Another Democrat for McCain-Palin

Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee's Platform Committee has joined the long and growing roster of Democrats and independents supporting John McCain for President.

"In an election as important as this, we must choose the candidate who has a proven record of bipartisanship and reforming government, and that's John McCain," Rothschild said in a press release coinciding with the Wednesday announcement from Arlington, Virginia.

"We can't afford a president who lacks experience and judgment and has never crossed party lines to work for meaningful reform," continued Rothschild. "Amid tough economic times and foreign policy concerns, we need someone who is ready to lead. Although I am a Democrat, I recognize that it's more important to put country ahead of party and that's why I support John McCain."

During the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, several other prominent McCain Democrats held a press conference to discuss their reasons for supporting the McCain-Palin ticket, including:

• John Coale, former fundraiser for President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
• Jennifer Lee, member of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in California
• Silver Salazar, Hispanic community leader and former supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton for president
• Cynthia Ruccia, former Congressional candidate from Ohio and women's rights activist
• Brian Golden, former state representative fro Boston and lifelong Democrat
• Ambassador Mark Erwin, appointed ambassador to OPIC by President Clinton

Biden bypasses McCain to insult Republicans

The Democrat/liberal/leftist weapon of choice is the ad hominem attack. When they don't have a better idea, they attack the candidate personally. Tina Fey's relatively gentle parody of Sarah Palin on last week's Saturday Night Live ("I can see Russia from my house") is only the beginning.

Democrat vice presidential candidate Joe Biden took this to a whole new level, bypassing John McCain and instead insulting Republicans in general during his speech in Flat Rock, Michigan on Monday:

The Republican party and some of the blogs and others on the far right, are trying very hard to paint a picture of this man [Sen. Barack Obama], they're trying the best as they can to mischaracterize who he is and what he stands for.

All this stuff about how different Barack Obama is, they're not just used to somebody really smart. They're just not used to somebody who’s really well educated. They just don't know quite how to handle it. Cause if he's as smart as Barack is he must not be from my neighborhood.

If I voted for an elite Washington insider who actually thinks like this, I would surely get the government I deserved.

Reuters: 37 million watched Palin

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than 37 million U.S. TV viewers tuned in to watch Sarah Palin accept the Republican nomination for vice president Wednesday, just shy of the record set last week by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, Nielsen Media Research reported.

UPDATE: The AP reported on Friday that over 40 million watched Palin's speech: "An audience of 37.2 million people watched Palin on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC, Nielsen Media Research said Thursday. PBS estimated its audience at 3.9 million, based on a less reliable sample of several big cities. Nielsen does not count the audience for C-SPAN, which also showed the speech."

The Speech

"Palin made it clear to the condescending media and her Democratic critics that she is no pushover, no cream puff. Her nickname, "Sarah Barracuda," seems a lot more fitting after tonight...Republicans should feel cheered and elated by this event tonight. No matter what happens in this race, we have seen the future of the party, and it looks bright indeed." —Ed Morrissey, "Palin Delivers a Knockout," HotAir.com

"She hit it out of the park! Clearly a star has been born in the United States." —Wolf Blitzer, CNN

"After Sarah Palin's remarkably effective speech, I don't think any pundits or politicians will be able to count on a decisive Democratic enthusiasm edge. Sarah Palin electrified the hall, and from what I can tell from my e-mail inbox that excitement is being replicated in living rooms across the country." —John Fund, "She shoots, she scores," Wall Street Journal Online

"She proved herself in the great arena; that's what counts politically. Nobody could watch that speech and still consider her a joke, no matter how flimsy her credentials and qualifications may seem on paper. The joke, it seems, is on those who'd been laughing at her. Last night the laughing ended -- and the cheering began." —Tom Shales, "She Shoots! She Scores! A Hockey Mom's Moment," Washington Post

"Palin quickly established her credibility as a genuine representative of small-town America in a way few politicians can - and then used it to wheel on Barack Obama as a gasbag and a fraud in a witheringly sarcastic assault." —Rich Lowry, "Barack, Meet Your Nightmare," New York Post

"This speech has turned the election upside down. It was simply stunning...Barack's sidekick Joe Biden looks a dull old dog compared with the ball of fire that is Palin. But most fascinating of all, consider this: If Obama loses, Hillary Clinton will run in 2012. Opposing her is sure to be Sarah Palin. That would guarantee America its first woman president. And my fistful of dollars, having seen both in action here, would be on Palin." —Fergus Shanahan, "Palin Strikes Back at Critics," The Sun (UK)

