September 01, 2008
Why Palin?
Right Wing Prof makes the case for Palin in an all-inclusive, one-stop, all-you-can-eat post, beginning with why Sarah Palin is the perfect choice for McCain's running mate.
Here's a taste.
Palin strengthens all of McCain’s strongest attributes. She’s a fearless fighter, who fought her state party’s entrenched power structure, and won. Strong and courageous — two of McCain’s greatest strengths — are also hers. Like McCain, she hates corruption, back room deals, and government waste, and she’s been fighting it since before she was the governor. Also like McCain, she cares less for party line than what she believes is right. By putting her on the ticket instead of a Washington insider, McCain put real teeth in his campaign for change — real change, not insubstantial, undefined change. Like McCain, Palin is an unwavering, unapologetic patriot, and both believe firmly in Reagan’s view of America as a shining city on a hill.
She also shores up McCain’s weaknesses. She’s more socially conservative than McCain, and if you don’t think that’s important, note that seven million dollars in contributions have poured into the campaign since she was announced in Dayton. Of all the primary candidates, her conservatism is most similar to Fred Thompson’s. She takes her oath seriously, and used her veto pen the first time because the law violated the state constitution. She is less favorably disposed to regulation than is McCain, but she’s not afraid to go after powerful businesses when she perceives that it’s in the peoples’ best interests. We know this because she took on the oil companies in Alaska — and won.
No other candidate I can think of would so perfectly have complemented — and strengthened — McCain. Not Romney, not Huck, not Pawlenty. Nobody.
I can't disagree with his logic; my support for McCain has been tepid at best, more akin to voting for him in spite of his stand on myriad issues. Palin more closely represents the qualities that traditional conservatives value, and helps generate real enthusiasm for the ticket for the first time.
But Palin's most attractive qualities appear in the next section, where he explains that she's every Jacksonian's dream candidate -- and he's right.
Let’s start with her character and values. Bill Whittle comments on another blog:I think it is a big mistake to assume that McCain picked Palin because she is a woman. No doubt that is a part of it, but it is Palin’s character that has us just smitten with her. She had a problem at school one day so she went to a PTA meeting. She didn’t like the way things were going so she ran for the PTA and won. Then she ran for mayor of her hometown — where she played basketball and met her husband — and won. Then she got disgusted by Alaska politics and GOP corruption, and as a Republican ran against the corruption in her own party — and won. And she never whined or complained. She’s happily married, she’s a tough lady married to a tougher man, and she got there through hard work and sheer determination.
She’s the conservative success story, and that is why men and women on the right just LOVE this pick. Not because she’s a woman, but because she’s Joe, uh, make that JANE Citizen, and she played by the rules and beat corruption . . . I would encourage you to look at Sarah Palin as what we all hope for: a self-made person who seems to want to do the right thing. She’s not a Woman VP — she’s an anti-corruption VP. That’s how we see her. That’s how she deserves to be seen. She has the enthusiastic — actually, incandescent support of every conservative I know — not because she is a political missile aimed at Hillary voters, but because she embodies the American dream of the citizen who decided to make a difference.
By adding Palin to the ticket, he put the stamp of absolute authenticity on his campaign. Make no mistake, Sarah Palin is as real as it gets. She’s not a wealthy insider pretending to be blue collar. She’s as Joe Jane Six-Pack as anyone alive.
She fishes. She hunts. She’s a gun nut. She shops at Wal-Mart. She was raised by a teacher and a school secretary. She rides a Harley and hangs around with Vietnam Vet bikers. Biden can talk all he wants about his “blue collar roots,” but it’s nothing more than bluster when placed against Palin. And understand: Wal-Mart voters have an unerring instict for detecting one of their own.
I remain more convinced than ever that Palin will prove to be an asset to McCain; the increasing hysteria in the Democratic ranks -- and amongst their media lackeys -- as they scramble to smear, slander and denigrate her serves only to reveal what a threat Palin represents to the lackluster Obama-Biden ticket.
Posted by Mike Lief at September 1, 2008 12:25 AM
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Comments
McCain has never been one of my favorites. He's always seemed like a moderate Democrat who served in the military. I don't like his views on abortion and I don't trust his views on raising taxes. But Gov. Palin is a different story. Her views are much more in line with my own. Still I have concerns.
She left her 3 day old Down's Syndrome child to return to work? Why so soon? As a mother of a child with mild autism, I know a little bit about special needs, but I can't imagine how she could have left that poor child after only 3 days.
And knowing that her daughter was 17, unmarried, and pregnant she accepted the nomination for vice-president? How could she do this knowing that her daughter's situation would become the focus of intense national scrutiny?
And now she's going to be campaigning full-time and largely unavailable for both her 17 year old, who'll be a new mom and still a teenager and her own, 4-month-old Down's Syndrome baby. She seems to have my views on the issues, but she sure doesn't have my views of what it means to be a parent.
Red State Mom
Posted by: RSM at September 2, 2008 10:55 AM
I've been a McCain supporter for quite a long time, but I am baffled by this selection. There is no question that Gov. Palin is a special person with a compelling personal story. There is also no question that being Mayor of a town of 6,900 and spending less than two years as Governor of a state with the population slightly greater than the Greater Fresno area does not qualify her to be leader of the free world.
While it is true that she may be beneficial to the McCain ticket and may even be a good Vice President, she is simply unqualified to be President.
Given McCain's age and health history, that must be a consideration. My fellow Republicans defend her experience by arguing that she is more experienced than Obama. That argument is short-sighted; two wrongs simply do not make a right.
This was a purely political choice that shows a surprising level of irresponsibility on the part of McCain. I'm very disappointed.
Posted by: CPT AP at September 3, 2008 05:04 PM