Winning America Back with Sarah Palin, JC Watts and Fred Thompson!!

I had a great time at the Independence Events Center this past Saturday at the Winning America Back Conference!

I got to hear some great speakers:

~~Jeri Thompson
~~Fred Thompson
~~Marjorie Dannenfelser (President of the Susan B. Anthony list)
~~Kris Kobach (Constitutional Scholar)
~~JC Watts
~~Sarah Palin

Also, both Darla Jaye from 980 KMBZ and Chris Stigall spoke and did question and answer sessions. I have heard Chris speak many times and am a huge fan and am always impressed. Yet, I had never really heard Darla Jaye much, and I have to say I really enjoyed her.

Fred Thompson did a better job than I expected and I really enjoyed getting to see him in person. He reminds me of Dick Cheney with his dry wit and he was very endearing and had great things to say.

Kris Kobach really blew me out of the water. He has been so demonized by the left (which is what the left does when they are scared of someone) that I didn't know what to expect. He knew exactly what he was talking about (without a teleprompter) and he was so captivating that you enjoyed every minute of it. I hope Kansas is smart enough to vote him in as their next Secretary of State.

I am such a huge fan of JC Watts that I was really looking forward to getting to hear him speak. However, I was fortunate enough to snag a VIP ticket the day before the conference which enabled me to get my picture with Sarah Palin. I was ecstatic, but that ended up meaning I was in line for that while Watts was speaking. I got to hear the end of his speech and the Q&A, but it was worth it to meet Sarah and the 1st Dude and to get my picture with her.

Sarah Palin did a great job in her speech and was so encouraging. One of her best lines:

“You don’t need an office. You don’t need a title. And, you don’t need a TelePrompter to make a difference.”

Related Links:
~~Thousands Line Up to See Sarah Palin in Kansas City
~~Fred Thompson on Obama: When His True Thoughts & Feelings Come Out, That Concerns Me More Than Anything Else (Video)
~~Republican Congressional Candidate Stephen Broden: “Michael Steele, You Are Wrong!” (Video)
~~Sarah Palin: You Don’t Need an Office, Or a Title, Or a TelePrompter To Make a Difference (Video)
~~Winning America Back Conference With Sarah Palin
~~Pastor Stephen Broden on Michael Steele: “Michael Steele is Wrong.”
~~Key to U.S. prosperity is energy security, Palin says during speech in Independence
~~I will post pics of the event soon

The Palin-Bashers!

Sarah Palin and those like her are the future of the Republican Party. Conservatism is not dead – moderates are the losers in this election. No liberal has been elected by outing themselves as same. They become centrists, moving center and center-right (remember the elections of 2006). Obama, who is recognized by other liberals as the most liberal liberal in Congress, spent the last two months of the campaign running center-right.--Mychal Massie

I couldn't agree with Mychal Massie more in his column, "The Palin-Bashers". Here are some excerpts:

The accusations now surfacing is that Gov. Palin isn't "smart enough" to even consider running for president
, to which one might argue: like Al Gore and John Kerry were, and like Joe Biden is – but I digress. A pre-eminent business leader told me many years ago, "You don't have to be super smart to be successful – you just have to be smart enough to surround yourself with people who are."

To that point, Sarah Palin is not only smart enough to surround herself with smart people, but she is also both smart and capable. Her record of accomplishment in barely two years as governor of Alaska is extraordinary. She is a proven fiscal conservative who puts the best interests of the people ahead of "good ol' boy" politics and policies, and she isn't hesitant to take on malevolent factions of her own party. She holds to traditional values, not as a mace, but as a way of life.

She restructured her state's pre-existing severance tax on oil and gas production, renegotiating the structure in full public view, and the rebated part of the resulting surplus went directly to taxpayers. She ended a multi-year stalemate over the financing and construction of a $40 billion cross-state pipeline that supplies cheaper natural gas to Alaskans and the lower 48 states. That single act alone did more to advance American energy independence than Biden, Obama or McCain can boast collectively. In her capacity as being responsible for the Alaskan National Guard, she authorized 521 missions that saved 200 lives.

