Sarah Palin

*update #2* Okay, McCain just finished and I’ve got tears in my eyes and I’m wondering if there’s a homeless shelter I can go serve in tomorrow morning. I also hopped up on NyQuil about 30 minutes ago because I needed the sneezing, sniffling, coughing, aching, fever so I could sleep medicine. So, I’m a little loopy. I may erase everything I’ve typed in the morning. But for now, I’m really excited and pumped up and really liking McCain right now. After that speech, voting against McCain would be like voting against puppies and sunshine! He started a little rocky, but he finished strong!

*update* I’m listening to John McCain right now. I really like him, though he does not deliver a speech nearly as well as his kick-arse running mate, Sarah Palin. I really feel like McCain is ready and experienced to lead. He will be a good leader. I’m not sure I agree with everything he says, and I really don’t believe that he’ll do all the things he says he will, because, you know…he’s a politician. Now he’s talking about his time in Vietnam. I don’t know where I’m going with this ramble except to maybe publicly pat myself on the back for sticking with it this long. Lee gave up a few minutes into the speech. He’s downstairs watching the Gaither’s on YouTube. hehehe.*

I try not to delve too deeply into politics on this blog. First of all, that’s not really why I started it and second, well, I’m just not a very political person. I am not interested in politics the way I should be. I know, I know, I have a moral obligation to be aware and informed so I can protect myself and my children’s futures, blah, blah, blah…If I’m being honest here, I’ll tell you that the only time I really pay attention to politics is every four years when the big election comes along. Outside of that, I just don’t want to deal with it.

That being said, I have recently become a little more aware of what’s happening in the political sphere and I’ve tried to make more of an effort to keep myself informed about what the candidates support. I have never been all that impressed with Obama. I just haven’t. I think he is a smart man and a brilliant speaker, but that doesn’t make a great leader and I am not even remotely convinced that he will lead this country in the way that we need to be led. That, and I just don’t agree with him in a lot of areas. I didn’t know much about McCain, but figured since Obama was out for me, McCain was in just by process of elimination. Please don’t judge me for this lacadasical approach to electing our President. But, of course, I could not help but hear about all the hoopla surrounding Sarah Palin as McCain’s VP running mate. When I first heard it, I immediately thought that the McCain campaign was brilliant. Of course! Pick a strong conservative woman and bring the focus of this being an historical race back to the Republican party. It was a bold move, and I think it has great potential to pay off.

I listened to the last half of the RNC last night because I wanted to hear Sarah Palin speak. On paper, she seems perfect – a veritable bionic woman who can do no wrong. And after hearing her speach, I must say I am mightily impressed with this woman. She was confident, well spoken, funny and poignant. As soon as she threw in the hockey mom joke, I knew that she was going to be really, really good. I think she has revived the McCain campaign by bringing a youthfulness to it that was lacking, and by just making people want to watch – and when they watch, they hear and I truly believe that McCain is a good, decent man who would be a very good leader.

Now, I know that Sarah Palin is not the Virgin Mary or some angel sent from heaven. She’s a real person with real flaws, but she seems to have a good head on her shoulders and I admire her for that. Having said that, I will confess that I don’t understand how, as a mother, she could possibly have said yes to this potential job. This is just me and my opinion, on my own blog, but I could not have said yes to such a nomination, no matter how great the honor. Especially given the fact that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant. She had to know that the media would jump all over this. Personally, my first instinct as a mother would have been to protect my child. I could not see myself allowing my child’s personal life to be thrust into the spotlight of the world and scrutinized by every Tom, Dick and Harry who think they know what they’re talking about. My heart hurts for Bristol Palin that she has to face the media of the world and be analyzed and talked about. I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t do that. But, in watching Sarah Palin speak, it is obvious that she is a very strong and secure woman, and I imagine some of that confidence and strength has been passed down to her children, including Bristol. I am not judging Sarah Palin’s decision. I’m simply saying, I personally couldn’t do that. But, I also could co-run a country. Heck, I can barely co-run my house! So there’s that.

Anyway, I think Sarah Palin adds an interesting spin on the election. I would love all of the condidates to stop the junior high bickering and just stick to the issues. That annoyed me last night, the constant character bashing and name calling. Please, people, stop telling me what the other guy’s not going to do and start telling me what you are going to do. And I think the idea that Sarah Palin won’t be able to focus on her children if she’s elected when Obama too has young kids is absurd. Clearly, she is a woman who knows how to juggle home and work. She has a loyal and loving family – not a perfect one (whose is?), but a family who is clearly in support of her and of one another. Children need an involved father as much as they need an involved mother so that argument against Palin needs to be shelved.

Anyway, those are my, long-winded, thoughts on this election process. I’ll keep up with it as much as I can tolerate all the whining and arguing (I wrote about my lack of patience with politicians here), but as soon as they start to annoy me, I’ll probably turn the TV off and pick up a good book. I already know who I’m going to vote for at this point anyway. I’d love to hear any comments from some of you readers (I think there might be like 10 of you now). I don’t mind disagreements, just please be kind.