A temporary sidestep into politics

Here's a letter I sent to our local newspaper.

To the Sentinel:

People criticize the choice of Sarah Palin as McCain’s vice presidential running mate on the basis that being governor of Alaska and mayor of Wasilla does not constitute major executive experience. While it is true that being mayor of a city of 6,700 may not prepare one to be a heartbeat away from the presidency of a superpower, no one can argue that it isn’t a wonderful preparation for being mayor of a town of 2,000.
Therefore, I would like to propose that Palin give up for now the idea of being vice president and, instead, run for mayor of Marlborough. I realize that there are a few problems with this idea: Marlborough has a board of selectmen rather than a mayor, Palin is not a resident of our state, let alone our town; and she might see this as a step down. Yet there are clear advantages for everyone in my proposal.
Think of it from her point of view. First, with no experience, it must be terrifying to think of dealing with educated, politically savvy world leaders. As mayor of our town Palin could gain the necessary expertise to deal with people who are as far from being yes men as it’s possible to get. We’ve honed our abilities to argue over years of debating the new school, so training her will be a no-brainer. By the time she’s finished a term with us, Putin will look like a pussycat.
But the advantages will run in both directions. In 2000, in Wasilla, she hired a lobbyist and was able to get $27 million in earmarks for her town, twenty times the national average. She could do the same for us, though since she has now come out against earmarks it would mean she’d have to flipflop again on them. Since we’re a smaller town than Wasilla, and we don’t want to be greedy, we would settle for a paltry $8 million, which would come out to a bit less than the $4,030 per person she was able to score. For that kind of advantage, I’m sure the selectmen would be willing to step aside temporarily.
And, since we don’t need a bridge to nowhere, or even to anywhere, after we’re finished with her (and that money) we’ll be happy to give her back to national politics. We’ll all be better off because of it.

Lucie Germer