I'm surprised by how much I like this woman. And even more surprising for me is how much pride I feel as a woman in this nomination. It has never been all that important to me that a woman hold a high position in the White House. I've always wanted the most qualified person I can trust to keep my country free and safe, and someone who shares my values. I didn't trust Hilary Clinton in either of those categories. I wouldn't have voted for her simply to have a woman in office. But watching Sarah Palin on Wednesday night, I felt pride in the fact that she was a woman. It surprised me.
The pride I felt wasn't just in the fact she is a woman. She is a woman I can relate to, down to earth, real, shares my values, but also a woman who inspired me with her class, intelligence, and talent.
I had never heard of her before McCain announced his decision last week. After watching her on Wednesday, I was thrilled. Even thought I typically vote Republican and am a conservative, I was not sure that I would vote for McCain. I'm still not sure how I feel about him as president, but by selecting Palin as his running mate he made a huge leap in the right direction of earning my vote. (Not that Obama has a chance of getting it either) : )
I was talking to some girlfriends today who wanted to know what I liked about Palin. So here are my first impressions:
Her speech had substance, not empty promises.
She proved that she is strong, intelligent, and a leader, but was graceful and feminine at the same time.
She was spunky and fun.
She was real, not your typical politician.
She made me believe I could trust her.
She was right on about energy independence.
She is a gifted communicator- her teleprompter stopped working half way through her speech and she didn't miss a beat. Take the teleprompter away from the men in this campaign and you'd hear more "uh, uh, uhs" than you could count. : )
She proved loyal to her family as she brought her pregnant teenage daughter on the stage with the father of the baby and without words made a statement that showed they were dealing with things as a family in a loving way.
She has the right attitude about being a servant leader.
Her convictions align with my convictions and the Republican platform. I'm so tired of RINOs (Republican in Name Only)
I could go on and on....
I guess all I can really say is I really like her. : )
You know who else I've been impressed with lately? Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota. I listened to him take on Tom Brokenjaw (oops I mean Brokaw) on Meet the Press on Sunday. He was impressive.
Hey, how about a Palin-Pawlenty ticket in the future! Sounds good to me!
In case you missed the speech...here it is:
Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
Part Four:
Part Five:
Posts
13 comments:
I also like how she takes on government, and fights corruption. When she took office last year she got rid of the governor's supplied chauffeur, chef and personal jet. And, she is tough. She won't sit down when somebody tells her to, and she won't back down. Her speech showed how tough she was. Not your typical politician.
I totally agree Beck! Go Palin! Wouldn't it be funny if in 4 years it was her vs Hillary! Ha Ha what a joke she would make of Hillary!
I really like her! I don't know if I really trust McCain but with her by his side I feel a lot more confident. I think that she would hold McCain accountable.
I have to admit I don't get into politics a whole lot. Maybe its the fact I'm getting older and I see how it all affects my family or just that dh is into it that has gotten me more 'into it'. We watched her speech and I too was impressed. This morning I learned that our Pastor's daughter met her while serving with TeenPact in Alaska. Apparently she's a very nice CHRISTIAN woman!!! I think its awesome that between the McCain & Palin families there are 12 KIDS!!! The fact that the McCain's adopted (which I didn't know until this week) and that the Palin's TREASURE their down syndrome baby...you've got my vote!!! Of course its all more than this too, but it appears their values are more aligned to ours...especially compared to the 'other side'. Ok, sorry to write a novel in your comments...
As a longtime reader I never thought I would disagree more with you regarding politics. I'll keep it as polite as possible. If I rant, I apologize up front.
"She proved that she is strong, intelligent, and a leader, but was graceful and feminine at the same time."
She is a feminine, but only in the fact that she shares a gender. Where you see strong, I'm seeing bulldog vicious, where you see leader I'm seeing the movie "Mean Girls". Please see her history. She is ruthless and selfish and doesn't see beyond her own personal circle. http://www.andrewhalcro.com/why_walt_monegan_got_fired
"She was spunky and fun."
