Switching Gears, and onto the "Politics" of Palin... politics, right???

So as I attempt a graceful return back into an American academic lifestyle, so does my blog. For assignments issued through my senior journalism course Issues and the News, I will be producing posts about...Issues... in... the news throughout the entire fall semester. First up, Sarah Palin. What a way to start off the year.

I'm going to preface this post with saying that while I haven't been 100 percent in keeping up with American politics while abroad, I have tried my best to log onto computers whenever I could and I think I have stayed somewhat on top of it. Having said that, I don't know if it's my never-ending jet lag that has me dazed enough to say the first positive thing I've said about Senator John McCain - but damn, that adorable brunette with bangs is the best decision he's made all year.

If McCain wants to be treated like a celebrity - which his Democratic rivals have insisted upon painting him as (and his lifestyle, including Barbie Wife, has only supported) then the scandals the media has scrounged up from Palin's past and present life to sprinkle on top of the rest of the campaign issues (which are often, actually issues) are working in his favor to get the celebrity attention the media is giving all the candidates this year.

However, the past weekend has proved that Palin may take the cake. A pregnant daughter engaged to a boy-band look-a-like hockey player, an untold past of heated actions like firing a brother-in-law who may have threatened the family's well bring, and a husband who may (or may have not) been involved in a political group attempting to remove their home state of Alaska from the whole of America - well done McCain! Celebrity treatment granted. At least from the media.

Now, of course feeding the gossip-hungry news teams across America was not the reason he picked Miss (Wasilla Pageant) Palin as his VP. And it's definitely NOT to win over the Clinton crowd. That would be too obvious.

However, it MAY JUST BE former Tennessee Senator Fred Tompson's favorite Palin characteristic that won over McCain:

"She's the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose," said Thompson at the Republic National Convention Tuesday night. 

At the end of the day, let us not forget that. Moose: They will be properly dressed.

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(On a more serious note, and probably the only one I will make for this post - because my only response to the rediculousness of peaking around Palin's past for dirty little secrets and smearing the choices (be they bad or good) of her teenage daughter all over every source of our news' top headlines for consecutive days... days... on end, is... that it has been, rediculous.)