Sarah Palin has been all over the news.  Ever since her tapping as John McCain’s Vice Presidential candidate, the world has been watching her, waiting for her to shine or fail.  The scrutiny has gone beyond any other VP candidate in history because she was relatively unknown, she has strong views that are controversial at times, and yes, most importantly, because she is a woman, the first GOP VP female candidate.

With all of the news swirling around her, it can be difficult to find the real facts.  Here are 10 websites that are as honest and factual as they can be, trying not to totally endorse or smear her, but simply to tell us who she is.  Read them, enjoy them, link to them, but most of all, understand that the real issue here is not her gender but whether or not she can lead this country as President if that day comes.

1. Sarah Palin on Wikipedia: While I hate to jump on any Wikipedia bandwagon, this one seems to be fairly well maintained and guarded.  While the information on it is rather limited by Wikipedia standards, it is still full of enough information to understand more about here.
2. Sarah Palin on Gawker: There are many websites with funny information about Sarah Palin.  Gawker, while not the most  robust news source, does a great job with this article about some of the more ridiculous information and rumors surrounding the Palin phenomenon.
3. Sarah Palin Facts: Definitely tilted, but informative still.  There is data on here that is priceless.
4. Sarah Palin on the Issues: Unbiased, factual, and based on extensive research.  A perfect tool for those who want the facts and nothing but the facts.
5. Sarah Palin Blog: This one is obviously tilted in her favor, but still offers resources and fair reporting on the issues and news surrounding her.
6. Sarah Palin News: Nothing beats Reuters for the pure, unbiased news.  The Palin page on their website is no exception.
7. Sarah Palin Jokes: Where there is news, the jokes must follow.  This is no exception.
8. Sarah Palin Support: For those looking for a place to read about and get active in supporting Sarah Palin, this is the place.
9. Sarah Palin Buzz: This is a site that pulls from others to compile the latest buzz about Sarah Palin from the Internet.
10. Sarah Palin More Information: Wow.  Talk about complete coverage.  Here is the source for anything and everything that has to do with Sarah Palin.

That’s it.  More are popping up every day, but these 10 should have enough for any Palin supporter or detractor to fill a day or two worth of reading, fact-finding, and strategizing.  Hopefully there are members of her or Barack Obama’s campaign teams looking at this list right now.

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Read more information about politics and everything else on this blog.

When Al Gore finally endorses a Presidential candidate, people will stop asking him who he’s endorsing. He knows this all too well. In the meantime, he will milk every interview for an opportunity to say he’s the “PR Man for the World” and continue to promote his mission of saving mother earth.

For those of you holding onto the hope that he’ll mount his steed and rush in to save the Democratic party, let it go. Al Gore will not run for President. That position is below him now. He’s tasted the Nobel glory, nibbled on the Oscar cheese, and he gets to do it all on his time and at his pace. The President of the United States is the leader of the free world. Al Gore has a loftier goal. He wants eternity, and he wants it world-wide.

He has a Global Warming Campaign launching, a 60 Minute interview, and he’s building an army 10 million strong. That was all yesterday. Over the months, he’s had powerful people working hard to get his endorsement. It won’t come. Not any time soon.

The attention while he still holds the endorsement card and the “will he run?” card is way to strong to let go. He is on a pedestal and he won’t come down until he’s taken everything he needs from it.

THIS IS NOT A BASH. He’s a genius at this game and he’s doing it for an incredibly good cause. I am merely pointing out that the skill with which he is wielding his weapons is akin to an ancient Samurai falling foes with a knowing grin on his face. The grin, in Al’s case, is that he knows the truth. Losing the election in 2000 was the best thing that could have happened to him on the “Eternity Scale”. If his plan works and people 100 years from now look back at the direction we are currently going, they will say “Al Gore made life possible today, almost single-handedly.”

Nobody outside of historians will remember Obama or McCain, but everyone will celebrate Al Gore Earth Day in 2108. That is, at least, his goal. Whether it will be a reality or not — time will tell. As far as an endorsement, Gore will NOT tell.

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Politics. It annoys and intrigues at the same time. My Poli-Sci degree fell to the wayside when I discovered writing, so here’s my political blog that has a bunch of other stuff, too. Read it nicely.

With the Republican Nomination locked up for John McCain and his cross-party rivals duking it out, one would think that the GOP campaign staff would focus on raising money, finding a vice-president, and establishing a foundation of support.

Then again, if “one” were clever, they would be fanning the flames of the Democratic nomination race, pushing for Clinton to stay in as long as she can (or outright win, if that’s still possible) so they can continue to wear each other down.

While there is no way to be sure what is going on in the deepest bowels of the McCain camp, it can be assumed that a trusted handful of people are doing what they can to keep the Clinton-factor alive and well. Images leaked, memos publicized, voters contacted, all in the name of promoting Clinton as the better Democratic candidate.

McCain is on better footing against Clinton if she is able to pull off a miracle. While he has plenty of ammo against her, Obama is the anti-McCain. He is youthful, vibrant, and exceptionally well spoken. He pulls in the vote of the 20- and 30-somethings. Clinton does as well, but not nearly to the degree that Obama will in a head-to-head battle with McCain.

Then, there is the mudslinging aspect. Hillary and Bill are masters of mud, slinging it with such skill and precision that it’s a wonder how Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush even survived the onslaught. The problem they are having now is Obama lacks the experience that helps to accumulate mud. While Hillary was putting together a nice resume of lies and deniable sniper attacks, Obama was still in political grade school.

Where there’s a Clinton, there’s a way, and as long as the GOP can keep her active, she’ll be tossing a kitchen sink (full of knives) at the enigma that is Barack Obama. That is the McCain campaigns best ally – to stay squeaky clean for as long as possible while Clinton and Clinton work their voodoo on Obama.

In the end, it will be Obama versus McCain, but for now, some people behind the scenes are ready with the adrenaline shots to the heart for Clinton. The paddles are in hand and juiced up. They’ll keep it alive as long as they can.

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Related: Al Gore: Milking Non-Commitment for Everything its Got

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For more amateur political analysis, check Noozeez often. It may not make sense to you, but somebody out there gets it.