Sick blogging: Governor Palin is a great woman, but I'm still not going to vote for her

Having dreamed of being old enough to vote for a woman on a Presidential ticket for decades, I really never dreamed it would go down quite like this.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is on the Republican ticket as the VP nominee. Is she a bad person? Absolutely not. There is plenty I admire in Governor Palin. First of all, she's a working mother. It's hard enough to do that with one kid or two, let alone five as she has. She went back to work three days after having her fifth. Some people use that as ammunition against her, but I don't. I think it's really something that she is that dedicated to her job. After all, being the Governor is an enormous responsibility.

Second, I really identify with her feisty, one of the boys attitude. I've been "that girl" my whole life as well. I can picture her at her kid's sports matches, cheering, as well as out hunting. It's not just for men, and she's now shown a new generation of young women that it's not even hanging with the boys anymore, it's normal. Moms care about their kids' grades and sports aptitude. She used to be a sports reporter! How cool is that?

These two things really made me like Governor Palin. I am a Democrat and knew that I didn't agree with her on policy matters, but was still curious about her background.

She served on a small city council for four years, and then was mayor of that town for six additional years. Then she was appointed to an oil and gas commission and went on to serve two years as governor of Alaska.

I understood that Wasilla was small because of its population -- now below 10,000 -- but apparently it is the fourth largest city in Alaska. There are five city council members, a deputy mayor, and mayor. The Alaska Oil and Gas Commission position sends up some red flags for me. It is responsible for managing all of Alaska's private and state-owned oil and gas, as the name implies. It is a three member panel, and Palin was appointed to represent the Public.

She attended the University of Idaho (woo hoo!) and graduated with a major in Communications-Journalism, and a minor in political science.

There are several years missing in there, where I guess she was a sports reporter. It's not really clear at this point.

Many folks have said Governor Palin is not qualified to be Vice President of the United States. I would have to agree. Her resume is pretty thin. By contrast, Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for President, has 8 years experience as a State Legislator, two in the U.S. Senate, three years experience community organizing, a law degree which took three years, 11 years with a civil rights law firm, and he's authored two books. The Democratic VP nominee has served in the US Senate since 1972 (!!!!). And John McCain is as old as Moses and has possibly been in the Senate since The Great Compromise of 1787, though he doesn't have any executive experience.

I assume the time unaccounted for could be the time she spent raising her kids. And that's fair, and it's unfair for anyone to say that the time she spent doing that doesn't count for anything. It certainly adds to her perspective in a unique and valuable way. I've heard rumblings that she was on the PTA. From what I know of the PTA, cutting your chops there does give you an edge in battling city councils and other governing board. But I don't think it's enough, as much as I want it to be. And it irks me that Governor Palin, who I want to like, was put up for this post too early. In four years she could've really accomplished some things as Governor. She could run for Senate or do other things to give her the necessary experience for this position.

I think she's a good person. I don't agree with anything she stands for, pretty much, but I can respect that she has her opinions and views and has stuck to them. I can't help but wonder why Senator McCain would've nominated her. I suspect it was because she was a woman. I hate to be a token, and I hate to see a woman like Governor Palin be a token. There are plenty of women with extensive experience McCain could've gone to, had he wanted to put up a realistic choice for VP - Senator Hutchinson of Texas, Senator Dole of North Carolina, Senators Snowe and Collins of Maine. That list could go on, these woman would be well-qualified for the VP spot.

McCain/Token '08 is step back for women like me, who want to support our sisters but won't support someone solely because she is a woman.

For more information on the policy reasons to oppose McCain/Palin, click here.