His conclusion:

Sarah Palin and those like her are the future of the Republican Party. Conservatism is not dead – moderates are the losers in this election. No liberal has been elected by outing themselves as same. They become centrists, moving center and center-right (remember the elections of 2006). Obama, who is recognized by other liberals as the most liberal liberal in Congress, spent the last two months of the campaign running center-right.

The attacks are coming from those who fear what Gov. Palin represents. They fear not being able to convince enough people to oppose her unless they start savaging her now. I am also inclined to believe that a good number of those spreading the lies and misinformation are either from, will be or desire to be part of a certain former and future presidential hopeful loser, who fancies himself a contender in 2012.

Sarah Palin is good for our party – she is good for America.And trust me, those attacking her do so because they fear her ability to connect with voters. They wouldn't waste their efforts if this were not the case. To those who say she isn't "smart enough," I say she doesn't have to be an Adams, Jefferson, Madison or Reagan; she just has to be smart enough to know it and surround herself with capable people. And keep in mind that Ronald Reagan was attacked as not being intelligent enough, while Bill Clinton was hailed as being supremely intelligent.

Palin didn't lose the race for McCain – he lost it himself despite her giving him a tremendous boost going into the closing weeks of the campaign. She is, however, the reason his 6-point lost wasn't a double-digit loss.

In Defense of Sarah Palin!

"I've been working over 20 years in Washington and I've been around literally dozens and dozens of politicians. She is among the smartest, toughest, most capable politicians I've ever dealt with. She has a photographic memory."--Randy Scheunemann (McCain's top foreign policy adviser)

It is unconscionable how Sarah Palin has been treated ever since joining the ticket with McCain. She, like Bush are a threat to liberals and as a result liberals have engaged in character assassination. And Palin has been thrown under the bus by some Republicans as well.

There have been a lot of false rumors that have traveled through the left wing blogosphere. In the above Greta interview Palin puts a lot of them to rest.

Also, it turns out that some loyal Romney supporters may have been behind the rumors. In this ABC article, a Palin aide and a McCain aide come to Palin's defense, insisting that the rumors are false.

"For one thing there is quite a defense of Palin mounting in the blogosphere. Gosh, if you had to come up with a plot to endear her to the base, increase anger against the McCain bumblers and lift the fighting spirits of conservatives you couldn’t come up with a better idea than continuing to trash Palin in the media. Is it a Rovian plot?"--Byron York

Michelle Malkin echoes my sentiments exactly in the above video. She starts off by talking about the hypocrisy of Oprah and then the treatment of Palin. Bill Kristol and Rush also came to Palin's defense.

My Sarah Palin Order!

I ordered the above shirt and 2 bumper stickers from Cafe Press. For some reason, the bumper sticker pictures don't want to show up on this post. The first one said, "Sarah Palin A Hero for Real Women". The second one said, "Sarah Barracuda for Vice President". I also got my Mom a tote bag.

Cafe Press has a lot of cool election stuff. I highly encourage you to check them out.

Sarah Palin vs. Teddy Roosevelt!

I saw this editorial cartoon in the KC Star and I got excited. I followed the trail and went and looked up the info in my Presidential book and sure enough, I was proven right. Guess what?

--Teddy Roosevelt was Governor of New York for exactly 2 years before becoming Vice President
--He was Vice President for LESS THAN A YEAR before becoming President
--He was 43 years old, younger than Sarah Palin is now

So, you can imagine my distress when I came across Kathleen Parker's column on Sarah Palin. I will never understand the willingness of some to throw their own under the bus. Although, anyone who has read Parker knows she is a bit of a "maverick" herself, much more along the lines of John McCain and NOT Sarah Palin. Therefore, as soon as I read her column I wrote her the following letter:

I was very disappointed to read your column asking Sarah Palin to step down. McCain never had a chance at winning until she was on the ticket. It is the first time many of us as conservative women have truly been excited about a woman politician.

I've done a lot of studying of the presidents and first ladies and I have to go back to Abigail Adams to find a first lady to admire. Sarah Palin has plenty of experience for the ticket and I can't believe you, of all people would ask her to step down.

Palin has been compared to many great leaders. She has been compared to Reagan by Michael Reagan himself, but the best comparison is to Teddy Roosevelt. Why? She is a reformer and guess how much experience Teddy Roosevelt had before becoming Vice President and then President? He had been Governor of New York for 2 years before becoming Vice President and then he was VP for less than a year before becoming President. He was younger than Palin is today when he assumed the Presidency. He was a very successful, two term president with his face on Mt. Rushmore. You should be cheering Sarah Palin on, not asking her to step down.

Sean Hannity Interviews Sarah Palin--Part 2

Hannity told OneNewsNow that his interview with Sarah Palin will be a stark contrast from the grilling she received from Charlie Gibson of ABC News. The interview, he explained, is "not about me," but about her -- because she is, after all, the vice-presidential candidate.

"She's got a compelling story to tell," stated Hannity. "And to the extent she can say these things in her words -- where she stands, her values, her principles, where she goes to to make decisions -- that is what I'm going to try to let her say to the American people, unfiltered, without an agenda, without a bias, without playing 'gotcha,' in her own words. That's my goal."

Hannity says Americans will look back at 2008 as "the year journalism died." He contends reporters have asked tougher questions of Sarah Palin and her 17-year-old daughter the past few weeks than they have about Senator Obama's relationship with "an unrepentant terrorist" who bombed the Pentagon.

--Jim Brown of OneNewsNow reporting in, Hannity's interview with Palin on deck

Two of my favorite people sitting down to talk about the issues. It doesn't get much better than that. Also, Hannity summed it up well in his comments above to OneNewsNow.

Sean Hannity Interviews Sarah Palin--Part 1

Also, Jim at Gateway Pundit has the latest on the hackers who broke into Palin's private email account. I love how liberals complain about wiretapping terrorists but have no problem posting contact info for Palin's children, possibly endangering their safety. As if the AP hasn't already shown poor judgment in the past, they have refused to comply with Secret Service on the issue.

Palin & McCain Reach out to Downs Syndrome Family

Photo and Story Credit: Rush Limbaugh

I had missed this story on Rush but my Mom had told me about it. I went looking for it on Rush's website and it brought tears to my eyes. A couple was at a McCain/Palin rally with their 2 children, one of whom had Downs Syndrome. Palin and McCain saw a sign that they had made and after the rally they had secret service call them over. This family got to spend some time with Palin and McCain and the husband (Kurt) called into Rush's show to talk about the experience. It is a really neat story and Kurt said that the McCains and Palins were "warm, kind and genuine" people.

Below is an excerpt of the transcript of Kurt's call to Rush:

"CALLER: Hey, listen, Rush, longtime listener, first-time caller, one of those Bible, family, gun clingers from western Pennsylvania.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: And I wanted to share a story with you. A week ago last Saturday we went to the Palin-McCain rally in Washington, Pennsylvania, was the day after he announced her, and we have a five-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, and we made a sign that said: "We Love Kids with Down Syndrome." So when they pulled in in their bus the sign did catch their, McCain and Palin and the rest of their family, it caught their eye, we could tell, they gave us a thumbs-up from the bus, so we were all excited just by that --
RUSH: Wait, wait, wait. Who gave you the thumbs up, McCain and Palin?

CALLER: McCain, Palin, Cindy McCain, we could see them from the bus. We were in a position where we had eye contact with them --

RUSH: Oh, cool!

CALLER: My wife was holding our daughter.

RUSH: Very, very, very cool.

CALLER: It was really cool, Rush. I was like, "Wow, that's awesome," because I love Governor Palin and so I thought that's really neat. So then we moved around as the bus was getting ready to pull out, we kind of positioned ourselves so we could just wave them on and a Secret Service agent came up to us and said, "Hey, can you come with us?" I was like, "Do we have a choice?"

RUSH: (laughing) You shouldn't have worried. It's not the Clinton administration.
CALLER: Right. So we accompanied them up the hill, we went right to the bus, where it was, and Governor Palin, Senator McCain, Cindy, Todd Palin, they're all standing there. We're in this inner circle with just us and them, and the Secret Service agent, and they came right up to us and thanked us for coming out, said they loved our sign, and Governor Palin immediately said, "May I hold your daughter?" and our daughter Chloe, who's five, went right to her, and I have some pictures I'd love to send you maybe when I'm done here, but Governor Palin was hugging Chloe, and then her little daughter brought their baby Trig who has Down syndrome from the bus, he was napping, and Chloe went right over and kissed him on the cheek, and my son Nolan who's nine, he thanked her.

