Your reporting over the last month or so has revealed the true contours of Palin's political skills. They lie in her chutzpah, savvy maneuvering to follow popular sentiment, rewarding friends and punishing enemies and being at the right time and the right place. These are basic skills for any politician, and can be used for self-serving purposes or for the greater good. Unfortunately, Palin appears to lean toward self-serving. Further, she has values at odds with U.S. popular sentiment and virtually no political or diplomatic experience that would give her the judgment she needs to run the country. Her political skills show her to be a promising politician (assuming the skeletons in her closet are not more numerous than revealed) but she is far from ready for the level of responsibly that McCain has thrust her into, and that she so egotistically believes she is ready for.

Your reporting over the last month or so has revealed the true contours of Palin's political skills. They lie in her chutzpah, savvy maneuvering to follow popular sentiment, rewarding friends and punishing enemies and being at the right time and the right place. These are basic skills for any politician, and can be used for self-serving purposes or for the greater good. Unfortunately, Palin appears to lean toward self-serving. Further, she has values at odds with U.S. popular sentiment and virtually no political or diplomatic experience that would give her the judgment she needs to run the country. Her political skills show her to be a promising politician (assuming the skeletons in her closet are not more numerous than revealed) but she is far from ready for the level of responsibly that McCain has thrust her into, and that she so egotistically believes she is ready for.