Why is it that as voters, we consider the personal and religious values of potential candidates more important than their economic policies, their foreign policies, their experience or their training?

If you were applying for a job, how would you feel if the potential employer asked you if you were a Christian? What if he asked you if you had teenage daughters and if so, were any of them pregnant? Would you feel that the potential employer might be out of line if he asked if you had ever had an abortion?

Granted, political candidates do need to expose themselves to the scrutiny of the voter for the sake of security. How embarrassing if we the people should elect a secret member of Al Quida to office. And while none of us regular folk would ever consider bringing our bank statements to a job interview, the financial shenanigans of politicians have proven detrimental to the public, and so the financial status of a candidate is important.

But the status of a candidate's teenage daughter's sex life should not be important. You can see where I'm going with this.

Governor Sarah Palin may not believe in abortion, but that doesn't mean her daughter has to think the same way. Governor Palin may not believe in pre-marital sex, but that doesn't mean her daughter has to think the same way. Governor Palin may have what is (laughingly) referred to as Christian values, but her daughter may have a different interpretation of what those values mean.

Because Governor Palin's daughter had pre-marital sex and is now pregnant out of wedlock, we the voters should assume that she does indeed have a different interpretation of Christian values. Perhaps she isn't Christian at all. Perhaps her spirituality has taken a different path. Perhaps she's Pagan.

Would that make Governor Palin less qualified to be the Vice President of the United States?

Senator Obama must have known that his bid for office was in real, REAL jeopardy when the Republicans pulled Palin out of Alaska. Senator Obama didn't (or couldn't) put Senator Clinton on the ticket. Instead he picked an older white guy named Joe Biden. Biden is inoffensive and apparently the Democrats thought he could balance the ticket. Young Black Man and Older White Guy. Balance.

But Governor Palin attracts all the voters Obama hoped Joe Biden would attract. And, she's a woman. So she attracts all the voters who wanted Hillary in office.

Being the Vice President isn't particularly difficult. Dan Quayle did it. The most important part of being Vice President is being a heartbeat away from becoming President of the United States.

When you're the vice president, you're the back up goalie, the relief pitcher, the quarterback waiting to get into the game.

If Senator Obama wins the presidency in 2008 he will be up against Governor Palin in 2012.

If Senator McCain wins the presidency in 2008, Vice President Palin will be running in 2012.

By then, Governor Palin's daughter will be an adult and her child will be in pre-school. We the voters won't be interested in them.

We shouldn't be interested in them now.