She is tenacious and not afraid to stab political rivals in the back while keeping a smile on her face and calling for her fellows to congratulate her mean-spiritedness. Being cruel with a smile is not fun.
"She was real, not your typical politician."
She is typical girly clique political. We have all dealt with her brand of devisive leadership since 5th grade. She doesn't believe in fairness or what is right. She believes in getting what she wants.
"She made me believe I could trust her."
You can trust her as long as it involves religious issues of the far left. We can agree on many of those issues. Unfortunately, VPs and Presidents are not our religious leaders. It is not the place of the VP and President to be enforcing our religious beliefs. Our counrty was founded on religious freedom. Every time we a fooled into voting our religious beliefs into the Presidency, we end up being unfulfilled and having Presidents like Bush who actually called us crazy fanatics!
"She was right on about energy independence."
I agree that we need energy independence. All sides recognize this and it is now a matter of making a plan AND following through.
"She proved loyal to her family as she brought her pregnant teenage daughter on the stage with the father of the baby and without words made a statement that showed they were dealing with things as a family in a loving way."
She is a fellow Mom in politics. It would ruin her career to do anything less. Hopefully all Mom's would be this way regardless of their position in life. She doesn't score bonus points for living up to the least of our expectations and parading it on stage.
"She has the right attitude about being a servant leader."
Disagree. This was a really poor choice because McCain's #1 and #2 choices were turned down by the far right of the party.
"Her convictions align with my convictions and the Republican platform. I'm so tired of RINOs (Republican in Name Only)"
This is awkward. RINO's are the far right of the party. They are a swing vote which is allowed presence in the GOP despite having a completely contradictory message to the main goals of the party. Unfortunately for the religious vote, this portion of the platform receives little to no attention for the reasons stated before. It is not the place of the VP and President to be enforcing our religious beliefs, thus they don't. All talk, no walk. The GOP is about control and money. Not money for you. Just money for the people who have enough money to have influence. The GOP is about pushing the tax burden downward to those who can afford it least, breaking up organized labor to shrink the middle class and save money for corporations, and control of what you can do and how you can do it. A shackled and fearful population is easy to manipulate and thus allows the retention of power. The far right is the polar opposite of the goals of the GOP. It is dumbfounding how one can say they are both. I prefer the Christian message of loving your neighbor and helping those with less than yourself. Again, the reality of the GOP is that it represents the antithesis of my values.
End of rant. Sorry it is so long.
In love and fellowship,
Angie
To the commenter, "annonymous" named Angie:
This MALE voter couldn't disagree with you, Angie, more!
First, your comments include absolutely no substantiation for your opinions other than your cleverly worded personal perceptions of Sarah Palin as a politician and your accusations attacking her character. Anyone who understands reasoning knows you can not back up an opinion with your opinion and expect to be respected for your opinion. On these grounds,then, I have little respect for your positions other than to acknowledge your right to hold those beliefs and perceptions.
On more substantial grounds, let me inform you that I personally know individuals who know Sarah Palin well. By all accounts, she walks her talk as much as any of us have the capacity to do. Of critical importance to my political persuasion and consequent support of her are the first hand reports from people I trust that she truly does practice her faith, has demonstrated repeatedly that what you see in her publicly is what she is privately, and that she is, in fact, tough, gracious, and feminine all at the same time. These are character issues, not political issues. Character should be of highest importance in our political decisions since the winds of change will always put a political figure in the position of having to consider shifting realities. While I certainly want a candidate to represent my core values, and Palin does more than any politician I've encountered recently, ultimately it will be strength of character and purpose which holds our leaders to the course best for America in any issue we will face.
Finally, you mix issues and reveal your biased and ill supported reasoning in your final paragraph regarding "religion" and the GOP.
