Film critic Roger Ebert has been more or less vocally silenced by complications from cancer of the salivary gland, but that hasn't stopped him from assessing Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin as "the American Idol candidate" (i.e., good-looking, translates well on TV, has a sunny personality, and is fiercely competitive) in this stinging piece. Pointedly: "You don't need to be a pointy-headed elitist to travel abroad. You need curiosity and a hunger to see the world. What kind of a person (who has the money) arrives at the age of 44 and has only been out of the country once, on an official tour to Iraq*? Sarah Palin's travel record is that of a provincial, not someone who is equipped to deal with global issues."

* - Kuwait, actually