RUSH: This is amazing.

CALLER: I will send you all the stuff, Senator McCain was talking to my son, and we thanked him for his service, and he asked my son if he wanted to see the bus, and we were hanging out and it was very surreal. I felt like we could have had a pizza and a beer with them, they were so warm.

RUSH: You know what? I want to put you on hold. I want Snerdley to give you our super-secret, known-only-to-three-people here, e-mail address.

CALLER: I will send you everything, Rush.

RUSH: And then could you send us these pictures? Would you mind if we put them on the website?

CALLER: I would be honored, and my main thing is they are warm, kind, genuine people, and they represent the best of this country.

RUSH: That's right. And when you send these pictures, make sure you identify them. I mean, we'll know Palin and McCain, of course. Identify yourselves.

CALLER: I will, I will identify everybody in the picture, Rush, and God bless you for being a beacon of hope and truth in this country.

RUSH: Oh, no, no. It's nothing, it's nothing. You're doing the Lord's work.

CALLER: Well, we're very blessed and I want people to know what a blessing it is to have a child with Down syndrome. These kids, they're angels.
RUSH: That's the thing. There's always good to be found in everything that happens. It may be a while before it reveals itself.

CALLER: Absolutely.

RUSH: Right, and when she hugged my daughter I said, here's the difference, this candidate embraces life and all its limitless possibilities.

RUSH: All right.

CALLER: That's what she is.

Here are two local stations that did segments on it with video:
KDKA--Local Couple Meets With McCain, Palin
WPXI--McCain, Palin Ask to Meet Family

Related Articles:
What Trig Can Teach America
Is Trig at the Heart of Media's Reaction to Palin?

Governor Sarah Palin in Missouri!

I'm exhausted!! As most of you know, I always write my posts the night before and post them for the next day. As I'm writing this, I've gotten a total of about 7 hours of sleep for the past 2 nights.

I got up around 5:30 am Monday morning to go see Sarah Palin. I took my 2 daughters and we met several of my friends. Several of us rode together and because of weather and needing caffeine we ended up getting there later than we had planned. Another one of my friends was further ahead in the line. We found out pretty quickly that the John Knox Pavilion could only handle 3,000 people and there were a lot more than 3,000 people in line.

Its complicated, but what ended up happening was that my girls ended up being with the one group of friends and I ended up with my other friend. My friends wanted me to get inside since I had the blog and the radio show. They offered to watch my girls and my other friend's daughter traded places with me. My friend and I got inside and the group ended up being outside in the overflow area.

We then found out that McCain & Palin were going to speak to both crowds. So what ended up happening was that McCain and Palin spoke to the outside crowd first and then shook a bunch of people's hands. My 14 year old daughter ended up getting to shake Sarah Palin's hand. She doesn't care about politics at all and only came to be with her friends, and she's the one that actually gets to shake her hand. Unbelievable!!

Anyway, it was a great time and all told they estimate that there were around 6,000 people there. Inside, there were 3,000 and in the overflow area outside there were 3,000. There was a lot of enthusiasm, and contrary to it just being post convention excitement (which is what the Drive by Media and liberals are trying to say) the crowd was huge because of one factor, Sarah Palin. My friends and I were there for her and there were some who even left after she was done speaking.

I bought 2 campaign buttons (I tried to find copies of them online so I could show you what they looked like but I couldn't find them). One said, "Women for Palin, You Go Girl! McCain/Palin", the other one said, "Hot Chicks vote Republican". They are both pink, of course!!

As always, there was a small group of pathetic protesters. My friends and I were talking about how we will never understand the mindset of protesters. Why wouldn't they just go to an Obama rally, rather than crashing a McCain & Palin one? I guess because they don't have much of a life.

