I do not think Matt Damon is qualified to make judgments about Sarah Palin's qualifications.
It has been fun to watch the Democrats and the Liberal dominated media try and spin the qualifications of Sarah Palin. The Left has gone completely bonkers. Even Senator Barack Obama said the most absurd thing about why he is more qualified to be President than Sarah Palin. Running for President makes one qualified to be President?

Imagine that you are at a job interview and they ask why they should hire you or why you are qualified for the job. You respond by saying that the fact that you are there for the interview is why you are qualified for the job. Because you got up that morning, took a shower, ate breakfast, dressed yourself and then drove to the interview. That is the same circular reasoning Obama used in his analogy. Plus, he focuses on Palin as a mayor not a governor, big difference if you ask me. Obama's campaign and his adoring media following need to decide if they want to attack Palin on experience or judgment. Unfortunately, either avenue is a losing one.

http://whyimnotademocrat.blogspot.com/2008/09/obama-more-qualified-than-palin-i-think.html

Charlie Gibson missed a real opportunity.

Matt Damon is correct in wanting to know if she believes that dinosaurs roamed the earth 4,000 years ago.

While a seemingly ridiculous question, it's not far off from some of her other beliefs and issue stances.

As much as the McCain campaign has focused on making this election about character and personality, it's important that you as a citizen stay as informed as possible on the issues.

Sarah Palin is on the wrong side of the issues that matter most in this election.

Learn the difference, vote smart.

www.SarahPalinISNTHillaryClinton.com

"I do not think Matt Damon is qualified to make judgments about Sarah Palin's qualifications. "

Why not? Aren't we all supposed to make judgements on her qualifications? Isn't that what voting is all about?

I like how he actually wants to learn her stances on the issues, and isn't automatically against her merely because she's a Republican. He's doing his homework.

On a less intellectual note, I... am a little turned on. :)

What's wrong with Matt Damon's qualifications?

Is he a pundit? Not at all, but he's a smart guy. I'm not a pundit, I'm not a Constitutional law scholar (I was going to say "neither are the people on here," but that's not true).

The fact is, these are things that we are all qualified to talk about because they effect us. This is the future of our country and we don't need a masters in political science to talk about it.

I did sort of the awkward half-laugh at the "bad Disney movie" line, because it seemed a little dismissive to me, even though the overall tone was not. This really is a scary thought.

I do not think Matt Damon is qualified to make judgments about Sarah Palin's qualifications.

People always act like people in the public eye are different from the rest of citizens when it comes to politics - but they're not, they just have more visibility. We're all going around expousing our feelings about the candidates, the only difference is that the media isn't telling everyone what we said. And if they suddenly did, I doubt any of us would shut up because of it.

Not the jump on a thread derailment but:

Campaigning for president is good training for being president. You have to make adjustments each day depending on what's going on. Obama and McCain have dealt with the Georgia/Russia situation, the downward spiraling economy and many other issues. They are constantly in meetings, receving advice, refining policies and they are constantly being attacked by each other and the media. In my opinion, Obama has kept the cool head in this vs McCain who's ads are showing a really really bitter and scary side. If you asked me who is wearing this campaign well and showing that they can handle the stress of the presidency it damn will isn't McCain.

sorry for the typos, I'm at work and have to type fast to avoid detection :)

Jumping in on this, Matt Damon is a voter. That makes him qualified. Part of the basic -idea- behind democracy is political discourse. If someone asks a celebrity their opinion on politics, they have full right to say it. Hell, his points were valid.

Let's skip the entire small town mayor part, it's a fine beginning for any politician. Let's focus on her as a governor. You know, she could have been the most brilliant governor in America's history, and she would STILL be underqualified to serve. Compare her with the other people who were considered in the running for the veep spot, and how -long- they've been in politics.

Obama is a spring chicken, but if you look at his background, the qualifications are there. He's spent his entire life in political activities, and the -type- of activities that would allow him to understand national issues more than Palin. I'm also pretty damn sure he knew what a vice president does before getting elected to senate.

As well, Damon's comment about it being a bad Disney movie where a hockey mom becomes the President and then outwits the evil Russians with her 'folksy wisdom' is bang on. When you honestly examine the political environment that she's (potentially) moving in to, it's terrifying how completely unqualified she really us.

Alixana:

Word. I never understood the whole 'actors shouldn't be political!' thing. As long as they do their research and have a point to make, why shouldn't they? If I were famous, I'd be by God using that fame to make my voice heard right now.

Also: Oh, Matt Damon. How much do I love you? More than I love dulce de leche cheesecake and thinking about McCain weeping bitter emo tears away as Obama is sworn in. So, a LOT.

hey, bluecollarphilosopher, you claim on your site that "progressive policies of the left actually hurt hard working men and women," yet under Clinton, the unemployment rate went down EVERY YEAR, from 7.5% when he came into office, to 4.2% when he left.

Bush, on the other hand, has overseen unemployment rise from 4.0% when he came into office, to 6.1% last week. since it went above 4.7% in 2001, however, it has never dropped below 5%. how is that good for working people? wages sure as hell haven't risen.

anyways, why should i even be reading your blog? you're no more qualified that Matt Damon, after all...

i like the video... it's not wonky, Damon's not a politician or a newscaster, but he has some serious concerns... as any citizen should.

And bluecollarphilosophe, I love that you say that Matt Damon is not qualified to make judgements on Palin, but ... you have a blog making judgements on the candidates. So what makes you so special, eh?

See, in the eyes of folks like bluecollarphilosopher and the entire GOP, no private citizen is qualified to judge any Republican's experience, let alone demand that they answer pointed questions about their philosophies, policy positions and/or record. We the people are just supposed to trust the GOP to do what's best for us. In their eyes, Sarah Palin is simply entitled to be VP (and McCain POTUS), and it's out of bounds for any of us to challenge her or examine her in any way.

Bluecollarphilosopher:

If I hear one more fucking time that the media has a liberal bias, my head is going EXPLODE.

Rupert Murdoch owns 3/4 of the WORLD'S media. That means TV, magazines and newspapers. He's not a liberal. I suggest you rent Outfoxed: Ruport Murdoch's War on Journalism.

Also FYI:

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2004/07/b122948.html

Notice how bluecollarphilosopher doesn't address any of the actual concerns brought up in the video. Because miraculously, despite being an actor and therefore obviously not qualified to have an opinion about who to vote for, Matt Damon was actually able to express valid worries about Palin's fitness to serve as VP. Someone who doesn't believe in evolution and thinks the war in Iraq is a task from God - that leads me to question her abilities to think rationally and logically. So yeah, I agree with the "unqualified" actor. I want to know in what ways she is ready to lead our country.

I appreciated that Matt Damon didn't come out and say what WE should do. Matt Damon simply expressed his concerns about Sarah Palin and the probability of her being president. He didn't offer any advice, or try to spin anything, he seemed genuinely concerned and wanting to know more about her. And I think that is definitely a valid stance for an Actor, or indeed any American citizen to take.

Also, this is the second time in history I have found Matt Damon attractive. The first time was when he was all peirced and tatooed in the beginning of Eurotrip. Yum.

Maaaatt Daaamooooon.

As for experience, whatever Palin lacks she's catching up on pretty fast. Already she was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it.

Hate to break it to you, but it looks like your new way-smarter-than-Sarah-Palin boyfriend fell for an absurd hoax/parody viral piece...

"Lizards of Satan"? Really? That didn't clue him in?

Damon didn't say anything new, or anything more intellectual than what we've been hearing and saying on this site about Sarah Palin. However, we do live in a culture of celebrity, and those words coming out of his mouth are going to make an impact on people who like and respect him. He also takes something of a career risk in openly questioning the pick, though it isn't nearly as risky as the Dixie Chicks or Sean Penn slamming George W. Bush before it became popular to do so.

I forgot to ad that Damon's attack on Palin's qualifications are a good thing. They actually help show Obama has less than she does. She's accomplished more in two years as governor than Obama in his 20 years of doing whatever Obama did. So keep attacking Palin on that and more people will think about Obama's experience, or lack of it and see he is less qualified than Palin, and Palin is only running for VP.

