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.

Clay County Republican Lincoln Days

Missouri State Treasurer: Sarah Steelman

I got invited to my county's Republican Lincoln Days this past Friday. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting to hear the different people speak and getting to talk to some of them in person. Missouri's State Treasurer, Sarah Steelman and my U.S. Congressman Sam Graves were the 2 main speakers although most of the Republican State Representatives spoke as well as the 2 State Senators that represent Clay County.

Missouri State Representative For the 35th District: Doug Ervin

I can't tell you how much I wish I lived in Doug Ervin's district. I think I was the most impressed with his speech of all the speakers and he spoke for less than 5 minutes. I also got to talk to him at length afterwards and this man just exudes integrity, honesty and character. He is very sincere and you get the impression that he really cares about what you have to say which we all know is rare. During his speech he recited a wonderful quote and I asked him who said it. Not surprisingly the quote was by Teddy Roosevelt so I made sure to look it up as soon as I got home. Here is the inspirational quote:

"It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly...who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."--Teddy Roosevelt

That quote just inspires and speaks to me beyond words so I'm putting it up for my quote of the week in the sidebar.


One of the other reasons I wished I lived in Ervin's district is because all of the State Representatives in Clay County are now Republicans except for mine. Quite the bummer. Yet, we at least got our great Republican State Senator, Luann Ridgeway in 2004. So I'm not totally represented by Democrats.

State Representatives Tim Flook, Bob Nance and Jerry Nolte spoke as well as State Senator Bill Stouffer.

In conclusion, don't forget Teddy Roosevelt's words and get into the arena and fight for what you believe in. Fighting for a worthy cause is much more admirable then just being a critic. I for one refuse to do that. There will be some defeats but there will also be victory as well. Just ask Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill. They too saw some defeats but very important victories as well.