A good friend of mine, Justin, sent me an email with this article on Sarah Palin written and compiled by Jeff Head. I like it so much that I am posting it here. Enjoy!
Coming the day after Obama's historic acceptance speech at the Democratic convention, which speech along with Obama's earlier pick of Joe Biden as his own VP running mate, were expected to be the top news item leading into the Republican convention the following week, McCain's pick of Sarah Palin completely eclipsed Obama's anticpated attention in the news cycles. Palin's introductory speech on that day in Ohio was extremely well received and made clear how poised and articulate she was on conservative principles and regarding her own history in Alaska.
In less than 24 hours, Obama's day in the sun was eclisped and relegated to history being completely upstaged by the Palin choice. The news cycles focused on nothing else afterwards in terms of the presidential politics right into the Republican convetnion.
The choice by McCain has stunningly energized the conservative base of the Republican party, an important segment McCain had his own problems with. In choosing Palin, a staunch conservative, McCain revitalized his commitment and perception in that area. Many conservatives who had relegated themselves to simply voting against Obama, are now more than willing to vote "for" Palin.
The choice also reached out directly to independents and disaffected Democratic voters, particularly women, who were so sorely disappointed by Hillary Clinton's narrow loss and the way they had been treated since Obama sealed the nomination. Particularly in overlooking Hillary Clinton, who won 18 million votes in the primaries, and actually had more votes than Obama, those disaffected women have also been energized about the Palin pick. Many are indicating on blogs and disaffected Hillary voter sites on the web that they intend to cross over and vote for McCain and Palin now.
On September 3, at the Republican Convention, Sarah gave a hard hitting, compelling acceptance speech, detailing her own qualifications and accomplishements as Governor in Alaska, clearly and compellingly pointing out the qualifications of John McCain as President, and contrasting and highlighting the differences between the GOP's conservative agenda and ticket and the very liberal agenda and ticket represented by Barack Hussein Obama and Joe Biden for the DNC. After the speech, she was joined onstage by GOP Presidential Nominee, John McCain and her family where they all graciously waved to the crowd who had received her speech with many interruptions for applause and who cheered strongly as the entire ticket was on stage. Upwards of 40 million people viewed Sarah's acceptance speech that night and heard directly from the candidate without any media or opposition bias or spin.
The Obama campaign and DNC has, from the start, launched all-out attacks against Palin, indicating that she does not have enough executive or national experience, and disgustingly seeking to dig up all types of dirt, or any other small contrivance to assassinate Palin's character in the eyes of the voters, including outrageous and patently false rumors about her down's syndrome baby, and about her 17-year-old daughter who is engaged, but is also expecting the baby of her fiancee.
It is this author's opinion that the character and the disgusting smear tactics will completely backfire on the instigators. The American people are drawn to all-American, family-oriented, fighters who take on the establishment and will view such attacks as the thinly veiled attempts they are to silence her.
So, let's put the smears aside and focus on the legitimate question of experience...and apply it to both sides of the issue.
Excuse me? She, Governor Sarah Palin, does not have enough executive experience?
A simple analysis of the relative experience levels of Sarah Palin compared to either Democratic candidate puts this to rest.
For over a decade, Sarah Palin has been involved in executive decision making at increasing levels of elected positions of public trust. Outside of running a political campaign, Obama has no executive experience and Biden has no executive experience.
During these years, Palin left off running an actual private business in Alaska, a commercial fishing business where she had to experience what normal Americans experience in business having to meet budgets, payrolls, expenses, and the tax burden.
After becoming involved in the local PTA for her children, others urged her to run for city council and she did so, on the platform of lowering taxes. She did that job so well, she was urged to run for Mayor where she was also elected in a relatively small town (about 10,000) near Anchorage, where people know one another and where she had to garner votes from people whom she had to look in the eye and make commitments to. Her campaign was based again on lowering taxes, cleaning up waste, and then ending any corruption.
She did that job so well as Mayor that she was ultimately elected to be Governor of the State of Alaska, managing 17,000 personnel and a 7 billion dollar budget. She has taken her lower taxes, government finance reform, and ending political corruption platform to the statehouse and succeeded so well that she has an absolutely bi-partisan approval rating of over 80% among the voters there. Obama and Biden have absolutely no comparable experience at all, neither of them, in excutive decision making, budgetary management, or organizational and policy management, or in approval ratings. All areas that Sarah Palin has been successfully accomplishing now for several years.Sarah Palin being sworn in as Governor
Governor Sarah Palin executing her duties as Governor, signing legislation.
In Alaska, as Governor, Sarah is also the Commander in Chief (CINC) of the Alaskan National Guard. This is a critical national assignment as Alaska sits on the border with Russia where Air National Guard aircraft intercept Russian Bear aircraft. Sarah Palin has taken her role as the Commander seriously, regularly visiting the units and coming to understand their duties and capabilities. Again, neither Obama or Biden have any comparable experience whatsoever.
Governor Palin, an avid shooter, learns about weapons of military units stationed in Alaska
(she's manning the gun).
As Governor, Sarah has helped devise and push through a project for the largest natural gas line, and largest infrastructure project in the history of the US...taking on entrenched politicians (on both sides of the aisle), lobby groups, and large corporations in the process. This project leads the way to American energy independence which the vast majority of Americans want, and it is a very tangible accomplishment in a sea of words that have to date prodiced nothing by opposition candidates. Her involvement with, and her understanding of, the Energy issue is unmatched by either Democratic candidate.
