We worship an awesome god in the blue states, and we've got some gay friends in the red states

I'll get this out of the way before this turns into the "Sarah Palin is the Worst Thing Ever Blog". Here's my ultimatum thought on the matter:

With the choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain has finally shown what this election is all about: the true, honest-to-god intelligence of the American people.

Look, we can't agree on the same things with a lot of these issues. For example, I would say that investing in tons of solar and wind energy over the next ten years is the most important thing to lead to energy independence, others will argue that offshore drilling or opening up Alaska will immediately fix the problem, as well as lower the cost of gas at the pump. I could tell you that allowing a woman to choose what she feels is right for her body and the pregnancy that she might not want is constitutional and has nothing to do with whether you think that life begins at birth or conception, others would say without a doubt that allowing abortion is the same as allowing murder and perpetuating death. I say tax big business, they say cut taxes for the wealthy to boost the economy. I say get out of Iraq now, they say if we leave we surrender, and we are close to a victory. Fine. Whatever. We don't agree, and seldom do people change their minds about certain issues in a matter of months. And as much as I want an election to be about the issues, it's really about the people, sad as that is. I mean, the Democrats always stand for the same things, same as the Republicans. Boys will be boys.

But whether red or blue, old hat conservative or young liberal, we can all agree on one thing: liars in public office suck. They do. Nixon sucked. Bush sucks. And yes, for a little while there, Clinton sucked. They lied on television, they lied to the American people who (at least the majority of which) elected them, they lied to the fucking constitution. Liars. Suck.

And it's not so much that McCain has been a serious liar. True, he's a hypocrite and no longer deserves that pretty little "Maverick" label that's got people so jazzed for god knows why. True, he won't really change anything, and he hasn't really said that he would change anything except getting those damned do-nothing congress people out...despite the fact that he's been part of the Republican filibuster that's been blocking anything from being done in the past two years. But I mean, he's not that bad. He's old, cut him some slack, he forgets things about, you know, policy. But he could still be president!

Palin, though. PALIN. There's a liar for you. Like really, she lies about things. Not just in her attacks on Obama. But in her commendations of herself: the bridge to nowhere. Being anti-earmarks. Being a reformer. Being progressive. Getting rid of the old boy's club. Lie lie lie lie lie.

And it goes beyond that. Look: I want terribly to see a woman in the white house. But this is what I stand for, as a woman (and, god knows, a feminist):

Pro-equal pay, pro-choice, anti-assault weapons, pro-gay, anti-war, pro-first amendment, pro-public education, anti-big business, green, environmentalist.

Here's what the McCain/Palin camp seems to spout so far:

No mention of equal pay for equal work, pro-life, pro-gun, anti-gay rights, war hawking, censoring, vouchers instead of public school, tax cuts for big oil and big business, more drilling for oil, less plans for efficiency and green energy, and drilling in the environmentally threatened Alaska Wildlife Refuge and off the coast of Florida.

So there you have it: having a woman on the ticket doesn't really seem to be doing anything for women.

Also she's a liar. Outright.

So here's what I say it comes down to: if McCain, after his pick o' Palin, wins, then Americans are stupid. If he loses, then they're smart. Not because of the issues, but because of the people that they would be voting into office. That's my final worrrrrd.

Just a couple more points...

Number one:

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land – enough! This moment – this election – is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.”

His speech (which I did not get that chance to see live) gave me goosebumps, and had me in tears at a few moments. He got angry at the end, he got more impassioned than his speech four years ago (which is still one of the best that I have experienced) and, though of course he didn't close the book completely on any of the attacks–McCain will always use them, no matter how debunked or outdated they are–he certainly shot them down enough that it will make the GOP and FOX news look just a little dumber than usual when they bring it up.

And I know that it's part of his whole deal, but I'm actually pretty glad that he didn't spend too much time talking about his and Michelle's life stories. For me, it's gotten old to the point that it seems like more and more of a ploy when he uses it; though Bill Clinton made it look fresh last night, so it still works.

In conclusion: I wear my Obama sweater with pride and cashed my last DNC check today; I am proud and excited to be a part of this movement and will continue to do what I can (though my funds are low right now), even in Canada, up to November 4th.

Now here's point number two:

And all over the country was heard the rallying cry of "what the hell?"

Fine, John. Well played. Slick move. Because the best way to get Hillary supporters on board, close the age gap, and renew your whole "maverick" persona is to go with a 44-year old first-term female governor who is out of the beltway and does seem to have a record of fighting Republican corruption. Yeah, that sounds like someone sort of Hillary-ish. Of course, she has less experience than Obama, is a militant pro-lifer, a card-carrying moose-hunting member of the NRA who is outspoken against the LGBT community (though she does say that she has "gay friends"), a conservative Evangelical who has conservative Evangelical views, who supports drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife refuge, was supported by now-indicted senator Ted Stevens, has no experience with Foreign Policy and has very little with Economics, and is in a scandal of her own; not exactly Watergate, but she certainly ain't teflon.

And true, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee aren't the smartest cookies in the basket. Neither is Giuliani, though Lieberman would have been smart enough to hold his own–and would probably have done better to sway over independents and those who are still under the impression that he's remotely liberal. But at least they're experienced on working or debating at the national level. She'll be a mouthpiece for McCain in the VP debate, and Joe Biden will tear her apart.

What a stupid choice, if you really think about it. What she represents, yes, that is important. But what she's actually done, who she actually is, doesn't really impress me in any way.

And I will be damned if I see the first woman in a presidential position be someone who isn't Hillary Clinton, who isn't progressive, who isn't wise, and tried, and true, and hasn't really done anything to earn it. Hillary–though I wasn't as strong a supporter of her as I was Obama–fucking earned it. She fucking struggled and fought and in my opinion women all over the country are in her debt. But our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, our aunts and, yes, quite a few of our uncles have not fought and bled for decades just for this. She might be a woman, and I respect her for her career, but just because we are of the same gender doesn't mean that we automatically represent the same things, that I have to applaud this choice by default. Never will I do that; just as I have never respected Condoleeza Rice. Just because you have the face or the body of a minority does not mean that you support their interests.

I have not waited my whole life, our country has not waited so long just to see the first female vice-president be nothing more than a stooge for the historically sexist GOP. No, never. I would rather wait fifty years than see that happen. And I think that the real Hillary supporters, the ones who are feminists AND progressives, will agree.