I forgot to ad that Damon's attack on Palin's qualifications are a good thing. They actually help show Obama has less than she does. She's accomplished more in two years as governor than Obama in his 20 years of doing whatever Obama did. So keep attacking Palin on that and more people will think about Obama's experience, or lack of it and see he is less qualified than Palin, and Palin is only running for VP.

I forgot to ad that Damon's attack on Palin's qualifications are a good thing. They actually help show Obama has less than she does. She's accomplished more in two years as governor than Obama in his 20 years of doing whatever Obama did. So keep attacking Palin on that and more people will think about Obama's experience, or lack of it and see he is less qualified than Palin, and Palin is only running for VP.

Those are the issues Damon brings up and they undermine the whole Obama candidacy.

bluecollarphilosopher:

If the job you're interviewing for is writing resumes and you get the job based on your resume then it's completely appropriate.

The job of president depends heavily on administrative ability and selecting people to handle various aspects under the auspice of your position. the position being taken by the DNC on experience is that Sen. Obama has demonstrated administrative ability through organizing his campaign.

The RNC is the one who began using "experience" as a major disqualification for Obama, all the DNC is doing is saying: "Look, if you guys are going to talk experience then you can't very well put up someone with even less than my own or even close to my own as a serious candidate."

But that's the nature of your entire party. A bunch of deluded assholes talking out of the side of their necks about "fiscal responsibility" and "human rights" and "democracy" while being the biggest deficit spenders in history, denying human rights here and ignoring them abroad unless oil is involved, and invading sovereign nations for bullshit reasons then criticizing Russia for doing the same damn thing.

bluecollarphilosopher: You never answered our question on what makes you qualified to comment on Palin's qualifications, since Matt Damon, according to you, isn't qualified.

I forgot to ad that Damon's attack on Palin's qualifications are a good thing. They actually help show Obama has . . . what? Someone said that already?

Internet issues, sorry for the repeated posts.

bluecollarphilosopher:

Palin more qualified?! On the basis of education alone, Obama blows her out of the water. She has a BS in communications (finally after skipping around more than 3 different colleges before earning her degree), he's a constitutional scholar. Remember that piece of paper? I know it must be tough to recognize since Bush & Co has used it to wipe their collective shitty asses over the last 8 years, but it still exists.

I could go on, and bury you with a shitstorm of facts and real intellectual debate, but for what? You are obviously trolling.

Zvebab,
he didn't say anything about "Lizards of Satan," though, he just mentioned the 4000 years old thing. and that's a pretty common take from young earth creationists, which Palin may or may not be [see link below].

http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2008/09/saradise-lost-chapter-sixten-palins.html

there's been a lot of banter about Palin's views on evolution, though, and i think Damon's point is just that we, as citizens, have a right to know whether or not the 2nd highest office in the land is going to be occupied by someone who thinks that evolution is up for debate. mind you, while i've heard her talk about how evolution is just a "theory" that should be open for discussion, i've not heard her say similar things about other popular theories, like, say, "gravity," "general relativity," "graph theory," or "plate tectonics."

if she's particularly challenging evolution and not other theories, it certainly makes me think that she has some reason to, um, disbelieve (?) in this easily proven theory. maybe it's because disbelieving in gravity has more immediate negative consequences (like falling) than disbelieving in evolution.

Thanks Jessica, now I'm gonna have that song stuck in my head for six MORE months.

Intellectual crush list just grew.

1) Rachael Maddow
2) Eugene Robinson
3) Jay Smooth
4) Sara Haskins
5) Matt Damon

http://www.idrewthis.org/d/20060629.html

This is by D.C. Simpson, a transgender online cartoonist I really like. She did this one after the Dixie Chicks cd came out in 2006, but I still feel like it applies.

Yes, puckalish, YES. When anyone says, "It's just a theory! I realize then that they are a complete moron who does NOT understand scientific theory.

I do not want a VP who can't even grasp what a scientific theory is. That's FUCKING MORONIC.

