete replica of the current Bush administration, on paper, and without personality mud-slings, the Palin/MCCain ticket represent 4 more years of the same policies the world has come to hate.
-Mariestella, C., Georgia

I voted for Hilary Clinton in the Massachusetts Primary and made three donations to her campaign. I will now vote for Barack Obama in November, and have just contributed to his campaign. John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin, in fact, made this Hillary supporter even more certain that it would be a huge mistake to support the McCain ticket. Sarah Palin’s political style is pure old boy, “pit bull” politics. Pit bulls do not bring about change, they only render damage.
-Christine S., MA

Sarah Palin is the classic example of a woman being used by those in power to remove power from women. If a man, with the same abysmal record against women's and children's issues, against environmental issues, in support of teaching creationism in schools, and with a complete lack of sophistication and international experience, had been named the vice presidential candidate (as McCain's running mate, potentially the oldest president ever elected), there would have been an undisputed national outcry for his fringe and retrograde stances. It is as if, because Sarah Palin is a woman and a mother, she is above being criticized for her anti-woman and anti-child legislation and People magazine can focus on the feel-good aspects of her supporting her pregnant daughter and loving her autistic child. That's all very sweet, but it is irrelevant to the role she is seeking to fill and it can't make her horrific political profile any more palatable. I am disgusted and yet not surprised to see a woman used against women. Divide and conquer has been an effective strategy since the beginning of time.
- Iliza A., 39, San Francisco, CA

When I hear women declaring that electing Sarah Palin as VP would be a gain for women, I am amazed and heartsick. Having our hard-won rights squelched by men would be bad enough, but how much more galling and tragic to lose them because of a woman. Sarah Palin would hurt women, on a large scale. And when women are hurt, their children usually hurt, too. Palin is another Republican theocrat pretending to be a libertarian. Her pretty smile belies the fact that she is very, very dangerous.
- Margaret K., 55, Dayton, OH

As a woman, born and living in this country my entire life, I am in disbelief about McCain's choice if this woman as his running mate. She represents everything in the way of values and beliefs that have been destroying this country. She is arrogant, has had little real governing experience, and certainly knows nothing about how the Washington "system" works. Our country will be in even more serious trouble with her as a national leader.
- Enid B., 70, Durango, CO

This evening I was out at a restaurant having dinner. Two gentlemen who work on Wall Street sat next to me and started a conversation. They cracked several jokes in reference to Sarah Palin and hunting moose. I questioned them on their meaning of these jokes. Basically, they are both McCain supporters and their main concerns are taxes and staying in Iraq for the oil (no matter that many men and women are losing their limbs, brains and lives over it). They think Sarah Palin is a joke and as one stated "yeah, the women are just eating her up - ha, ha". I raised the question of "what if McCain dies," and one of them answered, "that would be scary". So there is the disrespect - that even men in the Republican party think she's a joke and just a means to gaining the women's vote. It's obvious that she is not qualified and is just a pawn for McCain to win some votes.
- Kathleen D., 48, New York, NY

Watching her acceptance speech has left me disturbed and angry for a week, it is unbelievable that someone so unqualified and extremist could become a heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the world. And we thought things could not get any Worse than W!
- Elaine Miller, 50, Oak Park, IL

One fine Friday in June 1952, the woman living in the apartment next door to ours left her 2-year-old daughter with a babysitter to have an (illegal, of course) abortion. She came home later that afternoon weak and pale. She developed an infection and did not survive the weekend. I have never forgotten it. Nor has her daughter. Sarah Palin, NO NO NO.
- Marilyn F., 60, Fairfax, VA

Today for the first time since I was able to vote in 1972 I sent a contribution to a political campaign. (Obama of course). Palin is Bush in a dress. I am just sick at the thought of Palin being just a heartbeat away from the highest office in the land.
- Barbara D., 58, San Francisco, CA

I am a woman of conscience, the mother of two children whom I adore, a elected member of my local School Board, a faithful churchgoer, an avid reader, and deeply rooted in my community. I have lived both in this country and abroad, and have a college education. I have been a foxhunter (on horseback), have many close friends with children with disabilities, and have recently become both a tae kwan do and a soccer mom. My daughter's name is Sarah. You might think I have much in common with Sarah Palin.
I have nothing, politically, in common with Sarah Palin. I care more about the future I leave my children and their children.....and I care more about my neighbor's grandchildren's world...than I do about my own purse, or how much I pay in taxes. I care so much about opening possibilities for people to truly take responsibility for their lives that I would never dream of tampering with their right to make choices about how they live their lives. I expect people to hold me fully accountable for all the choices I make in my life, and I don't look to others to fix my problems for me. As I said, I have hardly anything in common with Sarah Palin.
- Susan S., New York, NY

As a woman who is proud of the accomplishments of women over the past one hundred years, I am appalled and terrified by the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. This choice gives much credence to McCain's and the Republican party's lack of judgment and responsibility. I do not question whether Ms. Palin is a good mother or not. I don't care. As a potential leader for this country she is an abomination. What a ludicrous, blatantly pandering, frightening irresponsible choice this was. I can only hope that ultimately women see this for what it is, an arrogant, denigrating ploy to get their vote.
- Penny W., 56, North Carolina

Sarah Palin's speech made me sick to my stomach. She was smug, self-righteous, petty, rude, arrogant and her beliefs are in complete opposition to my own. I will fight for the Democratic ticket harder because McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate.
- Gail S., 50, Austin, TX

I am shocked and scared that she is deemed qualified for this high office and that she seems to have fooled so many women. The thought of her in that position with her lack of experience, her delight in mocking another candidate when we need to heal this great divide, and her delight in all this attention. It is mind boggling that many qualified (and less photogenic) women were passed over. Now is NOT the time for political games.
- Sandy K., 69, Duluth, MN

As the granddaughter of a woman who marched for the right to organize, unionize, earn equal pay, and to be in charge of her own reproductive rights, I am dismayed. My grandmother made speeches in favor of birth control as a woman's right and spoke for Margaret Sanger in Yiddish. I'm NOT going backwards in time. That would be a travesty to the memory of my grandmother, my daughters, my granddaughters. The woman has absolutely NO experience at the national or international level--what if she has to deal with foreign governments or formulate policy. And, further, I am a librarian and member of the American Library Association. Palin's behavior is so contrary to everything the ALA endorses and promotes.
- Diane P, 68, Brooklyn, NY

Women say NO - Part 16

"Women's rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy." 

—Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I am an 85 year old woman, living in Kansas. I consider myself a moderate and have voted Republican a lot, but not this time. I planned to vote for Obama anyway but this choice solidified my vote. Mrs Palin does not share my values.

-Mary G., 85, Lenexa, KA

Sarah Palin does not have the experience to become the VP of the US. She might even become the President. McCain looks like he can't even focus half the time. She does not represent working women. She doesn't represent my views. How she thinks she could manage world affairs is beyond me. She doesn't even have much of an education. Haven't we seen from Bush what a not-so-bright former governor can do to this country?

– Marianne, AARP, Annandale, VA

I am a 64-year-old working wife and mother who is beside myself with worry, anger, and grief at how far my country has fallen to even consider John McCain for President let alone Sarah Palin. The proof of McCain's unfitness for office is not only in his selecting her but now in campaigning as HER running mate! Here we have the ideal ticket for anyone who supports women's rights - Obama and Biden - versus two people who think women are brainless fools. The fact that Palin wears a skirt doesn't mean she has respect for women. On the contrary. It just means that she uses her sex to stop any questions about her competence by accusing the questioner of sex-discrimination. Frankly, I didn't buy that argument when Hillary made it and I'm certainly not buying it from Palin.

- Wendy L., 64

As a woman and, most especially, as an American, Sarah Palin's candidacy for the vice presidency offends me deeply. The Republican platform has proven themselves to be geniuses in their attempts to sell us the "story" of Sarah Palin, and I pray that most people see it for what it is--a story. Her view that climate change is not caused by humans ALONE should sufficiently scare people enough not to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket. It is 5 minutes to midnight for our planet--we need leaders who are going to take seriously the extreme peril our planet is in, and not just chant "Drill, Baby, Drill." The lack of integrity John McCain has shown in his choice, and in his pandering to people he used to refer to as "agents of intolerance" is mortifying.

- Emily P., Crestwood, MO

I am a teacher in the great state of Alaska. I have years of experience in 'Bush" Alaska and in the city of Anchorage. I know Alaska issues and concerns. I have a Masters Degree and beyond. I am also a mother. Does this experience make me an acceptable candidate for superintendent of Anchorage School District. Absolutely NOT! Sarah Palin looks and sounds good, but DO NOT have an idea that challenges hers...I am hoping Hillary will debate her and bring out this side of her for the nation to see.

- J. H., 55, Anchorage, AK

I am a lifelong Alaskan. I have been opposed to Palin since she first emerged as a political force in Alaska. I don't believe her, I don't trust her and it would be devastating for the entire country to suffer the harm she has already inflicted on Wasilla and Alaska. I'm terrified how our country values how one plays to the media rather than true intelligence and values.

- Mary S., AK

John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his vice, was a calculated gamble carrying with it frightening brilliance. She is the personification of today's American fundamentalism. This classic bait and switch move has the electorate once again focusing on the culture wars instead of the real ones, on pseudo-feminism instead of tolerance and equality. Aside from Palin's sheer and utter ignorance of national and foreign affairs, he could hardly have picked a more dangerous choice. It is an insult to think that any Hillary supporter will vote the McCain ticket merely because she's a woman.

