Dear Ann Adams (Letters, Sept. 13), your comparison of Sarah Palin and Barack Obama is 180 degrees off. Community organizers are indeed worthy of respect. Having said that, in his best selling memoir, Obama writes that during his three years as a community organizer he butted his head against a stone wall (and his own party controlled the city of Chicago).

Palin’s record as Wasilla mayor was quite different. Yes, she lowered taxes on business. Small businesses need relief to help keep jobs in the community (there are no large businesses in Wasilla.) However, you fail to mention that Palin cut wasteful spending and property taxes went down 60 percent. As for the sales tax increase for Wasilla’s hockey rink, the citizens of Oak Harbor supported a similar policy for building our new stadium (and we still have sewage treatment issues). Finally, Palin never banned a single book. She never even tried.

Yes, Palin supported the “bridge to nowhere” when she campaigned for governor. Bad Sarah. But she saw the light when she was elected in 2006. Obama has yet to see it. In 2007, some U.S. senators attempted to remove the “bridge to nowhere” earmark. Guess what? Obama (backed by Joe Biden) voted to keep the earmark, and waste that $223 million anyway.

As governor, Palin defied Obama, Biden and the irresponsible Democrats and Republicans who voted with them. She spent the money on more useful projects. Yes, she kept the money. Bad Sarah.

One last thing, Ann. If Sarah Palin’s experience and record is too thin for her to be vice president, remember this: Barack Obama’s experience and record is even thinner, and he wants to be president.

Paul Newman

Oak Harbor