Erin Neff doesn’t like Sarah Palin? What a shocker!

To the editor:

While I recognize that Review-Journal columnist Erin Neff must earn her label as a liberal commentator, her Thursday take on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin seemed particularly whiny and hypocritical ("GOP spins nice yarn about Palin").

Ms. Neff seemed offended by the image of Gov. Palin presented at the convention because it represented a biased, one-sided view. Well, duh! This is no different than the Democratic Party spin machine's representation of Sens. Joe Biden and Barack Obama. If anyone wants an even-handed, factual picture, they need to access other sources of information.

Ms. Neff took umbrage over her anticipated "Christian community" response to questioning of Gov. Palin's qualifications based on gender and belittled it. Is this setting the stage, justifying liberal attacks on Gov. Palin for being a woman? It's not clear, but it is clear that Gov. Palin can't be attacked for lack of experience -- she's got so much more than Sen. Obama.

Finally, Ms. Neff attacked Gov. Palin for using the "Bridge to Nowhere" story to establish bona fides as a reformer. Gov. Palin, according to Ms. Neff, first supported the bridge, then turned down the money. To quote Ms. Neff, "What she said ... wasn't true."

In fact, it was true! It isn't a crime to change your mind after you are in possession of all the facts and responsible for the decision. When running for office, Gov. Palin campaigned in Ketchikan and supported keeping the funds as "a commitment to help Ketchikan expand its access, to help this community prosper." This was an endorsement for better access to their airport, not a blanket endorsement of the bridge to provide that access. When in office, she concluded that a more practical expenditure might be to expand the ferry service from the airport to Ketchikan, and she refused the funds for the bridge.

Of course, Ms. Neff has never let facts interfere with her intense desire to gnaw at the ankles of conservatives and Republicans. Journalistic integrity is too much to expect now.

Greg S. Miller

HENDERSON

Predictable attack

To the editor:

The palpable fear and panic in the liberal media that the nomination of Sarah Palin has wrought was amusingly echoed by your in-house leftist, Erin Neff, in her Thursday column. The urgency to employ the shoot-Sarah-quick strategy reveals just how much the Democrats realize that Sen. John McCain's selection of Gov. Palin was brilliant. Her nomination for vice president has changed the dynamic of the election.

The Democrats, saddled with Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden, wringing their hands in buyer's remorse, have become hysterical in their attacks on Gov. Palin. Their anxiety and dismay are fun to watch, and it was perfectly demonstrated by Ms. Neff's attack column.

Ernie Mathews

HENDERSON

Cue howling, hissing

To the editor:

I'm not at all surprised to learn that Review-Journal columnist Erin Neff doesn't think much of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, even after hearing the speech she gave at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night.

The speech was given a thumbs up by many political pundits, not just those on Fox News, and it exceeded the expectations of most of us who are not residents of Alaska.

Ms. Neff's column in Thursday's Review-Journal, "GOP spins nice yarn about Palin," showed that she is reeling right along with her liberal brethren.

As I read her remarks I thought I might come across a meow or two. I'm sure Ms. Neff will feel better after a bowl of milk and a few hours on a sunny windowsill.

Bill Dirkse

LAS VEGAS

A bridge to nowhere

To the editor:

In her speech at the Republican National Convention, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin mocked Sen. Barack Obama's work as a community organizer, a job that helped people in need.

I'm sure those comments raised her standing among the "compassionate conservatives" of the Republican Party, but it struck me as yet another person of faith behaving badly.

And that "Bridge to Nowhere" the governor is always talking about? I'm afraid a McCain-Palin administration will lead our country directly to the onramp.

K. Wilcox

HENDERSON

Just say no

To the editor:

As a Democrat and a staunch Barack Obama supporter, I find it appalling that anyone would go after vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter for being pregnant. Kids will do what kids will do, and she should be supported in the most compassionate fashion possible.

Gov. Palin herself, on the other hand, is fair game. Her position, and that of the religious right which she promotes along with President Bush, is to advocate abstinence as the only form of contraception. Not condoms or birth control, but abstinence. How well has that worked out for her?

If her policy initiatives don't work in her own house, what makes you think they'll work in yours?

Martin Elge

LAS VEGAS

End the torture

To the editor:

I thought torture was illegal in this country. But the incessant jabber by reporters about the pregnancy of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's teenage daughter must qualify as some form of torture.

As the press stretch their twisted logic to try to relate this family matter to the ability of Gov. Palin to be a vice presidential candidate, they fail completely in defining the problem. Her daughter is over the age of consent in every state I know of. More than a third of the babies born in this country are born to unwed mothers, and she is currently single. But unlike most unmarried teens having a baby, she is planning to marry the father.

Maybe it's the fact that she didn't just kill the baby and enroll in college for the next school year, as most proper progressives would have done in this situation.

More likely, it's just another slimy election year smear from a Democratic Party campaign that can't believe Sen. John McCain found someone better looking and more qualified than Barack Obama to be his vice president, and worse, someone on whom they can't find a real problem.

Jim Brown

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Bad decision

To the editor:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin decided to deliver a baby with Down syndrome. This is not the decision that is questionable. The decision to have a fifth child after the age of 40, when the chances of having a child with Down syndrome are more than 10 times what they are for a woman of 30, is the real indication of a lack of judgment.

No woman with four healthy children needs to take the risk that a child will suffer the physical and mental challenges that are inevitable with Down syndrome.

Allen Anderson

HENDERSON

Proceed with caution

To the editor:

They say a drowning man will grab at a straw, and that's exactly what Sen. John McCain has done by selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

His premise is that women will automatically vote for him because of his selection. This is an insult and an affront to their intelligence. In doing so, he presumes women don't have minds of their own and can be easily persuaded without carefully examining Gov. Palin's platform. I encourage them to do so.

Although Sen. McCain sees his pick as instant gratification, Gov. Palin clearly doesn't have enough experience and has stated that she "doesn't care all that much" about foreign policy. She is a staunch conservative who will strike down so many of the issues women are concerned about. Clearly, Sen. McCain is trying to shore up his conservative base.

Gov. Palin's selection is serious business, considering she would be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

And this message isn't just for women. Men should be concerned as well. So, before jumping on this bandwagon, please read the sign that says, "Proceed with caution."

Faye Gregory

NORTH LAS VEGAS