-Marji M., 55, Cincinnati, OH

Women say NO - Part 15

I don't support Sarah Palin as a candidate for Vice President because I don't want my grandchildren to live in a nation that, in accordance with her political views, would deny them environmental protection and alternative energy development or sex education, and a right to chose. The last administration has shown us how effective the VP can be in circumventing the Constitution.
-Juanita L., 61, Lancaster, PA

Sarah Palin may be a mother and she may be a fighter, but she is fighting for herself, not for us. She will take out others for her own interests and beliefs whether or not they reflect our needs. From trying to ban books to firing people who disagree with her, to being part of a secessionist group in Alaska - Sarah Palin is a self-serving religious fundamentalist who would rather spend state money and time on personal feuds than governing for the good of all. Her extreme beliefs regarding abstinence-only education did not work even for her own daughter! and yet she wants to force it on our daughters! We will not have it. We can do better, there are stronger, more thoughtful and fair minded women in this country who are fit to run it.
-Aquene F., 26, Milwuakee, WI

If the Republican ticket wins, our country would be effectively destroyed in terms of our economy, the direction of the Supreme Court, and the elimination of rights we currently hold dear. We need to prevent this woman from pretending to be a voice for women and realize she is just a shill for the far right.
-Andrea D., 45, Rogers, Arkansas

I am completely offended by the idea that today's woman would vote for Sarah Palin on the basis of her gender. I supported Hillary because she was the strongest and most qualified candidate for President, and would never equate her with Sarah Palin. Her positions on the key issues of the day are uninformed and ill-advised, and I will do whatever I can personally to make sure she does not become the VP of the United States. Her nomination is appallingly negligent on the part of the Republican party. Big surprise.
-Angela L., 45, Austin, TX

I am appalled at the thought of Sarah Palin in the No. 2 spot in this country. McCain says he wants 'change,' but his downright hypocrisy in choosing her is shining through. McCain has finally, openly, shown his disdain for the intelligence of the American woman, and surrendered his vaunted maverick title to the Bush/Cheney/Rove ultra-Conservatives.
Does McCain really think that the women of America will vote for a Sarah Palin who agrees with those policies and worse, just because she's a woman???
-Portia D. (I'm 76, and thought I'd seen the worst in all these years. Wrong!), Staten Island

We have nothing against Sarah Palin, but it is inconceivable that the Republicans have chosen her instead of other qualified women as a Vice-Presidential candidate, if in so doing, they were trying to make history, they may well do it with frightening consequences.
-Sophia G., 53, Norwalk, CT

I oppose Sarah Palin because she is John McCain's running mate. John McCain, the man who laughed when one of his supporters called Hillary Clinton a b*tch. The man who has promised to nominate extreme right-wing judges to the Supreme Court. It doesn't matter what Sarah Palin stands for (though in fact she stands with McCain on these issues), because you wouldn't be voting for Palin for president, you'd be voting for McCain.
-Janet L., 44, Palo Alto, CA

I am a 53 year old woman living in Illinois. I oppose Palin as a V.P. because I believe she represents a move backward, not forward. America needs to shift our approach to meet the challenges. We face a strong China, a growing India and an energy crisis. We need to get out of Iraq. We need a health care system that works for all. We can not use a 1950's mentality of shoot first ask questions later. We can not just keep talking about Vietnam- new world order is here- we've got to move forward not backward.
-R.M., 53, IL

Is Ms.Palin really the best the Republican party has to offer in terms of a female? I guess there are slim pickings for a woman who will support an antiquated and sexist Republican agenda. Please know that Hillary supporters supported her for more than being merely biologically female. The women who have supported Hillary Clinton did so because of her track record, experience and progressive platform, not because she was simply "a woman". Typical interpretation from a party that is clearly a boys club.
-Kristen C., 30, Los Angeles

I say no to Palin because I want all children to be able to attend public schools where the teachers are well paid and trained. I want everyone to have access to health care. There's nothing I think is more crucial, yet this woman and her party disagree.
-H. A., 36, Northampton, MA

I remember the days of back room abortions. And I want the government out of my private business.
-Carole B., SC

She represents nothing but repressive ideas of education, family, government and the US as a part of an International community. The cruel irony of Senator Clinton blooding herself on that glass ceiling only to have a puppet escorted through on the arm of a warrior...
Get out and vote.
Kay J., 57, NYC

Women say NO - Part 14

"Society as a whole benefits immeasurably from a climate in which all persons, regardless of race or gender, may have the opportunity to earn respect, responsibility, advancement and remuneration based on ability."

– Sandra Day O’Connor

As a woman who has lived through the 50's, 60's and 70's (not to mention the 80's and 90's), it warms my heart to see how many strong women have important roles in business and politics today. Sarah Palin is one of those women, but I hope that people look at her record as a politician rather than just her gender when it comes time to vote. This "Hockey Mom" stands politically for almost every type of legislation that hurt women. She talks a good feminine game, but to have her in or near the Oval Office would mean many steps backward for women and would take away much of what we've worked so hard to achieve. McCain said that he chose her because both of them are mavericks, but in fact, Sarah Palin is a throwback to the old conservative ways and is anything but a maverick. Just because she wears high heels doesn't mean she should get the womens' votes.
Diane H., 65, Boulder, CO

Sarah Palin may be the governor of Alaska, but she showed that she could be a bit petty on Wednesday night during her speech at the Republican National Convention. In it, she mocked Barack Obama's humble political beginnings as a community organizer, stating that being a small town mayor is essentially the same thing, "except that you have actual responsibilities." This remark, while intended to be funny, is a real slap in the face to those individuals who most benefit from the work of a community organizer, namely the homeless and hungry, who receive the aid from soup kitchens and shelters these organizers help to coordinate. Community organizers are also responsible for organizing free or low-cost health care clinics that are a boon to those Americans without health insurance. How are these responsibilities any less "real" than those of a small town mayor? Sarah Palin needs a serious reality check to compliment the dart that has been bestowed upon her.
–Linda S., 68, Morristown, NJ

As a wife, mother, grandmother and educator, I was appalled at John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin for VP. Did he really think that the women of America were not smart enough to see through this ploy to attract women voters? What an insult! Gov Palin stands for everything that I am against. Not only do I want real change in America but I want it for my daughter and granddaughter along with the males in my life.
–Margaret E., 58, New Berlin, WI

The Republican nomination of Sarah Palin is a transparent, cynical and unpatriotic attempt to pander to what is worst in all of us. Women in America are better than this. We care about the future of this country and the future of our daughters, and because we do, the Republican ticket will be defeated this fall.
-Laura H., 46, Tyler Hill, PA

We have moved far beyond the point where the selection of anyone in a skirt is a step forward. To select Sarah Palin as bait to those who supported the thoughtful, accomplished, intelligent Hillary Rodham Clinton is a cynical move very insulting to the citizens of this country.
-Sarah S., San Diego, CA

As Sarah Palin has been unquestioningly welcomed in the mind of hard-core Republicans as the offensive "pittbull in lipstick," while the delegates in the audience of the Republican National Convention sport buttons that refer to her as "the hot chick" and laud her ability to play basketball, I as a woman, both a wife and mother, feel disgraced. The disgrace is found in the way the McCain campaign is abusing and exploiting feminism, the way Palin is feeding into the "macho" overdrive that has bound our nation for centuries, particularly in the last eight years. Does John McCain really think that women are weak and naive enough to blindly follow his running mate simply because she too is a woman? Or can he possibly see that we possess strong minds, hearts, experiences and values that are capable of supporting real change?
-Chris H., 31, Lancaster, PA

First, I'm a Democrat and was a Hillary Clinton supporter. Now backing Obama. I did not support Hillary simply because she's a woman. The choice of Palin is insulting to me. The only thing we have in common is that we both breathe. We OWE something to generations yet born. Where's the economy in all this?
-Ferne H., 63, Dunedin, FL

Corrections - Eds.

Dear readers,

Because we are disgusted and disheartened by the smear-campaigns, exaggerations, and outright lies that are so prevalent in our political landscape, we want to clarify two facts that we got wrong.

In our initial letter, sent out on Wednesday night, we stated that Governor Palin fired the librarian in Wasilla. In fact, while she did send the librarian a termination letter, after great public dissent (i.e. community organizing), she retracted it.

Secondly, Ms. Palin is not anti-birth control. She is a member of FFI, Feminists for Life, an anti-abortion, pro-birth control organization.

We apologize.

Unfortunately, during her speech at the Republican Convention last week, Ms. Palin read from a script that contained many egregious falsehoods about her opponent's record, intentions, and policies. We hope that she too (or her scriptwriters at any rate) might have the integrity to come forward and admit their errors.

But we won't hold our breath.

