Dear Editor,
I was very disappointed to read G. Michael Thomas’s opinion piece on why he thinks a McCain-Palin ticket is America’s best choice come November. I have nothing against opinion pieces that make a plea for one side or the other; however I do expect a certain level of truthfulness from the writer regardless of his or her political affiliation. I was shocked by the number of misrepresentations and outright lies in that article. First off, Gov. Palin did support the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” up until 2007 when it became political poison (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/680/).
While Thomas dismisses Obama as a tax and spend democrat he fails to mention that Alaska receives more federal money per capita than any other state; much of it in federal earmarks that Palin and McCain are constantly rallying against. Such wasteful spending is hardly new to Palin, while she was mayor of Wasilla (pop. 6,700) she successfully lobbied for $27 million in federal earmarks over four years (http://www.slate.com/id/2199357/).
Thomas also fails to understand what is meant by Obama’s statement that McCain voted with Bush 90 percent of the time. Indeed the president does not vote, but since we live in a democracy senators like McCain vote on bills and legislation that the president tries to pass.
And yes, McCain did vote with Bush 90 percent of the time (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/643/). It’s a sad fact in politics that nobody is surprised when a presidential candidate is caught misrepresenting the truth. I would encourage people to get the facts from unbiased sources and to avoid bloated opinion pieces that have nothing more to offer than regurgitations of partisan talking points.
– Eli Watson

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