"Sarah Palin delivered what may have been the most important speech ever by a vice presidential candidate and made it look like she'd been performing on the national political stage for years. And she made John McCain look good for having picked her as his running mate." —Fred Barnes, "The Natural," WeeklyStandard.com

"Palin established herself as a major-league performer, a very effective messenger for the perennial Republican themes of low taxes and strong defense." —Joe Klien, "The Republicans Tonight," Time Magazine

"But anyone who thought her selection marked certain doom for McCain, or a certain win for the Democrats, was proven wrong Wednesday night in Minneapolis." —Stephen Henderson, "Palin rises to her place in history with speech," Detroit Free Press

"...the scene had to be a little frightening for Republicans such as Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, who have ambitions to lead their party someday. They were no doubt watching Palin, and watching the crowd's reaction, and wondering whether their moment had come and gone, because here was its future." —Jay Bookman, "A great Night 3 for Sarah Palin," Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like." —Keith Olbermann, MSNBC

Romney, Huckabee, Giuliani, and Palin hit it out of the park

I have always been proud to be an American, but I have never been more proud to be a Republican than I am tonight after hearing Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, and Sarah Palin deliver speeches full of conviction and emotion at the Republican National Convention.

McCain picks "Sarah Barracuda"

I have been a fan of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for months. This is a bold, game-changing move for John McCain. Americans will be charmed and galvanized by Governor Palin as her story is told over the next few weeks. Conservatives will be energized, and this will help Republicans down ticket.

While musing about 2008 Republican vice presidential candidates last fall, I become enamored with a certain young, charismatic, cold-weather state, winter sports loving Republican governor whose electoral victory was one of the few bright spots for the party in 2006.

Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin is a conservative before she's a Republican. As Fred Barnes reported in the July 16, 2007 Weekly Standard:

The wipeout in the 2006 election left Republicans in such a state of dejection that they've overlooked the one shining victory in which a Republican star was born. The triumph came in Alaska where Sarah Palin, a politician of eye-popping integrity, was elected governor. She is now the most popular governor in America, with an approval rating in the 90s, and probably the most popular public official in any state.

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."

Gov. Palin's nickname on her high school basketball team was "Sarah Barracuda." This go-getter and great American is just what Republicans need to win the White House in 2008 — and quite possibly in 2012 with Palin at the top of the ticket.

The Great Land, Part II

Alaska's politics are a product of its nearly a century as a territory, during which it was exploited by a Congress in which it had no representation, and the rugged individuals who sparsely populate this "last frontier."

Although much of the economy is federally subsidized, "Bridge to Nowhere" notwithstanding, Alaska has a relatively flat governmental structure and a strong libertarian streak.

Most of Alaska has two levels of government: state and "borough," roughly equivalent to a county, but no township or city government, and as far as I know no regional transit boards or metropolitan councils. Much of the state falls into the "unorganized" borough and is administered by the state.

Firearms are licensed on a "shall issue" basis, and once licensed no additional license is needed to carry the weapon concealed. Carrying a firearm is illegal in Alaskan courthouses, schoolyards, bars and domestic violence shelters, but you don't see those ridiculous WEAPONS BANNED ON THESE PREMESES signs everywhere you turn as you do here in Minnesota. Alaska smoking laws resemble the pre-Indoor Clean Air Act era in Minnesota, with smoking and non-smoking sections in public places. Earlier this month, an Alaska Superior Court judge struck down a law that criminalizes the posession of up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use.

The state of Alaska does not have a state sales tax or state income tax. In some boroughs and cities there is a sales tax.

Alaskan politics has been known for its corrupt, good-old-boys ways, but its first female governor, the popular and photogenic Sarah Palin, has largely cleaned house since taking office in 2006. Palin, a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, is the former mayor of Wasilla, 40 miles north of Anchorage (home of the Iditarod dog sled race). Her husband, Todd, works for BP at an oil field on the North Slope and is a commercial fisherman. Alaska's first family includes two sons and three daughters.

Sarah's choice

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R) and her husband Todd are the proud parents of their fifth child, Trig, born April 18, 2008, one month before his due date. At birth he weighed six pounds, two ounces.

Although they discovered through prenatal testing that Trig has Down Syndrome, the Palins decided not to abort the pregnancy (80% of such pregnancies are aborted in the United States). The governor's official statement is a remarkable testimony of faith and courage:

Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed.