To All the PUMAs And Their Would-Be Pied Pipers:

For a long time I, like you was dispirited. Like you, I felt that Hillary was robbed of her rightful place as the party standard bearer.

But then I began to ask what did I want more? Was it to sulk like Achilles in his tent over an insult while fellow Greeks died around him? Or was it to remember why I became active, and return to face the real enemy that is before us, a continuation of the past eight years of corrupt administration, an unnecessary war, the ruination of my country and the endless war on the middle class?

I look upon it as a cost-benefit analysis. On the one hand, I could seek revenge by supporting McCain if I were that vindictive. But that would make me a hollow person. McCain betrayed me a long time ago.

One the other hand, I could remember that this is nothing less than a battle between good and evil. In war you can't always choose your leaders, but you can remember what the struggle is about and whose side you are on.

Last week I saw a party that understands this, and a Republican so out of touch that he insults all Hillary supporters, PUMAs, and all.

At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, everyone there pledged at least on paper, to put aside their differences and fight for the common good. First, the Obama’s have acknowledged the importance of Hillary's campaign. Everyone recognized the achievement of bringing 18 million votes into the picture. Next, Hillary, then Bill Clinton declared their support of and their confidence in Barack Obama. In addition, nobody whined about snubbing Hillary when they realized how strategic the choice of Joe Biden was for a running mate.

Hillary was the one who put it best:

I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama.

My friends, it is time to take back the country we love.

Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.

This is a fight for the future. And it's a fight we must win.

And later she said:

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

We need leaders once again who can tap into that special blend of American confidence and optimism that has enabled generations before us to meet our toughest challenges. Leaders who can help us show ourselves and the world that with our ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit, there are no limits to what is possible in America.

This won't be easy. Progress never is. But it will be impossible if we don't fight to put a Democrat in the White House.

So there it is. Your own leader, my Senator, supporting her party's choice for President. Would you sulk in your tent while your friends pay the price?

And who is Sarah Palin?

Well for one thing, Palin is no Hillary clone! Any Clintonista who has heard anything Hillary said cannot mistake Sarah Palin for someone you knew and loved for years.

I recognize that Palin may be an honest person in her own right, and maybe a good governor for Alaska. As mayor, she reduced her own salary. She then proceeded to cut wasteful spending. She resigned her position as chairperson of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission to protest what she termed "lack of ethics." She challenged Alaska Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the federal investigation into financial dealings.

She opposed Frank Murkowski's wasteful spending and sold his big vanity jet.
Nevertheless, being mayor of a town smaller than the Town of Onondaga, NY where I live is barely a prerequisite for becoming a governor, or state senator, not President! (Yes, I said something similar about Obama, but it's all about issues and ideologies now!

Sarah Palin is not Hillary Clinton, let alone Barack Obama!

Hillary would be appalled at Palin's stand on the environment.

Here's Hillary on ANWR:

Ratify Kyoto; more mass transit. (Sep 2000)

Voted YES on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR. (Nov 2005)

Voted YES on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Mar 2005)

And Palin's position on ANWR? Let's let her answer that!:

Convince the rest of the nation to open ANWR

The standard should be no different for industry. Ironically, we're trying to convince the rest of the nation to open ANWR, but we can't even get our own Pt. Thomson, which is right on the edge of ANWR, developed! We are ready for that gas to be tapped so we can fill a natural gas pipeline. I promise to vigorously defend Alaska's rights, as resource owners, to develop and receive appropriate value for our resources.

Source: State of the State Address Jan 17, 2007

On health care, Palin and Hillary are as different as night and day.

Here's Hillary on the subject:

Health care initiatives are her first priority in Senate. (Feb 2001)
• Voted NO on means-testing to determine Medicare Part D premium. (Mar 2008)
• Voted YES on requiring negotiated Rx prices for Medicare part D. (Apr 2007)
• Voted NO on limiting medical liability lawsuits to $250,000. (May 2006)
• Voted YES on expanding enrollment period for Medicare Part D. (Feb 2006)
• Voted YES on increasing Medicaid rebate for producing generics. (Nov 2005)
• Voted YES on negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drug. (Mar 2005)

Sarah Palin's position is nothing less than feudal:

Health care must be market-and business-driven. (Jan 2008)
Take personal responsibility for personal health & all areas. (Jan 2008)
Doctors should manage health care, not bureaucracies. (Jan 2008)
Personal responsibility & choices key to good health. (Jan 2008)
Flexibility in government regulations to allow competition. (Nov 2006)
More affordable health care via competition. (Nov 2006)

However, what really strips bare the total bankruptcy of the Republicans in general and Pallin in particular is this statement Pallin made at the beginning of her acceptance speech.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities.

Excuse me? Every politician on earth depends on community organizers! Who will "organize" events for Sarah McBush?

Martin Luther King Jr. was a community organizer, as was Mahatma Gandhi, César Chavez, Jayne Addams.

Community organizers are the people who look into the human condition and try to empower people to fix it. Are there broken sewers that are overdue for repair? Not enough cops on the street? Are anyone's civil liberties violated? Community organizers rally the people to fight for themselves.

And who becomes a community organizer? Is it a position that requires a degree? Has there been a hierarchy imposed upon it? Or does it simply take someone sufficiently motivated like a disgruntled parent, or teacher, or sanitation worker who saw injustice, or squalid conditions, and tried to fix them?

So who is Sarah Palin to take on the mantle of "The Female Candidate?" That was Hillary's place, and could belong to no other. Now we will unite for Obama to help bring sanity, not the McBush/Palin dystopia into this world.