A Few Facts About Governor Palin

• She has been a lifetime member of the NRA (National Rifle Association).

• She supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (a position John McCain himself opposes).

• She has consistently voted against opposed a woman's right to choose (having served as a mayor and governor, she doesn't have a voting record). She said during her gubernatorial campaign that she is opposed to abortion even in cases of rape and incest.

• From her own website: "I am pro-life and I believe that marriage should only be between a man and a woman."

• She supports a non-binding referendum for a constitutional amendment to deny benefits to homosexual couples.

• She does not "attribute" global warming "to being man-made," ignoring overwhelming scientific evidence by asserting that climate models warning of the threat of melting polar sea ice are "unreliable." Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity has said of Palin: "She's either grossly misinformed or intentionally misleading, and both are unbecoming...Even the Bush administration can't deny the reality of global warming...The governor is aligning herself and the state of Alaska with the most discredited, fringe, extreme viewpoints by denying this."

• In May of this year, she threatened to sue over the Department of the Interior's listing of polar bears as an endangered species, fearing it would disrupt oil and gas development.

• Her husband, Todd Palin, is an oil production operator.

• On health care: "I support flexibility in government regulations that allow competition in health care that is needed."

• She is currently under investigation for her firing of a state official.

• During her gubernatorial campaign, she advocated the teaching of creationism as part of the science curriculum in public schools, along with evolution (she later clarified that she proposed having both discussed, but didn't favor the inclusion of creationism as a formal part of the curriculum).

I wish I could commend McCain for selecting a female running mate, but unfortunately it seems clear this is simply a shrewd strategic move to capture voters still feeling disenfranchised by Hillary Clinton's loss in the Democratic primaries. Unfortunately—at least for McCain and his campaign—the only thing Palin appears to have in common with Hillary Clinton is that they are both women.

I think Hillary framed the issue perfectly in her DNC address: if you supported her and continue to support her, were you in it just for Hillary Clinton, or were/are you in it for the values she represents and the policies she advocates? Because I seriously have a hard time understanding how any Hillary Clinton supporter could be a Sarah Palin supporter...

And for comparison's sake, here are a couple facts about Biden:

• He authored the monumental Violence Against Women Act.
• He has a consistent record of supporting reproductive rights and has been outspoken in his opposition to Supreme Court nominees that threaten to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Check out Michael Ian Black's thoughts on the matter.