Lyra & Quinn

Women Say NO – Part 13

I, and three of my friends, want to approve of the statement "women say no to Palin". We are all from Portland, Oregon, and live in an Assisted Living facility.
–Marilyn L. age 83; Alice Olson, 80; Doris Elle, 89; and Janet J., 86

As an Independent voter on the fence about the election, my decision was made with the nomination of Sarah Palin. Barack Obama will certainly get my vote. I could never vote for a woman who would deny women the ability to make different choices than she did. While I respect her decision to have her Down's Syndrome child, we should not ignore the fact that 9 out of 10 women are choosing the other option. Though I have seen articles saying that the book banning question was merely a rhetoric question: why even ask it in 2008? It implies that she was considering the option. I could perhaps live with the above issues if I wasn't so scared about what she would do to the environment. For an energy expert, she seems to concentrate on the continued addiction to fossil fuels and not looking at alternative clean energy sources. The fact that she publicly denies that our behavior has affected global warming and the environment makes me question how critically she looks at an issue
–Gail S., 55, New York, NY

I am horrified by the choice that McCain made for his Vice President nominee.I do not agree with any of her views, she does not demonstrate or uphold any of my interests as American women. Sarah Palin knows nothing of economics (admittedly a weak area for McCain), or of international affairs; she knows nothing of national government, social Security, unemployment, health care systems—you name it. The idea of her meeting with heads of foreign governments around the world truly frightens me.
–Lisa R., 37, Sausalito, CA

Governor Palin speaks well, is pretty, and is loved by her husband. However, I would rather have a vice-president who is sensitive to the environment, who does not use ridicule an esteemed opponent, and who is aware of government's responsibility to its citizens who are ill-equipped to lead independent, productive lives.
–Claire H., 85, Tennessee

Sarah Palin is perfectly entitled to her own beliefs, but I am vehemently against a representative of the religious right trying to legislate their brand of morality to me and my daughers (I have four). These people are two loose cannons on a rolling deck and I genuinely fear for the future of our great country. If John McCain is unable to see his term through, Sarah Palin is next in line as leader of the Free World. Not only is Ms. Palin vastly under-qualified to deal with the complex issues we face both abroad and at home, her limited world view and rigidity present a very real danger to us all. John McCain has said many times how much he loves his country and I must believe that's true. I must also believe that he is no longer mentally fit to make decisions of great import concerning the future of America, otherwise he would not have so deliberately put us in harm's way with the selection of Sarah Palin.
–Olivia R., 53, Boulder, CO

I am an eighteen-year-old college freshman at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC. I'm registered to vote in Pennsylvania. I have chosen to attend the fourth most environmentally friendly college in the country, where the student body as a whole is very concerned with political and environmental issues. The idea that the better part of 850 students can be fighting so hard to change the world while, at the same time, people like Sarah Palin are trying to undo all that we are working for, is devastating. I strongly support women's right to hold political office, but Sarah Palin opposes almost everything I believe. Sarah Palin, although she is a woman, is by no stretch of the truth an advocate for women's rights, especially on issues of birth control and abortion.
–Alice S., 18, Asheville, NC

I am an 85-year-old mother of three, grandmother of two, and have voted in every presidential election since the fourth term of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I am philosophically a Democrat, but I respect other party alliances and opinions if they are based on what they deeply feel is best for the country. The selection of Sarah Palin is an insult to the country and to the women of this country—her stated beliefs are antithetical to what women have fought to gain the right to vote, and to what we want for the future of our children and our grandchildren. Political pandering is disgusting, but, above all, extremely dangerous to America's future.
–Gloria E., 85, Los Angeles, CA

In all the fuss about Sarah Palin’s moose hunting, religious views, and beauty pageant career, something has been lost: whether her words match up with her record. She told the Republican National Convention "To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House." Really? Because the parents of children with disabilities in Alaska don't have much of a friend or advocate right now. Even in years of great surplus, she actually cut state funding for special education services and Medicaid—the program that children and adults with disabilities rely on for health care.

You can search in vain in any of her speeches, or budgets, for any evidence of her newfound "advocacy" for the things that people with disabilities in Alaska and our country really need: equality. Rather than fight for the educational services which the law says children with disabilities are entitled to, she has cut them. Nor has she fought for, or even shown an interest in, promoting the integration of people with disabilities from institutions and into our communities. Governor Palin shouldn't be judged on how she looks, how many children she brings on stage, or whether she kills her own food. Americans want to know if her words match her actions, whether she is the real deal. And on disability rights, there's a yawning gulf between her talk and her actions. That is something that should give us cause for alarm.
–Fraser N., Salt Lake City, Utah

I am an 80-year-old woman with 2 daughters and 4 granddaughters. It appalls me that these granddaughters, who are still in their teens, might not to able to control their own reproductive choices if Sarah Palin and John McCain are elected. Women have fought too long and too hard to have the right to choose taken from them. There are many other reasons I feel Sarah Palin would be a disaster, particularly in the arena of foreign affairs, and they have been addressed very well by other contributors to this site. So I will keep my comments short and pray that the Democratic candidates prevail in the coming election.
–Marilyn G., 80, Port Hadlock, WA

Despite my life long work on behalf of women running for political office, I do not and cannot support Sarah Palin's candidacy for Vice-President. Those who believe that women will support any female candidate over a male regardless of her views or experience are grossly under-estimating the intelligence of women in the electorate. Sarah Palin's views are contrary to my own on a wide array of issues including sex education, birth control, abortion, gun control, environmental protection, alternative energy development and separation of church and state and freedom of speech. In addition, she lacks the experience to function as an effective vice-president, let alone for the possibility of assuming the presidency in cases of emergency. The assertion that Obama and Palin cancel each other out on the "experience" factor would be laughable except for the fact that it is insulting. There is no question in my mind that Joe Biden will serve the interests of the broad array of American people in a more balanced and competent and respectful manner than Sarah Pallin.
–Debra K., 59, Teaneck, NJ

My heart is wrenched by the Republican choice of Sarah Palin as V.P. I am the grandmother of five beautiful little girls and one brave grandson. Their world will be challenging enough with out the extreme and reactionary policies which Sarah Palin has put forth publicly. It is not too late to make a change. PLEASE, re-think this damaging choice. The women of America need a planet which holds promise, and acceptance for each and every one of us...a planet in which we all have the right to make our own best choices...for ourselves and our children. Sarah Palin is a frightening, degrading choice.
–Janet L., Huntington Woods, MI

As a woman and a mother, I cannot believe that Sarah Palin doesn't support environmental protection or the development of alternative energy sources. In effect, her decision to be on the side of Big Oil is in absolute opposition to her views on women's choice. By not protecting the environment, she is inviting a horrible future for her children. Clean air, clean water, clean energy promote the growth and survival of the human race. Dirty water, dirty air and dirty power only contribute to the early demise of all life on the planet. We are all God's creatures. The bible says we are to be stewards of the earth. By not following the wishes of God in caring for the animals and the environment Sarah Palin is breaking the covenant set forth between God and mankind. I do not understand how Sarah Palin can promote herself as a Christian and not be willing to follow these basic rules of the Bible.
–Susan Bourdeau, Knoxville, TN

I am appalled by the poor judgment John McCain has shown in selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate. Not because she is a woman or even (though I thoroughly disagree with them) because of her extreme cultural and religious conservatism. I am appalled because Sarah Palin has no qualifications to be mayor of a typical (read: sizable, diverse, complex, challenging) American city, let alone Vice President of the United States.

We are facing a major international recession, environmental catastrophe, and a real and present threat of terrorism within our borders, not to mention an ongoing war that is adding billions of dollars of debt to our sinking economy, with no end in sight if the Republicans win. Sarah Palin has no experience in international relations, no experience dealing with the United States Congress, no experience managing ANY significant military or economic challenge. She does appear to have an ample track record, however, in attempting to thwart any and all efforts to preserve the environment. Ms. Palin is also well documented as a local bully who tries to fire anyone who disagrees with her. After eight years of an unqualified President who has done everything in his power to position America as a global bully, this characteristic is the last quality we need in the White House for four more years.

John McCain's VP pick is a crucial test of his actual willingness to "put country first." Not only has he failed the test, but the choice of Sarah Palin makes it terrifyingly clear that neither of these Republicans belongs anywhere near the White House.
–Aimee L., 54, Los Angeles, CA

More than 13,000 replies!

Dear readers,

We want to thank all of the women who have responded to this email with moving, articulate, and impassioned responses. As of this afternoon, we have received more than 13,000 letters from women across the United States. While it's impossible to keep up, we are working hard to post as many of your letters as we can. Thank each of you for voicing aloud that John McCain's insulting assumption that American women can be won over by an inexperienced, fundamentalist candidate just because she happens to be female, is erroneous. 

And that his assumption will not be met with silence.

Lyra & Quinn

Women say NO - Part 12

My husband, children and I have been citizens of Alaska for 40 years. I too FEAR for our country if Ms. Palin is elected VP. She has had successes but does not have a stellar record during her public life. Her approval rating as Gov was 80%+ but has fallen to 60%+ and continues to shrink. Alaska has a huge land mass, but only 600,000 + citizens. The state has been flush with oil money and so Palin has had no financial challenges while in office. Being Govenor of a state that is near Russia and borders Canada does not count as foreign experience. Palin's campaign claims do not reflect the truth of her time in elected office. If she chooses to use her family as part of her thin resume she should not object when there is critical examination of her family. As a citizen of Alaska since 1968 I want to state that Sara Palin does not have the experience to be vice president of our country. 

