Observations©

By Donald S. Conkey

Date:  September 18, 2008 - # 8838 - Title: More on the Conventions (824)

Two weeks ago today the Republican Party ended their historic convention in Minnesota, historic because it named the first woman ever to be their vice presidential candidate. And equally historic was the Democratic Party’s convention held in Denver the previous week when they broke the color barrier by nominating Barack Obama as America’s first African American presidential nominee.

            As I remember these two historic conventions I thank God for television and how we, the voter, can be right there in the convention hall watching as these historic events unfold, hearing for ourselves the words spoken and not having to rely on the interpretations of the biased elitist media to tell us what was said.

Joan and I followed both events closely. And both were exciting. We watched with most of the nation as these events set TV viewing records: Obama with 38 plus million and McCain exceeding 40 million. This political race has stirred the interest of Americans more than any political race I have ever followed and I began paying attention to presidential races in 1940 in the race between Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Republican Wendell Wilkie.

            With the arrival of Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin on the national political scene it appears the Republicans now have a new political star with a presentation brilliancy equal to that of Obama, perhaps hers may even exceed Obama’s oratory luster. And with Palin’s arrival it is equally clear that this race will not be the shoo-in the Democrats had hoped for in June. While the Democrats say they are united Palin’s emergence has energized and united the Republican Party unlike anything since Ronald Reagan.

            How has Palin, a totally unknown player, energized the Republican Party? She has energized not only the Republican Party faithful but she has resonated with the vast majority of Americans by being one of them, by sharing their family values, by having a strong faith and belief in God, by being a hockey mom, by getting involved in local politics, first in PTA to support her children, then as a local town councilwoman, then by challenging the ‘elite-group,’ including her own Republican Party, and the political bosses. Her values resonated with me as I’m sure they did with millions of other Americans.

            McCain was not my man in January – but he is now as he has demonstrated how to shake-up the status-quo with his selection of Governor Palin as his running-mate. This was just talk about change it was high risk change. And his battle scars prove he has been in the political trenches. I have not been a happy Republican since the party recently lost its direction. But if this ticket wins in November I will be able to renew my faith in their leadership by blunting the efforts of those who would totally destroy America’s God based culture founded on true principles of freedom.

            McCain’s slogan is America First, not Europe First - as the leftist elitists advocate.

            When I pondered the arrival of Governor Palin on the political scene, at a time when the national Republican Party was in chaos, I began to wonder if God, in his great Majesty, has not raised up another ‘Founder,’ like Esther of old, for the express purpose of rallying a majority of Americans to stand up against those whose purpose seems to be to destroy America’s unique cultural values and make it like all other nations.

History tells us God raised up Thomas Jefferson to create America’s cornerstone of liberty, the Declaration of Independence, and to ‘energize a people to fight for freedom;’ James Madison to bring together 56 men when the Articles of Confederation were in shambles, like Washington D.C. is today, discard them and then create a new Constitution unlike anything ever proposed before, a Constitution that “changed” the world; Abraham Lincoln when America was divided, half free, half slave, to fight a war, with fathers against sons and brothers against brothers, to preserve the union, and gave his life in the process; as did Martin Luther King who was raised up to liberate a major segment of America from the bondage they had lived and suffered under for centuries.

And now has He raised up Sarah Palin to breath a breath of fresh air into the body politic known as the Republican Party in order to provide a base for the vast majority of Americans who still believe in the traditional values of their ancestors: the traditional family with both a father and a mother; hard work that rewards one’s labor; old-fashioned values of morality; a strong belief in God with freedom to chose their own form of worship, and a people who reject the principles associated with socialism and communism and believe in serving others in times of their need.

The next six weeks will indeed be filled with rhetoric, sometime harsh rhetoric, designed to win your vote on November 4. Hopefully ‘we the people” will choose wisely.