I don’t tend to discuss politics for many reasons. One reason is that I live in Texas, and thus I disagree with the vast majority of people here about how the country should be run. (This is one of the many reasons it’d be nice to live in Austin.) I’ve never been much of a debater, so I don’t choose to engage in them, especially when in a place where I’m almost guaranteed to be in the minority. But the primary reason is simply that politics has become such a personal issue to people, often approaching the level of a religion. It’s very difficult to have rational discussions about an issue that has become so personal.
Anyway. I had hoped to watch Sarah Palin’s speech last night at the Republican National Convention, but I had class until 10:00 and missed it. I did, however, read the transcript to get an idea for what she said. I think it’s probably impossible to get the full impact of any speech from reading the transcript — so much is conveyed by the speaking tone and body language of the speaker that obviously doesn’t come through in writing.
Her speech read well. Looks like she held nothing back in attacking the criticism that’s already been leveled at her, and in going after her Democratic opponents. Some of her claims may not have been entirely accurate, but that’s certainly not something specific to her. Every politician, on both sides, stretches the truth and twists it to fit their agenda. The idea that one party does it more than the other is simply absurd.
I like John McCain for choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate, for making an interesting choice, for shaking things up. It’s nice to see a woman on a major ticket. It’s nice to see someone from outside the typical political establishment have a shot. I don’t even care that she is relatively inexperienced (just like I don’t care that Obama is relatively inexperienced). Unlike a lot of people, I’m ok with someone becoming President without having been a senator or governor for twenty years. And I don’t think family concerns such as her daughter’s pregnancy (though ironic) should be considered in whether she is fit to be VP.
So I like Sarah Palin, and I wish I could vote for her. The problem? I disagree with her (and McCain) on basically every major issue.
Oh well.
p.s. A brief question about Palin to the guys in my office turned into a rather interesting discussion on bias in the media. But I’ll save that for another day.
I was quite impressed. She did a very good job in her delivery. Not quite to the rockstar level of Obama, but much better than I’ve seen any major Republican candidate do since Reagan.
And it was her first one.
Camera shots of her family were interesting. The elder daughter was there with her fiance, and looked somewhat self-conscious. The 5 year old girl was having a blast.
I suspect part of the reason why McCain picked her is for Palin’s ability to communicate with and (presumably) without prepared remarks. That, and the Republicans need younger role-models to lead on in the next few decades.
I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU!!! I cant stand McCain either. Doesnt mean I am an Obama supporter..cause well they both have their faults. McCain just has A LOT more if you ask me.
And I also with you on the fact that I probably shouldnt live in TExas based on my polictical views.
I agree totally. I’m a fairly diehard Dem, but I appreciated her speech and what it did for the convention. It didn’t make me change sides, but I’m glad for McCain that he chose someone outside of the box with some spunk. She took on the challenge well and seemed to have a good time up on stage reacting to criticism without attacking or being unnecessarily ugly. It was refreshing. Plus, she’s also a runner (see Runnersworld.com today for their bit on her). You have to appreciate that!
Not surprised with her delivery at all. There’s a clip out there that I watched the other day of her as an Anchorage sportscaster. And it was as good or better than many, many that I’ve seen.
I listened to her first speech last Friday while driving down to Finish Line to pick up a pair of shoes, but when I watched her on Saturday afternoon – I turned it off. Why? It was the same thing, and it is why I didn’t watch her speech last night. (Plus I get tired of the way EVERYBODY – on both sides of the aisle – spins things.]
There’s some discussion out there that if Obama had chose Clinton at the Convention that Palin would only still be the Governor of Alaska today. Maybe so. We’ll never know.
This will certainly go down as one of the more interesting 60 days to the election that any of us may remember.
I think I was meant to live in Austin too (or maybe one of the red states, LOL). I was one of the 20 “Aggie Democrats” at A&M (compared the the 300+ “Aggie Republicans”)! But, I am not completely sold on Obama, just as I was never completely sold on Kerry. Palin is an awesome speaker, but I don’t agree with her on many of the issues. I think I may have to look at both sides to see who I agree with on the most issues and go from there. At least if McCain is elected, he is quite a liberal Republican…I guess that’s something.