…is that for some people, it deters them from making fair assessments of candidates. I am talking, specifically, about the sour reaction by many Democrats to Gov. Palin as McCain’s running mate, but I could be talking about local politics as well. Bear with me, and for a moment, let’s just leave Obama and McCain out of this.

Here is how Biden and Palin compare on a few issues:

Sen. Biden has a history of voting in favor of banning partial birth abortion, though he has a record of showing support for abortion up to that point. I mention this first, not because I think abortion rights are the most important issue facing Americans, but because this is the first thing that people are jumping all over Gov. Palin about. Digging into her history, it does not appear that she has many public statements on abortion since taking the position as governor of Alaska, though something from an unknown time has been posted at Project Vote Smart. She responded to an Alaska Supreme Court decision that ruled it unconstitutional for girls younger than 16 to need parental consent to obtain an abortion (11/02/07). While I get that females who are the victims of incest might be presented with difficulties if faced with pregnancy, Palin’s “dismay” over the reversal of that decision is not the same as her adamantly challenging Roe v. Wade altogether. Of course, the shock-and-awe emails I’ve been getting all day from pro-choice groups would have us believe she’s practically walking around bombing clinics. I am concerned that voters will make decisions based not on their own diligent research, but on what is in emails sent out by trigger-happy Pro-Choice advocates.

Palin has done a lot while in office to support survivors of domestic violence, which is a cause that I care a helluva lot more about than abortion, if we’re going to be honest here. I have heard that Palin is going to allegedly help McCain get former Clinton supporters simply because she’s female. I don’t buy that. People who are rabidly pro-abortion tend to remain so, and aren’t going to cross over simply because a candidate wields a vagina. But, I would argue that working steadily on the issue of domestic violence is a very feminist thing to be doing. Nobody wants to talk about that though, as it’s easier to write Palin off as an anti-feminist, anti-choice hockey mom who is dumb enough to be used as a prop for McCain. And P.S., I’m a feminist who does not give unconditional support for women simply because we have a common biology.

With that said, she has a horrible record of putting capitalism and “our American Lifestyle” before nature and God’s green Earth. She’s not a big friend of the whales or the polar bears. To be even more honest, I’m more sympathetic to the suffering of animals than to that of people. Most of her statements while in office pertain directly to wilderness, animals, oil, and the dispute over the status of ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). The pipeline, permanent fund, and oil economy are a huge part of many Alaskans’ lives, so as governor, these are issues that cannot be overlooked; however, she leans too much toward private interest and short-term conveniences for my taste. Biden has a better record on the environment, claiming he wants to see ANWR permanently protected against oil drilling. One has to think about how location influences this, though. If Delaware was oil rich with a polar bear population, would his record remain the same?

Her ideas on education aren’t half bad. In a State of the State Address (1/15/08), she says:

Stepping through “the door” is about more than passing a standardized test. We need kids prepared to pass life’s tests – like getting a job and valuing a strong work ethic. Our Three-year Education Plan invests more than a billion dollars each year. We must forward-fund education, letting schools plan ahead. We must stop pink-slipping teachers, and then struggle to recruit and retain them the next year.

While in line with Bush on many issues, she steps away on this one. Biden is also relatively sensible when it comes to education. At this point, anyone who admits that a test measures very little about a person’s intellect deserves a say in how this country runs its schools.

She’s strong on gun ownership rights which–and here is where I come out firing like a total wacko, but hear me out–is vital. I don’t think the right to bear arms is really a constitutional one. Having been a vegetarian for most of my life, I don’t believe the b.s. that the majority of us would ever encounter a survival situation where having to kill animals for food is necessary (exception: extreme latitudes, like around the Arctic Circle where vegetables don’t grow easily). Don’t think it’s our right to kill animals for sport either. No. I think that as long as we have police and a military that are allowed to carried firearms, then regular people must be allowed to as well. It is a measure to protect against living in a police state. From what I can tell, Biden has a middle-of-the-road record with gun control. Like Palin’s concern that girls under 16 not get abortions without parental consent, I don’t think Biden’s yes vote on requiring child safety locks on guns is the same as eroding our general access to weaponry. You know, just be smart about it.

Oh, and then there’s that scandal thing that Palin has been involved in. Biden too.

Looking carefully at the positions and voting records of both Palin and Biden, I can not say that either has dazzled me. What I can say is that the media and pundits tend to oversimplify matters.

    A person stating a belief is not the same as a person taking action on said belief.

We need to spend more time doing research and critical thinking, and less time with knee-jerk reactions.

I’ll be hoping for a Mike Gravel/Dennis Kucinich ticket, thankyouverymuch. Or for people to step up and assert no need for rulers.

I intentionally avoid blogging about national politics because real change seems to happen at the grassroots and local level. This one could not be avoided because of how infuriatingly reckless some Dems have been today once the news broke. Is Palin being used by McCain to attract female voters? Maybe. But let’s assess why Biden was chosen by Obama. A white male certainly takes the edge off Obama’s racial background for voters who might be squeamish about that.