Sarah Palin's Convention speach

[adefonzo]

Alright...I'll be the first to comment...

I stayed up last night and watched all the convention speeches. I started by catching the tail end of Michael Steele's speech (interesting to hear him talking about his mother), then watched Mitt Romney (rather boring and a bit awkward), Mike Huckabee (very good I thought), Linda Lingle (admittedly, I missed a good portion of her speech while preparing something to eat, but what I saw was pretty good if not a bit fluffy), Rudy Giuliani (while I love Rudy, it was clear that he was there to "rally the troops" with all the Obama bashing he was doing...though everything he mentioned was factual, so I can't complain too much about it) and then came Sarah Palin.

Up to last night, I liked the fact that McCain chose someone from outside of Washington DC as his running mate. You have to remember, I wrote in votes for Jesse Ventura in the last couple of elections...so I have been waiting for someone that I think would be able to "shake things up" a bit, and from what I had seen and heard in a short amount of time leading up to last night, it looked like she might fit the bill. There was certainly some concern about her length of time in public office, but again, I thought that if she has the conviction and the right attitude, it could work. Let's face it, she's the nominee for Vice President, not President. And yes, I know the old addage that she would be "just one heartbeat away" from being President, but unless a candidate picks a real wacko (see Admiral Stockdale, Ross Perot's running mate), I don't think a VP choice is as vital as the Presidential nominee themself.

Anyway...I was hoping to learn more about her, get a better feel for the type of public figure she would be, and in the end make a better judgement about whether she helped the ticket, or hurt it.

Watching her last night, there isn't a doubt in my mind...all jokes about her being an attractive woman aside...I love this woman!!

I was expecting a bit of nervousness...I saw none. I was looking to see if she would ease her way into the fray...she jumped in with both feet. I was looking to see if she was going to try and paint rosey pictures of things...she was blunt, honest, and didn't beat around the bush. I was looking to see how well versed she was in the wide variety of issues that a National leader would have to know about (versus a governor of a single state)...she showed that she's well aware of all of the different issues that are going to be the big battles in this campaign, and in the next President's term. I listened to her tone to see if she had that stereotypical politician beat and rhythm...I heard a woman who talks like people who I know, live, and work with everyday. I was watching to see if I saw someone on that stage who was going to fit the mold of a Washington politician...I saw someone that I believe is going to drive the Washington beauocrats crazy with her tendency to be brutally honest and her lack of tolerance for the usual BS. I was waiting to hear how she would repond to the media's attempts to cloud her image over the last few days...I heard her response of not going to washington to impress them, but to work for the people of the United States, and I'll be d**ned if I didn't actually cheer for her right there in my living room.

Yeah...this is my type of leader!!

Call it drinking the Kool-aid if you'd like...but I'm sold. She's the real deal in my eyes. As for McCain, the Democrats can throw around all the nonsense they want about him being"4 more years the same as the last 8 years". The fact of the matter is, there is no one in the last 50+ years who has reached across party lines more often in order to do what was right rather than what was popular, than John McCain...and as I always have believed, the overwhelming majority of Americans are not strict Republicans or strict Democrats...the overwhelming majority of Americans are somewhere in between...which makes someone like John McCain a perfect fit for America, even if he's not a perfect fit for Washington. I am believing that John McCain and Sarah Palin are a far superior team if I want to actually see change, rather than just hear speeches about it, and it's very clear who I'll be voting for in November.

Sorry Jesse Ventura...I've found some new leaders to believe in.

[novillero]

I heard Rudy and Sarah's speeches. Rudy rallied well, but they always lose me on the war. I don't see things the way they do. But both sides are war hawks in my opinion.

The other punches thrown by Rudy and Sarah were pretty good, though. The community organizer lines had me laughing.

Palin's speech was strong, but I thought it should have ended a few minutes earlier. Biden's critique from this morning focused on what was not said: no mention of such things as "middle class" or "health coverage."

[novillero]

Sept 4, 2008 10:34:36 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

there's no doubt that Governor Pailn is a breath of fresh air and is a truly admirable individual in many aspects.

However, I can certainly deal happily without her Fundy approach. All I can say is that if elected, I hope I'm in menopause once she overturns Roe v Wade -- otherwise, I'll be out there encouraging uninsured pregnant women who won't be allowed to get an abortion to deposit all the costs for their pregnancies on her doorstep. She can pay for it.

I think the overturning Roe v. Wade talk is overblown. First, it would be the judiciary (through presidential appointments) that would overturn Roe v. Wade. But more importantly, let's assume that it is oveturned... what would happen then? It would undoubtedly become a states' rights issue. The question is then, how many states, if any, would outright ban abortion? There may be some hoops to jump through, like parental consent, and there would be bans on late-term abortions, but I do not think the laws would change for the overwhelming percentage of abortions that are regularly performed.

