This is my second post on the subject of Sarah Palin today and covers some information that wasn’t covered in the earlier one.
I was driving back to Dallas on Friday and had Rush tuned in when the formal announcement came, followed by Palin’s acceptance speech. I’d heard of her before and knew that she was Governor of Alaska and was for drilling in ANWR, but little more than that. I’d heard that she was one of many under consideration, but like most others, had no reason to believe that she’d be the chosen one. Up until now, she would’ve been listed as a really dark horse, a really long shot.
I’d been hearing all morning that she was the pick and was intrigued by the possibilities, but not necessarily enthusiastic – I figured, let’s wait and see.
Her speech blew me away. She came across as an accomplished public speaker, confident and forceful. Her story is a real American dream, as it would’ve been defined 30 or 40 years ago (when men were still men and women were still women) before everything had to be “green,” before men had to get in touch with their inner female, before political correctness went amok, and before metrosexuals agonized over the price of arugula.
She and her husband hunt game, fish commercially, and raise their five children together. She knows how to take care of herself, and by extension, her kids.
You want a role model for your daughter, there she is.
Some of her accomplishments include:
- As Mayor, she cut her own salary and reduced property taxes by 40%.
- As Governor, during her first legislative session, her administration passed two major pieces of legislation – an overhaul of the state’s ethics laws and a competitive process to construct a gas pipeline.
- She objected to the decision of the U. S. Secretary of the Interior to list polar bears as an endangered species and threatened to file a lawsuit to stop the designation. The listing would dramatically affect oil and gas development in the state’s northern and northwestern coasts.
- When Governor Palin signed the state’s operating budget, she also used her veto power to make the second-largest cuts of the construction budget in state history. The $237 million in cuts represented over 300 local projects and reduced the construction budget to nearly $1.6 billion.
- When legislative attempts to prevent the state from having to fund part of the “bridge to nowhere” failed, Palin cancelled the bridge altogether.
- Under her leadership, the state invested $5 billion in state savings, overhauled education funding, and implemented the Senior Benefits Program to provide support for low-income older Alaskans.
- As Governor, she rescinded 35 appointments made by the outgoing Governor in the last hours of his administration. One of those was his former chief of staff, who later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to feed money into the former Governor’s re-election campaign.
- Palin replaced a deal negotiated by the former Governor to build a natural gas pipeline with a new one awarded to a different vendor. Only one legislator (the Senate has 20 members, and the House has 40) voted against the bill. The pipeline will carry gas from the North Slope to the lower 48 states through Canada.
Sarah Palin has done more than talk, she has actually accomplished things. And, can you believe it, there have been no reports of her failing to participate in any discussions, meetings, or negotiations with her legislative peers by hiding behind a “present” vote.
True, her longevity in public office yields a slim resume, but her achievements outweigh what Obama or Biden have ever done as a leader. Both of them (and admittedly McCain, too) have shared their responsibility with many other Senators – none were ever the only one whose butt was on the line (and a lovely butt it is).
And somehow, through it all, she managed to maintain a voter approval rating ranging from 76 to 90 % - unbelievable.
I now think more of McCain for having the balls to pick her.