Obama said, “Now is the time...”
· ...to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, ...to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. ... to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent....to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses... to protect Social Security for future generations...And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons. · You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us--that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it--because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time. Obama’s speech was truly inspirational. If you watched it, you know what I mean. If you didn’t, you can find the complete speech at http://www.demconvention.com/barack-obama/. Won’t it be nice to have an articulate President, admired and respected around the world; instead of an inarticulate boob, who is an embarrassment every time he goes out in public? ****** The morning after Obama’s speech, there were rave reviews, but they were cut short by John McCain’s stunning announcement that he had picked Alaska Governor Sara Palin to be his running mate. To say that the political analysts and pundits were stunned is an understatement. If McCain’s plan was to bring more media attention to his campaign, he succeeded (maybe too well). The media is all abuzz with theories on why John McCain picked this little-known governor over much more likely choices, such as former governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, or even turn-coat Democrat Joe Lieberman. Here are my top ten reasons John McCain picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his Vice Presidential running mate: 1) She blew away all the other vice-presidential contenders in the swimsuit competition. 2) She has extensive foreign policy experience, having actually visited three foreign countries (if you count a refueling stop in Ireland on her trip to military installations in Germany and Kuwait.) Cindy McCain recently reminded ABC viewers of Palin’s foreign policy expertise, “[R]emember that Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia.”--8/31/08 3) She was the only candidate shorter than John McCain. 4) A search committee comprised of stand-up comedians and late-night talk show hosts picked her. 5) She has years of executive experience: Six years as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (pop. 7,000)--during which she racked up nearly $20 million in long-term debt, or $3,000 per resident. She has also served 20 months as governor of Alaska, population 670,000-- the same as Memphis, Tennessee or about a quarter the size of Obama’s home town--Chicago, Illinois. 6) Hillary turned the job down. 7) McCain’s staff did not realize that “vetting” meant investigating everything about a candidate, so you don’t end up with a candidate like Sara Palin. 8) McCain has had a secret crush on her since 1984, when she was chosen Miss Wasilla and then was first runner-up in the Miss Alaska Contest.