Beyond all of this, there is also a part of Sarah Palin that most hard working, patriotic, and committed Americans are coming to adore about her. She is real. She is authentic. She is a breath of fresh air in the usually dank and ill smelling profession of politics. Not only has she stood up to corrupt politics and the old networks that have produced so much waste, fraud, and "bridges to nowhere", she is also a regular person, and authentic all-American girl, wife, mother, and citizen.
She has actually walked the walk of reform and change instead of just talking about it.
She does not come from privilege, did not aspire to it, and was not placed by powerful or connected individuals into it. She did not attend the Ivy League or [other] prestigious schools. She has gotten to where she is by pure honesty, integrity, hard work, and the strength of her good character and has been raising five kids and enjoying life while doing so.
And most of all, Sarah Palin loves her family:
All of this drives the leftist and anti-American crowd mad. That is why they are attacking her so shamelessly. But those attacks will fail and they will fail because they will cause more and more Americans to look at her for themselves. What will they find? They will find that Sarah Palin is the real deal. Young, refreshing, dedicated wife, mother, American citizen.
She is the real deal when it comes to the change that is so much needed in American politics, particularly in Washington. John McCain must be congratulated for vetting her, seeing this, and making the inspired decision to put her on his ticket and the national stage.
Sarah Palin represents in fact, and in her own actions, what so many others (including Obama and the entrenched Biden) only talk about, and then go on with business as usual.
I decided to vote for what's his face based on his selection of Palin for vice president. I think she is awesome. I think McCain is a punk, but I'm betting she will help tone down his surly attitude. Gotta give the man credit, he made a wise choice picking her for his running mate
ReplyDeleteA lot of good information! I was thrilled when McCain announced her and it'll be very interesting to continue to see how this goes. Especially if Obama continues his "pig" comments.
ReplyDeleteI think Sarah is the best thing to happen to American politics in a long while. If we can't have Mitt, give us Sarah! We just had a friend return from Alaska last night, she still has a 82% approval rating as governor. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a more popular governor anywhere in the lower 48.
ReplyDeleteToo bad it can't be Mitt and Sarah. I wasn't going to vote at all, because I was rather uninterested in both presidential candidates, but McCain's VP selection is making me take a closer look. People complain that McCain doesn't care about the country and only wants to win, and that's why he chose a woman. Well, good for him, and good for us! I think the left's comments about Palin are particularly despicable, even worse than usual, and they are just digging themselves deeper and deeper. Obama needs to stop worrying about McCain's VP and start worrying about his own issues -- seems like every other word out of his mouth is to defend something stupid someone in his party said. He just needs to get back to actually running for president rather than endorsing a smear campaign.
ReplyDeletehi candace!!
ReplyDeletegood morning! thanks so much for posting this. i loved that you shared all of this!
i am one proud alaskan here because of my governor sarah. but i do not like her JUST because she is my alaskan governor. in fact, she is the first governor here that has ever impressed me. i don't hardly ever get into politics or talking about them, but i am sooo thrilled since john McCain (I just remembered you like it when I use big letters, too) announced her. Since that night, I have finally been interested in this race ... the first time I have been interested since Mitt left.
The very first time I heard Sarah speak was 2 years ago in an interview when she was running for governor. I remember that moment very clearly. When I first heard her talk in that moment, I immediately thought, wow, this candidate is something special, something different, I was impressed with her immediately. Not because she is a woman or some lame reason like that. What impressed me immediately about her was I realized wow, this person believes in something, she sounds convicted, when she believes in something, she stands by it, and nobody can talk her out of her conviction, and I got the impression that she is not afraid to say and do what she thinks regardless of hurting someone's feelings. I got the impression that she does not play favorites and that she stands for something. I don't usually care about politics, but I can and do respect these traits in someone regardless of what profession they are in.
I have been enjoying her in action ever since she took our governor position 2 years ago.
She rocks and I believe in her.
I heard this cute joke the other night. The other night after Sarah's speech, she began to wonder if she should rethink her running mate. hehehe. cute.
Thanks for a posting a great post. I want to reference this in my post today. Great day, Kathleenybeany :)
PS. and I am so stoked happy excited that I got to attend TOFW (time out for women) last weekend here in Anchorage Alaska! It was my pleasure to get to partake of one of those finally. I have been wanting so bad to go to one ever since I joined our church 3 years ago .... so I was beyond thrilled to get to be here for one right here in my town! What a priceless gift this weekend with them was. I posted about it over the weekend (two posts and I shared a photo that someone took of me and Hilary Weeks -- that was the biggest treat for me, I mean I loved everything, but the biggest treat for me was getting to meet Hilary and to hear her sing live). Take care girl...
You all make excellent points. I was very hesitant to vote for McCain as well because of some of his legislation. But I always knew he'd be the best guy for the War on Terror. I had trouble reconciling that. His choice for Sarah Palin as VP cemented my vote and support. Now, if he's smart, he'll run the War on Terror, turn loose Sarah on the pork barrel politicians in Washington, D.C. and put Mitt in charge of the economy. Now that would be a pretty sweet four years!
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