More than once, I have taken the tennis court against a younger, more talented player. More than once I have had a slow start. And more than once, I have left the court victorious despite my opponent having more talent than I have. Patience, wisdom, and a little luck have always played a role.
With the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain has shown that wisdom can indeed trump charisma and empty rhetoric.
Not just a female, but a Governor. Not just a mom, but a mother of five. Not just a wife who rode the coattails of her husband, but a woman with her own, seperate career.
McCain would not have had the same impact with Palin had Barack Obama selected Hillary Clinton as his running mate. The move would have been seen as desperate.
But to select the current governor of Alaska to be paired against the selection made by Obama as his VP, Joe Biden, appears to be genius. An old, white guy that has been part of the problem for decades, the man that is to be the attack dog for Obama paired against a woman that can handle herself.
Undoubtably, this move Obama did not expect. Will white female voters now have an even more difficult choice to make when they step into the polling booth? Will they vote against their own sex to select the first black president? Now young girls across the nation will have a new role model to follow. As Obama thanked Hillary Clinton for the hope she has given his daughters and all females across the nation, little did he know that there was more than one female model for success to thank. Palin did it the old fashioned way. Local politics to State politics, and now on to Federal politics.
Sarah Palin defeated an incumbent republican governor without the support of the Republican infrastructure, and won election despite being outspent, and then cleaned house as she had promised. Her approval ratings are as high as the US House of Representitves' is low. The people of Alaska like the job she has been doing.
It looks as if this manuever by McCain shows that wisdom has the ability to make up for many shortcomings. How will Obama be able to counter the selection of Palin for VP, when he has already slected the old, democratic relic of Joe Biden? Obama teased the democratic supporters until the last minute with the possibility that Clinton might be his VP. But in the end he did not have the faith or courage to run with a female. This will be looked back upon as only one of his major errors.
In one of my past columns, I discussed that experienced leadership matters. Not since John Kennedy have we, the American people elected someone to the office of President directly who did not have experience as either vice president or governor. Placing a running mate on your ticket with experience as governor might be just what McCain needs to push the American public in his favor. Because experience, when available, is an issue that matters.
McCain's maneuver may be just the one that paints Obama into a corner. Then we will have a chance to see Obama's true nature. After the "American Promise" I heard last night, I cannot wait to see it.
With patience and a little luck, perhaps we can avoid the biggest swing towards a socialist state in my lifetime.
©2008 EJ Moosa, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Friday, August 29, 2008
Last modified: Friday, August 29, 2008
The views expressed in this article are those of EJ Moosa only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. EJ Moosa is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
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Reader Comments:
Posted By: a Theologian
Date: 2008-08-29 11:05:23
Let me get this straight - because McCain picks a young, talented, pretty, woman running mate - all of a sudden his deep flaws and bad bills go away and he becomes the wall fending off the evil socialists? You pegged yourself as a libertarian, but you're willing to stand up for someone who has repeatedly sold our freedoms away.
It isn't red v. blue anymore - its Us v. Them. Both sides lie to us, both sides play the game, both sides are willing to expand the police state and turn us into subjects.
So yeah - the old guy might win the tennis match - good for him. I'm tired of playing tennis. It's time to move this trainwreck of a republic on to a different course.
Posted By: Mr. AV
Date: 2008-08-29 12:35:40
I agree that this was a brillitant move by McCain. Naturally, any wise person would never buy into such trojan horses, but in the world of mainstream America, wisdom is insignificant. The average American bases their lives on trivial matters and smart politicians takes good advantage of that. McCain took real good advantage of it.
Posted By: Jean-Christophe Roux
Date: 2008-08-29 12:37:35
I applaud that choice because she is goig to make the next few months more entertaining. More attractive if you will.
As far as voting for her? No way! For one, she does not support the auctioning of Alaska's land owned by the Federal government. For two, she likes JohnMcCain. For three, she is proud of the US military...
In other words she is no libertarian. True, she might be libertarian by Bob Barr's standards... By the way, this nomination probably kills Bob Barr's shameful run since conservatives are going to rally behind her and John McCain
Posted By: MoultrieGAConservative
Date: 2008-08-29 12:57:22
Yes, the choice of Sarah Palin may prove to have been a smart move on McCain's part. Yes, based on what little I've learned about Palin so far, she seems like a very impressive lady. Yes, it sounds like her ideals and approach to governing are probably compatible with mine (although I'd be curious to know whether or not she is also a CONSTITUTIONAL conservative). However, the problem with the McCain ticket has never been who he might choose as his running mate. As far as I'm concerned, that question has been largely irrelevant. The problem with the McCain ticket is McCain!
McCain is NOT a limited government, constitutional conservative. Barry Goldwater would NEVER have supported the McCain-Feingold bill with the unquestionably unconstitutional bans on issue ads in there. Goldwater would never have supported the "Gang of 14" conspiracy that preserved deliberate circumvention of the Founders' intent for the advise and consent role of the Senate as applied to a President's judicial appointments. With those two most egregious among his many transgressions against conservatism and the principles of limited government, John McCain displayed his arrogance and contempt for the U.S. Constitution. He showed that he was more than willing to place his personal political agenda above the Bill of Rights. Sorry, but that is absolutely unacceptable -- period.
Yes, I like what I've seen so far of Sarah Palin, but I'm still voting for the Barr-Root ticket. The duopoly that the Democrat Party and Republican Party have over us simply has to end -- the sooner, the better. Regardless of who ultimately may win this general election, here's hoping that Bob Barr takes at least a high enough percentage to send the Democrats and Republicans an unmistakable message: The hunger for individual liberty and limited government is alive and well, and "business as usual" will not be tolerated from either of the "major" parties ever again.
Mitch Hiers
Constitutional Conservative
Veteran of the U.S. Naval Security Group
Life Member of the VFW, NRA, and NAHC
Moultrie, Georgia, USA
August 29th, 2008