Madam, - Since John McCain decided to eschew safe options such as Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty and instead choose Sarah Palin to be his running mate last Friday, the Alaska governor has been subjected to a wide array of criticisms - some legitimate, others vile.
We've heard that Palin has limited experience and none in foreign policy; that she's not the reformer she claims to be, but just another ethically challenged Alaska politician; that her daughter's pregnancy (is it her first or second?) undercuts her espousal of family values; and that her husband was arrested 20 years ago for drunk driving.
But on the other hand, Palin has more executive experience than McCain, Barack Obama or Joe Biden. While the reformer mantle might be overplayed, she did unseat a member of her own party to become governor. If anything, her daughter's pregnancy and her husband's decades-old mishap serve to humanise her - and humanity is often a quality lacking in those on the right of the political spectrum.
What's more, by choosing a bona fide conservative like Palin, McCain has simultaneously placated and energised the right. He can now make his own very personal and calculated appeal to moderate voters, who decide US presidential elections and generally like him anyway. All this before we consider Palin's gender and the undeniable appeal she will have for women voters, especially in crucial swing states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Democrats have gone on the attack because they are surprised and scared by McCain's choice. As a Democrat who strongly supports the Obama-Biden ticket and fears the consequences of a McCain-Palin administration, so am I. - Yours, etc,
LAWRENCE DONNELLY,
Faculty of Law,
National University of Ireland,
Galway.
Madam, - Forget about the "bridge to nowhere", or trying to get her sister's "ex"fired, the greatest cause for concern about Sarah Palin's selection as John McCain's running mate is this: the hand that would be only one heart attack away from the Big Red Button would belong to a person who thinks that Piper, Willow, Bristol, Trigg and Track are good names to give your children. - Yours, etc,
ROSS McEtNTEGAR,
Jocelyn Street,
Dundalk,
Co Louth.
Madam, - So a Republican Party leader picks a no-nonsense, working mother from a remote Northern part of the country to be his second-in-command. Haven't we seen this somewhere before? - Yours, etc,
JOHN ROHAN,
The Gallops,
Dublin 18.