To begin with, you end your comment by revealing that it is, in fact, you who is attempting to push your view of religious principles into the political arena. Again, your right to hold the position that the GOP represents the antithisis of your values is something that I will defend with my life, but I also reserve the right to disagree with your logic and challenge your thinkig. A close look at your Bible will teach you that God has established spheres of concern, the correct functioning of which will always reflect the perfect and complete relationship of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Government is one of those spheres rightly ordained by God for man. However, when government usurps the position of God in any other sphere it becomes wrong. When government attempts to be god in any sphere beyond itself (family, marriage, religion, community, ethics, morality, etc.)it becomes very wrong. From my view point, you have advocated for government to do just that. Your position that, "I prefer the Christian message of loving your neighbor and helping those with less than yourself. Again, the reality of the GOP is that it represents the antithesis of my values" shows that in fact you are advocating for the government to do what is the responsibility of the individual and the church. This is the primary tenet of the true GOP which has been corrupted by the RINOs within the party which have left us with little visible difference between the DEMs or the GOP in practice.
Sarah Palin represents a voice from outside of the GOP demonstrating a commitment to do what is right, regardess of the criticisms which will follow in any hotbed issue. Tough decisions made effectively require tough people of conviction and strong character. No issue is more important to me than the importance of government staying out of the lives of the American people as much as possible. If those less fortunate than you or I are found wanting, then blame the people, , the neighbors, the churches and organizations who are those who should be correctly meeting the needs of the needy as the good Samaritan story illustrates. You are essentially advocating for government to function in the arena of religion and personal responsibility. Consequently, you want government to usurp its rightful position "under God". I'm appalled that any mature believer would consciously advocate for that.
Sarah Palin can be conclusively shown to have stood on those principles with character and conviction. Will I, do I, agree with every position she has taken or will take? No! Can I trust that she has the convictions, commitments, and toughness required to make hard decisions? Your accusations that she is "mean spirited", etc., coupled with the first hand accounts from individuals I know and trust who know her convince me she is exactly the type of person I want to support. In fact, her selection by John McCain as caused me to reconsider him on grounds of character as well.
I end this "rant" with something surprising to this old conservative male... "Go Girl!!!
Roy Abshire
Angie, I hope you will stay a regular around here even if I’ve been so bad about keeping my blog updated lately. I forgot how much having a newborn takes your full attention and focus. Every time I go to blog, it’s time to nurse again or change a diaper or make dinner…I’m missing it. : )
As far as our political disagreement, I think it is so interesting how differently Americans perceive Governor Palin. I saw a poll yesterday that showed public opinion divided right down the middle…people either love her or hate her and her nomination has greatly affected people’s opinion of McCain as well, good or bad. I guess comparing your comment to the one above reflects it here.
I respect your opinion even if I disagree. These are still my first impressions of Palin. As I said in my post, these are first impressions. I have much more research to do before my impressions become endorsement. I’ve been let down by politicians too many times to love a candidate after one speech.
I wish I had more time to respond to all of the points you made, but alas…it’s time to nurse again. : )
Becky
Hi Roy,
Thanks for attacking me as illogical. Personal attacks, even when you can't back them up, always drive the point home. I apologize that the link I provided in my first post which explains very clearly what I was saying does not work. Perhaps you can use your logical mind and investigate a little bit. It isn't that tough. I found many links which indicate much about Palin's character. She has already been caught in multiple lies from her few speeches. Google it.
She harrassed her ex-brother in law and filed many false reports of misconduct against him before she became governor. So many that she was finally warned to cease filing false reports or she would be held financially responsible if he lost his employement as a state trooper. Perhaps you will recognize this (Falsified legal documents?!) as qualifications to be a leader in the GOP. Perhaps not.
I understand that you believe substance is in knowing someone who knows someone. That's fine. It's called hear-say. It carries no weight. Let's try to stick to facts. I agree that character is important in selecting our leaders. If you believe that "liar" and "vindictful" are the qualities you desire, I guess you found your candidate. If only she had held on to her "church" values when those issues at home arose. I'm not even going to touch the newest scandal of taking a per diem payment (more falsified documents, at least she is consistant) when staying in her own home.
Your hypocracy regarding the values of the church and the role of government are staggering. For someone to talk themselves into a knot of contradiction when trying to discredit someone else... well, enough said. You want to enforce religious values to restrict or hinder people but ignore religious values when you can help someone. If you can't see the forest for the trees, you aren't going to listen to women on a blog about it.
