Thursday, September 4, 2008

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.

6 comments:

kelly said...

thanks for sharing, kelli. writing about politics can be dangerous business, but you really gave your opinion nicely w/o being judgemental - a good combo :)
i didn't get to hear much of palin's speech, unfortunately. wish i had. i did hear that she made several "bash" type comments towards the dems. i'm so sick of that. & i know that happens on both sides.
like you, i'm just SO ready for people to tell me what THEY are going to do for the country, period.
i'm hoping the upcoming debates will be helpful to the millions of us who are undecided.
here's to hoping :)

Three Against One said...

I am right there with you on this Kelli, I too haven't been as involved in politics as I should be so this year I decided that I was going to make a really good effort to hear both sides and make a well informed decision on who I would vote for. I am so mad at myself for missing Palin's speech last night (we had orientation at Claire's school and I totally forgot to tune in when we got home).
I also agree with you on how is she going to be able to juggle her family and her career especially with a pregnant teenager and a 4 month old baby with Down Syndrome?? She must be a strong and organized women to be able to tackle this huge task, but kuddos to her for doing it.
Yes, I too want to hear them tell me what they are going to do for our country and stop all the name calling and bickering, BUT what they say they are going to do and what they actually do will be totally different so does it really matter what they say, will they actually follow through with even half of it, probably not!

Anonymous said...

i just wrote about this today, too! great post.

Melissa (aka Kitty) said...

All I'm going to say is that with all the brilliant men in this world, how did we end up with these 2 candidates to pick from. I'm just baffled. I don't like any of them.

Tiffany Nevil said...

Hey Kel, well, you know I love a good chat on politics! I like Sarah Palin too. I don't think I could do what she is doing either. At the same time, I sense a real passion to lead with integrity and to leave things in the world better than they were when she found them. That's a great way to fight evil! I wish all of us were so inspired to get out of our comfort zone and traditional roles to fight evils we see around us too.

Just a little before Sarah's speech, Guiliani (sorry for butchering the spelling of his name) spoke and mentioned an interesting point that the critics are saying. He said how dare people say that Sarah won't have enough time with her children as a mother; does anyone ever say that about us fathers? It was a lovely point that both parents are important. Thought it was a nice touch.

Yup, the name calling jabs were a little over the top, but I remind myself that often times that's the speech writer-not her. So I'll keep on watching too-until my stomach can't stand the bickering and the bashing. Trust me, Obama's camp is no better. Has the media forgotten that McCain is the ONLY candidate who had a NICE ad CONGRADULATING Obama on the D's nod and nomination? Hmmmmm.....

zusjames said...

Thought you'd enjoy reading this blog about Sarah Palin... http://graceinthehome.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-i-like-sarah-palin-for-vp.html