Palin a Great Pick by McCain
The suspense over John McCain’s selection of a running mate is now over. While Governor Palin is unknown to many of the beltway pundits and talking heads I think she is going to resonate well with the people of Alabama. Her down to earth people skills and experience as an outdoorsman make her someone who people in Alabama will be able to relate to.
To begin with the 44 year-old Governor will compliment McCain’s reformist politics well. She rose to prominence in Alaska by taking on the political establishment. When she saw unethical behavior by those of even her own party she did not hesitate in confronting them head on. First, as a member of the oil commission she called out the Alaskan Republican Party Chairman for what she felt was an abuse of power. After that she went on to challenge an ethically challenged Republican governor in the primary and beat him because of her crusade for better ethics is state government. In short, she has the courage to take folks on regardless of the political consequences much as John McCain has done over the years by confronting Democrats and Republicans alike when he saw something he disagreed with.
I think as Republicans we have lost our way because we have neglected this style of governing. We need more leaders who are willing to stand up to unethical behavior, fiscal irresponsibility and the abandonment of our conservative values. Governor Sarah Palin does this.
Speaking of conservative values, Alabamians are going to find that Governor Palin is very close to the majority of people in our state. Her pro-life, anti-tax and strong support for energy independence for the United States make will make her a popular candidate in Alabama.
One final note- Democrats will crow about Palin’s experience, but do they really want the election in the months ahead to be about who has less experience Palin or Obama? If that conversation dominates the political battle ahead then the Obama campaign has steered off course. Interesting side bar- Palin has two more years of executive experience than Barack Obama.
On that subject and others, here are some comments heard and overheard in Denver the week of the Democratic National Convention.
Carter spoke of his admiration and respect for Obama, and told of how moved he has been during an Obama speech.
Don Siegelman made the rounds of the Democratic National Convention, speaking wherever he could find an audience, including Air America, the Alaska delegation, and a Press Club event.
I was going to count how long I spent standing in line the last two days (Thursday and Friday), but gave up when I got to double digits. I was supposed to arrive back in Alabama yesterday at 1:40 or so but didn’t get home until after 11 last night.
