The Respectfully Republican Conversation

Are we excited?!!!!!!  Are we united?!!!!!!! Is the base now re-energized?!!!!!  All onboard?!!!! 

Linda-  I want that pin too!

From NRO

McCain-Palin?   [Mark R. Levin]

Few have been more critical of Sen. McCain than I, both here and on my radio show.  And I have long said on my radio show that his selection of a running-mate will be key in determining my enthusiasm for his candidacy.  If McCain has, in fact, chosen Gov. Palin, then count me in with both feet.  It would be a terrific choice.

Palin is by all accounts a principled conservative and government reformer who can contribute mightily to the decision-making that occurs in the White House. She has more executive experience in her two years as governor than Obama, Biden, and McCain combined.  She is a mother of five in what appears to be a loving and functioning family.  And she is someone Republicans, conservatives, and others can rally behind in the future.  

From a purely tactical aspect, Palin would knock the legs out from under Obama's monopoly hold on "change."  And attacks on her "inexperience" will only highlight one of Obama's greatest vulnerabilities — and he's at the top of the Democrat ticket.  And because Hillary Clinton spent months telling women voters that they are being dissed by Obama, some percentage of women who normally would not vote for McCain will take a second look if Palin's on the ticket.  There is no question that a Palin selection would cause the Obama camp headaches.      

I should add that if Palin is the choice, this also suggests that McCain may not be as stubborn as portrayed — and that's a good thing given his positions on a number of issues that have given conservatives heart-burn.  At least it gives us some hope in that regard.  

If Palin is, indeed, McCain's choice, I will have more to say, as will most everyone else.  If it is not, he may have created - or some in the media may have created - a situation in which hopes were raised and then dashed.  We shall see.  There are other solid candidates out there to be sure.  If it is not Palin, here's hoping it is one of them.

08/29 10:13 AM

Yes thats the ticket!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Campaign officially confirms!!!!!!!

Now talk about a glass ceiling---If McCain Gets it --You could be looking at a race between Palin And Hillary for president in 2012----Wouldn't that be something..........

Susie--my husband just said that and I got goose bumps.  I believe I wrote on one of my threads that if Obama picked someone other than Hillary or a woman that McCain should pick a woman.  Absolutely needed if he has any hopes of winning.

I know I won't vote for him but nonetheless I'm so excited about this.   I'm so tired of the male establishment having it all.

And, yes, if McCain wins I think Hillary will be the next Democratic nominee.  Two women running against each other in 2012--do you think we could finally put to bed the very sexist view of women and cat fights, which when I see it makes me want to put a fist through the TV. 

It's a good pick as well, as it will put Biden in something of a bind in the debates.  Remember, when Hillary ran for the senate and it looked like--can't remember his name--the Republican was trying to bully her.  Hillary immediately went up in the polls.

And also in New Hampshire, when Obama said "likable enough."  It will be very difficult for them to shred her, as they would have shredded Romney. 

Anneshirley--Tears in my eyes----

No safe pick for McCain----Maverick!!!!!!!!!!!

 From USATODAY

Alaska governor balances newborn's needs, official duties
By Steve Quinn, Associated Press Writer
JUNEAU, Alaska — The results of Gov. Sarah Palin's prenatal testing were in, but the doctor's tone was ominous: "You need to come to the office so we can talk about it."

Palin, known for a resolve that quickly launched her from suburban hockey mom to a player on the national political stage, said "No, go ahead and tell me over the phone."

The physician replied "Down syndrome," stunning the Republican governor who had just completed what many political analysts called a startling first year in office.

She had arrived at the Capitol on an ethics reform platform after defeating the incumbent Republican in the primary and a former two-term Democratic governor in the general election. Her growing reputation as a maverick for bucking her party's establishment and Alaska's powerful oil industry quickly gained her a national reputation.

Now she said she is trying to balance caring for her special needs child and running the nation's largest state.

The doctor's announcement in December, when Palin was four months pregnant, presented her with a possible life- and career-changing development.

"I've never had problems with my other pregnancies, so I was shocked," said Palin, a mother of four other children.

"It took a while to open up the book that the doctor gave me about children with Down syndrome, and a while to log on to the Web site and start reading facts about the situation."

The 44-year-old governor waited a few days before telling her husband Todd, who was out of town, so she could understand what was ahead for them.

Once her husband got the news, he told her: "We shouldn't be asking 'Why us?' We should be saying 'Well, why not us?'"

There was never any doubt the Palins would have the child, and on April 18 she gave birth to Trig Paxon Van Palin.

"We've both been very vocal about being pro life," Palin said. "We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential."

Down syndrome is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome in the fetus' cells. It's a genetic abnormality that impedes physical, intellectual and language development.

