Gregory D.

Lee

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September 8, 2008

Sarah Palin: The Antidote for Obama and Biden (Oh, and McCain, Too)

John McCain’s announcement that his vice-presidential choice was Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a surprise. As usual, whenever the networks and pundits come up with their own short list of candidates, they fall short. No one saw this one coming.

The networks and pundits seem offended that they were wrong once again. They immediately launched attacks on Gov. Palin for her “inexperience,” and proclaimed that Sen. McCain had now disarmed himself by no longer being able to criticize Sen. Barack Obama for not having the experience necessary to be commander-in-chief. At least, that’s how biased media pundits and anchors see things. Sen. Obama’s campaign staff was quoted as saying something to the effect that being a small town mayor hardly qualifies someone to be president. They conveniently forgot to mention she’s now a governor.

For openers, Gov. Palin’s executive government experience only amplifies Sen. Obama’s lack of it, and focuses undecided voters’ attention on it. She’s a popular sitting governor who won her position despite tremendous odds. She took on the “old boy network,” tackled corruption in her own party and provided the charisma and leadership Alaskans desperately wanted. Although she has only two years in office, that’s two more years of executive experience than Senators McCain, Obama and Biden have. Prior to being governor, she was the mayor of her hometown, a suburb of Anchorage, which gives her even more executive experience in issues like public safety and education.

Being a woman doesn’t hurt a bit, especially if you are a former beauty queen. Many argue that this was her biggest asset – a move to woo Hillary Clinton supporters and independents to Sen. McCain’s camp. But she’s not just a woman. She’s a woman’s woman many real men can relate to.

How many women do you know with five children who are avid hunters, members of the NRA and were star players on their high school state championship basketball team, not to mention being expert in energy policy and production? She’s the mother of a soldier who deploys to Iraq next month. How many men in office do you know have these qualities?

Gov. Palin’s conservative credentials are the needed antidote for Sen. Joe Biden and Sen. McCain. Sen. Biden is the third-most liberal member of the Senate. His voting record is only behind that of Sen. Ted Kennedy and, you guessed it, Sen. Barack Obama. Palin is unapologetic about being pro-Second Amendment and pro-life. She recently gave birth to her son knowing beforehand he had Down Syndrome.

So what makes Gov. Palin qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency? Plenty. Above all, she’s a true conservative the Republican base can embrace. Republicans, who yearned for a conservative nominee, got what they wanted with Gov. Palin. She may lack experience in foreign affairs, but so did Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and the latter defeated the Soviet Union and won the Cold War. Not bad for a rookie. President Reagan had a conservative vision and followed through on it, and we’ve all benefited from that vision ever since. Jimmy Carter, on the other hand, being guided by extreme liberal principles, like Sen. Obama, managed singlehandedly to make America weak, turned Iran into what it is today, created the first oil crisis, drove interest rates to all-time highs and ruined the economy in four short years.

The direct and circumstantial evidence is that a Gov. Palin Administration, should there ever be one, would also follow core conservative principles and beliefs. When you have core conservative beliefs and principles to guide you, there is little mystery how you would govern, and how successful you will be. When someone is wishy-washy, and tries to be all things to all people, nothing gets done. All they manage to do is irritate everyone. Gov. Palin has no record of being anything but a principled conservative whose goal is to do what’s right instead of what’s popular.

The dirty little secret is that the Democrats are terrified of Gov. Palin. Her principled governance of Alaska, coupled with her personal values, makes her bulletproof, and they know it. The howling hasn’t stopped yet, so you know her selection was a stroke of genius on Sen. McCain’s part.

Gregory D. Lee is nationally syndicated columnist for North Star Writers Group. He can be reached through his website: www.gregorydlee.com.      

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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