Mulling Palin

I've been following this Palin thing the last few days, and there's three reasons why I'm bothered here.

1. The experience factor.

The myopic partisans on the right-wing blogs and talk radio will continue to defend this, but let me offer a distinctly Oregonian scenario to compare Palin's naivety.

Let's say the mayor of Scappoose ran for governor, on a anti-tax, reform government ticket. S/he wins and hooks up with the Sizemore/Mannix crowd, succeeds in cutting taxes and gets national prominence.

But two years later, we really haven't seen the impacts on the state budget. That takes some time, for the impacts of cut programs to be felt on services, and the impacts of cut taxes on the economy. It's all theoretical, all ideological.

And all we've got to go on for a proven track record is the growth of Scappoose, which was in a prime position to grow anyway, given its proximity to Portland.

But beyond that — and that's an awful big leap — let's look at the circumstances of taking office.

Let's assume that Palin's municipal work is equivalent to Obama's service in the Illinois State Senate, representing tens of thousands of Chicagoans.

Obama, as president, gets 2 1/2 months to prepare to take office, carefully choosing his cabinet members and other advisors. It's a predictable and smooth transition.

Compare this to the way Palin might become president. Suffice to say, the circumstances aren't going to be predictable, and chances are they're going to be downright horrible. She might not trust her cabinet members, chosen by McCain, and they might not trust her. They might not even respect her, as some of them could have been passed up for the vice presidency.

What transition of government do you want?

2. Family Values.

My next objection is purely political. It's simply disingenuous for the party of Traditional Family Values to stick behind Gov. Palin now. She's got five kids with an absentee father — assuming Todd commuted to the North Slope weekly, not daily — and then decided to take a job that on the best days is a full-time gig, and guess what happens? Mom's away, kids played and now she's a young grandmother.

Two parents with never home jobs make for family values?

3. Population control.

On a more personal note, I'm insulted by the number of kids the Palin family has produced. With all the starvation, suffering and high food prices in this world, no couple should be having more than two kids. The Palins are responsible for five now, with No. 6 on the way.

We aren't living in a society of sustenance agriculture. Nobody needs 3 kids, nor 4, nor 5. To make that many is either reckless or selfish — two qualities I don't want in our next president, or vice president.