"On the basis of education alone, Obama blows her out of the water. She has a BS in communications (finally after skipping around more than 3 different colleges before earning her degree), he's a constitutional scholar. Remember that piece of paper? I know it must be tough to recognize since Bush & Co has used it to wipe their collective shitty asses over the last 8 years, but it still exists." --JennyP

"YES. When anyone says, "It's just a theory! I realize then that they are a complete moron who does NOT understand scientific theory." --marilove

Amen on both points.

bluecollarphilosopher ignores off course that the Republican establishment and its wanton promotion of free labor markets (without compensation for environmental, social and political inequalities) has done more to hurt working class Americans than any other policy by any political group by many orders of magnitude. The pro-economic liberalism power brokers merely blind many voters to their culpability with distracting social issues which play on people's insecurities and prejudices. To blame "progressive politics" only shows a person who has swallowed their poisonous bait hook, line and sinker.

Wow, bluecollarphilosopher, that's one of the most phenomenally stupid statements I've seen on Sarah Palin (right up there with "She has foreign policy experience because she's close to Russia").

This woman hasn't done anything as Governor of Alaska.

She didn't sell the jet. She didn't create jobs. She didn't stop the bridge to nowhere.

She's not qualified to do anything. She's not even qualified, in my opinion, to be Governor of Alaska.

This is a woman who has tried to inhibit the first amendment rights of her constituents by taking books off of the shelves in libraries, and you're going to support her? You should be ashamed of yourself, not just as a conservative who claims to believe in freedom, but as an American who takes refuge in the protections afforded to you by the constitution.

bluecollarphilosopher:

"She's accomplished more in two years as governor than Obama in his 20 years of doing whatever Obama did."

As a 26 year Alaska resident I need to know some things from you. Please list the things Sarah has accomplished in her two years as governor.

You can't list the natural gas line since her accomplishment in that was using a pen to sign some paperwork after the legislature did all the work creating the paper work.

You can't list the oil tax "do over" since that was started by democratic senators and not her. Again she used a pen to sign some paper work.

She did manage to sell an over priced jet aircraft left behind by the former governer. Sell it at a loss due to it being such a crappy plane.

She did manage to talk the legislature into giving every Alaskan resident $1,200 today to off set the high cost of "energy" up here. This money originates in the taxes charged to the producers and with the record prices this summer the State is drowning in money so the state decided to share some of the profit with the citizens.

So, that is two things in the last two years that she has accomplished. What else ya got?

I simply don't want the reincarnation of Aimee Semple McPherson to have her hands on the levers of power.

Palin is a known believer in the lunatic fringe of Christian practice -- Evangelical-Pentacostalism. She opposes a woman's right to choose (even in case of rape or incest), equal rights for gays and lesbians, sex education other than abstinence in school, supports oil companies pillaging the environment (Why not? God geve man dominion, right?). The list goes on.

Here’s what gets me, and I’d love to hear some other opinions on it.

Blue Collar Philopshy’s blog (take with a grain of salt of course) says this:

“Under the banner of compassion, Liberalism would rather kill unborn baby boys and girls with birth defects then let the live and "suffer" for a lifetime.”

Of course, my bullshit radar started tingling. Has the word “suffer” actually been used? And if it has, I resent anyone saying that it is the feminist or the Liberal perspective. The issue is about the choice to make an educated decision.

In a side note: Matt Damon. You rock.

Here’s what gets me, and I’d love to hear some other opinions on it.

Blue Collar Philopshy’s blog (take with a grain of salt of course) says this:

“Under the banner of compassion, Liberalism would rather kill unborn baby boys and girls with birth defects then let the live and "suffer" for a lifetime.”

Of course, my bullshit radar started tingling. Has the word “suffer” actually been used? And if it has, I resent anyone saying that it is the feminist or the Liberal perspective. The issue is about the choice to make an educated decision.

In a side note: Matt Damon. You rock.

Of course she doesn't think that dinosaurs were living amongst humans four thousand years ago. It was six thousand. Silly Matt Damon.

LOL @ cellardoors (btw, does that name come from donnie darko?)

Matt Damon is entitled to his opinion, as we all are. But when he states he does not know anything about her as Mayor and Governor, give me a break! Any intelligent person can get on the internet and actually see what exactly what positions Palin tool on various laws, bills, and ordinances. ( Something that you cannot do with Obama since he has no track record of significance)

Notice that I stated intelligent person. I am a fan of Damon, but his reasoning is rather infantile at best.