–Jackie S., Alaska

Sarah Palin sees the hand of God in a $30 billion Alaskan national gas pipeline. "I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that," she has stated. Ms. Palin and I clearly worship very different gods. I see the hand of God not in the wallets of the oil companies, but in the pristine Alaska coastline, its majestic polar bears, whales, and glaciers--all of which Big Oil will despoil.
Perhaps Ms. Palin has made the mistake that afflicts a frightening number of our citizens: confusing God with money.
–Sy M., Hancock, NH

As a very senior Senior, this choice scares me. My generation and later generations have fought too long and too hard to have someone like Sarah Palin pretend to represent us. She is against everything we have believed in and fought for. To think she is a Republican answer to Hillary Clinton is to make a mockery of all that Senator Clinton has done, not only in the senate but through her years of public activism. We as women have to do all we can to refute the McCain/Palin lies.
–Elaine Carlson, Venice, FL

Palin in no way represents me. Her gender is NOT cause enough to give her a vote. The issues she stands for are the antithesis of women's liberation, and will thwart the significant progress we have made. Much is at stake here. This is not a time to be complacent, nor feel joy at the prospect of a woman in the vice presidential office. Look at what she stands for: She is pro-life, pro guns, against sex education, thinks creationism should be taught in schools, is a member of the NRA, doesn't believe that global warming is caused by human behavior, thinks in black and white terms, and appears to be enjoying the power associated with the limelight. She has shown she can be sarcastic, hostile, bull-headed and even admits, a pit bull. Do we want someone like that a heartbeat away from the presidency? No Way!
–Catherine R., Stonington, ME

Sarah Palin represents an anti-science, anti-future mentality. We need to acknowledge that global warming is a serious threat to the well-being of everyone in the global family. We need a green revolution that will jump-start the economy with development of sustainable energy technologies. We need to consider the realities of sexually active youth and recognize that children will do better when their parents have planned for their appearance. We need to recognize that trickle down economics has empirically been shown to be wishful thinking. Sarah Palin represents the antithesis of our present needs.
–Georgia L., Cleveland Heights, OH

As a resident of rural Alaska, I speak from a perspective of one who has had to experience the detrimental policies and world view of Palin. Any thought I may have given to listening to what McCain has to say has now been completely annihilated due to his choice of running mate. Palin can not be allowed anywhere near a position of power in this country if we want to retain any semblance of what this country fundamentally and consitutionally upholds.
–Marian M., Alaska

As a feminist, environmentalist, Hockey mom, and pro choice catholic, I am appalled that Sarah Palin thinks she is every woman's candidate. I would not vote for her or McCain in a second. Why isn't she home taking care of her special needs child?, why isn't she home seeing what the her other children are doing or better yet (what they were doing).
She is so off target with what middle american woman think.
Beth Z., Cleveland, OH

McCain's Sleight of Hand isn't Fooling Us.

September 7, 2008
Chicago Tribune
McCain's Choice Won't Fool Women

By Jessica Reaves

For full article, click here.

Sarah Palin is a woman. Hillary Clinton is a woman. Women just love voting for other women. Women candidates are interchangeable. Therefore, women who would have voted for Clinton are obviously going to vote for Palin.

If this syllogism strikes you as stupid, that's because it is. Not to mention cynical and not a little bit sexist. Yet it also appears to be one of the reasons behind John McCain's choice of a running mate.

[....]

Women, the Republican Party seems to be saying, are interchangeable. Worried about a weak ticket? Concerned about voters losing interest? Just stick a woman in there. Pretty much any woman will do.

And by choosing Sarah Palin above the dozens of far more qualified women in their party (Sens. Olympia Snow and Kay Bailey Hutchinson, to name just two), John McCain and the Republicans have exposed every future female candidate to the same creeping, dangerous suspicion feminists have been fighting since the first female politician stepped forward: She's at that podium for all the wrong reasons: novelty, or shock value, or because her X chromosomes make her a politically expedient choice. Not because she's the best person for the job.

Jessica Reaves is a reporter for the Tribune magazine.

Women say NO - Part 11

Ms. Palin's views are completely opposite from the ideals most women have regarding our culture today. I would just love to see a debate between Sarah and Hillary. Wow, wouldn't that be something!
–Nancy S., 75, New York

Democracy means good government that serves and protects its citizens through health care, job opportunities, a stable and thriving economy, a fair judicial system, and retirement and consumer protections. It also means a government that opens up possibilities and empowers all of us, to build a better quality of life for our children.
Tela Z., 69, Williamstown, MA

I am shocked and appalled that the republican party chose Sarah Palin for Vice President. Everything Ms. Palin stands for, except being a hockey mom, I cannot relate with and makes no sense in my life context. I speak as a woman, as a mother, as a wife, as a breadwinner, and as a much-needed volunteer in our crazy public school system...
Carol J., 45, Chicago IL

As a Senator Hillary Clinton supporter, I was exceedingly disappointed in the results of the primary, as were many thoughtful, involved women in our great country. Presumably Mr. McCain and his advisers believe that they will win the independents, undecided and the women who would have voted for Hillary by selecting a woman as the VP nominee. What a foolish ploy. It insults the intelligence of women in that we will not vote gender alone and Ms.Palin's track record is certainly not one that upholds the ideology of the Clinton would-be voters.
–Gale J., Scranton, PA

Sarah Palin is the Clarence Thomas of this election: selected solely for her demographic attributes, despite the fact that she opposes all issues that are important to American families. Her lack of experience, her closed-mindedness, and her willingness to be John McCain's pitbull are appalling qualifications for a Vice Presidential candidate. McCain has demonstrated his contempt for the American people by selecting Sarah Palin. I'm hopeful that the voters will reject the politics of nasty sound bites by voting against the Republican ticket in November.
–Peggy K., 59, Glencoe, IL

I have nothing against Sarah Palin but she is the EXACT opposite of what the followers of Hillary respected about her long run for the White House. We won't vote for an empty skirt.
–Marcia B., Mamroneck, NY

This assumption relieves Sen. McCain and his supporters of the burden of viewing women as thinking, sentient beings fully equal to men. Instead of an acknowledgment of equality, John McCain's choice is pandering of the cheapest and most obvious kind and has cost him the respect of women across the globe. Obviously, the man is threatened by strong, capable women with proven credentials or he'd have chosen one of the many thoroughly qualified women representing his party in Washington.
–Jo M., Ypsilanti, Michigan

While I, personally, find the idea of having an abortion slightly repulsive, I also have never been in the situation where I would have had to consider one. I, luckily, had a first-rate education with sex ed, I have amazing parents who taught me well and are supportive, but I am not so stupid as to believe that others have been afforded the same. I have never been in the situation where I've been raped and become pregnant; I have never been married, had nine children, and have broken down in tears when finding out I'm pregnant with my tenth like my grandmother did - which drove her to become an alcoholic.
–Emily R., 28, Amherst, MA

Women say NO - Part 10

"War-making is one of the few activities that people are not supposed to view realistically;" that is, with an eye to expense and practical outcome. In all-out war, expenditure is all-out, imprudent—war being defined as an emergency in which no sacrifice is excessive."

—Susan Sontag

At the Republication Convention Sarah Palin described her mayoral experience, in a small Alaskan town, as being akin to being a "community organizer, except with real responsibilities." She elaborated that her accomplishments as Governor included getting rid of the luxury jet her predecessor had used. These are exactly the type of descriptions that make it clear to me that she is not prepared to lead our country. I don't even really feel that I need to address her politics, although they are frighteningly conservative and do not reflect the values or real lives of women, or men, in America, because her lack of experience should be enough to turn anyone away from this ticket. Ms. Palin strikes me as the "George Bush" of this ticket. She is simply a figurehead who gets up and pretends to be "every woman" while saying nothing of substance and dumbing herself down in the process. It was bad enough when a male candidate adopted this persona in order to win votes; it is doubly insulting to see a woman vice presidential candidate being used in this role. I do not need a "hockey mom" running my country. 

Finally, when Ms. Palin said that Senator Obama didn't really respect the working class because he didn't understand why they clung to their guns and their religion, I was incredulous - by the fact that such a subject is taking up time at a political convention occurring in the midst of hurricanes that remind us of the monumental failures of Katrina, during a time when we are waging multiple wars around the globe, and during a time when the federal deficit is at an unprecedented high - to name just a few of our woes. I was also incredulous by the cheers from the crowd. Honestly, are our religious rights or our right to bear arms in any way at issue at the moment? This is empty rhetoric.

–Laura A., 31, Portland, OR

Nominating Sarah Palin is one of the worst, most cynical decision in the history of American politics. This woman has a limited education and absolutely zero international experience. She didn't step foot outside the US until 2006. I don't care about Ms. Palin's children, or their pregnancies. I don't even hate McCain. I just believe strongly that we have entered a new, frightening era of judging people's appropriateness for high office by their looks (one delegate was quoted as saying she was a good candidate because she's so pretty), Coulter-esque barbs (sarcastic lies about Obama), and ability to appeal to the lowest common denominator in America (sorry, I want someone BETTER than me for that office!) She is the antithesis of the thinking woman's agenda, and I would NOT follow the estrogen trail and vote for her even if she were running as a Democrat.
–Leah B.

