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There was a lot of talk about Sarah Palin's resume yesterday. It's more impressive than mine, but big whoop. It's not more impressive than Barack Obama's. Again, so what? She is not running against Obama. McCain is. And his resume is as thin as his hair. He never earned any money worth talking about, his books didn't sell as well as Barack's, and every law that he authored--more or less--he's since decided against. John Bickernut McSame blows with the prevailing winds, and he likes to be where the money is. The lobbyists running his campaign scream one fact: He is very much for sale.

But this post isn't about McCain's brand of Beltway simony or Obama per se. It's about the false notion that Sarah Palin has something on Obama.

Let's start with her speech last night. Fine delivery. What did I get from it? This: Former Bush speechwriter, Matthew Scully, possesses some of the qualities of a fine McCain mini-me. Bully for him. It says nothing about Palin. She is merely an avatar of GOP perfection, a pure reflection of the market they need to grab--and marketing lingo really does have a place here: George W Bush's eight years of CEO leadership has monetized that trip to the polls. With gasoline at record prices, voting involves a feelable purchase for many Americans. A lot of us are going to buy that trip to the polls. This is a referendum on personal taste. Sad but true. And I think more Americans are prone to buy GOP product. It's simpler than the competition's wares.

Enter Sarah Palin: She is pro-pretty, pro-drilling, pro-war, pro-life, and if that's not enough her husband is a pro-snowmobiler. NASCAR America is on her side. NRA-types love her. But is she really a professional? I suppose the mayoralty of a small city counts somewhat, even if the town is, like Bush's America, in debt because of insane spending and development coupled with zero management skills or fiscal responsibility. What about being governor of Alaska? Well, based on a head count it's about the same as being mayor of Baltimore, Maryland.

So what is a community organizer? It's a person who wants to change (for the better) a place that's not doing as well as it might. That was clunky, huh? It's a clunky thing to do. Imagine you see something that needs fixing and then set about changing it for the better. It takes a certain amount of character, right? It requires someone who is able to see facts not in evidence. A community organizer knows that every person, no matter their station in life , has something to contribute to society. They focus on places that are falling apart, people who are falling apart--taking lives less valued by society and showing everyone concerned how bright things can shine given the right spark.

The reason the folks at the RNC last night scoffed at Obama's work on the South Side of Chicago is simple: they do not have vision. They see what they need to see, and ignore inconvenient truths.

Palin's people do not believe in community. If you got on a cruise with these people and the boat sank and you were trying to get on one of their lifeboats they'd bonk you on the head with their shoes till you drowned. These are not people who take care of people. They take care of themselves (and their own). That's why our oil companies are making more money than ever. That's why we went to war in Iraq. You can't trust a person who thinks more about the bottom line on an accounting report than s/he does about a better tomorrow. S/he'll screw you every time.

So, this business about Palin being more qualified to be president than Barack Obama is pure hooey and bunkum. She has no dreams that are not ideological. She has no worries outside the punchlist of issues chosen for her by party, religion, and social milieu. She is not special.

You can't say that about Barack Obama. God bless him.