For those of you that plan to make your decision based on facts, not ignorance, go to the following link to read a credible article by USA Today that research Palin's voting record. If you actually do read the article, I think that although you may not agree with some of her social positions, her actual governing was fairly moderate.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-11-palin-cover_N.htm

I challenge any of you to come up with actual documentation regarding Obama's track record.

Ever wonder why the media and blogs continue compare Obama to Palin? Could it be that they are actually similar in experience and I think, if you read the article, some actual energy positions as well.

Please people. Grow up!

On second thought.....
We must unleash Michelle. And Whoopi. And Pamella. And Sean. And Susan, and Clooney, and Damon, and all of the heavy hiters. It is time that the Liberal braintrust step up to the plate!

Oh come on Matt Damon!! That's a silly argument with an understatement attached. I mean how much do people really know about Obama or McCain? It's not like they are close buddies with the candidates.

So I finally found it. An argument about Palin's experience that makes sense to an engineer.

From the comments section in an online article:

All agree that John McCain has more experience than Barack Obama. However, some argue that Sarah Palin's experience equals, or even surpasses Obama's. This is false. When we construct a straightforward, unbiased measure of experience we find:

McCain is 5 times more experienced than Obama, and
Obama is 10 times more experienced than Palin.

Obama and Palin are not roughly equal: Obama's experience advantage over Palin is larger than McCain's over Obama.

Here is the reasoning behind these figures. We define experience as the total number of people governed times years in office. For mayors, governors, and presidents, the number of people governed is simply the population of the entity governed. For city council members, representatives, and senators, the number governed is the size of the entity governed divided by the number of fellow legislators.

We will use the following 2007 population estimates for simplicity, rather than the figures for each year someone was in office:

Population of U.S.: 301,139,947
Population of Illinois: 12,852,548
Population of Alaska: 683,478
Population of Wasilla: 9,780

Here is what the experience of each candidate would be in January 2009:

Joe Biden: 36 years U.S. Senate
John McCain: 4 years U.S. Rep.; 22 years U.S. Senate
Barack Obama: 8 years Illinois Senate; 4 years U.S. Senate
Sarah Palin: 4 years Wasilla city council; 6 years Wasilla mayor; 2 years Alaska Governor

There are 100 U.S. Senators, 435 U.S. reps, 57 Illinois senators, and (at a guess, which will not affect the outcome much) 5 Wasilla city council members. Therefore we get the following experience for each candidate:

Joe Biden: 36*(301,139,947/100) = 108,410,381
John McCain: 4*(301,139,947/435) + 22*(301,139,947/100) = 69,019,891
Barack Obama: 8*(12,852,548/57) + 4*(301,139,947/100) = 13,849,464
Sarah Palin: 4*(9,780/5) + 6*9,780 + 2*683,478 = 1,433,460

And thus,

Joe Biden is 1.6 times more experienced than John McCain.
John McCain is 5.0 times more experienced than Barack Obama.
Barack Obama is 9.7 times more experienced than Sarah Palin.

(Posted by: Leesburg VA | September 12, 2008 3:39 PM on http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/12/mccain_gets_an_earful_on_the_v.html)

I agree with Matt Damon 100%. I've been saying the same things. It's ridiculous that this woman is THE woman that might actually make it to the White House. It should have been Hillary. And this woman is NOT Hillary Clinton! Nor is she representative of the strong and intelligent women who they are hoping will be duped into voting for her just because we all have a vagina. Shame on you, John McCain, and shame on you, Republicans, and shame on you, Sarah Palin, for accepting the nomination. That decision alone proves that you are not worthy of the position.

Femgineer, in the words of some Russian mathematician: "Statistics are like a naked woman on the beach; you wonder what she is hiding".

Voting in the senate is not the same as being governor of a state. So, it's not realistic to equate the two.

I agree with Matt Damon 100%. I've been saying the same things. It's ridiculous that this woman is THE woman that might actually make it to the White House. It should have been Hillary. And this woman is NOT Hillary Clinton! Nor is she representative of the strong and intelligent women who they are hoping will be duped into voting for her just because we all have a vagina. Shame on you, John McCain, and shame on you, Republicans, and shame on you, Sarah Palin, for accepting the nomination. That decision alone proves that you are not worthy of the position.

moni:

I challenge any of you to come up with actual documentation regarding Obama's track record.

