...and It's McCain/Palin.

Sarah Palin is hard to figure out as a candidate for several good reasons, one being that she has never served in a legislature and therefore lacks the record of binary "yea"/"nea" votes that have defined the three other candidates' civil liberties platform.  We know Palin as two things: Mayor of a small Alaska town, and (for half a term) governor of the state.  What we've learned about her during that time is limited, but not insignificant. The good:

• She has a solid platform on gun rights.  During the 2006 Alaska gubernatorial race, Palin was given an A+ rating by the National Rifle Association (NRA).  This puts her far ahead not only her Democratic rivals, both of whom holds F ratings from the NRA, but also ahead of her running mate, who holds a mere C.  Of the 2008 presidential primary candidates in both parties, only Bill Richardson held an A+ from the NRA.
• The fact that she has no legislative record gives her a certain amount of freedom to take civil libertarian positions on some issues, if she chooses to do so.

The bad:

• To the extent that Palin does have an established record, it has been a record that represents the culturally conservative wing of the Republican Party.  On abortion, for example, she is to the right of McCain; McCain favors overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving the matter to the states, while Palin supports an outright ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or a woman's health.  On gay rights, she not only supported her state's 1998 ban on same-sex marriage, but even spoke out against a 2006 state supreme court ruling awarding domestic partnership benefits to partners of gay state employees.  She has also advocated the teaching of creationism in public schools.
• The fact that she has no legislative record gives her a certain amount of freedom to take authoritarian positions on other issues, if she chooses to do so. 

Related: Sarah Palin on Civil Liberties | The Religious Right Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden was unobjectionable from a civil liberties point of view, but told us little new about him as a candidate.  This was partly a function of the long Democratic primary process, which gave Obama more than enough opportunity to define who he is and what his agenda is. Related: Barack Obama on Civil Liberties | Joe Biden on Civil Liberties But John McCain, because of his short primary process, has greater opportunity to brand himself in the general election.  It is an opportunity that he has mostly squandered so far, but there are still more than two months to go.    Related: John McCain on Civil Liberties What does the selection of Sarah Palin tell us about John McCain's civil liberties agenda?  Share your thoughts below.