"No issue is more important to me than the importance of government staying out of the lives of the American people as much as possible." Yet you vote for the limiting of freedom of those American people, the striping down of our rights, taking away religious freedom by forcing your version of religion on others, push unnecessary tax burden onto those who can't afford it, giving tax relief to those who need it least, creating larger government control agencies (the largest federal government we have ever had), support illegal government wire taps, create policy that invades the bedrooms of American households... The list goes on. This is the problem with the GOP. They talk out of both sides of their mouth and expect people to accept only the side which is the most convenient truth of the moment while ignoring the actions which are diametrically opposed that the GOP is doing with their other hand. I'd say that the GOP left hand doesn't know what the GOP right hand is doing, but they know exactly what they are doing. It is a shell game of hide the ugly truth of what the GOP really means. If you strive to represent both sides of the coin, you can always tell the person you are talking to that you represent the side which is up.
It is nice for Palin that she has caused a bounce for the McCain ticket. I'm sure McCain is happy with her (right now) since she was his emergency fallback, last minute unvetted pick. In the short term, I doubt Lieberman would have created that much buzz for McCain's campaign. Once Palin has to start answering tougher questions (tougher than asking if she believes in Bush's doctirine; which she totally failed) she will start to be viewed as the unqualified and scary person she has shown in other aspects of her life. RA-RA, go spiteful beauty queens! What a way to (mis)run a government.
To Becky,
Thanks for the clarification. I'm sorry if I took your excitement as being an endorsement. I agree with your statement. We have been let down by so many politicians and we need to look at them very closely. While having Palin being only one skipped heartbeat from a Presiential crowning (if McCain wins) is frightening, in the short term, we aren't voting for her. We will be voting for the President. McCain doesn't scare me as much as many other potential candidates from the GOP did. McCain has some consistency issues but we'll learn more about where his positions have shifted once the debates start. He certainly isn't the same candidate who was considered for the DEM VP just 8 years ago.
The pictures of your son are beautiful. Enjoy the trials of babyhood while they are here. We always look back and miss those moments when they are in the past. Keep up the good loving!
Angie
Hopefully this character link will show better than my first attempt:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/
2008178167_palin14.html
-and-
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/
2008180084_palinemail15.html
You will have to copy and paste while removing any spaces which may appear in the middle as the links seem to get broken when entered into this format. I had to copy each link in two pieces.
Angie
Angie,
I followed the links you posted and read both articles. Is this what passes for journalism now days? I'd expect those pieces to show up on a blog or an editorial, not as news. The writers personal bias in both articles is evident - as is yours.
I could find and link just as many positive articles about Gov. Palin as you can negative. I probably wouldn't consider the positive ones news either. And a tit-for-tat argument wouldn't be helpful anyway. What I do find impressive is that Gov. Palin has an 80% approval rate in her state. That's just unheard of! 80% of people can't even agree the sky is blue!
Finally, I don't understand why Becky's take on Gov. Palin surprised you. Becky is a solidly "right-wing" Christian conservative. She'd probably vote for Gov. Palin over both Obama and McCain - you obviously don't know Becky!
Sincerely,
King Charming
Sorry King Charming,
Didn't mean to offend. I just thought the reaction was a little bit of too quick blind following. Anyone can claim to be a conservative Christian and maybe even put on a good show to highlight some of those attributes. It seems that there is a large bandwagon jumping occuring where everyone wants to climb on and wear a lapel pin saying "We're Right!" without examining the facts of who is pulling that wagon.
Yes, I'm sure you can find many articles out there that say Palin is wonderful. Example: Fox News, which hardly counts as news. It is GOP editorial disguised as news. They set up a story and take either the cheering or condemning tone when reporting it and then go into full editorial mode on each with multiple staff members plus the reporter all weighing in with Christian/Conservative/GOP dogma. Yet some still consider that news. It is a political GOP rally every day!
