Calling candidates stupid is ignorant in itself

The Brian Steiners of this country are the reason I am this close to expatriating. In his Oct. 8 guest commentary, "Why I am this close to expatriating," Brian Steiner argues without any tangible evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin is, shall we say, less than brilliant. This claim is offensive, baseless and quite simply ignorant. Steiner ought to be ashamed.

It's interesting that he seems to believe that Palin has "said the least" out of any of the candidates thus far, and that all she said was "'You voters are upset, and we're gonna fix it'" while not offering any real solutions.

Funny. I guess it's OK that Sen. Barack Obama prophesies "hope" and "change," but the only concrete plan he offers regarding either idea involves your literal change-and taxing it.

Following Steiner's argument, this would mean that Obama is stupid.

He's not. Neither is Palin. Neither are Sens. John McCain and Joe Biden, for that matter. I don't care how smart a candidate sounds when he or she gives a speech-I care how smart he or she is with policy formulation, practicality and implementation.

What all of you Brian Steiners need to understand is that you must look beyond what candidates say about an issue in 90 seconds. Judge them based on the decisions they make-or don't make-that affect your life, not based on words that guarantee nothing.

I suppose all those Alaskans were pretty dumb to vote for someone with a "vacant skull." Never mind the fact that Palin had to run a brilliant campaign against an incumbent governor from her own party. Never mind the fact that she has instituted revolutionary environmental regulations and practices. I guess she didn't understand fiscal policy when she made all those spending cuts to encourage government responsibility.

All those stupid decisions earned her approval ratings from her constituents in the upper 80 percentage range-if not higher--according to most polls.