Dear John Letter

Dear John,

Eight years ago, I was appalled when Karl Rove's underground network of whisper campaigners papered evangelical churches in the rural south with fliers proclaiming that your adopted African child was the product of an extramarital affair (possibly costing you the presidency.)  A year ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that, despite being a Republican, you had more of a common sense, centrist view on issues such as energy, abortion, and the environment.  I really believed you were different from Bush back then.  I really believed you were a maverick ...

... that is, until you chose Sarah Palin as your running mate.  Yeah, she seems like exactly the sort of person that one would enjoy having a beer with, but so did Dubbya, and we've seen where that's taken us.

You have heeded the mountains of evidence from both conservative and liberal scientists alike that the Earth's climate is changing due to human influence.  Your running mate, on the other hand, insists on living in denial.  She can't deny that the earth is getting warmer, because she can practically look out her back door and see the glaciers melting into the sea.  However, I guess that, being far removed from the pollution that is at the heart of climate change, the human influence part is easier for her to ignore.  You, on the other hand, have gone so far as to propose a carbon cap and trade system.  While many believe it doesn't go far enough, after eight years of inaction, I'll take whatever I can get.

Even the Bush administration, who is hardly known for being eco-friendly, has recognized the need to list polar bears as an endangered species.  Your running mate, on the other hand, wants to de-list them.  She also supports gunning down wolves from helicopters as a way to bolster the population of caribou and moose for hunters.

John, you believe that abortions should remain a legal option for victims of rape and incest.  Your running mate, on the other hand, believes that all abortions should be made illegal, which would force some victims of rape and incest to seek underground, back alley "doctors" to perform the procedure.  Your running mate proclaims that her own teenage daughter should be free to make her own choices, yet she seems to want to prevent everyone else's teenage daughters from having those same choices.  John, you support and recognize the need for stem cell research.  Your running mate, unfortunately, does not.

I was impressed when you proposed a $300 million prize for the invention of a significantly more efficient hybrid car battery, as well as $5000 tax credits for anyone who buys a car based on that technology.  I was impressed when you recognized that drilling in ANWR would have no significant effect on gas prices or foreign oil dependence and was thus not worth the sacrifice of that pristine ecosystem.  And yet, your running mate staunchly supports drilling in ANWR.  Come on ...  Even T. Boone Pickens (T. Boone Pickens!) is pimping alternative fuels, and like the man said, debating about whether or not to drill is missing the point.  Oil is over, man.

John, I don't believe you're as out of touch or Bush-like as the ads would have us believe.  I wish I could say the same for your running mate, however.  She seems about as Bush-like as they come ... which wouldn't concern me nearly as much if I didn't think you were likely to keel over in the next four years.