In reference to the Sept. 8 editorial, what I find especially interesting is that Republicans are not declaiming that Gov. Palin lacks experience the way they did to Sen. Barack Obama. I believe that a senator has more experience and ability to govern the country than someone who has only been a governor for less than two years. I don't hear Republicans denouncing Palin because she has not gone to Iraq, as Sen. John McCain did to Obama. She has no knowledge of international affairs, and I doubt that she has the financial knowledge to lead the country out of our complicated fiscal problems.What makes Palin truly dangerous is that should the 72-year-old McCain die in office, the 44-year-old, inexperienced, far right-wing Palin would assume the presidency. She would not only finish out his term, but as an incumbent, she has a statistically good chance of winning the next election. She would also have the opportunity to run for a second term. Do we really want Palin to govern our country for possibly more than eight years? Let's think about that.I could be wrong, but I thought that the problem was not that we needed to drill for more oil, but that the oil companies needed to invest in refineries. Instead they took their profits and tax breaks and ran. President George W. Bush was an oil man. McCain voted with Bush more than 90 percent of the time. Shouldn't we be a little more suspect of this? Especially since scientists have repeatedly told us that drilling in Alaska is fruitless? How about demanding that American car makers switch to hybrid, fuel cell and electronic cars by, say, 2015? It could be considered a patriotic duty, like putting women to work in factories to support the war effort during WWII. We are at war with the effects of global warming.Lastly, there are other scandals associated with Palin...something about her firing someone for personal reasons? Let's not sweep these allegations under the rug. Have we already forgotten the judges who were dismissed under the Bush administration for ideological reasons? Have we already forgotten the scientists who were hushed when they reported the facts about global warming? Though Palin's nomination may be a political ploy, I would argue that the Republicans made a very calculated and a very dangerous move.Leslie ToolesJunior, Journalism Department