Are you serious? Obama was an IL state senator from 97-02 and a US senator from 02-present... i don't know if you're familiar with the US government, but our senators' voting records are public... and really easy to find.

http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490

If you don't want to look up all those bills to get a sense of what his record and stance is on issues, you can check out the following summary:

http://www.ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm

Besides, I think Damon's point... what would be my point if I were saying these things... is that her record as a small-town mayor and governor of the 4th smallest state in the union tells us little about what her policy points would be on a national field... Now, she's made a number of public statements, but she has no national voting record on which to operate. Further, since her nomination for VP has been announced, she's been pretty mute with regards to policy points, with more of a focus on attacking Obama. Of course, the media keeps talking about how this is the "job" of the VP in a general election - which, whether it's true or not, is just generally stupid.

On the other hand, Obama has been speaking on and, more importantly, voting on, national issues for the past six years and was voting on statewide issues in a state that was only almost 19x as big as Alaska for the preceding five years.

Anyways, no one here is saying Damon's perspective is any more valid than anyone else's, but, rather, than it reflects a lot of questions people here have. You can have a problem with that and start to talk about the liberal celebrities, but that's a bunch of senseless claptrap, especially considering that Reagan and Schwarzenegger were/are republicans, one of Huckabee's biggest supporters was Chuck Norris and one of McCain's is Daddy Yankee.

be well!

People are also forgetting that having experience on a local level is very different than having experience in Washington. As a Senator, Obama has been involved in Congress - and as a mayor and governor, Sarah Palin has not had to participate in Washington politics - let alone foreign affairs!!

OMG, I'm getting riled up.

matt damon is now my new favortie actor.

matt damon is now my new favortie actor.

God.

That was the sexiest video clip that I've seen in a reeeaalllly long time. (Right up there with Obama and Michelle's "fist bump", lol.)

Moni: You can't be serious.

Any intelligent person can get on the internet and actually see what exactly what positions Palin tool on various laws, bills, and ordinances. ( Something that you cannot do with Obama since he has no track record of significance)

Yet, as an "intelligent person" that can "get on the internet", it never occurred to you to google "Obama voting record"?

Try http://www.votesmart.org

It's the first hit.

Femgineer: this is made of win and I will quote it at people.

Matt Damon is also awesome.

Femgineer: this is made of win and I will quote it at people.

Matt Damon is also awesome.

This should have been your Friday FU. He basically reduced her experiance as a Governor and Mayor. Then he goes further on to explain that it would be scary to think that a woman who is a mom trying to stand up to Putin. OMG and you CRUSH on him. I could have done without that rant and just went srtaight to her freaky stances on the issues. I mean her issues speak for themselves, demeaning mothers as incapable of being tought is so sexist. Jessica there is NO WAY you can support this. I mean you are totally killing me here. I swear I think feminism is dead and you are killing it.

It's about time someone put more emphasis on Palin's support of Creationism.

Even if they didn't come with the standard package of Fundamentalist dogma, no Creationist would ever get my vote, EVER -- they've proven that they have no critical thinking skills whatsoever.

I certainly *don't* love Matt Damon's remarks. I agree that Palin is too hard-fundamental-right for me. But he could have just stuck to the issues instead of attacking her motherhood first and the Disney bit was low. As if a "Hockey" mom was all that she is. Yeah, she isn't a governor or anything. I am mortified that the sexist comments made by Damon are so well received here. Sexist comments are always offensive even if spouted by a liberal man.

It seems to me, though, jen, that he's taking the narrative of her life that her campaign is trying to draw for us (all-American hockey mom makes good, reforms the corrupt government), and turning it sideways to see all of the holes in it. Even if she is this "all-American hockey mom" success story, so what? If this was a movie, yeah, you'd see her unexpectedly needing to pick up a rifle and kill a bear that was charging some diplomats at a state dinner, or other outlandish nonsense. But this is the real world, and so far all she's done is call people names. I don't think that "Sarah Barracuda' tactics will work in the White House - just give Putin's claim of pushing back against American imperialism validity in the eyes of the world, leading to more aggression from other countries.

wow, go Matt Damon! I freakin' love him now.

