Sarah Palin: Key to GOP Win in US Nov. Election?
Why Sarah Palin Could Mean Victory for John McCain in November
Gov. Sarah Palin's speech accepting the Republican Party nomination for vice president this week in St. Paul, Minnesota, highlighted four reasons why she may well help McCain win an election that is clearly Barack Obama’s to lose.
Palin is a fighter
She came out swinging at the Obama-Biden ticket, the democrats and the media, lumping them together as one group attacking her family. The audience’s response to her combative stance was electric. “I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion,” she said of the media to thunderous approval from the crowd, “I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country.”
Palin has Executive Experience
She is not shy about touting her executive experience albeit for 20 months as governor and six years as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, population 7025. She compared her experience to Obama’s, mocking his work as a community organizer. “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer" except that you have actual responsibilities,” she said.
Palin has Excited the Base
She has energized the Republican base, which heretofore was lukewarm toward McCain. While McCain is more centrist or at least perceived to be so, she is more right of center as evidenced in her publicly-held views since her first run for office. She is against a woman’s right to choose an abortion even in such extreme cases as rape or incest. When asked during a 2006 gubernotorial debate hosted by Alaska Public Television if she would allow her daughter to have an abortion if raped, she said she would choose life. She is strictly creationist and supports abstinence only as sex education, even though according to the LA Times, she has made inconsistent statements about her views on the issue. Nothing gets the grassroots right wing of the GOP more fired up than a kindred spirit on the ticket. They are now ready to work harder than ever to ensure victory for McCain-Palin in November.
Palin is the Girl Next Door
She comes across as a regular, personable working mom, someone you would like to invite over for dinner. Remember who else came across that way? George W. Bush. He was described as the regular guy you would like to have a beer with. In the audience people waved hockey-moms-for-Palin signs. Many were offended by what they saw as sexist coverage by the media for raising questions about her ability to juggle caring for an infant with special needs, with the rigorous demands of being vice president, as well as questions surrounding her pregnant, unwed 17-year old daughter. “The difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull,” Palin said, “lipstick.” The crowd went wild.
Palin's biggest boost to the ticket is that she has allowed John McCain the Maverick to resurface. While she attacks her opponents, John McCain can come back to the center after a rightward move earlier in the campaign. He had changed his positions on issues like the Bush tax cuts, immigration and offshore drilling.
McCain will now try to appeal to independent voters who will eventually decide the outcome of this election. He started this during his acceptance speech with an appeal to Obama, his supporters and the general electorate: “You have my respect and my admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, and that's an association that means more to me than any other.”
McCain concluded his speech with a Churchillean battle cry.
“Fight with me. Fight for what's right for our country. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children's future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all. Stand up to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up for each other, for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America. Stand up, stand up, stand up, and fight.”
The fight is definitely on. That McCain is 100 percent right about. The candidate that succeeds in convincing the voters that his brand of “reform” or “change” is more superior will win. We have about 60 days to find out who that will be.
McCain-Palin campaign button
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Palin accepting her party's nomination for VP
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Hockey moms at the Republican convention
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