Governor Sarah Palin—A Great Choice

Governor Sarah Palin—A Great Choice
Congratulations to John McCain on making a truly great choice for his Vice-Presidential running mate. A great choice not because Sarah Palin is a woman, but because she brings something to the race that none of the other three candidates, Obama, Biden, or McCain brings—an understanding of the proper role of government in a free society. That understanding is why millions of conservatives across our land have now gotten on board the McCain campaign. Without their support, their enthusiasm, and their dollars, the McCain campaign was almost certainly doomed to failure—as were the campaigns of liberal Republicans like Dewey, Ford, and Bush ’41. Because Governor Sarah Palin is on the ticket, the Republicans now have an excellent opportunity to win the White House in 2008.
I do believe that life experience is important for the person who serves as President of the United States. It is a serious weakness of Barak Obama. And while I might wish that Sarah Palin had more experience, it is accurate and fair to point out that she has more political executive experience than Obama, Biden, and McCain combined! And remember, Sarah Palin is number two on the GOP ticket, not number one like Senator Obama.

The fact is that the US Senate is not a good training ground for serving as President of the United States. It is a debating society. There are no executive decisions made as a Senator or state representative. With all due respect, Senator Biden is a 36-year incumbent and a Washington insider nonpareil. Senator Obama’s background is as a junior legislator with a far left voting record and questionable relationships with radicals and corrupt machine politicians in Chicago. Senator McCain is a war hero, but his record as a Congressman and Senator provide no confidence that he has any deep understanding of the foundations of a free society.

What are those foundations that Sarah Palin has such a good grasp on? It is the same understanding that our founders had when they carefully formed a new kind of government, one that is to serve the people, not rule over them. They understood the frail, imperfect nature of the human state. As observers of history, they saw that whenever a government became powerful, it always trampled on the rights of its citizens to the sole benefit of those in power. They understood that our republic would survive as a free society only if we were a government of laws, not of men. 

They wrote the Constitution to protect American citizens from government abuse, not to create a government that would do everything for its citizens. They knew that the path of big, powerful government always leads to despotism. Through the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they tried to limit government’s responsibilities to provide for the common defense, provide equal justice, and maintain internal order. Their goal was that future generations of Americans would live in freedom.
It is important to note that the founders failed miserably in regard to slavery. It was not, however, a failure to correctly understand the danger of a big, powerful government, but rather their tragic failure to recognize African-Americans as human beings, as citizens. Thomas Jefferson reputedly called slavery the fatal flaw of the Constitution. If he said that, he was absolutely right. Slavery is the worst human condition. It happened then and continues today because of the power of unfettered and all-powerful government to advance misguided and unjust causes when there is no consensus of virtue among its citizenry.

The founders understood that in order to keep our country as a free society, virtue had to exist as a consensus of its citizens. They did not want a state church to exist, but they did want to encourage a respect for Judeo-Christian virtues among the citizens of our land. They encouraged attendance at Christian churches and Jewish synagogues. They knew that laws alone would not keep our land from deteriorating into chaos if virtue did not exist as a common attribute of our citizens.

It is this understanding that Governor Sarah Palin brings to the 2008 race for the White House. She has a sound, Constitutional philosophy of government that was heretofore absent among the candidates for President and Vice-President. That is not to say that the candidates are not well-intended, but rather that they do not have a sound, coherent philosophy based on an accurate understanding of human nature and the intent of our founders as expressed in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Of course, Governor Palin also brings great personal character—kindness, toughness, respect, honesty, decision making ability, and great personal integrity to the McCain ticket. Imagine a woman who fought and overcame the "old boy" network in her own party by beating the incumbent Republican Governor and then going on to victory over a strong Democratic candidate for Governor. Imagine a crusader who rooted out corruption in her own party against tremendous opposition. Imagine the love and kindness of a mother who welcomed a Down syndrome child into her life and home as a blessing from God. Imagine a competitor who not only was runner-up for Miss Alaska, but also a member of a high school basketball team that won their state championship. Imagine a Mayor and a Governor who vetoed multiple tax increases. Imagine a Governor who returned excess revenues to the taxpayers instead of spending it on unnecessary projects and programs. Imagine an incumbent Governor who has an 80% approval rating from the citizens of her state. Imagine a Vice-Presidential candidate that truly understands the foundations of a free society. 

If you can imagine all of this you can begin to understand why Governor Sarah Palin is such a great choice to serve as John McCain’s running mate!