I love Obama. But he has ZERO executive experience in both his public and private life. Zero.

Palin -- hate her or love her (I hate her) - was a Mayor of what amounts to a medium sized muli-million dollar enterprise for I think 8 years and has now been governor of Alaska for 2 years. When anyone including a movie actor attempts to argue that based on that criteria Obama is more experienced than Palin in executive management the person making that argument and anyone who supports it just looks foolish! If the only issue here is experience: Palin TROUNCES Obama.

BUT... first of all, as I've watched so many of my candidates (all Democrats) through the years do, Obama is messing up his own campaign. Ignore Palin! Obama is running for President against McCain NOT Palin. EVERYTIME someone foolishly attacks Palin's experience they emphasize Obama's total lack of executive experience even when compared to hers.

Obama should be focusing on running against McCain! You know... his actual opponent!

If we all don't get a hold of ourselves and if the Obama people don't get their heads out of their you-know-whats there is no doubt that McCain will win with about the same margin and same states that Bush won in 2004.

ThinkingClearly, if you listen to Obama the past couple of weeks, he hasn't been spending that much time talking about Palin. It's everyone else who's talking about her--the media, the electorate, the Republicans, etc. Obama hasn't been particularly distracted, which is good, but it's not enough. He needs to get everyone's attention refocused and that's where he's been failing.

jen is right, whatever the political views of a speaker happen to be, sexism is sexism. Matt Damon's remarks are insulting and needlessly condecending, and should have been one of the "Palin sexism watch" stories that seem to have vanished after a couple token appearances.

Femgineer, as someone with both a sociology and engineering background, TLS makes a good point. That oversimplistic formula needs some major adjustments. It assumes that all political positions are equal. They are not. It also assumes that the relationship between "experience" and population is linear. Anyone with more than one child can tell you, this is not true. Finally, it assumes that each population is completely uniform and can be split evenly among the members of the governing body. Again, anyone who has worked in a group of any kind will tell you, this makes very little sense, even in a simplified model.

This is a crude analogy, but it'll do for now. Taking care of three children as a single mother is not three times as difficult (and does not bestow three times as much childcare "experience," whatever that means) as taking care of a single child. Similarly, even assuming my partner and I shared the workload perfectly, the two of us taking care of two children together is not equivalent to me taking care of one child by myself. There are plenty of other reasons why the model makes no sense (it ignores the effects of each additional layer of governmental bureacracy for example), but these are the three that immediately spring to mind.

Despite the fact that most of you seem eager to jump down his or her throat, bluecollarphilosopher's second point is correct; Obama is ludicrously underqualified. I agree with his politics, but if America treated this election like the important job interview that it is, he would be laughed out of the interview with his pathetic resume. Everyone points to his meager state senate voting record. Where is the reform? Where is the political backbone of any kind? Where does someone whose greatest accomplishments are public speaking and writing two memoirs get off making these world-changing corny speeches? I'm not saying that Palin is that much more qualified (certainly Obama wins in the education department), and she's clearly a nut as far as her position on social issues goes, but she's a consistent, pragmatic, repectable nut with a lifetime record of independence, determination, and success.

However, I agree with moni as well. Personal qualities aside, when you come down to it Obama and Palin are roughly on the same order of maginitude when it comes to political experience. The only problem is, one of them is at the top of the ticket; one is at the bottom. One ran out of things to say and got boring three months ago, and one is fresh and interesting. We'll see if the Palin media fascination lasts until the election, but whatever happens, I personally will have trouble voting for either major party ticket. It's a choice between two people I don't respect saying things I want to hear, and two people I do respect saying things that make no sense.

EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN!

Obama's campaign website is even more specific. Under the heading "Fighting for Pay Equity," the women's issues page laments that, "Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. A recent study estimates it will take another 47 years for women to close the wage gap with men at Fortune 500 corporate offices. Barack Obama believes the government needs to take steps to better enforce the Equal Pay Act..."

A watchdog group called LegiStorm posts online the salaries for Capitol Hill staffers. "We have no political affiliations and no political purpose except to make the workings of Congress as transparent as possible," its website explains.