The mother's age is a large factor in the chances of having a Down child. Once a woman turns 40, the chances of having a Down child is 1 out of 100, according to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

During her first year in office, Palin distanced herself from the old guard, powerful Republicans in the state GOP, even calling on tightlipped, veteran U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens to explain to Alaskans why he was being investigated by federal authorities.

She asked Alaska's congressional delegation to be more selective in seeking earmarks after Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" became a national symbol of piggish pork-barrel spending.

She stood up to the powerful oil industry, and with bipartisan support in the statehouse she won a tax increase on oil companies' profits.

She also found time to pose for fashion magazine Vogue while she was pregnant, and she has been mentioned among potential vice presidential running mates for John McCain.

Three days after giving birth, Palin returned to work in her Anchorage office, accompanied by Trig and her husband.

This was not a mother's typical visit to the office to show off the new baby; instead, she was serving notice that a child of special needs will not hinder her professional commitments.

"It's a sign of the times to be able to do this," she said. "I can think of so many male candidates who watched a families grow while they were in office.

"There is no reason to believe a woman can't do it with a growing family. My baby will not be at all or in any sense neglected."

Neither, Palin said, will the state, as she prepares to lead deliberations for a multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline. That's the economic future of the state, a means of getting North Slope natural gas to consumers throughout North America.

"I will not shirk my duties," she said.

Other politicians have pressed forward with their careers despite jarring personal news.

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards continued with his campaign despite the return of his wife Elizabeth's breast cancer, though he eventually dropped out.

Another elected official who has a child with Down syndrome said Palin will likely have detractors, but that shouldn't change ambitions for the mother or child.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, D-Wash., has just celebrated the first birthday of her son Cole, her first child, who was born with Down syndrome. She is busy campaigning for a third term, and Cole often travels with her between Washington, D.C., and the Pacific Northwest.

"Cole opened my eyes to the pain and trouble a lot of families endure," Rodgers said. "He's allowed me to see people and circumstance more deeply, and the generosity of people.

"It's in human nature to focus on the negative, on what the person can't do. In our mind, we are focused on what he can do, what he will be able to do and do very well."

It's not unlike how Palin sees her child.

"I'm looking at him right now, and I see perfection," Palin said. "Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?"

 
 
Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-10-4082128881_x.htm

Did you hear the ridiculous dissing by the Dems?  A person from small town America?  Are they nuts, most of us are from small town America, or now live in small town America.  The children in Obama's campaign aren't handling this well, they keep doing themselves in. 

I love her matter-of factness, she's awesome! What a good, no excellent move, I am regenerated! And her husband is one good looking dude!

Rosemary...of course they would diss STA, remember what Bo said about us gun toting, church praying small towners! HA!

McCain and Palin 2009 

I just found this thread day before yesterday, and I'm so glad I did!!!

I am positively giddy....she's brilliant!!!   Dh and I were on the phone, me watching on TV, him listening on the radio, and we couldn't stop cheering--and laughing--she just kept nailing it over and over and over--I haven't been this excited about a candidate....well, I've never been this excited about a candidate! 

McCainPalin ROCKS!!!!!

Okay very briefly... I have always had democrat tendencies... even though I think the republicans also have some good points.  Politics are politics, there's the good side to it and the dirty side....

I am not a woman that knows very much about politics, neither do I care to make it my favorite conversation topic; but in this case, I did have to add my two cents... today I am a woman that is truly happy to see McCain picking a woman as his VP!  It is about time that we have a woman in the White House other than in the position of a wife/daughter/secretary/maid....

May Palin pave the long road ahead for our daughters and grand-daughters....

And as for experience, it goes both ways, neither Obama or Palin have any "heavy" experience or are longer term players in the world of politics.  They are young, they represent fresh blood and bring new hopes.

We want change?!?!?!  How's about changing COMPLETELY?! 

As undecided as I was, and sorry to see that Obama did not pick Hillary (or any woman) as his
VP, my vote was just decided upon finding out McCain's decision for a VP.  YEAH!

Why would it scare you for Palin to be president because of her inexperience, but not be afraid  of an inexperienced Obama becoming president?  Palin does have some executive experience as Governor of Alaska. 

"Democrats seized on the gaping experience gap and said McCain now has no business questioning the seasoning of their nominee. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said McCain was taking a "roll of the dice" and declared that Palin's "lack of experience makes the thought of her assuming the presidency troubling."

Now why would this be bad to the Dems whose choice for president has NO EXPERIENCE?  All we have to do is have her say the words Change and then send her off to Europe and Iraq and she will be as qualified as he is!!!!! 

I wasn't sure what to think at first hearing the news of McCain's choice. After learning more about this woman, I think she sounds pretty fantastic. She has done more and lived such a full life in her young years. Amazing! I respect her values and I am hopeful that she will be a role model to our daughters and grand-daughters that you can be a hard working mother AND be VP and P of the USA! I think it's great!

Lexi