Sarah Palin: “Just Not Up to Par”

By LETY CLARK-OLIVERO
UNLEASHED STAFF

Are there any U.S. Supreme Court cases other than Roe v. Wade that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin can recall?
Apparently not.
When pressed by CBS news anchor Katie Couric, Palin, the vice presidential candidate, couldn’t think of any that she disagreed with or otherwise. Instead, she drew a blank, stalled for time and rambled.
“Well, let’s see,” she said. “There’s, of course — in the great history of America rulings, there have been rulings, that’s never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So, you know, going through the history of America, there would be, there would be others but … ”
Even I, a high school junior, can — off the top of my head — name at least three. If a 16-year-old can do this with no government or large leadership experience, what does it say for the future of our country?
Political commentator Jack Cafferty called Palin’s interview with Couric “disastrous.”
“If John McCain wins this woman will be one 72-year-old’s heartbeat away from being President of the United States. And if that doesn’t scare the hell out of you, it should,” he told Wolf Blizter on CNN.
He called a clip from the same interview “one of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen from someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country.”
And he hit the nail on the head.
Some people view Barack Obama as an unqualified presidential candidate. However, Palin is even more unqualified.
While it’s impressive to me to have a woman running for such a powerful office, there are still standards that should be met no matter what gender a candidate is, and Palin is just not up to par.
She is a good woman in many senses. She grew up in the Alaskan wilderness and hunts and fishes like many Americans. She is also the mother of five, one of whom is pregnant at 17, another of whom is serving in the military, and a newborn with Down syndrome. She’s been through a lot and fought through it.
But does her hockey mom instinct and beauty pageant smile make her a qualified candidate to be the second-in-command of our country?
I think not.
Palin does posses an uncanny ability to talk on a personal level through her winks, nods, and scrunching of her nose in debates. But what about the actual answers to the questions? She seems to dance around them and always refers back to her talking points, which, by the way, are on note cards held under the podium during debates.
McCain is 72. If the McCain-Palin ticket wins, it’s very likely Palin could become president.
Please, America, make the right decision. Vote Barack Obama and John Biden. We must keep McCain and his smiling beauty queen out of office.

— Lety Clark-Olivero is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Eisenhower High School.