On Oct. 1, Lenny Van Driel wrote a column about respect for women, and how people shouldn’t vote against the McCain/Palin ticket simply because McCain picked a woman as his running mate. I agree; a much better reason not to vote for McCain/Palin is because Palin is completely unsuited to the VP job, and the fact that McCain asked her to do it anyway is insulting to women.

I know few people who respect women and women’s rights less than Sarah Palin. Palin is opposed to abortion, birth control and comprehensive sex education. Her lack of political experience is appalling, and McCain barely spoke to her before choosing her as his VP. To me, this speaks volumes about McCain’s contempt for women: does he really think that he will gain the women’s vote because he threw them a token in choosing his running mate? Senator Obama, on the other hand, put two months thought into his VP nominee. His choice was not only wisely made to shore up some of the holes in his resume, such as his lack of foreign policy experience, but it also showed a profound respect for women in that Biden is pro-choice and has worked assiduously on the Hill to put into place legislation improving the prosecution of domestic violence.

This call is directed to the women of our great nation. By choosing Palin as his vice president, McCain has declared that he believes we are unthinking fools, to be appeased with a token. By choosing Biden as his running mate however, Obama has shown us that he believes women are smart enough to see past the surface and vote where their interests truly lie. I urge you all to prove him right, and vote Obama/Biden come November.