2 things - The primary battle did weed out the non-misogynist democrats (they are tepid supporters of Obama at best, McCain supporters at worst), so all that is left are the misogynist ones.  SO she does scare them.

#2 - she does accentuate Obama's shortcomings!  They cannot attack her, without showing their hypocracy and duplicity.  And that angers them.

IN short, she is everything they wish their candidate was, but he is not.

I've been having this same discussion with members of my family and one of them sent a story with photos of an AlaskanWomen Against Palin rally. 99.9% of the women there were all dressed like men...blue jeans, sweatsuits,even men's baseball hats!  Hello! The immediate contrast....Palin's ....refreshingly feminine looking...and they can't stand it.

Speaking from a woman's pov and understanding the radical feminists and the big role they play in the culture wars......... I'd say they hate her becasue she's authentically feminine...they fear and hate her normalcy...she's a normal woman, a normal wife, a normal mother...this fact scares the dickens out of them.

The only thing I see is that McCain has thrown one hell of a wrench in the Obama Machine when he picked Palin as his running mate and now the Democrats, who thought they had this election in the bag and, probably, did not expect this to change are now scrambling to counter this unexpected change and we all know how scary it can be to be caught off guard and without a plan.

I don't think sexism is an issue.  I think it's just that they want to be in power and now Palin seems a tad threatening...so they're tearing down her character.

...but then again I don't really pay attention...I just want it to be over as fast as possible.

Though I'm leaning Democrat on this one. 

~Zoo

Zoo, I consider you a thinker.  Can you give me an example of her politics that you don't agree with?

ModerateMan has.

my mom is uber conservative but she hates palin due to her stance on abortion in cases of rape.

Its difficult to see whats right or wrong with Palin. A little media access might be nice to see if she actually knows anything about what she might have to deal with as VP or Pres. I'm certainly not going to base my opinions on canned speeches and commercials. It is obvious in that respect that she is misrepresenting many things. I guess thats why the media refers to parties as brands these days.

Just a side note...

Lived in Alaska, jeans are standard that's true (even called "Alaska casual" when attending events that have dress codes), but people don't get out much so when they do, (talking women here) they don't wear baseball caps.  In fact, the entire time I lived and traveled all over Alaska, the only women I ever saw in caps were in the military.

Also Wasilla is outside Anchorage, which is just like any other medium size city in the US.  It's on the coast of Alaska so doesn't have problems getting supplies..there are like 3 malls, and all the glitz and glamor of regular American cities.  People have mis-impressions about Alaska from tv and Hollyweird.  I know, I was one of them until I lived there.

Well, just look at Palin.  She buys her clothes in Alaska.  And other women have access to the same kind of stores.

All that to say, the women there dress just like women everywhere else, and if a group of them were in jeans and baseball caps, well you can read from that exactly the same thing as seeing women in the rest of the states in a group with jeans and baseball caps. 

Can you name ONE politician that hasn't or isn't being accused of this?

Because its a very rural state which bodes well for the GOP but also because she gave the residents an extra K from the oil revenues this year.

I worked on tankers going from Valdez and Nikiski to west coast ports for the better part of twenty years. The local papers told and still tell a very good story about her politics. Im sure much of what happened when she was Mayor and while she has been Gov is archived online. Whether you like her stance on issues or not is one thing but I can say that the campaign is seriously misrepresenting the facts.

What is the difference between hating someone you don't know personally because of their political affiliations and hating someone you don't know personally because of some other group affiliation such as sex, race, religion, etc.?

If it becomes morally acceptable to hate based on political affiliation, is it a stretch to believe hatred due to other affiliations may become ok as well?

Those really aren't the issues for many. They are mostly wedge issues that are used to pander votes. None of them will be implemented at the federal level any time soon. The world will go on if Fed money isnt used for Emb. stem cell research. Some states, universities and the private sector will fund research, but if you look at how Bush played with the issue its kinda funny. He simply toed a thin line until he got reelected. The same goes for the other issues. If states want to create their own flock thats fine with me. Many of the Evangelical lobbies who push these issue are just out for a buck and there will always be politicians willing to grab some of the take.

I can survive with either party at the helm. Its just a matter of using different tax breaks or investing my money a little differently so I look more at who their advisors are and who their cabinet might be to see if it fits the direction I think things should go. I do also look at whether I think they can actually handle the job. Im comfortable enough with McCain,Obama, and Biden but everything I've seen about Palin casts doubt. I honestly dont think she is competent enough for the job.