Sarah Palin, What Hath Thou Wrought

The seething on the left continues

Editor's Note: Thomas's commentary is in blue and Marcie's is in purple.

John McCain couldn't have picked a better running mate than Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. She lends solid reform-minded credentials to a ticket promising just that, and she's a fine foil for the Obama/Biden ticket. While they pay lip service to the public about how they'd change things, a McCain/Palin ticket gives credence to the meme of change, which seems to be the buzzword of this election. But with the media and the Left in high dudgeon over the pick, one would think that John McCain added the Anti-Christ to his campaign instead of a woman who appeals to Americans on so many levels. She reminds many Americans of themselves; the hard-working, blue-collar sort of person that wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She's a mom of five and has been married to the same man -- a blue-collar person like herself -- for twenty years. So why is the Left so ticked at her, and what have they done in reaction to her being included on the ticket?

Her accomplishments have made many a conservative sit up and take notice of her. While she comes from Alaska, which most people barely pay notice to, she got into politics to reform the "good ol' boys" network in Alaska. She joined the Wasilla City Council for the sole reason of wanting to make her hometown better. When she saw that change was needed in town, she did not shy away from challenging incumbent Mayor John Stein. After she defeated him, he improvised a coalition to resist her efforts of change, which fell apart. She was reelected to a second term, and as that term drew to a close, she was pegged to run for Lieutenant Governor. She lost that race, but then turned her sights to the governorship of Alaska, and easily defeated incumbent Frank Murkowski. She did not abide by the "good ol' boys" network in Alaska, and shook up the state; taking on her own party to get rid of the corruption. She negotiated a natural gas pipeline for the lower 48 states, and renegotiated the drilling deals with the oil companies that were reaping more than their fair share of profits.

When she was announced by John McCain as his running mate, heads in the media exploded. They hadn't done the oppo research on her because she was the ultimate dark horse. No one even considered the possibility of him picking her, and the media seethed over it. Immediately they attacked. "Excitable" Andrew Sullivan seized on a rumor from DailyKos that Trig, her five-month old son with Down syndrome, wasn't hers, but rather he was the son of Bristol, her eldest daughter. It was found out a couple days later that Bristol herself was pregnant, and had been for about five months. This excited the rumor even further with people demanding a paternity test for Trig, and it eventually led the sick rumor that Todd, her husband, had fathered Trig with Bristol. Then came the feminists demanding to know why Trig wasn't aborted. He had Down syndrome, after all, and it would have been the "humane" thing to do. They shrieked that her pro-life stance would only add further hardship for the family. The absolute hysteria emanating from the Left was amusing and sickening at the same time. They just couldn't fathom her at all, and hated her every day she was able to deflect their asinine attacks.

Then the slimy attacks on her experience started to leak out from the Obama camp and from his supporters. They laughed at her credentials of being a mayor and a governor. That was even more evident when they sneeringly derided her position as governor and continued to refer to her as "Mayor Palin." This prompted us to ask the question if anyone would make such a condescending comment about Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago who is, by far, one of the most powerful mayors in the United States. But it did not stop the Left from assailing her executive experience, despite her accomplishments, and they still continue to look down on her. After three interviews with the media, which has proven she does know what she speaks of, the Left still looks down their nose at her, and they still sound condescending when speaking of her. They simply cannot understand how people can get excited about a woman, which leads us to the next smear from the Obama camp. They use sexist attacks against her, which further proves that Senator Obama clearly has a problem with strong, determined women, just as he did with Hillary Clinton.

We thought the Left had reached the end of it's rope in attacking her, and then we saw that someone hacked her personal information and her e-mail account. Her Social Security number, home phone number, Bristol's cellphone number, and their home address were posted on the Internet. Critics chided her for allowing that information to get in the open, as if she had anything to do with it. They criticized her again when her email was hacked, and both business and personal information were posted on the Internet. (The sad thing is that chief executives don't use official email out of such fears that sensitive information could be hacked.) The information from the emails showed that she talked with colleagues about the race, about what was going on in Alaska (she is still the governor), and that she shared family photos. Not exactly dirt dug up on someone, and even the hacker himself admitted that there was nothing there. (The authorities have located the alleged email hacker, but not the one who found her Social Security Number.) This is the length Obama supporters are willing to go to destroy this woman.

The media finally decided to take off the gloves, and really go after her. They sent reporters to Alaska to dig up as much dirt -- ANY dirt -- on her that they could. Reports flooded out of Alaska from the news outlets there that reporters were paying people money to give them any little bit of dirt they could find. As of this writing the best the press has come up with is that Todd had a DUI twenty-two years ago, and he ran a stop sign. They discovered that ((GASP)) almost everyone in Wasilla knew that Bristol was pregnant, but did not speak about it much because it was a ((GASP)) private family matter. They found out that Sarah Palin was generally liked in Wasilla, and around Alaska, and that even included ((GASP)) the political enemies she made. In other words, what the media has found in Alaska is that there is no there there when it comes to Sarah Palin. She is as clean as a neophyte politician, but with the years of experience under her belt that defies conventional wisdom. In their opinion, a politician with such tenure in government has to have a skeleton in the closet, but as yet they have not found one, and likely will not.

They abhor her. they detest her very presence on the campaign trail. they gnash their teeth when they see the response she receives from Americans, and they pound their fists on desks when they see the crowds she's drawing at campaign rallies. Barack Obama either needs a free concert and beer to attract crowds in the thousands, or he needs a nifty stage play at a professional ballpark. Sarah Palin is drawing crowds in the tens of thousands because people are so energized about her presence on the McCain ticket. The media can't seem to tear her down because they lack anything that sticks to her. They point to the Charlie Gibson interview and claim she didn't know what she was talking about. But in reality, if one examines that interview (which, by the way, was heavily edited), you can see that she handled herself well, and only really stumbled on one question; that question was on the Bush Doctrine, and not even Charlie Gibson could define it well. The conventional wisdom is that a running mate really doesn't make or break a ticket, but it's clear to us that this year it can. It has. Before John McCain chose her, most Republicans claimed they'd either hold their nose and vote for him, or not vote at all. Now, however, the conservative base will enthusiastically vote for him because they know what that means for the future. The future is so bright that Sarah Palin had better wear some shades because she's going to be in the limelight for quite some time.

He is a scholar of history, especially American history, and the United States Constitution. She has finished her undergrad studies, graduating with a BA in English and history and will move onto law school this fall where she will specialize in Constitutional Law. Together, Thomas and Marcie form the vanguard of conservative opinion at Hamilton, Madison, and Jay -- a blogging site devoted to advancing the conservative cause by challenging the liberal lies and deceit spread by the media, and espoused by the Left in general. Both are expert debaters, and have beaten many liberals into submission with their collective wit, and unmatched knowledge. The pair is married, and resides in Arizona

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