I want to express my opinion on John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as the Republican VP candidate. Not only was this a pandering, cynical choice but it adds insult to injury to assume that a female candidate, no matter who she is, what she believes or what experience she has, is going to give Hilllary Clinton supporters and many other women a feminist voice in the White House.
–Rachael H., Chevy Chase, MD

I cannot even begin to express the setback that everyone in America (and especially women in America) would face if reproductive rights and education were cut back. Palin appears to think it is best to NOT teach our children about safe-sex (perhaps focus on creationism instead?), and then force these young people to carry the baby after- surprise - they end up pregnant. Now THAT is anti-choice.
–Kimberely M., 27, Minneapolis, MN

As a female independent voter and I am truly appalled and offended by McCain's choice for VP. He met her only twice beforehand, she had a several hour long interview and filled out a questionnaire. That's it. I'm sorry but the weakness of McCain's choice shows only a desperate attempt to gain some attention. If he really had America's best interest in mind he would have picked a better qualified candidate.
–Melissa S., 34, New Jersey

Thank goodness women are standing up and speaking out about McCain's crass attempt at pandering to the women's vote, at the expense of the future of our nation. If this is an example of McCain's decision making, (and it is), he would put us all in danger if he were to become President.
–Sher F., retired, Mesa, AZ

We cannot stand by and see the progress of women in upper levels of government be reversed by the misguided voice of Governor Palin. As a feminist, I am shocked at the recent events in this race, and am speaking out for myself and future generations of women.
–Elizabeth D., New York

Women say NO - Part 9

"The Woman's Party is made up of women of all races, creeds and nationalities who are united on the one program of working to raise the status of women."

–Alice Paul

I am a woman from rural America and Sarah Palin is not my standard bearer. She is against choice, against equal pay for equal work, and for a narrow and exclusive view of the world. It is easy to use the epithet of elitist when those you oppose are in fact, more highly qualified and far better educated than you are.
–Cynthia G., Grand Canyon, AZ

Totally offended by this candidate
–Janet C., 72, Sheffield, MA

I couldn't support to candidate less: I enjoy my reproductive rights and reading uncensored library books. I take responsibility for climate change and I want to help the polar bear. Creationism in classrooms? Abstinence only sex-ed? What year is this??
–Amy F., 26, Boston

I try not to vote against my own best interests, and Sarah Palin does NOT represent the best interests of women.
–Eileen P., NY

I think that Sarah Palin represents everything that is wrong about the Republican Party, and that having her as our second in command would do nothing more than invalidate all the previous battles won over women's rights.
–Lauren F, 22, Mountain View, CA

Your letter said it all, but in my own words: Sarah Palin's election to any high office would be a blow not just to women's rights but to human rights.
–Ann G., rural Massachusetts

I don't support Palin because of her beliefs and her politics it has nothing to do with being a woman!
–Jennifer P., 43, Baltimore

Palin's nomination dishonors the women who have succeeded in politics--Democratic and Republican--and, as the grandmother of a 3-year-old granddaughter--the possibility of Palin in such a powerful position terrifies me.
—Cindy P., 68, Chatham, NY

From Laura C., San Francisco

In my view, as both a woman and a citizen, the choice of Sarah Palin as candidate for Vice President is anti-feminist. As a woman, I do not blindly support women first. I do not believe any woman will do. I believe that it is the rare individual who can lead this country. I want someone exceptional. I want someone smarter than I am, more judicious than I am, and more knowledgeable. I look forward to the day when that person happens to also be female. Until then, I do not support promoting a woman just because of her gender. For all that Hillary Clinton proved to us this year, the selection of Sarah Palin demonstrates that there are some who know only to respond with tokenism, to continue to look at women as women first and people second. We should all apply the same scrutiny to Sarah Palin that we would any candidate for our highest offices. It is our duty to question her and judge her, not on her parenting or family, but on her intellect, knowledge, experience, and viewpoint. And on these matters, she is not fit for the office of Vice President.
—Laura C., San Francisco, CA

McCain's introduction

When John McCain introduced Sarah Palin as his pick for Vice President, he said: “And I am especially proud to say in the week we celebrate the anniversary of women's suffrage, [that she is] a devoted, a devoted wife and a mother of five.”
(transcript here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/us/politics/29text-palin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)

Eighty-eight years after women fiercely fought in the streets for the right to vote--and be treated as equal citizens--it's a pity that John McCain can still only recognize them in two roles: as wives and mothers.

From Sarah W., age 72

I would like to join other women who would rather have a vice-president who shares their belief in civil rights than a vice-president who happens to share their gender. I cannot possibly endorse someone simply because she is a mother, or because she is a governor. There are mothers who, like her, lack judgment and governors who, like her, lack statespersonship. Her election would be a travesty.
Sarah W., 72. New York

Women say NO - Part 8

“The mullahs of the Islamic world and the mullahs of the Hindu world and the mullahs of the Christian world are all on the same side. And we are against them all.” 

—Arundhati Roy

I have been searching for the right platform to express my disgust with the choice of Sarah Palin and even further disgust for the lack of leadership or originality that John McCain has displayed by choosing her. His choice tells the American public the following: that he thinks one woman is the same as the next and that we can be moved around like playing cards, that he does not value the freedoms that America offers to families and that all of us have fought so hard to have (choice over our own bodies, birth control, gun laws, environmental progress, and on and on). I find it incredibly ironic that Republicans claim to want government to step out of our way and yet they want rules in place that make the lives of all of us more complicated. Sarah Palin is nothing more than a blatant pawn in the political game. A vote for McCain/Palin is not a vote for more of the same; it's a vote for much worse.
–Kelly M. Wauwatosa, WI

Sarah Palin was more or less forced onto the ticket by the right wing of the Republican party. She is anti-choice, while a majority of Americans are pro-choice. She is a global warming denier, and most Americans now believe there's an emergency and are looking for leadership. Our job is to broadcast who she really is loud and clear. She is a formidable attack dog in the Republican vein and this is going to be a hard fight.
–Larissa H., 35, New York NY

I was disappointed by John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate for the 2008 presidential elections. McCain’s choice of an inexperienced female candidate is nothing more than tokenism, and we should not confuse her with a woman who actually represents the voices of women in this country. Although the majority of women in America favor gun control, Palin opposes it. Further, her positions on the right to choose and the right to provide children with correct and comprehensive sex education in school stand to weaken, rather than strengthen, women’s rights in this country. I, as an informed and concerned mother who wishes to see my children grow up in a more just and peaceful America, will vote for a president and VP based upon their policies, not upon their gender or race.
–Monika P., 34, Boston, MA

I am against Sarah Palin for so many reasons that came clear to me in only a few short days. The fact that she cut funding for programs for people with disabilities until having a son who has disabilities is disgusting to me. The way that she spoke at the convention made me squirm with an uncomfortable feeling. Her stance on gun control, and her encouraging people to hunt from the sky is horrid. The no sex education stance, which has been proven without a doubt to be of no help to anyone, is ridiculous. For these and so many other reasons I am against Palin as VP.
–Lovesta B., Madison, WI

I do not support Sarah Palin as VP for this country because she does not have enough experience to be the most powerful person on earth. If something happens to McCain, (if he were to be elected President) she would be left in charge. She would further erode our country and the effects of this would be felt worldwide. Already she has done enough damage as governor of Alaska. Imagine that damage magnified by millions. That would be true devastation.
–Sue W. Baltimore, 52, MD

From Sonia M., age 17

As a woman in the United States of America, I do not support Sarah Palin in her bid for the Vice-Presidential position. I find it insulting that the Republican Party thinks so little of the women of America that it has tried to replace one powerful woman (Mrs. Clinton) with another. Do they think we will not notice the difference? Sarah Palin seems set on reversing the hard work of my grandmothers, both of whom were active in the Women's Suffrage movement. She stands against a woman's right to choose, therefore implying that we should not even have control over our own bodies. She stands against sex education and birth control, both of which are immensely important, not only for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, but also for health reasons. She has no foreign policy experience in a time when it is acutely needed, and she does not support alternative energy development, despite the fact that we may be out of oil very soon. Perhaps most importantly, she does not support the separation of church and state, one of the things that America was built upon. If we cannot choose what to believe in, how can we really be free?
–Sonia M., 17, Littleton, MA

Women say NO - Part 7

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any."

—Alice Walker

After listening to Sarah Palin speak at the Republican Convention, I was terrified that this woman could be in a position of power representing our country. She is without a doubt a persuasive speaker, but her words are mean- spirited and nasty. She lied several times during her speech, and unfortunately I am afraid people that aren't well-read will believe all the lies that she and her party continue to voice.
–Julia K., 58, Henderson, NV

The idea that a woman would vote for a woman because of their shared gender is as absurd as assuming a man would vote for a man because he was a man. Assuming that anyone would vote for Sarah Palin seems dubious, assuming women who were taken with Hillary would vote for her is downright insulting. She has no relevant experience, is on the opposite side of reason on all issues where her position can be discerned at all, and is a frightening prospect as vice president.
–phoebe s., 30, san francisco, ca

While I was impressed with Sarah Palin's speaking abilities, I am dismayed over her message. Her politics are divisive and vindictive. I do not want to teach my children, especially my daughter, that women need to be pitbulls with lipstick to get ahead. Surely, we've come farther along than that. It was incredulous of her to assert that just because she has some mayoral and less than 2 years gubernatorial experience that that qualifies her to be 2nd in command of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The Republican spinning crew has stated time and again that she has more executive experience than the Democratic ticket, but they neglect to state that she also has more than McCain. Of course, I vehemently oppose her beliefs as well:

* I will never support Arctic drilling - ever. We must find alternative fuel sources AND cut consumption.
* I am for a women's right to choose. What will happen if Roe v. Wade is overturned?
* I believe human activity/behavior plays a significant role in global warming.
* I believe evolution - not creationism - should be taught in schools.
* While I support the troops, I am and always have been against the Iraq War.