Sorry you didn't agree with the facts presented by a nationally recognized newspaper. Even if you felt the writing was left sided, I thought it would make a difference to you that this supposed CC candidate had filed multiple false police reports to try to cause harm to another human being. To me that makes it so it doesn't matter which party she is in, she doesn't belong leading our country. Find another VP, as long as is isn't a repeat of who we have in there now.
If you really want to cross up those CC values, examine the example set by McCain. First, be a POW and have your wife faithfully wait for you. That wife becomes injured and disfigured. Have an affair with a beautiful heiress. Leave your loyal yet crippled wife behind, divorce her and marry the beautiful heiress. It's a CC love story made in heaven (not!).
Finally, I am biased. I am a Christian who goes to Church on Sundays and I have a beautiful family. I have certain beliefs which I follow and feel that I live the way God and Jesus want me to live.
I try to be honest and loving. I try to not lie. I don't agree with torture or unjustified imprisonment. I believe in taking care of those in need even when I don't understand the hardships they have encountered. I believe in equal rights for all people, even if God created them differently from myself. I try to stay out of the personal lives of my fellow "average Americans" and try to avoid condemning them for their personal choices that I don't agree with. I believe that all of us should follow the laws of God and man, and try to change the laws of man with which we do not agree rather than breaking them and skirting them. I don't agree with hurting others for my own personal gain. I don't believe that I am entitled to live a life of luxury because I am "better" than my fellow human beings or that others should work harder to support me. I don't waste if I can help it. I understand that the world is here for all people to share, not for the currently powerful to greedily consume.
That should be enough for now. All of the above reasons are declarations why I am not a member of the GOP and still do not understand why anyone who is a CC would be. The current GOP has recently gone against those beliefs on EVERY issue listed. Their history on these issues has not been good for 30 years, abominable the past 12. As a Christian, I can't condone such barbarism. There. My bias explained.
Vote for "whomever" because you believe they will be best for our country, and for the families, and the futures of our children, not because they were the most popular famous person in their local church community.
Have a lovely weekend! God bless.
Angie
Angie,
You didn't offend me. I too find much of John McCain unpalatable & I haven't made up my mind to vote for him. I know for certain that I will not be voting for the Democrat candidates though. I am first and foremost, a one issue voter. That issue is the protection of innocent life. If a candidate can't make the right decision on that basic issue, I won't be able to trust them on making the right decision on other tough issues. He/she, Dem/Rep, will not get my vote - EVER.
I consider myself a conservative - no longer a Republican. I believe our two party system of government is no longer effective. It's too big and it's uncontrollable by the voter. I do understand however, why some still choose to accept the Republican party. The GOP platform (at least in my state) is very, very near to my beliefs. Unfortunately, many of the GOP members don't seem to have read the platform. Therefore, to avoid associating with those who say one thing and do another, I choose to be un-affiliated. This is not a Republican problem though as the Democrats are no better. Just because you have made a choice, as have I, to not be a Republican, does not give you the right to judge someone who has. Matt 7:3-5 There are more "good" Republicans than bad.
I don't trust ANY media outlet to be unbiased. Not even a "nationally recognized newspaper". At the risk of offending you, I'd say you're a bit hypocritical on this point. On one hand, you espouse that Fox News is a GOP propaganda machine and on the other, you don't seem to have a problem directing people to a liberal newspaper to learn the 'truth'. -- Again, they all have their agendas.
To set the record straight though, I never said I agreed or disagreed with the information in the article you linked to. I stated that the bias was evident. Please don't make assumptions about what I believe to be true or not.
Angie, I respect that you try to stay informed on issues. You should, however, understand that your perceptions may not be 'truth' (just as mine might not be). You stated that Gov. Palin filed false police reports to try and cause harm to another. According to who? There is a second side to that story - even if you choose not to believe it. (any police officer who uses a tazer on a child and threatens to kill his father-in-law shouldn't be a police officer IMHO). I make that point not to start a conversation about that specific issue, but to show that there is another side.
