The debris has not been cleaned in Colorado and already the major news story is Republican nominee-elect John McCain's surprising choice for his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
Until McCain announced his running mate, I must admit that I'd been somewhat lukewarm to the candidacy of Sen. John McCain. I'd been most apprehensive about his running mate selection. There are many opportunities to make the wrong statement by choosing someone who might do more damage than good. Clearly, Sen. McCain has had a problem with the conservative base of the Republican Party. How would his choice affect that base?
With his selection of Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin for his Vice-Presidential running mate, Sen. McCain has made a brilliant choice that will re-energize the support of the large conservative majority in the United States.
The timing of Sen. McCain's decision could not have been better, either. Coming the morning after the Democrat Party anointed first-term Senator Barack Obama as their candidate for President, McCain's selection has snatched the news focus from the Obama campaign to his own. This could well be one of the most briliiant strokes of genius of any Republican presidential candidate in memory.
Reasons why Palin is a great selection:
Energy: Palin understands the need for affordable energy now. She is not deceived by notions of quick alternate energy solutions. She knows that private enterprise will always seek the most efficient solutions to problems because the profit motive drives the incentives to produce better products for less cost. She understands that pseudo-environmentalists (enviroleftists) are fraudulently deceiving he public with bogus claims of environmental danger from drilling for natural gas and oil in Alaska. Because Palin is driven by her desire to serve the people and not special interests (enviroleftists), she can articulate a sane energy policy that will allow immediate tapping of vast domestic energy resources of gas, oil, and coal. She understands there will be a time for alternative energy sources to be developed economically, but now is clearly not the time. Big advantage to McCain-Palin.
Ethics: Palin is a no-nonsense politician who does not tolerate unethical behavior in politicians of either party. She found herself in the political arena because of her consistent opposition to unethical conduct in government. She never really sought to have a political life. She began as a PTA leader. She rose through local politics with her campaign for ethical government. She took on the Republican Party leadership in Alaska over this issue and won as a maverick commited to seeing the public represented by an ethical government. McCain has long been associated with efforts to bring ethical conduct back to Washington, DC. Obama talks about change but has never done anything in his two-year career to even propose any positive measures for change. And Obama still has not adequately explained his relationships with a convicted criminal (Tony Rezko) and a radical terrorist, William Ayers. Advantage to McCain-Palin.
Executive Experience: Palin has executive experience includes mayor and councilwoman in Wasilla, Alaska, head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and Governor of Alaska. Obama has never even run a lemonade stand! None of the other candidates of either party has had any comparable executive experience. The President of the US is our Chief Executive -- it is a job that requires executive experience. Big advantage to McCain-Palin.
Conservative: Palin is a genuine conservative. She is not a "neo" conservative, a conservative "in name only" or any other special stripe of conservative. Palin is a true conservative of the Ronald Reagan strain. She is intelligent and articulate. Her philosophy will resonate with at least 60% of Americans (as the conservative philosphy has always resonated with at least 60% of people when issues are divorced from political labels). This is why Ronald Reagan was so successful -- he reflected the beliefs of the people. McCain's selection of Palin will energize many conservatives who considered sitting this one out or giving McCain only tepid support. Conservatives realize Palin might will emerge as the future philosophical leader of the party. The possibility that Palin may emerge the first woman "Ronald Reagan" president is enough to energize the most lethargic conservative to support the McCain-Palin campaign. Big advantage to McCain-Palin.
Women: The choice will appeal to many women who are disappointed in the failed campaign of Hillary Clinton. McCain's choice sets the table for the first women presidential candidacy in 2012 or 2016. Obama opposed the first Democrat woman to have a serious chance to get her party's nomination. Advantage to McCain-Palin.
Abortion: The choice of Palin will resonate strongly in the majority pro-life movement. While Palin appeals to the majority pro-life movement, Obama appeals to the extreme minority of the so-called "pro-choice" movement because he supports infanticide in the case where a late-term abortion results in a live, viable baby being born. Obama's position is so extreme that he believes a mother's "choice" to have an abortion supercedes the right to life of a newborn baby, despite the fact when a baby survives a late-term abortion the mother's "choice" to terminate her pregnancy was granted when she had the abortion! By contrast, Palin and her husband rebuffed suggestions that they terminate her most recent pregnancy when it was determined that her child would be born with significant challenges (her baby born in April has Down Syndrome). Palin and her husband felt blessed that God would entrust them with this special child. Clear advantage to McCain-Palin.
Blue-collar: Palin is a life member of the NRA. She enjoys hunting, fishing, and snowmobiling. She doesn't just know people who are "blue-collar" -- she is blue-collar and she's married to a real blue-collar man whose work resume includes commercial fishing and working on an oil rig. Biden cannot remember when he had a job that didn't require wearing a suit, and Obama has never had a job that did not require business attire. Advantage to McCain-Palin.
Young, New Voters: Palin is a refreshing breath of real change. She's young, engaging, energetic, and resonates honestly with a crowd. She is not simply a young lawyer using smooth oratory fed by TelePrompTers preaching "change" without any specificity. In McCain-Palin, we have two people who are not lawyers and who represent both the young and aging generations. In Obama-Biden, we have two lawyers who have never had a position of executive responsibility and who believe it is the job of government to regulate our lives (the lawyer solution to every problem). Obama represents the youth of the Liberal-Democrat movement - slick, "form over substance", mindlessly "anti-war" (nobody is "pro-war"), enthralled by the promises of Marxism, antagonistic toward free enterprise capitalism, and staunchly believing it is the federal government's responsibility to see to their every need (free health care, free education, etc., etc.). In contrast, Palin represents the youth of the Conservative-Republican movement - down-to-earth, honest and forthright, supports the need for appropriate military action to protect US interests worldwide, understands our constitutional Republic, enthusiastically free enterprise capitalist, and believes, as did Ronald Reagan, that the best government is the least government. Because America's youth are not free-loaders looking for government handouts, this is a big advantage for McCain-Palin.
Enthusiasm for McCain's selection must be tempered by a recognition that no matter how appealing the Republican ticket has become, until votes are counted nothing is a sure thing. Let Liberal Democrats maintain their corner on the market for hubris. Conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, and independents who are energized by the McCain-Palin ticket need to do what they do best. Work hard for what is best for our country.
Sen. McCain has done his part. Now let's all do ours and enthusiastically support McCain-Palin.
Author of "Looking Out the Window", an evidence-based examination of the "climate change" issue, Bob Webster, is a 12th-generation descendent of both the Darte family (Connecticut, 1630s) and the Webster family (Massachusetts, 1630s). He is a descendant of Daniel Webster's father, Revolutionary War patriot Ebenezer Webster, who served with General Washington. Bob has always had a strong interest in early American history, our Constitution, U.S. politics, and law. Politically he is a constitutional republican with objectivist and libertarian roots. He has faith in the ultimate triumph of truth and reason over deception and emotion. He is a strong believer in our Constitution as written and views the abandonment of constitutional restraint by the regressive Progressive movement as a great danger to our Republic. His favorite novel is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and believes it should be required reading for all high school students so they can appreciate the cost of tolerating the growth of unconstitutional crushingly powerful central government. He strongly believes, as our Constitution enshrines, that the interests of the individual should be held superior to the interests of the state.
A lifelong interest in meteorology and climatology spurred his strong interest in science. Bob earned his degree in Mathematics at Virginia Tech, graduating in 1964.