I hope and pray that Obama/Biden win this election. Our country deserves a positive vision.
–Kathleen S., Lakeland, MI

I believe that the choice of Sarah Palin was utterly cynical. McCain and his advisors calculated that Hillary Clinton's disaffected supporters would follow ANY woman, no matter what her beliefs. I feel that all women should feel insulted by this obvious manipulation and misogyny. Palin is not qualified in any way to be the fallback in case of the death of a president. We should all be angry and terrified.
–Alorie P., Sudbury, MA

To all the women supporting and cheering for Palin at the Republican convention, are you in favor of banned books, no birth control and no sex education? Are you aware of the impact on our daughters and our country? Please fight back.
–Lynn H., 46, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Women say NO - Part 6

The nomination of Sarah Palin is an insult to every American woman. How dare the Republican party assume that simply because she is a woman, that women will overlook her catastrophic lack of experience, lack of education, right wing moralist outlook on the world that will set us back decades. This is a woman who espouses family values, yet willingly puts her 17 year old daughter up for public ridicule and endangered her unborn infant by taking not one, but two flights after her water broke, deliberately not going to the hospital. This is a woman who opposes abortion, yet cut funding for homes for unwed mothers. This is a woman who claims to be a patriot yet campaigned to have Alaska secede from the US. This is a woman who says she supports Israel, yet was an ardent supporter of Pat Buchanan. This is a farce of a ticket and I’m appalled that anyone could take it seriously.
Robin Smalley, 52, Los Angeles, CA

Dear Friends:
I am against Sarah Palin for Vice President because she does not have the experience to lead the country in the event that John McCain cannot. She has no experience in foreign affairs. She has also insulted all of us, men and women, who work for non-profit organizations by belittling the work of community organizers during her Weds. night convention speech. It shows her lack of understanding of the realities of the poor and marginalized in our American cities – she doesn’t understand us well enough to lead us.
Susan A., 51
Hillary and Obama supporter,
North Andover, MA

I do not support Palin or McCain because as a woman living in this country, I am first and foremost a human being. And as a human being, call me crazy, but I believe that every person has a right to health care, shelter, clean water, and an education. I believe it is every citizen's as well as the government's responsibility to ensure this. I also believe that as humans, we are part of this world, we are not THE world, and therefore do not have the right to destroy the lives of other peoples or even living creatures or their environments. Palin's and McCain's terrible records with animals, the environment, and policies for the majority of Americans is precisely why, as a woman in this country, I do not support these candidates.
Katy L., Colorado

I am the mother of 3 daughters. When I was their ages (late teens and early 20's), abortion was illegal, career options were only barely beginning to open for women, discrimination was rampant in the workplace, sexual harassment was common (and not yet recognized as a cause of action), and yet we felt our future was bright. We marched, litigated, educated and somehow the country changed and became better for ourselves and all our daughters.
Ironically the nomination of Sarah Palin is a major step backward. While a woman, she in anathema to all the issues we care about as women - choice and control of our bodies, education, true equality, a healthier and safer world for all. That John McCain would select her as his running mate is the worst political pandering.
And so I say: Not in my name or the name of my daughters or for women in general. We want candidates and we want women in high positions - but please, not anti-feminist.
Mimi S., Jamesville, 58, NY

Ms. Palin is an embarrassment to women (frankly to me!) She does not represent my values and does not even come close to by beliefs of family and embracing all opions and cultures. It is scary to see that our political system can choose a person for the vice persidental position who does not embrace diversity of opinions and would place someone on the ticket simply as a mechanism to distract our fragile more vunerable Americans. How dare the GOP assume that by placing “a women” on the ticket that women who supported Clinton would be sawed over to the republician party. We are not idiots and we do not choose a candidate simple on the merit of gender. I am disgusted and am even more turned off by John McCain and his judgment.
Sarina Rodriques, 39, Los Angeles, CA
Laboratory Manager
Mother of Laila and Jared( has been challenged with a rare Medabolic condition)
Wife
And actively involved in advocating for better access to healthcare for all Americans

Gloria Steinem: Wrong Woman, Wrong Message

This has been circulated widely since it was published on September 4th, but it so wisely embodies what many of us feel, that we decided to post it here too.

--

Wrong Woman, Wrong Message
By Gloria Steinem

Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes.

But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.

Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."

This is not to beat up on Palin. I defend her right to be wrong, even on issues that matter most to me. I regret that people say she can't do the job because she has children in need of care, especially if they wouldn't say the same about a father. I get no pleasure from imagining her in the spotlight on national and foreign policy issues about which she has zero background, with one month to learn to compete with Sen. Joe Biden's 37 years' experience.

Palin has been honest about what she doesn't know. When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said, "I still can't answer that question until someone answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" When asked about Iraq, she said, "I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."

She was elected governor largely because the incumbent was unpopular, and she's won over Alaskans mostly by using unprecedented oil wealth to give a $1,200 rebate to every resident. Now she is being praised by McCain's campaign as a tax cutter, despite the fact that Alaska has no state income or sales tax. Perhaps McCain has opposed affirmative action for so long that he doesn't know it's about inviting more people to meet standards, not lowering them. Or perhaps McCain is following the Bush administration habit, as in the Justice Department, of putting a job candidate's views on "God, guns and gays" ahead of competence. The difference is that McCain is filling a job one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency.

So let's be clear: The culprit is John McCain. He may have chosen Palin out of change-envy, or a belief that women can't tell the difference between form and content, but the main motive was to please right-wing ideologues; the same ones who nixed anyone who is now or ever has been a supporter of reproductive freedom. If that were not the case, McCain could have chosen a woman who knows what a vice president does and who has thought about Iraq; someone like Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. McCain could have taken a baby step away from right-wing patriarchs who determine his actions, right down to opposing the Violence Against Women Act.

Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.

I don't doubt her sincerity. As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Assn., she doesn't just support killing animals from helicopters, she does it herself. She doesn't just talk about increasing the use of fossil fuels but puts a coal-burning power plant in her own small town. She doesn't just echo McCain's pledge to criminalize abortion by overturning Roe vs. Wade, she says that if one of her daughters were impregnated by rape or incest, she should bear the child. She not only opposes reproductive freedom as a human right but implies that it dictates abortion, without saying that it also protects the right to have a child.

So far, the major new McCain supporter that Palin has attracted is James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Of course, for Dobson, "women are merely waiting for their husbands to assume leadership," so he may be voting for Palin's husband.

Being a hope-a-holic, however, I can see two long-term bipartisan gains from this contest.

Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.

And American women, who suffer more because of having two full-time jobs than from any other single injustice, finally have support on a national stage from male leaders who know that women can't be equal outside the home until men are equal in it. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are campaigning on their belief that men should be, can be and want to be at home for their children.

This could be huge.

Gloria Steinem is an author, feminist organizer and co-founder of the Women's Media Center. She supported Hillary Clinton and is now supporting Barack Obama.

Women say NO - Part 5

I do not support Palin as a nominee for vice president because of her beliefs (against sex education, birth control, a woman's right to choose, environmental protection, alternative energy development, gun control, freedom of speech, separation of church and state, community organizing and polar bears) and out of fear of what our country would become with her in power.
Laura J., 17, Edgemont, NY

I barely have words to express how insulted I feel by the tactic that seems to have driven the Republican party to raise up Sarah Palin as the VP candidate: "oh - it has boobs - let's hire it." And is it REALLY about family values? On an overpopulated ecosphere of ruin due to lack of responsibility on the part of humans? Is family values REALLY represented by having FIVE children, at least one of whom is clearly on her way to continuing in the family's cultural tradition of more, more, more? And is it represented by not taking any time off after the birth of the fifth? Some say she's "scary good". I think she's scary, and tragically good - at public speaking. She certainly does not represent me as a woman.
Rachael D. 30, San Francisco

I do NOT support Sarah Palin. I do not believe that simply because she is a woman she represents me. She does not. I am appalled at the rhetoric around this election being "historic either way you vote" now that Ms. Palin is on the ticket. Voting for a woman just because she is a woman is not historic...it is shallow. And in the case of this particular woman, it is dangerous. It would be a step backward...many steps backwards...to vote for Ms. Palin.
Tamara Smith, Richmond, VT

I don't support Sarah Palin. I support women's rights, including the right to choose abortion and the right to equal pay for equal work. I support candidates who invest money in our collective futures - by increasing suppport for good social programs in healthcare and education. I don't support candidates who have no real grasp on what life is like for most women in this country. Sarah Palin is not my candidate because she has no experience nor knowledge of the people of this country.
Tricia O., 37, San Francisco, CA

Knowing nothing about Palin, I made sure to watch her "energizing" speech at the convention. I heard a lot of sniping at the Democrats, a lot of insulating and downplaying her own missteps, and very little about where the U.S. should be going in the next four years. This person will not be able to manage a vice presidency and certainly not a presidency should McCain become unable to do so; it will be the same old cronies running the White House further into the ground.
Laurel H., 39, San Francisco bay area

Sarah Palin should not be a spokesperson for me as she represents values that are in direct opposition to my own. That she calls herself a feminist is an insult to strides women have made since earning the right to vote. Her rise from President of the PTA in her small town to Governor does not qualify her to be a heartbeat away from being the President of the United States. She really is a throwback to a time where most of us would rather not return. She represents all that is wrong with the Republican Party and her choice as second in command diminishes the candidate with whom she is paired.
Sandy J. 55 Watertown, Massachusetts

From Margaret Sanger's grandneice

I am the great, great niece of Margaret Sanger who was a birth control activist and started the American Birth Control League. She was ahead of her time at the turn of the 20th century. I refuse to allow this flippant choice of a national voice, a single voice, catapult us back an entire century and erase the work of Sanger and all who followed.

