Palin - Hopefully for the Last Time

It's gotten to the point where I don't even know what to say about Palin anymore. Should I point out that she attended a rally in Florida where there was not 1 sign featuring John McCain's name?

Or stick with her stunning statement that we're at war with both Iraq and Iran?

Or rail, again, about her claiming anyone who points out the negativity of her comments is violating her First Amendment rights - but it's okay for her to be negative and spout lies about her opponent?

Or how about her response to a question, at a recent rally, asking her why there was not a single minority at the rally and what she could do about that. After flubbing around a bit, she spouted "The Constitution preaches..." Then immediately pointed to Todd and said how "We have to live with it every day," i.e. being a minority? I guess?

Now the internet is rife with rumors once again, people offering suggestions as to why Palin won't release her medical records. Maybe she had an abortion one person writes. Maybe she's manic depressive, writes another. Maybe Trig really isn't her baby.

The simple response to these sorts of rumors is to say it's unfair to offer such speculations about any candidate. You might also say, Well, she deserves it. Her entire campaign is based on unsubstantiated rumors and innuendos she spews forth about Obama. What goes around, comes around

For me all the rumors, and stories about her idiotic remarks, or falling for a prank by 2 guys whose French accents were so bad a 6-year-old could have spotted it - those obscure what is really the most serious issue I see with Palin. Her utter disregard for any sort of transparency in her public life.

For someone who claims to be a 'reformer', Palin has been particularly cryptic about her past life and her governance. We don't have any records of her 6 years trying to get a Bachelor's degree. She stonewalled the investigation into Troopergate, which ultimately found she had abused the power of her office. All her work emails were sent to a private account so she could avoid legitimate scrutiny. She refused to release her medical records, then said she would, then never released them. She wouldn't talk to the press at all, then only in tightly controlled circumstances.

If you conduct your life as a public figure with such blatant disregard for openness and honesty, then you get what you deserve.

I could go on. But the point is, here is Sarah Palin is at the beginning of what is threatening to be a political career that will last through my lifetime, and from the start she has conducted herself politically with such secrecy and disregard for the public's right to know that it borders on paranoia.

The simplest way to end rumors about her medical records is to release them. The same with questions about impropriety in her handling of official Alaskan governmental business - release the emails. Questions of her intelligence? Stand before a battery of microphones, unscripted, and take questions for an hour, just like every other candidate.

Bush was caricatured by the left as a buffoon. And what did that get us? He was elected twice, and left us an economy in shambles, a useless war, and lack of respect for the US around the world. Instead of focusing on his fractured syntax, maybe if we had focused more on his ideas we might have been able to prevent him from being elected.

Let's not make the same mistake with Palin. Yes, she comes across as uneducated, willfully ignorant, and ditzy.

But her most important, and dangerous, quality is her desire for secrecy and unaccountability. That's nothing to laugh at.