Palin’s acceptance speech – my notes

Sarah Palin, the firestorm that’s taking this country by storm, spoke loudly and clearly Wednesday night, and the Democrats (and the media) don’t know what to do about it.

In the words of Mike Huckabee, the elite media has managed to do what we thought could not be done:  to unify the Republican party.  They shouldn’t have picked on this lady.

Sarah Palin herself says that same media had just one year ago had written McCain off as having failed in his effort to win the nomination.  They didn’t know John McCain – he’s a fighter.  “As as the mother of one of those troops, that’s exactly the kind of man I want as Commander in Chief.”  She’s proud of “all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform.”

And thus began the speech that defined the next Vice President of the USA:

Who Is Obama?

Who Is Obama?  That’s one of the key questions for the next couple of months. There are no shortage of answers.  Amazon’s shelves are being added to daily.

David Freddoso’s research is titled The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media’s Favorite Candidate.  In it, he lays out Obama’s personal history and the record of his accomplishments as an indication of what Obama’s future will be.  Looking past the false rumors (not soluting the flag, muslim, etc.), Freddoso nonetheless calls Obama “the least experienced candidate in at least one hundred years to obtain a major party nomination for President of the United States,”  a created persona of a reformer without any substance.  Chapter titles include “The Accidental Candidate”, “Obamessiah,” The Stealth Liberal” and “Obama’s Foreign Policy: Inexperience and Uncertainty.”

Freddoso is a reporter for the National Review, covering Capitol Hill.  He has also covered politics for the Evans-Novak Political Report and Human Events.  He is a graduate of Notre Dame and the Columbia School of Journalism.  It’s clear Freddoso does not trust Obama.  And he tells you why.

This book is published by Regnery Publishing and is available for under $16 at Amazon.

On the other side of the aisle is Obama’s Challenge by Robert Kuttner (available at Amazon).  Kuttner is a supporter of Obama, and uses this book to tell the candidate what he’s up against, in case Obama hadn’t grasped the magnitude of the task.

Reviewer Richard Parker puts it this way: 
“We must repair, Kuttner persuades us, the enormous damage that’s been done over the past 40 years by heedless business deregulation, careless globalization, massive deficits, environmental neglect, arrogantly unilateral use of military power, increasingly regressive tax system, and most important, by a relentless denigration of the clear value of government itself by those in the highest public offices–even though democratic government has always been and is now, the precondition, not the enemy, of America’s past achievement and future hope. In doing so, he cogently explains how derelict conservative ideology, combined with a deformed bipartisanship, led to this situation, how presidents of great potential have in the past became transformative leaders.“

Kuttner clearly believes Obama is the solution, but the book is instructive even to grasp the magnitude of the problem facing both candidates,

Get It All Out Now

It’s been a tough weekend for the Palin family, the McCain campaign and the Republican party.  What started with a clownfooting of Obama’s love-fest became a mudpatch, with every lowlife democrat hack and liberal blogger spreading lies and inuendo.

Every day seemed to bring new revelations, new pains, new questions.  It dominated the news and the internets.  From over 3000 hits on Digg extolling Sarah Palin on Friday, to twice as many vilifying her on Sunday. It became a referendum on McCain’s judgment.

(Obama’s problem was that when the news wasn’t talking about Palin, they were talking about Hurricane Gustav.  He was hoping to get a bounce out of the convention, but was almost completely forgotten.  Especially since the Vice President seemed to have more experience than the Democrat’s headliner.)

The good this does for the Republicans is that it gets all the dirt out now.  Then, later in the week, we’ll hear Sarah Palin – a competent speaker, a born leader – and the base will be enthused again.  By the time the election gets here, it will all be old news and no one will care.  The issues have traction today, but won’t then.

Obama has already peaked.  Palin is just starting.

Todd Palin – regular guy

Now that Sarah Palin has dominated the news all weekend, it’s time to learn about the “first dude” she’s married to.  Turns out, Todd Palin is pretty much a regular guy, with standard likes and problems.

High school graduate, but nothing more.  Worked in the oil patch as a union laborer.  Turned his fishing hobby into a passable small business. Works hard – and plays hard, becoming a champion snow machine racer.  Solid Alaskan hardy pioneer spirit.

Past of that spirit comes from his upbringing  – being raised in part by his Yupik Eskimo grandmother (he’s 1/8 by blood, more by attitude).  He’s frugal, eloping with Sarah to save her parents the cost of a wedding.

And as a regular guy, he did his share of partying.  Got caught once in his youth, and paid his fine.  Nothing since.  By all accounts a great dad.  A churchgoing man who does his best, which is all you can do.

And honest.  He no longer works in the oilfield.  He gave it up after 18 years when Sarah became Governor so there wouldn’t be even the appearance of a conflict of interest, even though that meant he resigned his good union job instead of waiting for a retirement.

Politico said it best:  “So far — and it is hard to tell what the future may hold for Palin’s unexpected national candidacy — the travails of the Palin family probably seem awfully familiar to many average Americans. It is this averageness that makes her such a politically promising running mate for John McCain — and such a dangerous opponent for Democrats. Many voters will find it easy to identify with her family’s struggles.”

RightPundits sums it all  up with “Since his wife has become the Governor of Alaska, Todd has remained in the background as “first dude,” an expression his wife uses. His other interests include coaching hockey and basketball, fly fishing, and spending time with his family.”

What’s not to like?