August 31, 2008
Well, I'll be dipped: It's Palin!
Proving that there's no telling what John McCain will do, the GOP candidate told conventional wisdom to take a hike and sent Pawlenty and Romney packing,Lieberman and Ridge back to their respective corners, and decided to pick the single-most interesting person to join him on the ticket: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
It's a brilliant decision -- and not just because I've been singing her praises for months.
Palin, a conservative reformer who defeated the Republican establishment at every turn in Alaska -- she wrestled away the gubernatorial nomination away from the incumbent, promising to sell the state's executive jet and cut spending -- has had approval ratings in the 80-90 percent range.
She's a mother of five, her eldest child enlisting in the military and deploying to Iraq, her youngest an infant with Down's syndrome. Palin's husband is a commercial fisherman and North Slope oilfield worker.
Palin served two terms as mayor, where she first earned a reputation as a budget-cutting reformer, lowering property taxes by 60 percent during her first term -- and getting reelected by an even bigger margin for her second.
Of the three other candidates -- McCain, Obama and Biden -- Palin has the most executive experience, with a total of 12 years of experience in elective office, including commanding the Alaska National Guard.
The Democrats have a dilemma when it comes to critiquing her selection: Accusations of "She's not qualified!" invariably result in an examination of Obama's qualifications -- and the comparison is not good for the Democrat.
Did you know that if Obama wins the election, at the end of his four-year first term in office will be the longest single full-time job he'd ever held?
Let me repeat that: Obama has never worked full-time -- in the same job -- for four years.
By Inauguration Day he'll have four years in the U.S. Senate, but he'll have been campaigning for half that time; as of today, however, he's only got about 180 days where he was in Washington, in the Senate, doing Senatorial things.
But enough of Obama, let's talk about Sarah Palin.
She's a game-changing choice, electrifying the race, energizing the conservative base, intriguing moderates and independent voters, and sucking all the air out of the Obama post-convention bounce.
People who have never contributed a dime to any political candidate are pulling out their credit cards and checkbooks and adding to McCain's coffers.
Conservatives who were prepared to sit out the election -- especially if McCain picked liberal Senator Joe Lieberman or RINO Tom Ridge -- are now willing to volunteer for the Republican's campaign.
And Hillary Clinton's supporters, many of whom think Obama disrespected their candidate (and them), are considering shifting their allegiance to Palin (and McCain).
No other candidate for the second spot on the GOP ticket could have generated this kind of response. Palin was an inspired choice. The next two months will tell if she's up to the task.
Posted by Mike Lief at August 31, 2008 07:53 AM
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Comments
Other than run for elective office, I'm still waiting to hear what Obama has accomplished in life. What major bills did he sponsor and see through? (None that I'm aware); What did he accomplish as a "community organizer"(nothing that I have yet to hear). So, basically, the Democrats have championed an ineffective "community organizer" to oversee the safety and welfare of the American people and the free world.
Forget McCain, I agree with Mike Lief that even Palin makes Obama's (yet to be defined) accomplishments seem small.
Wow did McCain make a smart choice. She has maverick tendencies and can't be linked to the Republican fat cats that have tarnished the once great reputation of the Republican party. When the Democrats discuss Republican overspending, McCain and Palin can counter with their own records. This duo is the perfect team to champion the Republican banner given the scandals the party has endured in recent years.
As a Republican, I have been so disappointed to see the party veer away from fundamental Reagan policies. It's painful to hear near universal acceptance of the notion that Bill Clinton was a better steward of the economy than Bush. The maverick duo of McCain of Palin will help to deflect such criticism and possibly when an election for the GOP in a time where the Democrats have a huge advantage.
Posted by: Bill H. at August 31, 2008 11:39 AM