To the editor:
If the voters of Alaska are willing to buy Governor Palin’s bizarre rendition of the late stages of her pregnancy and birthing of Trig, that’s up to them. However, if she’s an old man’s heartbeat away from the presidency, her judgment and veracity take on global importance.
Eight years of “It’s true if I say it’s true” have been more than enough. We are being destroyed financially and ethically as a nation by people who believe honesty and openness are traits of suckers. Trusting the spin of either party without verifying is suicidal. Maybe I’m selfish but I want a future for my grandchildren even if they’re not billionaires.
The facts as I’ve been able to gather them are verifiable, but to my knowledge have not been verified. They are:
In early March of this year Mrs. Palin announced to her staff that she was seven months pregnant with her fifth child. The staff were surprised, as none of them had noticed, and they work with her on a daily basis. An amniocentesis had been performed and Mrs. Palin was aware that her baby had Downs syndrome. (I have not been able to find any reference as to where and when this test was performed.)
Germane pictures of the governor prior to March have disappeared from the official Alaska Web site, and repeated requests for documentation to support the governor’s rendition of events have been ignored, bringing into serious question her honesty or judgment or both.
More than a month after her pregnancy announcement to her staff, Mrs. Palin flew to Texas to give a noontime speech. She began to leak amniotic fluid early that morning and was experiencing widely separated contractions, but decided to give her speech anyway. After her speech she boarded a nine-hour flight to Anchorage with a transfer in Seattle. No airline staff noted anything unusual about her and she did not tell them of her condition.
In Anchorage she drove or was driven past two facilities with neonatal units to a clinic 45 miles away that had no neonatal unit. A number of hours later she gave birth to Trig. There is no record of a birth certificate for Trig.
The consensus among OB-GYN’s commenting on this saga seems to be that they pray the whole story is untrue. Otherwise, Mrs. Palin’s behavior is beyond reckless and potentially homicidal. The governor has refused to provide any documentation or support for her story. Makes you think the McCain campaign didn’t vet her, doesn’t it?
Of course, if General Petraeus is Karl Rove’s real choice for V.P. the whole charade becomes transparent. Sarah, having served her purpose, that is to electrify the base and bury any real-world issues, will be thrown under the bus, there to join Harriet Miers for “the good of the country.”
Jamie McNett
Clinton
