Okay, I have to ask, "Has it really come to this level of silliness?" I mean, it was only nearly two weeks ago when Sarah Palin was being painted as the “tough as nails” broad who was boasting that she was a pitbull in a skirt. Men and women alike across this nation were drawn to her biting sarcasm, her brawler attitude. I mean, this is a woman who hunts and shoots moose! (As an aside, she is a better shot than our current VP.) I hear that she even skins and cooks these beasts for consumption. Bison burger anyone? No doubt about it, hear them tell it Sarah Palin can make an Brooklyn gang banger looks like a pampered pooch.

Seriously, consider that this is the woman who single handedly bucked her own party in Alaska, is she not? According to the McCain camp, she’s taken on the very corporations and industries that make elder politicians turn ashen and tremble in their boots. And even as she cast the stone by taking the proverbial the gloves off at the RNC while looking at the camara informing Obama and the rest of us community activist/organizers that there was no pride or strength or responsibility in serving the poorest of the poor, trying to empower the most disrespected and forgotten (or ignored), Palin made in abuntdantly clear, she is a tough chick.

So imagine my surprise when the McCain decided to change the conversation from real issues to instead focus on a comment Obama used a couple of days ago about putting lipstick on a pig and smelly fish and possibly molding bread. (I admit, it wasn’t important enough to me intially to warrant a reaction.) But can you imagine how surprised I might have been that they have further demanded that Senator Obama provide a formal apology to Palin. This surprises me greatly. Afterall, this is politics, this is the way it is, Sarah knows this, McCain knows this. And hasn't McCain used this old saying with respect to Hillary Clinton? In a very obvious way? Btw - where was his apology? This is the same method of distraction often used to get us off message and onto the entertainment of campaigning. But let us not be fooled.

Sarah Palin is the big girl, or should be, afterall, she’s tough, lives in one of the coldest states in the country (close to Russia and all). She hunts, handles guns with ease, has five kids and seems okay (trust me, I am a mom). She can handle it, if she can’t, then she should go back home. Political campaigns in America, unfortunately, aren’t for the faint hearted and there is little to no honor when twisting words and misconstruing truths are the norm. It's how it is. The facts are, when you have no experience or basic competencies, it becomes essential to create distractions. When you can’t handle the media and your camp must control the media’s access to a candidate to the point of censorship, yeah, you REALLY need these distractions.

I am no slouch in the area of brawling having grown up in Brooklyn, NY. I must admit that as I size Palin up, I think she could handle herself physically here. Which means, she can handle getting over a misunderstanding. So Republicans, please, let’s get back to the issues. Stick to prepping your candidate for her debate with Biden. I want to hear more about McCain. First, I’d like him to stop being a hypocrite and stop acting like you guys have not been using the race card (remember the emphasis on Barack Hussein Obama?) and other means at your disposal to discredit Obama (and previously Hillary). Focus on the issues, the economy, the housing crisis, education, healthcare, social security, economic development, the war, and getting America back on track.

We rank woefully low in academic preparedness in comparison to similarly advanced nations, we have some of the most unhealthy citizens, including alarming rates of obesity among children and adults, along with cancer and diabetes. As of last week, the unemployment rate in this country reached an alarming 6.1%, up from 5.7% in August. (Bureau of Labor Statisitcs, U.S. Department of Labor) The rate of housing foreclosures in this country has increased by 90% since last May. (CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/19193611/) The US can boast a national average of 70% with respect to their dropout rate, according to writer Barry Grey.

These are the issues that impact an entire country, that as this country suffers, we all suffer. So I am wholly offended that both the media and the McCain camp would seek to focus on this unimportant issue. I am offended that people would consider Palin such a wilting flower after all that bravado I witnessed at the RNS. I am offended that people would think that Obama is so crass as to offend the former beauty queen (who clearly is in top form) and compare her physically to a pig. Let’s move on people. We are in the midst of a recession, we have a war that has claimed more lives of our soldiers than Vietnam, we have an administration that abuses power and lies so much we may as well be living under the Mussolini regime. The McCain/Palin approach is not pro-American, its in fact anti-Democracy. The Bush agenda follows a fascist approach to governance.

No, Palin is no pig, she is no weak wilted flower… McCain is scared and using her to deflect how poorly he actually measures up on his own to Senator Obama. So, I am going to be politically incorrect and say directly to Senator McCain, old fish man, let’s stop the hypocrisy and get back to the issues because I don’t want to hear about Palin. She is a secondary issue. If you want to be the next Commander and Chief of this nation, and you want my vote, then start acting like a presidential candidate and put yourself out there.