Also, make sure to tune into Sean Hannity's radio show today. I called in yesterday to talk about the rally. I got through and the call screener said she would call me back and have me on the show today.

UPDATE:
There was a mix-up and now I'm going to be on Hannity's show tomorrow. So stay-tuned.

UPDATE:
I found a fellow blogger who was there, her post is entitled, McCain/Palin Campaign Rally In Lee’s Summit, MO.

Links:
McCain & Palin Pump up Crowd in Lee's Summit
Supporters Show Up Before Sunrise to See GOP Ticket
On the Road with Governor Palin
Palin Hits Obama on Earmarks
McCain, Palin Rally Thousands In Lee's Summit
In Metro, McCain, Palin Criticize Obama
McCain, Palin to attend area rally
McCain, Palin Make Missouri Visit for 2nd Time in 8 Days
McCain, Palin arrive in KC

McCain/Palin Rally in the KC Area!

My radio show will be an encore today because I'm off to hear Sarah Palin speak at a rally today!!

Sarah Palin Cartoon Fest!

It had been awhile since I had checked Townhall's cartoon site and I found a bunch of gems. The top two are my favorites.

I've also got a bunch of great articles to link to, but I'll have to update this post with them later today.

Palin is a Huge Victory for Conservatives!

As many of you know, I was in a deep depression on Super Tuesday of this year. The writing was on the wall that McCain was going to be the Republican nominee. The pep completely left this right wing cheerleader. I had nothing left to cheer for.

So, I assessed the political scene and thought about what influence I had left. I was stuck with McCain, what could I do? What card did I have left? I had the VP card, that was my last stand. I quickly found that I was not alone in this thinking. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Tammy Bruce, I and many others said over and over again that it was crucial for McCain to pick well. The problem was, I had absolutely no confidence that McCain would. Yet, I continued to hammer away.

I took a lot of heat for not toeing the party line and not jumping aboard the Straight Talk Express. Yet, I refused to do so, until I saw some sign from McCain that he cared about the conservative base. It is now very obvious that it was because of people like me, Rush, Sean, Tammy and all the other conservatives that McCain chose Palin. A friend sent me an email where he said that he had talked to someone at the RNC who said that it was because of us, the conservative base, that McCain had picked Palin.

If those of us in the conservative base had just jumped aboard the straight talk express, McCain very well might have picked Lieberman. So guess what conservatives? We picked Sarah Palin. How awesome is that? And as Rush said yesterday, she is the new leader of the conservative movement. Whether we win or not in November, we've got a wonderful new leader.

Governor Sarah Palin Smorgasbord

Video Hat Tip: Hyscience

1) Newt is on a roll again in the above video. Someone from the Drive By Media was whining about Palin having a thin resume and Newt just gave it to him. He was right and it was great to see.

2) The liberal left would like you to think that Evangelicals and Conservatives are going to abandon Palin because her 17 yr. old daughter is pregnant. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the Drive By Media and liberals are having a feeding frenzy about it, the conservative base still loves her and it will be a non-issue pretty soon. Here are some excerpts on what people are saying about it that I found at Hyscience:

"This is the pro-life choice. The fact that people will criticize her for this shows the astounding extent to which the secular critics of the pro-life movement just don't get it. Those who criticize the Palin family don't understand that we don't see babies as a punishment but as a blessing. Barack Obama said that if one of his daughters made a mistake and got pregnant out of wedlock he wouldn't want her to be punished with a child. Pro lifers don't see a child as punishment."--Dr. Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

"Look, this development will actually be positive for the most part with Evangelicals. First they hear that Sarah Palin chooses the life option even though she had a Downs Syndrome baby and once again the family (and Bristol) has chosen the life option in this recent case. That's a double "ca-ching". Let's call this the Evangelical daily double. If anything, this whole situation will probably make more people around the country relate to her and her family. It makes them more real. Will there by some turned off by the whole pre-marital sex thing? Of course but this type of story doesn't sink her at all with Evangelicals."--David Brody

3) Patrick Buchanan actually wrote something I agree with for the first time in awhile. Here is how he opens his latest column:

"The risk John McCain took last Friday is comparable to the 72-year-old ex-fighter pilot knocking back two shots and flying his F-16 under the Golden Gate Bridge.

McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his co-pilot was the biggest gamble in presidential history. As of now, it is paying off, big-time."

4) Why Sarah has the X Appeal! This is a good comprehensive article that was written about Palin. Here is how Oliver Harvey concludes his column:

"Many pundits believe her addition to the Republican ticket will make the race with Obama’s Democrats go to the wire.

What is certain is that the sharp-shooting mom from the wilds of Alaska won’t go down without a fight."

Governor Sarah Palin's Experience!

Liberal Talking Point #1--
Governor Sarah Palin doesn't have enough experience to be McCain's VP.

Every time I hear the liberals whining about Palin not having enough experience I just laugh. I keep thinking of what my Mom said, "I can't believe they are saying this with a straight face."

Newt Gingrich is on a roll. First he came up with the extremely popular, "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" campaign. Now he does an awesome job of pointing out how Palin has more experience than Obama. I heard him talk about this on Hannity's radio show but he basically says similar things in the above video when he was on Fox. Take the time to watch it. Below I will try to list the points that he makes in the video.

Newt Gingrich's great case for Palin's experience:

First of all, Palin has 8 years of Executive experience as Mayor and Governor. Obama has none.


Second, she has 2 years of Military experience being in charge of Alaska's National Guard. Obama has none, and before you dismiss 2 years of being in charge of the National Guard, read the following:

"Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from ballistic missile attacks. It’s on permanent active duty, unlike other Guard units.

As governor of Alaska, Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism. Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's.

She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security's counterterrorism plans.

Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to the entire country's defense. Given Alaska's proximity to Russia, she may have security clearances we don't even know about.

According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to keeping secrets.

She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is."

Third, she has a diverse background of experience as a professional journalist, city council woman, Mayor, Governor and Mother of 5.

Fourth, she has gotten a lot done and has an incredible record for only being a Governor for 2 years. She has vetoed 300 spending proposals and has an 80% approval rating in Alaska.

Fifth, she knows what she thinks and is very articulate, attractive, passionate, idealistic and courageous. She has shown enormous courage with her oldest son going off to serve in the military and her youngest son having downs syndrome.

Sixth, she is a very competent person with a compelling story.

Seventh, she should never be underestimated. She defeated the incumbent when she ran for Mayor and she defeated the incumbent Republican Governor in the primary before going on to defeat the Democrat in the general election.

I have started a Governor Sarah Palin link section in my sidebar. If you find any good Sarah Palin sites that I don't have, please let me know.

Some Palin Links and Blog Posts:
We Love Gov. Sarah Barracuda Palin!
Sarah Palin's Bio
Who is Governor Sarah Palin?
Right Wing Nation attends a McCain/Palin Rally
Commanding Alaska's Guard w/ 24/7 missile defense
Palin - the energy VP
Evangelicals rave over choice of Palin for VP

Who is Governor Sarah Palin?

"Babies, guns, Jesus... Hot damn."--Rush Limbaugh talking about Governor Sarah Palin

I am still giddy about McCain picking Palin for VP!! As Simon Cowell said to David Cook this past season, "That was a very brave thing to do and I LOVED it." Politically, this is the most exciting news I can think of for years.

My friends and I were talking and to have the first woman on the Republican ticket be such a likable, strong conservative is just more than we could've hoped for. When people like Elizabeth Dole or other women appeared like they would be the first you just couldn't get excited about them.


Yet, I had done the homework on this woman and knew she was awesome. There is so much about her to like. She has the entire package of brains, beauty, charisma, strong conservative beliefs and credentials and she is a proven reformer and executive. I and others had thought she would be awesome and were talking about her but kudos to Bill Kristol for predicting her to be the pick when no one else gave it that much credibility.

The liberals and the Drive By Media are screaming to high heaven about her so you know they are scared. "Me thinketh thou dost protesteth a little too loudly." My friend's liberal husband is depressed about the pick so that should tell you something. Michael Savage trashed the pick too which is another sign that she's awesome. They can whine and criticize all they want. I'm too happy about the pick to care.


