In my home state, where I played varsity basketball for four years, Senator John McCain saw fit to bring up his running mate’s point guard prowess as a qualification on how she will empower women.

Well first let me take a shot at that, and I’ll tell ya, I’m a product of Title IX in our schools, where equal education and equal opportunities in sports really helped propel me into the—I guess into the position that I’m in today where,” Palin said.

McCain then interjected, “Could I mention she was a point guard on a state championship basketball team.”

After the crowd’s applause died down, Palin continued: ‘”Sports were very, very important to me growing up, you know just learning about self discipline and healthy competition and about what it takes to win and even how to graciously lose sometimes. But how to win, that’s what it teaches ya. Now, I was a product of Title IX where legislation allowed that equal opportunity. Now if we have to still keep going down that road to create more legislation, to get with it in the 21st century, to make sure that women do have equality especially in the work place, then we’re there because we understand that in this age we have all got to be working together. I respect you so much that you are a Democrat recognizing that John McCain and me as a team of mavericks understand where you’re coming from, and we can work together on these issues. But yup, equality for women, for all, that’s going to be part of the agenda and I thank you for that question.”

In case you missed that…those are two Republicans touting Title IX and using her point guard experience as how Palin will ’empower’ women if she’s elected.

By those standards, pigs just flew and my vast high school athletic experience, coupled with my new PTA role, qualifies me as the next Queen of the Mother Fucking world. Screw VP, I’m aiming higher.

The 2008 GOP platform has some language not exactly RAH! RAH! Title IX in case you want to take a look. You see the Bush Administration thought it was bad and essentially ordered a review and slammed Title IX.

So by these standards, Palin and McCain are touting their Alaskan point guard to the tune of a program their party tried to eliminate. And there is evidence McCain isn’t even clear on what Title IX actually DOES.

Lovely.

And by the way, I was as small forward. I could, and still can, block out Palin with my hips and steal the ball. And have every intention of doing so in this election.

A sad and disturbing thing happened at Kindergarten this week.

I finally started talking to some other parents.

I then immediately alienated them.

It started innocently enough. I was volunteering to work in the class room, discussing dates with the ‘room mom’ when her husband showed up. He, of course, introduced himself and we all chatted like old friends.

This is the couple that had already met my husband and chatted. In the back of my mind I was thinking ‘sweet! friends! I wonder if they drink?’ when I got the ‘so what do you do?’ question.

‘I’m the political director for a site called blogher, it’s a network of women bloggers.’

‘Oh, really…so what do you think of this Palin thing…she’s getting a lot of the women’s vote, huh?’

And then…something happend. It was like, involuntary. I launched into this tirade on women voters and issues and how, actually, a new study showed Clinton voters are now 55% less likely to vote for McCain due to the Palin pick and women actually vote on issues, not gender…so assuming they would vote for Palin based on gender was not only untrue but rather insulting…and on, and on, and on.

He then politely said something to his wife about his dentist appointment and left the table, moving to talk to a much less crazy mother.

I can’t even have a normal conversation while waiting for Kindergarten pick-up. I am hopelessly trapped in the echo-chamber and I see no real escape until November 5th, 2008.

I just hope I will have friends when it’s all over.

Scratch that, I don’t care if I have friends so long as Obama wins. Then I’ll work on that friend thing. And maybe talk about something like…the weather.