When running for Governor in 2006, Sarah Palin was interviewed by the Anchorage Daily News. Among her dislosures: She tried pot but didn't like it and opposed civil unions as well as gay marriage and abortion. Quotes below:

Palin doesn't support legalizing marijuana, worrying about the message it would send to her four kids. But when it comes to cracking down on drugs, she says methamphetamines are the greater threat and should have a higher priority.

Palin said she has smoked marijuana -- remember, it was legal under state law, she said, even if illegal under U.S. law -- but says she didn't like it and doesn't smoke it now. "I can't claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled."

On gay rights: [More...]

Hillary Clinton gave the Democrats' weekly radio address today.

Hillary on John McCain:

"John McCain doesn't think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security and he's promised tax breaks for the biggest corporations instead of middle-class families. And in 2008, he still thinks it's OK that women aren't earning equal pay for equal work."

On why the presidential election matters: [more ...]

Ras poll:

Sarah Palin made a good first impression. She was unknown nationally before being introduced as the GOP Vice-Presidential pick but is now viewed favorably by 53% of voters nationwide. Her counterpart, Joe Biden, is viewed favorably by 48%. While Palin has made a good first impression, the more significant numbers will come a week from now after the nation has a chance to learn more about her.

Inside the numbers:

Palin earns positive reviews from 78% of Republicans, 26% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliated voters. . . . Among all voters, 29% have a Very Favorable opinion of Palin while 9% hold a Very Unfavorable view.

If I were the Obama campaign, I would ignore Palin as much as possible. Attacking her will not do you any good. That is why the new ad is smart.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Here is the video of Obama's new ad. Here is this description:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama begins airing an ad Saturday that responds to rival John McCain's selection of a running mate, carefully avoiding any direct criticism of Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor whom McCain chose for the GOP ticket.

. . . "Well, he's made his choice," the ad states. "But, for the rest of us there's still no change. McCain doesn't get it, calling this broken economy 'strong.' Wants to keep spending ten-billion-a-month in Iraq. And votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time." . . . "So, while this may be his running mate..." as an image of McCain and Palin appears on the screen. The image then shifts to a shot of McCain with Bush. "America knows this is John McCain's agenda. And we can't afford four more years of the same."

It seems the Obama campaign has much more sense than his supporters.

By Big Tent Democrat

And I believe it is a bad idea (remember McCain is much much more experienced than Obama), then this is the way to do it - hoist them with their own petard:

Republican strategist Karl Rove said on Face The Nation Sunday that he expects presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama to choose a running mate based on political calculations, not the person's readiness for the job. . . . Rove singled out Virginia governor Tim Kaine, also a Face The Nation guest, as an example of such a pick.

"With all due respect again to Governor Kaine, he's been a governor for three years, he's been able but undistinguished," Rove said. "I don't think people could really name a big, important thing that he's done. He was mayor of the 105th largest city in America. . . So if he were to pick Governor Kaine, it would be an intensely political choice where he said, `You know what? I'm really not, first and foremost, concerned with, is this person capable of being president of the United States."

BTW, how about Rove's argument? You think the Left blogs would have been saying "you know, Rove has a point" if Obama had selected Kaine? Me neither.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Readers can't get enough of discussing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I'm already Palin'd out but the LA Times tells you all you need to know:

Palin's evangelical faith shapes her social views; she opposes abortion and believes creationism should be taught in public schools.

My theory on why he picked her: Money. His campaign sorely lags behind Obama's in fundraising. He needed to excite the evangelical radical right wing of his party to get them to pony up big dollars and this will do it. James Dobson is already on board.

So if McCain becomes unable to serve as President and she takes over, who do you think we'll get on the Supreme Court?

Go, Diana! Here's the statement Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette released today about John McCain's nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate (no link, received by e-mail from her office):

"The selection of Governor Palin is an insult to women. She has obviously been chosen to appeal to female voters, but she lacks both the experience and policy positions to serve as Vice-President of the United States."

"The announcement of Governor Palin's selection on John McCain's 72nd Birthday highlights the fact t hat the Vice-President must be qualified to step into the Presidency from Day One. Sarah Palin is a 2-year governor with zero foreign policy experience whose former position was mayor of a town of 9,000."

More...

The right wing spin machine is agog over Gov. Sarah Palin's crusading role in ethics reform.

The Washington Post reports on a conversation its reporter had today with the fired Alaska Safety Commissioner I referenced earlier:

The July firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan by Gov. Sarah Palin, who was announced as John McCain's running mate on Friday, has unearthed a stream of soap-opera-like details about Palin, her husband, her family and top state appointees. The controversy has also cut against Palin's reputation for holding an ethical line and standing up to colleagues in the Republican Party over matters of principle.

More....

The more I'm learning about Gov. Sarah Palin, and now having heard the McCain's weak justification for it, the more I'm convinced McCain just conceded the election.

McCain's political director just told Campbell Brown on CNN that Palin is qualified to be commander in chief because she was the commander of the Alaska National Guard and has a son who will be going to Iraq.

Gov. Palin is completely unqualified to stand in for a President should that need arise.

Nothing shows McCain's poor judgment as much as this choice. He picked a VP candidate he had met one time before their meeting this weekend. So much for his claim that he prides himself on having strong personal relationships with the people he surrounds himself with.

Campbell says stay tuned, we'll have more on this candidate who is "poised to become a Republican superstar." Hardly, I think she will crash and burn faster than any national candidate in recent memory.

Her complete lack of national experience matters a great deal. I can just see the next 3 am telephone call ad. America won't be laughing. If she had any good sense, she would have turned McCain's offer down and refused to be used as a pawn to grab evangelical and suburban women voters.

We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin’s historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Senator McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Governor Palin will add an important new voice to the debate.”

Personally, I think that is about all I would say about Sarah Palin myself. But if you must, attack her crazy right wing positions, not her experience, or lack thereof.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

There has been a lot of coverage in the Left blogs about comments made by Sarah Palin about Hillary Clinton. And let me be clear, the comments are bad. But I think it is important to state precisely what the comments were. Too often the Left screams about deceptive misquotations (See Milbank, Dana), so I think it is important not to live in a glass house. So here is what Palin said, in pertinent part:

Unlike Jeralyn, I do not see an Eagelton (Palin is being investigated for the firing of her ex brother in law, who Palin claims was physically abusing her sister) or Quayle angle to Palin. Indeed, because Obama's achilles heel has been the experience issue, it seems impossible for me to imagine the experience issue will hurt Palin. It DOES hurt McCain's ability to wield it against Obama. But clearly, McCain understood that and made the choice in order to remake his message. Ed Kilgore has a terrific post on the subject: