by Gregory P. Mac

Created on: October 21, 2008

To answer the question "Is Sarah Palin qualified to be Vice President of the United States?", it is first necessary to break the question into two distinct parts. "Is Governor Palin up to the task of performing the vice presidential duties, such as presiding over the Senate?" I believe so, but I think we can all agree the stronger question is the implied one - "Is Governor Palin capable of taking over as President should something happen to an elected President McCain?" Yes, I believe she is.

Our country faces multiple challenges as the election approaches. Wars, economic crises, environmental challenges, foreign entanglements, moral decisions and the future of our energy sources all hang delicately in the balance. Our current leaders have bungled things so badly that an August Rasmussen poll showed only 34% of Americans approve of the job President Bush is doing. That is actually one of his higher ratings this year. Not to be outdone, the Democrat-controlled Congress has not topped a 15% approval rating this year.

Why are our leaders so unpopular? I can't think of a better example than the recent "bailout" plan. The current banking crisis didn't happen overnight. Numerous experts warned of it well ahead of time. Sen. Chuck Hagel from Nebraska tried to overhaul Freddie Mac in 2005, imposing much needed oversight. Most Democrats opposed the plan, and a number of Republicans were persuaded by lobbying to join the Democrats. Then, in 2008, we the taxpayers and voters were told that emergency measures had to be taken RIGHT NOW to stem the banking crisis! A four page document was expanded to hundreds of pages, the Treasury Secretary was given unprecedented powers, and hundreds of billions of dollars were flooded into the system, eventually to devalue the dollar and the pocketbook of honest Americans. One can only conclude that many members of Congress are deluded, dishonest, or just plain incompetent.

Hopefully we will hold our next President to higher standards of leadership than we've seen recently from both major parties. We desperately need a common sense President whose values and judgements have been formed outside the "beltway" of Washington, D.C. We need a President who is not a lawyer, who is willing to simplify government rather than approach each challenge by supporting further legislation with far reaching implications that no one can foresee. I have often heard my female friends say that we need a woman running the White House. Perhaps it is time for a

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