Alaska

I'm not about to say one word in favour of Sarah Palin - she is a christian fundamentalist, pro life person who I do not want to see gain the vice presidency or presidency of the US, or hold any other public office, for that matter.

I am, however, as someone who hails from the Highlands, a bit put out by the "she can't run anything cos she comes from a place where there are more caribou than people" tendency. As any of the Liberal Democrats who represent the Highlands will tell you, it's wonderful to be there, but life in the rural wilds has its unique challenges.

How do you deliver appropriate healthcare to someone who lives in rural Sutherland, for example?

For a long time when I was growing up, Wick didn't have a swimming pool and we had to go to Aberdeen, and after, thankfully, Inverness, to do a decent shopping.

I think there are similarities between the Highlands of Scotland and Alaska.

There are huge numbers of reasons to not want to vote for Sarah Palin, but the fact that she is Governor of a rural area is not one of them.

The fact that she doesn't seem to give a damn about oil exploration up there is a good one, though, and so is her proud membership of the NRA.

Just don't ever say governance of rural areas is easy.