Also please note that at the time Sarah Palin inquired about book banning, she was 32 or 33 years old. She may have been too young to understand the political dangers of inquiring about something.

Same with the list of ten inappropriate jokes John McCain has told over the last 20 years. Don't you get excused for an inappropriate joke every once in a while?


I gotta say, I was really hoping that this campaign would be about substantive issues. So far, all I see are smears and half-truths and ancient information.

So far, the candidates haven't done any of this smearing, but I think they're silly to go blaming the opposing candidates for the smears. The smears and misinformation are coming from all kinds of sources that are beyond the control of the candidates, so the candidates need to do their best to stay above it completely.

One cheap shot from Palin should be noted, however - her scoffing at Obama's work as a community organizer on the south side of Chicago before he entered politics. I'll bet Palin wouldn't have had the courage to set foot on the south side of Chicago without a bodyguard.

-Joe-