Politics: Let’s concentrate on what’s important

The election is over, but the sniping carries on.

The latest has Republican vice president nominee Sarah Palin blasting anonymous John McCain campaign staffers about her behavior on the campaign trail.

Palin is upset over comments that she went on a shopping spree with Republican Party money and didn’t know Africa is a continent rather than a country.

“That’s cruel, it’s mean-spirited, it’s immature, it’s unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away with it taking things out of context, then tried to spread something on national news,” Palin said.

I agree.

It’s tough to lose an election, especially the one for president. There’s always sour grapes and finger-pointing. This one does seem overly mean-spirited.

The press has reported that the Republican National Committee’s purchased more than $150,000 in clothes for Palin as well as her family. The implication, of course, is that Palin demanded such treatment.

I suppose it’s possible, but I doubt it. Palin comes across as a pretty down to earth person who fits right in with the rugged Alaska landscape.

“I never asked for anything more than maybe a diet Dr Pepper every once in a while,” Palin said.

But defense aside, Palin makes an even better point when she says “this is Barack Obama’s time right now and this is an historic moment in our nation and this can be a shining moment for America in our history. And look what we’re talking about again, we’re talking about my shoes and belts and skirts. This is ridiculous.”

U.S. voters made history on Nov. 4 when they elected as president a man with African heritage. That alone should focus our attention where it belongs. Instead we get carryover from the campaign trail involving things of little or no importance.

$150,000 in clothes? Even if it is the case, so what? My tax dollars didn’t go to pay the bill. There are far more important things facing our country these days. The economy is in the tank, housing prices have fallen, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan continues to drag on and people are sitting on their wallets – or what’s left of them.

The important stories should deal with how our president-elect plans to deal with these issues. Can he get the economy back on track? When can we leave of Iraq? Can he turn our hopelessness to hope?

Now that’s what I want to know.