Erica G., 30

Brooklyn, NY

Women say NO - Part 4

I am against her nomination as I would be against that of any politician whom I felt would do a poor job of representing the interests and values of American citizens, both in Washington and around the world. We want a politician responsible enough to help ensure education and access to birth control, far-sighted enough to value our natural resources, honest enough to fight corruption even if it benefits her, and mature enough to recognize taking on too many responsibilities with too little experience. (A politician with the good taste not to pose, even for private and personal photos, with a rifle in a bikini would also be nice.)
—Joanna R., 21, Amherst, MA

Sarah Palin does not represent me as a woman, because she does government, and not the individual woman, decides choice. This, by definition, is big government at work on my individual liberties, which goes against not only my personal beliefs, but the Republican
tenets of keeping government small.
—Hye-Young C., 29, New York, NY

When Sarah Palin was announced as the Republican VP choice, it was presented that women would flock to her side, because women vote for women. Oh? I do not vote for people because of their age, gender, race, hair color... I vote for people who share my political convictions, who will fight for an economy that doesn't just let the rich get richer, who believe in choice, freedom from discrimination, who believe we are a more effective nation by being diplomats and negotiators, who believe that government is there to provide basic rights- health care, education, housing for those who cannot afford it...and so, I will not be voting for McCain-Palin. That the VP on the ticket is a woman is completely and utterly irrelevant; I cast my vote for politcial platforms not genitalia and mammary glands...
—Sarah J., 30, Brooklyn, NY

I'm outraged and my list is long. Here it is as it pours out of me...not necessarily with one idea flowing neatly into another.
What does it say about a would be president who makes the most important decision of his campaign, the selection of his vice presidential candidate, and doesn't vet her? Is that his decision making process? Like Bush, is it because he's the 'decider?' I find this decision an insult to all the public representatives who have received an education, degree, and advanced degrees in political studies, law, civil rights and have years of legislative experience. I thought Nora Ephron said it well today when she pointed out the absurdity of putting Palin's limited executive experience against Obama's wisdom and intellect. But it's not Palin who's running against Obama...let's not forget that in all the melee, it's McCain. Where's McCain's executive experience? Let's put McCain's wisdom and intellect up against Obama's. And Biden's foreign policy experience and family values up against Palin's. Then we'll have debates. Speaking of foreign policy...did anyone buy the argument by geography that Palin was more experienced in foreign affairs than Obama because she lives in Alaska?! And McCain..Can anyone tell me why being a war hero unilatererally qualifies one to be president? Is all of this supposed to be a huge diversion tactic by the republicans because they have nothing on issues, policy, or historical value of their parties failed policies over the last 28 years? Also, please consider the likelihood that Palin would be the president. I recently read that returning POW's are known to have much shorter life spans filled with many medical problems. The odds are against McCain being alive right now. The odds of him surviving the next four don't seem too so great. Finally, the government has no place in my uterus...to put it bluntly. ....I'm hoping someone goes into the separation of church and state argument too.
—Kate V., 42, Pawling, NY

Republican pandering is nothing new. It has always been shocking but now it is potentially catastrophic, for our country, for the world. Sarah Palin, in addition to standing against everything the women in this country have fought for so long to attain, is appallingly untested, unaware, unprepared and unqualified to hold this office and, as one of our very best playwrights once wrote, "Attention must be paid."
—E.H., 56, New York, NY

The attempted librarian ouster was the thing that really got to me, even though I can't stand her on nearly every other issue. You could call her awful for line-item vetoing a measure to provide a shelter for homeless unwed mothers, but it's not as hypocritical as it seems on the surface (she's supposedly against big government budgets and for personal responsibility); plus maybe that proposal was flawed, I don't know. You can point to her leaving Wasilla with a 23 million dollar deficit as bad management, but that might not have been entirely her fault (just as the Clinton economy and the Giuliani murder-rate drop weren't their personal achievements). But when I heard she tried to fire a librarian for the books she had on hand and was thwarted by a group of COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS, that's when I decided she was not just someone whose politics I didn't agree with, but someone in the habit of abusing power.
—Emily V., 35, New York

I find Palin's entire platform totally abhorrent and frankly, dishonest. Personally, I think that abstinence-only advocacy is criminally reckless. It deprives teenagers of knowledge that will protect them, it ignores all statistical and scientific evidence as to its effectiveness, it puts teenagers in harms way who do-- like most abstinence-only educated teenagers-- engage in sexual activity, and it demonizes a natural act. Nor do I have any more respect for her anti-choice position. How can any woman say that she would deny a woman who was raped the choice to terminate her pregnancy? Part of me can't believe that Palin actually believes this. What further enraged me is that her campaign announced that Bristol-- her daughter-- herself "chose" to keep the child. Wait, aren't you against the right to choose for the entire nation's population? Isn't it then irrelevant? Palin is through and through a comtemptuous, dishonest, opportunistic, mean-spirited symbol of mediocrity. She reflects badly on women because her positions are fundamentally anti-women. McCain's choice of Palin as running mate was a totally cynical calculation, and I reject her representing me based on my gender.
—Emily D.B., Beirut

Women say NO - Part 3

I am sure Sarah Palin is a very nice woman and a wonderful mother but she has not business being VP of the United States. It gives me the shivers to imagine what might happen to the freedoms that women have worked so hard for.
—Elyse L., Brooklyn, NY

It almost does not matter who Sarah Palin is as woman as asking her to be Vice President as a divisive move by John McCain and the Republicans. I'd say it puts back the woman's movement rather that helps it because this was not a considered choice but a rash one to fill what they thought was a political void that could fill due to Hillary not in the race. It pits the female and the black vote against one another and is not aimed at united people but dividing people.

It shows that they are scrambling and not focused on how to win this race fairly. This is a short sited attempt to get the women's vote. They don't know women that well as women would not vote for a woman simply because she is female. Much like men they vote for the best candidate.
This choice shows a lack of respect and knowledge of women. They could have chosen a more qualified woman candidate as well.
—Leah O.

I do not trust this woman, and I do not believe she is a woman FOR women.
—Noelle R., 30, Chicago, IL

Please add my name to your list of women protesting all that Sarah Palin politically stands for.
—Lorraine K., 62, Surprise, AZ

Palin is hypocritical and undermines everything that women have fought for and continue to fight for. She has taken her Republic viewpoint to such an extreme that if she were to come into power her reign would take us back a century or two, and fastforward the destruction of this earth and our depletion of resources. It is appalling that someone with such extremist, destructive, and anti-American views has such a real chance of becoming the vice president of this country. I hear a lot of people saying that if McCain and Palin win the presidential election, they'll be moving to Canada. America is already losing power thanks to the Bush legacy, but McCain and Palin would drive America to its untimely death.
— Julia T., 22, San Francisco, CA

Sarah Palin represents a huge backward step for women and for this country. From reproductive rights to environmental science to freedom of speech, she's in the far extreme right. She is an embarrassment and an insult to women and men in this country.
We are so much better than this.
—Beth G., 55, New York, NY

Palin is pro-coathanger. I am not.
—Joanie D., 42, Washington DC

Women say NO - Part 2

Thanks for mobilizing those of us out here who are feeling frightened of the days ahead and the power that the Republican Party might have over our future. To use a woman against women is the most horrible insult I can imagine. I have five granddaughters and I am definitely going to fight for them. Thank you again for doing your part.
—Judy B.

It is amazing to see McCain and the Republicans co-opt feminism and "empathy" for everyday Americans while they consistently act against the rights and equality of women, family values, middle and lower income families, global community, and the environment. While cloaking their right-wing propaganda in progressive language and under the guise of feminism, they continue to attack the possibility of real change and progress. I especially find it disconcerting that they chose Palin as a representative of women--that because she's a woman and also right-wing, it justifies the conservative platform even more. Their choice of Palin is sexist in thinking that she brings in the female vote and their actions will continue to erode the progress we've fought hard for for years. Sarah Palin does not represent us!
—Mika T., 33, Brooklyn, NY

As a woman and a new mother to a baby girl, I CAN NOT and WILL NOT support Sara Palin for Vice President. Her views on sex education, birth control and abortion alone frighten me and I fear that she would possibly set our country back 40 years. Not to mention, this is a woman who murders moose and is proud of it! I would love to see a woman in the White House and I'm certain that it will happen in my lifetime. But this is NOT the woman.
—Elizabeth P., 29, Los Angeles, CA

As a young girl I use to wear a T-shirt with the female red-haired girl from the Dennise the Mennis cartoon icon that read "Someday A Woman Will Be President". And, I dearly want that to happen. I was a true Hillary supported and cried during her speech at the DNC when she asked if I was in it for her or the country. I know a woman will be president-the right one. A woman that will stand up for our country and put our country first—the entire country not just the conservative right half. I am not now, or ever will be willing to put a woman in office that does not support women's rights, privacy or the morals that keep this country a world leader. I proudly support Obama.
—Paige Lussier J., 29, New York, NY

