The woman accused the federal government of murdering five thousand American prisoners (with one bullet) and dumping them in a swamp in LA during Katrina.

HOW but HOW did this woman get elected to the United States House of Representatives?

And WHY is the Green Party nominating her to be president?

God bless this finest among nations.

Here are some ideas I have that I hope the McCain camp has shared with Sarah Palin for tonight's debate:

1.  Be yourself.  You shine when you talk like yourself.

2.  Turn this economic decline we're currently facing into another reason to vote Republican.  Higher taxes lighten the pocketbook.  Saying "NO!" to higher taxes means saying "Yes!" to McCain/Palin.  Higher taxes = economic death.

3.  Our energy crisis needs addressing.  Urgently.  YOU know all about energy.  Let 'er rip when it comes to what we need to do regarding alternative energy and drilling in America TODAY.  Debunk the myths about nuclear energy, too.  France uses it and it's been just fine. 

4.  Showcase your ordinary background/education.  Reasonable people of all parties get sick of the elitist nonsense.  Don't talk like an indecent lawyer who labors over each word for fear of alienating someone.  Tell it like it is.  Period.  Don't be scared.

5.  Highlight your renegade, rebellious past with members of your own party.  Remind us how you'll give the Beltway a good shake-up upon your arrival.  Tell us how every pol from every state, red and blue alike, is going to be playing by a fresh, more ethical set of rules if you get elected.

There's more but those are some of the basics.

I wish her well.  She's got an increasingly partisan media stacked against her.  If she walked on water during this debate and Biden starting drooling all over himself while articulating why his plan to divide Iraq into three ethnic enclaves was a good idea, the headlines tomorrow morning would still say something like "Palin's Drownin'!" or "Biden Buries Palin!"

Rubbish.

God bless this finest among nations.

Gwen Ifil, a woman employed by P.B.S. and frequent guest on Tim Russert's "Meet The Press," will be hosting tonight's only debate between Vice Presidential Candidates Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) and Governor Sarah Palin (R-Alaska).

That's a shame.

Not because Gwen Ifil is unintelligent, lazy or unsuccessful, quite the contrary, she is bright, hard working and very successful, but because she supports openly Senator Barack Obama for president and has written a book detailing how he is leading a movement (sustained by other black politicians such as Governor Deval Patrick (D-Massachusetts)) that the country (and world, presumably) needs desperately.

She has a vested interest in her book doing the best it can do.  If Senator Obama ascends to the highest office in the land, her book does better.  That means she makes more money.  That means there's a serious conflict of interest.

Does this trouble anyone?  It should.

I believe ALL Americans should be troubled by the ongoing decline of integrity in the media as well as the link between the degraded media and degraded Democratic Party.  We know it's happening.  We know editorials wind up on the front page above the fold.  We know moderators are asking harder, more "got-cha" type questions to candidates they do not favor.  We know sexism is rampant. 

And we know Gwen Ifil, who stands to benefit from throwing softball questions to Senator Biden, has no place moderating tonight's debate.  None.  Her presence tonight decreases the already lethargic public confidence in the political process.

E-mail your newspapers and networks.  Tell them, whether you're left of center or right of center, that you want equitable coverage. 

And to my peers on the other side, please address (politely, no ad hominem attacks) for me this question: If your ideas are superior, intellectually and morally, why must you cheat to get them heard? 

Wouldn't Democrats be prouder if they got their ideas out legitimately and honestly?  Wouldn't winning an election based on truth and not personal attacks or bias pervading the headlines mean more?  Wouldn't it be preferable to tell us all the reasons why Obama/Biden would be better for America than tearing down McCain/Palin? 

I'm reminded of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Mothers send their sons (and increasingly daughters, incredulously) to self-destruct in order to destroy Jews.  It's more important to tear down your enemy in an uncivilized (in this instance murderous) fashion than it is to start from the ground up a movement to self-elevate.

I suppose it's easier to destroy another than build your self/ideas.

Still, it troubles me.  I'm sad to see the rise of Keith Olberman, The Daily Kos, The Huffington Post and more.  In the same way I'm sad to see the rise of Ann Coulter, truth be told.  They inject vitriol into the public discourse.  I'm sad to see The Left take over what used to be my beloved Democratic Party.  I'm sad to hear Chairman Dean tell America Republicans don't care if children starve (while, presumably, Democrats do) or to see his brother run an ad featuring Senator McCain shortly after his surgery to remove a malignancy on his face.  The photographer from The Atlantic Monthly who doctored the Senator's photos recently; Sandra Bernhart, who recently said Governor Palin should avoid coming to New York lest she get gang-raped by her "big black brothers;" Alcee Hastings warning of blacks and Jews being in danger should Palin get elected; Paul Begala calling President Bush a "high-functioning moron" and getting applauded in the blogosphere for it...

These are just a few examples of the degradation of The Democratic Party.  And the partisanship of the media goes hand-in-hand with it.

One of the ways my ideological opponents can self-rehabilitate is to insist that the media treatment of both parties is fair and honest.  People in the Democratic Party should insist that Ms. Ifil self-recuse.

Ms. Ifil should have the integrity and professionalism to do it herself, really.  There shouldn't even be an outcry over this.  She should elevate herself and her cause by respectfully withdrawing.  I, and many other reasonable Americans of all political ideologies, would be heartened by such a move.

One of the many reasons why I left the Democratic Party was because I felt there was something wrong with a structure that habitually encouraged cheating just to advance what it believed was a more compassionate, moral agenda.  The ends do not justify the means.  There's something to be said for procedure.  If your ideas are constructed solidly enough, they should be able to withstand scrutiny.  You shouldn't have to have people who agree with you moderating debates such that they're rigged from the start.  Your opponent should be given a fair shake. 

Even though I'm a conservative, I long for a healthy, fair opposing party.  It would strengthen and make more responsible mine.

And America.