I’m always a little skeptical of posts like Mike’s, which decry the horrible, elitist treatment that Sarah Palin has received. Where are these snide, condescending liberals hiding? I haven’t seen any on television, in the newspapers, or any other news outlet – nor have I seen any polling data indicating the presence of this phantom menace.

Besides, elitism is sort of beside the point. There are plenty of reasons to be uneasy with the prospect of a Palin vice presidency that have nothing to do with mooseburgers. Like, for example, her constant pathological lying. Or her ignorance of foreign policy. Or the fact that she’s the subject of a corruption probe which she openly refuses to cooperate with.

I don’t think it’s elitist to suggest that someone who may very well be president in the next few years should be qualified for the job. And if the last eight years have taught us anything, it’s that focus group-friendly folksiness isn’t a very good metric for determining who should be leader of the free world.

I don’t agree with a lot of what Palin supporter Keith Olsen wrote on Monday, but he was spot on when he said that we should “talk about the real issues.” Absolutely! Let’s talk about, for example, Palin’s real record on earmarks. Or better yet, let’s talk about whether or not sexual assault victims should be charged for their rape kits.

And let’s be clear: for all this talk about liberal elitism and Palin’s blue collar appeal, these are not substantive issues. They’re a smoke screen to avoid the last subject that Palin wants to discuss: her actual positions and qualifications.

Photo by Flickr user NewsHour used under a Creative Commons license.