On the morning she was named as McCain's running mate I raised several questions about the wisdom of Gov. Palin being selected. While I continue to wish
she had more foreign policy experience, I think she brings a great deal to the table and much of what she brings could probably ONLY come from
someone outside the DC beltway; someone fully emersed in "heartland/small town/family" values; someone with a "PhD" in handling family
problems along with the experience of applying common sense solutions to often sophisticated city and state-wide problems. You don't get an 80%+ approval
rating as the governor of a state without having a hell of a lot going for you.
She certainly has her work cut out for her in this campaign, and it is too early to know just how all of this will play out, but if I were Barrack Obama, and especially if I were Joe Bidden who will have to face her in person during debates, I would show up wearing a cup!!
As I sat watching and listening to Sarah Palin's delivery of the speech last night I couldn't help but reflect upon, and be astonished by, the ease and self-presence with which she delivered each point, each punch line. As the camera panned to the audience and focused on her family it struck me just how striking even her presence in the hall was, let alone as the center of attention on the stage.
As she calmly, yet earnestly and vigorously, took apart the opposition candidates piece by piece, while expressing her conservative views on the direction the country needs to take and her enthusiasm for John McCain, I felt I was watching something rather unique.
That uniqueness can perhaps best be summed up in the word AUTHENTIC. Few people are truly authentic. That is a virtue difficult to find anymore. It is almost impossible to find authenticity in politics. In my experience, authenticity - being genuine, being real - is an attribute almost exclusively reserved for people comfortable with who/what they are, where they come from, confident in what they think and believe, well grounded in core principles developed from family values and love of country.
It is still to early too know, but in Sarah Palin we might be looking at a politician whose skills and virtues make her A NATURAL!!
She certainly has her work cut out for her in this campaign, and it is too early to know just how all of this will play out, but if I were Barrack Obama, and especially if I were Joe Bidden who will have to face her in person during debates, I would show up wearing a cup!!
As I sat watching and listening to Sarah Palin's delivery of the speech last night I couldn't help but reflect upon, and be astonished by, the ease and self-presence with which she delivered each point, each punch line. As the camera panned to the audience and focused on her family it struck me just how striking even her presence in the hall was, let alone as the center of attention on the stage.
As she calmly, yet earnestly and vigorously, took apart the opposition candidates piece by piece, while expressing her conservative views on the direction the country needs to take and her enthusiasm for John McCain, I felt I was watching something rather unique.
That uniqueness can perhaps best be summed up in the word AUTHENTIC. Few people are truly authentic. That is a virtue difficult to find anymore. It is almost impossible to find authenticity in politics. In my experience, authenticity - being genuine, being real - is an attribute almost exclusively reserved for people comfortable with who/what they are, where they come from, confident in what they think and believe, well grounded in core principles developed from family values and love of country.
It is still to early too know, but in Sarah Palin we might be looking at a politician whose skills and virtues make her A NATURAL!!