You mention torture. Your definition and my definition of "torture" may differ. Are you right by default? Most issues are not "black and white". Just to drive that point home: If I have in my custody a man who placed a nuclear weapon in your city. What level of force would YOU authorize to find out where that bomb is before it goes off? I don't want an answer, I just want you to start thinking before making ambiguous blanket statements.
You state: "I try to stay out of the personal lives of my fellow "average Americans" and try to avoid condemning them for their personal choices that I don't agree with." Your words here don't reflect your actions. Just two paragraphs prior, you slam John McCain for being an adulterer and leaving his crippled wife for an heiress. (I'm not saying your analysis was wrong, just pointing out a bit of hypocrisy) Or do you see McCain as 'not average' and therefore open for attack?
I am not a respecter of people (i.e. I don't believe in differing standards based on one's position in life) Have you ever looked with lust upon someone not your spouse? If so, you are an adulterer, just like him. Would you like me to post that Angie is an adulterer for all the world to see? Of course not! Again, Matt
7:3-5.
Sorry if I've gone on too long. I'm just frustrated by the arrogance of people today (myself included). There is only one Truth, so on all other matters, we should use greater discretion before speaking! (again, me included).
End of Rant
Patrick,
I agree with some very valid points you made. One of the biggest problems I have with the GOP is that too many of them have not read the platform and certainly don't follow it. You said I do not have the right to judge someone who chooses to be a Republican. You are right, I have a right to question their judgement. If they are voting based on a platform that they know isn't being followed (and in some cases mocked by those whom they are voting for) then that seems to be a valid question. Does anyone else here feel that they should base their vote on a single principle that they know the person they are voting for doesn't intend to hold or do anything about once they are in office? Otherwise, one knows what they are getting and anyone who voted Republican 4 years ago is part of the problems with our country today. You have a problem with the War in Iraq? If you voted Republican, you have only yourself to blame. Blood on your hands that will never wash off. You have a problem with the financial crisis that our current administration created? Blame the Republican vote. And don't expect help if Republican policy puts you under. If you have a problem with the anti-environmental direction our government has taken? Guess who's vote. Clean air and water have a price the Republican administration has refused to pay and in some cases, thumbed it's nose at. Not living up to being stewards of the earth. If you believe we should be a diplomatic country and not a worldwide bully? Republican vote again. WWJD? Did you or someone you care about lose a job which has been outsourced overseas? The Republican vote pushed for that disaster. WGB should have learned this lesson from his father. Too bad for the people that he didn't. Sadly this doesn't touch GWB personally or he might have thought about this choice.
You want to fix 90% of this countries issues, stop voting for Republicans who do this to our country. If you really want to make a difference in the Roe vs Wade issue, work for it on the State level where you can actually make a difference instead of praying for the death of a supreme court justice from the other side of your arguement. The President does not make the policy on Roe vs Wade. To vote for a President on an issue they don't control is futility. You are cutting off your leg to fix a hangnail.
Last point, if my moral compass is broken, do you think you should vote for me for President? If my morality is s sham and I try to disguise it from you so it appears that it is not, should that lie be exposed so everyone knows that I am an untrustworthy, corruptable cheat before I am voted into office? Saying no means that you do not care if you can trust your President and his morals. This seems odd to me. I want to know some things regarding the character of the person I vote for. I am surprised at you Patrick that you would want to compare overcoming temptation as being the same as blatantly succumbing to it. Someone who is in the public eye and is going to be making decisions which affect everyone needs to be closely scrutinized. Signing up to be the leader of the free world means you are accepting this scrutiny. You and I are not doing that. We "the people" are not inviting society into our homes to question our lifetime of decisions and accomplishments or lack there of. I'm not giving any reason for that to be necessary. Most people do not. So yes, people should be judged differently when it comes to public or private life based on station. I have no reason to expose the dirty laundry of my neighbors. They are not in the public eye and will not be making world changing decisions. If they were, and I knew they were dishonest or morally crippled, I'd say so openly in hopes of protecting the rest of society from their poor judgements.
Angie
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