Sarah Palin's nomination as vice-president brings the Republicans to new depths of cynicism and manipulation. How does the party that once excoriated a television character for being an unwed mother then hold up an unmarried pregnant teenager as the embodiment of family values? How does a woman who is attempting to legislate abstinance education in public schools then justify her own pregnancy before marriage, as well as her daughter's? Why do the Republicans laud "Sarah Barracuda," for her aggressive, ambitious, gunslinging swagger, despite her thin resume, but decry Hillary Clinton, a woman of overwhelming accomplishment and a long history of distinguished public service, as shrill, ambitious and aggressive? Are these qualities acceptable in a female only if you're Republican? How did Barack Obama, black child of a single mother who has worked in public service for his adult career, become a member of the elite? How did Sarah Palin fail to notice that it was the Washington Elite who appointed her to her new, exalted prominence in national politics? Nowhere during her harangue did she mention education, healthcare, the economy, the crash of the housing market, the record unemployment rate or the skyrocketing cost of living. The dialogue has devolved, once again, to Republican Family Values. Sarah Palin dismissed Barack Obama as a "community organizer," with no experience to lead. She snarled and mocked him, told outright lies about his experience as a legislator. To quote from an oft-circulated line on the internet: Sarah Palin needs to be reminded that Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor.
—Deborah C. S., New York, NY

As a woman, I was insulted that John McCain thought all women are equal and tht women will vote for a candidate for Vice Pres. simply because she is a woman.. To think that a Hillary Clinton fan would vote Republican because he selected Sarah Palin to be his Vice Pres candidate is irrational. Women supported Hillary because she was intelligent, well informed and an exciting person. That she was a woman was an added plus. We did not work for her because she was any woman but because we agreed with her values, goals, ideas. There is nothing about Mrs. Palin that is acceptable - her rough handling of the local librarian, the sheriff who she fired when he refused to fire her brother in law, her attitude on abortion, her ignorance about foreign policy even her boasting about shooting bears and wolves - all these turn me off. To me the saddest thing is what it reveals about the type of person McCain slects to work with. He is an opportunist and selects workers for what they can do for him rather than what they can do for their country. My reaction is to give more money to Democrats and work as hard as I can to get them elected.
—Rosemarie M., Sarasota, FL

Sarah Palin as Republican VP pick not only demonstrates that McCain is not thinking about country first, but that he's an opportunist hoping to cash in on those voters who would be so easily duped by a female runningmate who has not accomplished half off the points Palin stated in her official acceptance speech at the RNC. Not only is she a liar but she is actually just as non-reformist as the politicos she bashes. Shame on McCain. The American people will not be duped by such a transparent choice.
—Jen L., 30, Chicago, IL

I think the choice of Sarah Palin as McCain's VP is an insult to women everywhere. What I find most hypocritical about her, is that she asked this country to respect her daughter's "decision" to keep her baby, yet she wants to take away everyone's right to make that very decision. She wants to only teach teenagers abstinence, yet in not teaching her daughter how to have safe sex, her daughter ends up pregnant at 17... Illogical ideology is not what this country needs right now.
—Laura K., 33, Chicago, IL

Women say NO - Part 1

Sarah Palin’s mocking, sarcastic speech at the Republican National Convention made me very nervous about having her at a table with world leaders. The thought of her representing our country among sophisticated, diplomatic, global thinkers scares me. Not to mention that on every issue that is close to my heart—education and choice for girls and women, the environment, guns, censorship and religious freedom—she is a polar opposite. Do the Republicans think that American women are so stupid that we will support any woman on the ticket just because she is a woman? I feel belittled by her selection and appalled by the candidate.
—Sophie O., 42, Burlingame, CA

I cannot believe that Palin is running for the second highest office in the country. As a woman I could never vote for her. I need the right to choose what I do with my body and how can we ignore the fuel crisis. It is this sort of ignorance and greed that has gotten us where we are today. Woe is me, if she and McCain get elected. How much more can we rape this planet before the earth dies. How much more can we let big business keep making higher and higher profits while the middle class and the poor get poorer?
We as women fought for the freedom to vote and to be treated as equals-Palin would take that from us including banning books in schools and libaries. Palin cannot replace Hillary. Palin is a woman I would never vote for. As women we must stand together to keep what we've won.
—Sally S., 52, Birmingham, AL

As a woman living in the United States, I believe that Sarah Palin may be a "pit bull in lipstick" as one reporter stated but it will take more than that for her to carry out her duties as VP. She will have to do more as a VP than sling personal attacks on people who she views as a threat to her or to her party. As a mother, I wonder how she would feel about her children throwing personal jabs against their peers to the extent that she does. Her professed beliefs regarding woman's rights leave a lot to be desired. Her acceptance speech was fine in the controlled arena of the RNC but she will have her work cut out for her trying to be a mom and a VP because her priorities will be to her family first. She definitely does not represent all women and to think she can sway all of her American female counterparts is a stretch. Her tone so far has been a turn off and I definitely do not support her as second -in- command for our nation.
—Therese J., 57, Lansing, MI

Sarah Palin’s political policies, core beliefs, and past actions are truly horrifying in terms of progress and women’s rights.
—Chelsea J., 27, Los Angeles, CA

As a woman, I am outraged that Senator McCain and the GOP have nominated Sarah Palin, a woman with no qualifications, as their first female Vice-presidential candidate. Are there no qualified women in the GOP? I don't think that is the case. I am even more motivated to elect Sen. Obama in the face of McCain's choice of a vice-presidential candidate who stands in opposition to most - if not all - of the issues that most concern women like me. How can Sen. McCain believe that Gov. Palin will attract those who supported Senator Clinton, since Palin stands exactly on the opposite side as Clinton on all the issues! This is the GOP's cynical version of "affirmative action" - choose a minority as long as said person supports policies that harm others like them. What is more, they are cynically using gender as a screen to shut off any legitimate questions regarding her fitness for the job, her questionable actions as Mayor and Senator, and her shifting positions on the issues. There are major questions about Governor Palin's record including possible ethics violations, ties to corrupt lobbyists, extremist separatist positions, a disregard for the Constitution (freedom of speech!) and probably more as the press carries out the vetting that clearly the McCain team failed to complete. As someone with a family member with Down's Syndrome, I am deeply offended by the ways in which she has politicized her son's disability. There is a big difference between politician's introducing their immediate family as Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama and any other candidate would have done, and using your family as "poster children" for political ends.
—Dr. Miriam B., Brooklyn, NY

First let me say that I agree wholeheartedly on this statement I received. I too believe this stunt is a stunt and an insult to all of us. Foolish in this case too. What if McCain dies, are they really going to let this inexperienced woman led the country? Not on her life. As the DNC was here in Denver recently I had the opportunity to go to some events. I attended the women's caucus. I could go on for a long time, but I will share two things that stood out for me. First, Planned Parenthood is only for the second time in it's history endorsing a presidential candidate. They feel that strongly that the McCain ticket is not for women and children or their health. Second, the statement one speaker made says it all. “Women voting for McCain is like chickens voting for Col Sanders. I think it was Donna Brazil who said it.
—Lisa J., Denver, CO

John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for his vice-presidential running mate feels completely surreal and impossibly reckless. I oppose her nomination for not only because my position on critical issues, such as reproductive rights, separation of church and state, global warming, the development of alternative sources of energy, and war are diametrically opposed to hers, but because she is utterly inexperienced and unqualified to hold the any position close in magnitude to the one she has been offered. john mccain's selection of sarah palin is all the more misguided and ludicrous, as it is a skewed and delusional attempt to garner votes from the very women who have worked for so long and so hard to accomplish the very rights that sarah palin seeks to take away. that she supports abstinence education and has a pregnant teen daughter is mind-numbingly absurd. that the media is spinning this fact into something that she should be commended for is a thousand times more so. there is nothing "un-feminist" about being a mother...that she is zealously willing to step into the second most powerful executive position in the united states with out experience, and having only visited four foreign countries (iraq, kuwait, germany, and canada) in her entire life, in addition to having 5 children, two of which are urgently in need of special attention, does no service to the women OR men, citizens of this country and the world, whom she may be called upon to serve.
—Alyce S., 35, Marfa, TX

WELCOME! AND YOU CAN EAT YOUR HAT

As the hundreds of responses above show, Sarah Palin does not represent American women. Her policies fly in the face of everything our mothers and grandmothers have fought for. While some of us may relate to her trials as a mother, we refuse to accept Hallmark tales as a substitute for real political qualifications.

In a recent comment to the New York Times, Alaska delegate Bill Noll had this to say about Sarah Palin and her recent family turbulence: “If this doesn’t resonate with every woman in America, I’ll eat my hat.”

Dear Bill, get ready to eat your hat.

OUR ORIGINAL CALL TO ACTION

Friends and compatriots,

We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce—on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate—that has a real possibility of becoming fact.

Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present and future daughters. To date, she is against a woman's right to choose, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she repeatedly brought up the question of banning books), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears.

We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from.

First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.

Therefore, we invite you to reply here with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.

Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.

We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience-the greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.

Thank you for your time and action.

VIVA!

Sincerely,

Quinn L. and Lyra K.
New York, NY
womensaynopalin@gmail.com

**PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY! If you send this to 20 women in the next hour, you could be blessed with a country that takes your concerns seriously. Stranger things have happened.