So all these roads go to Damascus...

Having done a little digging, I have mixed feelings about Sarah Palin. To the extent she's got a libertarian streak, I like and respect her. She's a bit of a rebel, which I also respect, particularly from the bunch of hooligans that dominate the Republican party in Alaska. But the Christian dominionist stuff really, really turns me off, particularly the wildly irresponsible talk about the Iraq war being a mission from God:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1vPYbRB7k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k84m2orSOaM
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13098.html

Get your heart right with God, guys, or we'll never get that pipeline up! You know, John McCain used to be famous for speaking out against this stuff. It's cringe-inducing, watching a guy I used to admire (I would have probably voted for him in 2000, in fact) abandon his principles for power. In McCain's defense, I doubt he knew about this prior to selecting her. Although that's not much of a defense, when you consider what it implies about his decision-making process.

Political considerations aside, how does this stack up against my reservations about the Obama/Biden ticket's collectivist-minded economic policies? Obama's stated support for a Windfall Profits Tax on the oil industry reeks of collectivism, but it's gimmicky and probably just a lame pander when you get right down to it; things like his support for the Fair Pay Act of 2007 are much more ominous, in my opinion. It's hard to say whether this is more or less alarming than a candidate who believes she's on a mission from God. It's all enough to make me seriously think about voting for Bob Barr, to be perfectly honest. I'm not sure how sincere his little road-to-Damascus moment regarding the Drug War was, either, but you'd have to be a damn fool to sell your soul for the LP nomination, so him I'll give the benefit of the doubt. But John McCain's at the top of the ticket, not Sarah Palin, so I'll probably be voting for Obama this year. (Although, since I live in California, it matters very little who I vote for in any case.)