IT'S TIME TO VET OBAMA ALONG WITH PALIN

The reaction of Republicans and conservatives to the selection of Sarah Palin has been overwhelmingly positive. Predictably, starting with the Obama campaign itself, Democrats have sneered at Palin as a small town mayor and governor of a state with a population (600,000) smaller than many mid-size cities in the U.S. Yet she has more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined.

A few thoughtful conservatives such as Charles Krauthammer think that the Palin selection was a mistake because it takes the issue of Obama inexperience and "readiness to lead" off the table.

Most disagree. Obama is still totally inexperienced in foreign policy and national defense, as he demonstrates on an almost daily basis. McCain's advantage is still universally acknowledged. McCain has been a fighter against corruption and pork; Obama is still someone who played ball with "the good old boys" and practiced pork politics.

The choice of Palin opens up some new territory for examination. The mainstream media will now go over Palin's history with a fine tooth comb because she's an "unknown." But the media have failed or refused to do that kind of examination of Obama's history. After months and months of soaring rhetoric about "hope" and "change" Obama is still a mystery to many because the media hasn't done its job.

Some examples of media neglect:

Palin is a fighter against corruption and waste in government. What has Obama done in his years in the Illinois senate and in Washington? He has indulged in pork barrel politics and played ball with Chicago's patronage-ridden Democratic machine, which is running his campaign. But you wouldn't know that if you just read the newspapers and watch television.

For many months bloggers have been asking the Obama campaign to open up the birth records in Hawaii. The campaign has refused and has only offered a copy of a supposed birth certificate to a left wing website that at least three forensic experts claim is a forgery. Not a word of this controversy has been seen in the national media. Since the matter can be cleared up easily by authorizing access to the original official records, why hasn't the Obama campaign done that?

Long-time Obama friend and fundraiser Tony Rezko, who helped Obama financially in his purchase of his Chicago mansion, has been convicted of 16 counts of political corruption. The media has brushed off the association. Why was Rezko, of Middle East origins who obtained large loans from an Iraqi convicted of grand theft from the Iraqi government, so eager to help Obama?

What has shaped Obama's economic views? Before college his mentor (as identified in Obama's first book) in Hawaii was or had been a member of the Communist Party of the U.S. who railed against the American economic system and white capitalist oppression. Obama's book also disclosed he sought out socialists and black power advocates while in college and progressively distanced himself from his mother's race (which is white). The media shrugs, even though Obama continued his association with haters of America and advocates of black power against white oppression by joining forces with "God Damn America" Reverend Jeremiah Wright for 20 years. He helped organize Nation of Islam's Million Man March and found inspiration in the words of black power zealot Louis Farrakhan. Why did he go to Chicago to learn the Alinsky method of community organizing for socialism, which stresses hiding the real purpose of changing the American economic system by uttering vague appeals to "hope" and "change"? Is none of this relevant?

Recently, sources outside the mainstream media have brought to light Obama's fight against the Illinois Born Alive Act and the fact he lied about why he opposed saving the lives of babies who survived failed abortions. Also, Obama's close association with unrepentant terrorist bomber William Ayers has been ignored by the media and only came to public light through a privately financed TV ad, which the Obama campaign is trying to force off the air.

So, as the digging into the life story of Palin begins, voters should demand that the same diligence be given to Obama's history, from birth to today. Obama's inexperience is known, but his character and the shaping of his worldview are not. Why are so many haters of America his friends? So far, the media has taken Obama's words as the last word. There is too much at stake in this election for the media not to live up to its obligations to the American public.

There is another reason why Palin is a big plus for McCain. She is an expert on energy, a champion of drilling now, including in ANWR (which is in Alaska). For many Americans gasoline prices are at the top of their list of concerns. Palin has been and is a strong voice for America to use its own resources to end dependence on hostile and unstable oil producers. Even if oil prices come down somewhat, America has finally learned its lesson: Let's rely on ourselves as much as we can.

There's much more to like about the selection of Palin, but these two reasons alone justify the choice. Let's finally learn the full Obama story as we learn the full Palin story.

And drill now.