Findings:
Based on these calculations, Obama's 28 male staffers divided among themselves total payroll expenditures of $1,523,120. Thus, Obama's average male employee earned $54,397.
Obama's 30 female employees split $1,354,580 among themselves, or $45,152, on average.
Among Obama's five best-paid advisors, only one was a woman. Among his top 20, seven were women.

McCain's 17 male staffers split $916,914, thus averaging $53,936.
His 25 female employees divided $1,396,958 and averaged $55,878.

How could this be?
One explanation could be that women compose a majority of McCain's highest-paid aides. Among his top-five best-compensated staffers, three are women. Of his 20-highest-salaried employees, 13 are women. The Republican presidential nominee relies on women -- much more than men -- for advice at the highest, and thus, best-paid levels.

Food for thought.

EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN!

Obama's campaign website is even more specific. Under the heading "Fighting for Pay Equity," the women's issues page laments that, "Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. A recent study estimates it will take another 47 years for women to close the wage gap with men at Fortune 500 corporate offices. Barack Obama believes the government needs to take steps to better enforce the Equal Pay Act..."

A watchdog group called LegiStorm posts online the salaries for Capitol Hill staffers. "We have no political affiliations and no political purpose except to make the workings of Congress as transparent as possible," its website explains.

Findings:
Based on these calculations, Obama's 28 male staffers divided among themselves total payroll expenditures of $1,523,120. Thus, Obama's average male employee earned $54,397.
Obama's 30 female employees split $1,354,580 among themselves, or $45,152, on average.
Among Obama's five best-paid advisors, only one was a woman. Among his top 20, seven were women.

McCain's 17 male staffers split $916,914, thus averaging $53,936.
His 25 female employees divided $1,396,958 and averaged $55,878.

How could this be?
One explanation could be that women compose a majority of McCain's highest-paid aides. Among his top-five best-compensated staffers, three are women. Of his 20-highest-salaried employees, 13 are women. The Republican presidential nominee relies on women -- much more than men -- for advice at the highest, and thus, best-paid levels.

Article at http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/36234
Read and determine for yourself.

There is nothing sexist about Matt Damon's remarks. It's getting ridiculous how anytime someone says anything negative about Palin, they are immediately called sexist. It's disappointing and hurts the feminism movement as a whole

I definitely didn't find his comments sexist at all. The only thing he said that related to gender was about her being a hockey mom: but that's all her own campaign talks about! She's always introduced as Sarah Palin, mother of 5. So all we really know about her for sure is that she's a mother of 5...and that doesn't really aide me in making an informed decision.

Do celebrities have more of a right to pass judgment than we do? -No, but they have the exact same right. People just tend to listen to celebrities more because we are a pop culture-based society. The good thing is that some famous people actually have something to say. Like my pal here, Matt Damon. All he's saying is: "I'd like to know who the hell this candidate is, please, because she came out of nowhere and is all over the place. I'm being bombarded with media and none of it is actually saying ANYTHING about policy!"

What's not to agree with about that?

message for Mr. Damon:

Wow! Bad Disney movie eh? It would behoove you to conduct an interview, which one would think should focus on your work, without slamming politicians you don't necessarily agree with. Stick with what you know. For instance, you do a fine Matthew McConaughey impression.
It's hard to imagine that you didn't seriously consider the legitimacy of a report purporting that Sarah Palin believes dinosaurs existed 4,000 years ago. If this is making you lose sleep and if you are truly interested in politics, then I suggest that you hire a political consultant to keep you abreast of a more unbiased view of the current events of our country. Refocus, Mr. Damon. Not ALL of your fans are liberal democrats. Some of us are independents that think for ourselves and keep an open mind. Let's look at the past performances of the candidates, watch the debates and then make a more informed decision as to who is most qualified to be our leader. On the other hand, you can continue to perpetuate the cycle of biased ignorance.

I haven't made a decision yet, I am still on the fence. But I am going to find out as much as I can before I make my final decision. I would prefer not to stereotype people who, not unlike some famous friends of yours, have family that they love and is an inherent part of their identity. Per your careless statements parenthood, or motherhood for that matter, is being equated with ignorance. I imagine this sort of sentiment would sway female voters to the McCain/Palin side.
Karin Burvant