I think Palin and (in his rhetoric only) McCain are states' rights people. And the advocates of states' rights maintain that it is the better system of potentially 50 different systems trying to find the right fit versus the one size fits all federal approach.

p.s. are you implying that abortions are covered by insurance in your post? or are you referring to children being uninsured?

[adefonzo]

Sept 4, 2008 10:34:36 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

there's no doubt that Governor Pailn is a breath of fresh air and is a truly admirable individual in many aspects.

However, I can certainly deal happily without her Fundy approach. All I can say is that if elected, I hope I'm in menopause once she overturns Roe v Wade -- otherwise, I'll be out there encouraging uninsured pregnant women who won't be allowed to get an abortion to deposit all the costs for their pregnancies on her doorstep. She can pay for it.

I have to agree with Novillero in that I think all the hype about overturning Roe vs. Wade is nothing more than political scare tactics by the Democrats.

The executive branch of the government (aka the President) has the authority to send troops into battle for 90 days without consent of Congress...and that's really about all the President can do without consent of Congress. One of the absolute greatest aspects of our Constitution is that it sets up the system of checks and balances (I know most of us remember that term from our grade school and high school educations). For those who have forgotten, this system was set up so that (in theory) there would be no one branch of government that could stand as the "ultimate ruler" of our country...they each have to be checked by at least one of, if not both of the other branches (of course, in today's environment, that has led to nothing getting done because so few are willing to step across party lines).

Even these "Radical right wing justices" that the Democrats fear will be appointed have to get approved by Congress...which for better or for worse is still controlled by the Democrats.

So this thought that by electing John McCain and Sarah Palin means the end of a woman's right to choose is stretching things way out of proportion in my opinion.

[ka19]

She is a star. No doubt about it. The republican answer to Obama.

[cloris]

Sept 4, 2008 10:34:36 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

there's no doubt that Governor Pailn is a breath of fresh air and is a truly admirable individual in many aspects.

However, I can certainly deal happily without her Fundy approach. All I can say is that if elected, I hope I'm in menopause once she overturns Roe v Wade -- otherwise, I'll be out there encouraging uninsured pregnant women who won't be allowed to get an abortion to deposit all the costs for their pregnancies on her doorstep. She can pay for it.

I wouldn't worry Roe v. Wade isn't going anywhere, people said the same thing when Bush was elected and it's still here and it will always be here because as much as people don't like the thought of abortion, they still realize its availability is necessary. With the exception of partial birth abortion. That just doesn't make sense

[bergsteiger]

I think I'm in love

[fbrepublican]

Sept 4, 2008 17:39:04 GMT -5 cloris said:

Sept 4, 2008 10:34:36 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

there's no doubt that Governor Pailn is a breath of fresh air and is a truly admirable individual in many aspects.

However, I can certainly deal happily without her Fundy approach. All I can say is that if elected, I hope I'm in menopause once she overturns Roe v Wade -- otherwise, I'll be out there encouraging uninsured pregnant women who won't be allowed to get an abortion to deposit all the costs for their pregnancies on her doorstep. She can pay for it.

I wouldn't worry Roe v. Wade isn't going anywhere, people said the same thing when Bush was elected and it's still here and it will always be here because as much as people don't like the thought of abortion, they still realize its availability is necessary. With the exception of partial birth abortion. That just doesn't make sense

Certainly a well balanced comment. Regardless of views, abortion is here to stay. Both Bill Clinton and Bush have, at some point, put it in perspective. The focus will have to be on the need to reduce the number each year. Nobody likes abortion and it is better if women are not in that position to have to choose to begin with. How to go about that humanely is, of course, a whole other discussion.

This is one topic that has poisoned out political landscape for far too long. The appointment of judges is the key issue on this topic, but none should look at that one issue as being the gage as to if judges should or should not be appointed.

No person from either side should vote based on this one issue. It is not realistic or reasonable. We need not look any further than our own garden state. When Brett Shundler ran for governor, his opponents continued to put his pro life views up front. In our state that view point is political suicide. It worked, and we had one of the worst governors in memory elected. One who stepped down in disgrace, hiked our taxes beyond reason, and left a trail of scandal. We would have not had any of that under Shundler, but, that one heated, poisonous, and very divisive issue played a very big roll ( though not the only) in swaying voters. The sad reality is that if Shundler had been elected, abortion would still be alive and well in New Jersey. People were swayed for nothing.