Montrose - Daily Press

Just a few weeks after being named Sen. John McCain’s running mate, and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is already on a tight leash.

Until just recently, no questions allowed. She’s to speak to an interviewer of the McCain campaign’s choosing, which appears to be an ABC correspondent, tonight. Yet, the GOP is able to find its tongue when it comes to opponent Barack Obama’s “lipstick on a pig” remark, a colloquialism that was not a specific reference to Palin herself, and one, moreover, that’s been used by McCain to describe ideas espoused by Sen. Hillary Clinton.

It seems that when the McCain camp addresses the issue of “Palin and the press” at all, it is to complain that — gasp! — anyone would dare question the experience of a virtually unknown politician from one of the most sparsely populated states in the Union. After all, she can field dress a moose! What else do we really need to know about her, anyway?

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They correctly raise issues about Obama’s qualifications, but let anyone ask the same of Palin’s, and the cry of “Sexism!” resounds.

This works because, sadly, some people are quite sexist when it comes to bright, ambitious women. We have only to look back to the Clinton presidency — during which Hillary Clinton was pilloried on an almost daily basis by the same party now claiming credit for “cracking the glass ceiling” — to see that.

Or for that matter, we can look to Hillary Clinton’s failed campaign for the White House, when the press galloped merrily off on tangents about her cleavage and Rush Limbaugh seemed horrified at the thought of a 60-year-old woman in the public eye who didn’t look like a Playboy bunny.

People need to understand that it’s their job (not just the media’s) to ask questions so they know what they are getting. That’s true when it comes to any politician, from any party, not just Gov. Palin. We don’t buy cars without questioning their performance ability, and we certainly should not vote without asking similar questions of those who would lead us.

Those who would lead us should answer. Gov. Palin is an adult, and a highly intelligent one at that. She knew going into this the scrutiny would be intense; that her family would be propelled into the spotlight, and, above all, that, should you become No. 2 in charge of the world’s greatest nation, you might be asked to talk, sans script, sans handlers, on actual issues.

If she couldn’t handle that (or knew the party wouldn’t allow her to handle it), she should have declined the nomination. And if she didn’t know enough to expect scrutiny, she doesn’t know enough to lead.

After eight years of secrecy, stonewalling, cover-ups and the locking down of public records from our White House, the last thing we need is another close-mouthed leader — or a populace so complacent that it can be manipulated to regard a legitimate question as a “personal attack.”

Sarah Palin is well-spoken, but is unknown to the vast majority of voters and barely known to McCain. The time for questions, and for answers, is now. Let’s hope ABC does its job.

 

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