For those of you who aren't political junkies and don't know that much about her. Here is a brief bio list on her:

--Head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at her high school
--Earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" for being an intense basketball player in high school where she helped her team win a championship game
--Bachelor's Degree in Journalism
--In 1984, she won the Miss Wasilla beauty contest, then finished 2nd in the Miss Alaska pageant
--Married her high school sweetheart in 1988 (on the same exact day as my husband and I, just 4 years earlier)
--Sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations
--Worked as a commercial fisher woman with her husband
--Served two terms on the Wasilla city council from 1992 to 1996
--Served 2 terms as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska
--Elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors
--Exposed corruption within the Republican party
--Won the Governorship of Alaska in a landslide and is currently serving with an 80% approval rating
--Hockey Mom of 5
--Strongly pro-life, just gave birth to a Downs syndrome baby this past April
--Pro-2nd Amendment, life long member of the NRA
--For Drilling in ANWAR
--Her oldest son enlisted in the Army last year
--fiscal conservative
--pro-business and pro-development

Here are some great links w/some great excerpt quotes:

--The Most Popular Governor by Fred Barnes

"Her rise is a great (and rare) story of how adherence to principle--especially to transparency and accountability in government--can produce political success. And by the way, Palin is a conservative who only last month vetoed 13 percent of the state's proposed budget for capital projects. The cuts, the Anchorage Daily News said, "may be the biggest single-year line-item veto total in state history."

"Political analysts in Alaska refer to the "body count" of Palin's rivals. "The landscape is littered with the bodies of those who crossed Sarah," says pollster Dave Dittman, who worked for her gubernatorial campaign."

"She's as Alaskan as you can get," says Dan Fagan, an Anchorage radio talk show host. "She's a hockey mom, she lives on a lake, she ice fishes, she snowmobiles, she hunts, she's an NRA member, she has a float plane, and her husband works for BP on the North Slope," Fagan says. Todd Palin, her high school sweetheart, is a three-time winner of the 2,000-mile Iron Dog snowmobile race from Wasilla to Nome to Fairbanks. It's the world's longest snowmobile race."

"Her Christian faith--Palin grew up attending nondenominational Bible churches--was a minor issue in the race. She told me her faith affects her politics this way: "I believe everything happens for a purpose. In my own personal life, if I dedicated back to my Creator what I'm trying to create for the good . . . everything will turn out fine." That same concept applies to her political career, she suggested."

"She made three other promises: to end corruption in state government, cut spending, and provide accountability. She's now redeeming those promises."

--Palin exactly the veep McCain needs

"But most important, Palin could do something few Republicans seem interested in or able to do these days: Help fuse the two pillars of the Reagan Revolution, traditional conservatives and libertarian Republicans.

Palin can win the hearts of conservatives, given her strong pro-life views -- views that were backed up with action this year when she gave birth to a son with Down's syndrome. It would probably also help with these folks that her oldest son recently enlisted in the Army. And she can excite libertarian Republicans, given her fiscal conservatism as governor as well as her reputation for anti-corruption, love of guns and the outdoor life, and moderation on social issues other than abortion.

In short, Palin will provide McCain the surge he needs to win his last battle."

Other related links:
--Patrick has an insane number of posts on her that are worth checking out
--Dr. Dobson is ecstatic too
--Susan B. Anthony List

McCain Picks Sarah Palin for VP!!!!!

WOW!!! I am in shock!!! I hadn't turned the Tv on yet and a friend called and told me and I said, "No WAY!!!" Palin has been my favorite since giving up on J.C. Watts but I thought there was zero chance that McCain was going to pick her. Kudos to the campaign for keeping this a secret.

McCain just locked in the conservative base!!! He could not have picked any better. She is a stellar conservative, she's a Governor and she's a woman. Not only will I vote for him now but I might actually do some campaigning for him. I can't tell you how shocked and ecstatic I am about this pick!! I just boarded the straight talk express!

When you compare this to Obama's pick of Joe Biden, McCain hit a home run and Obama didn't even get to first base.

Others blogging:
Cajun Tiger
Gateway Pundit
Bloviating Zeppelin
Mike's America
Born Again Redneck
Right Think
Sane Political Discourse
His Own Private Possession