Improperly Vetted?

As Clark Hoyt points out in his article many questions surround Sarah Palin. I know my first question was what's a “Hockey Mom?” A “Soccer Mom,” but a “Hockey Mom?” Why can’t the press ask the tough questions? For starters, why isn’t an American sport like baseball good enough for these mothers? Hoyt points out that the media has tried to ask these tough questions. Unfortunately the McCain campaign has tried to use lessons learned from the Hillary Clinton campaign, as Maureen Dowd points out, and cries “sexism” when any of the tough questions are presented. With so little information known about Palin and her qualifications, beyond her apparent explanation of what a “Hockey Mom” was, it is inevitable that she would be vetted in the press. As yet another New York Times article points out, this time by former President George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff, Dan Quayle was vetted in the press and he had to spend the next four years proving he was qualified for the job. Bush’s former chief of staff asks if it really has to be this way this time or if we could simply accept the nomination? I don’t see how that could work. Hoyt and others have pointed out that McCain’s vetting team only arrived in Alaska the day he announced her as his running mate. How much vetting could really have been done? While Palin may not end up proving as unqualified as Quayle if elected, the lack of a proper vetting by the McCain campaign will assure her the same fate as Dan Quayle. She will have to prove her competency for the job. Jon Stewart (yes comedians can have valid points) among others has asked what exactly her views are, especially over abortion. Palin asks the media to respect her daughters choice yet Palin adamantly believes that abortion should only be used if the mothers life is in danger. To quote Maureen Dowd, Palin “will no more support sex education then Polar Bears.” While the families should be left out of a political campaign, in this case it makes one wonder: she wants us to respect her choice yet not provide others the same choice? This isn’t sexism; this is a legitimate question of her views. Leave Bristol’s life out of the reporting, but use the pregnancy and Palin’s comment about respect as a spring board to question her views. These are views that could have been addressed in a less explosive manner if she had been properly vetted to begin with.
(by J. Soltis)