Lions, Tigers, and Barracudas

Through her candidacy for the Vice Presidency, Governor Sarah Palin has angered, shocked, and yet inspired many Americans. Republicans complain about her inexperience, yet fail to see that Palin is a leader ready to be molded, humbled, and accepted by people across party lines. Not only has she proven that she has the ability to handle government at all of its levels, she is also not afraid to admit her weaknesses, her lack of knowledge about particular national issues, and her differences from her own running mate, Senator John McCain. To those who highlight Palin’s acknowledgement of these characteristics as a demonstration of her “obvious” faults, I issue the challenge to seek out another politician who would be courageous enough to address these statements to all Americans after being cast in a role in national politics.

Ultimately, Palin does much more than reveal her capacity to play the traditional attack-dog role of the Vice President and representing small-town middle-class America in the 2008 election. She forces us to look at ourselves when we criticize her, and to ask ourselves several vital questions: Do we think that the majority of the citizens of this country are capable of thinking for themselves? Can a representative from this middle-class majority rise to unify a bitter Washington, a broken political party, and a distressed America? If we cannot answer these questions affirmatively, we also cannot answer the critical question that derives from them: Do we trust ourselves?

Palin stands for more than ethics reforms, solid family values, and the protection of classical capitalistic principles. Certainly, she has had the experience of being elected twice to the city council of Wasilla, and serving two terms as mayor of the city until 2002. She has also chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and has been the Governor of Alaska since 2006. More importantly, however,**it’s not completely clear in this sentence why being a working mother etc. is more important than any of Palin’s other accomplishments: you might want to clarify that** of she is a working mother of five children, a woman who maintains a Christian home and family while being involved in state and, now, national politics.

She infuses the Christian heritage of the United States within her beliefs by opposing abortion in all cases, encouraging abstinence but supporting sexual education in school curricula, and declaring the unconstitutionality of a bill that would have denied health benefits to homosexual couples. Although she is a social conservative, Palin demonstrates her recognition of the equal treatment of all Americans, her commitment to preserve life in the most terrifying circumstances, and her ability to be flexible and unconventional in addressing political issues. **the way this sentence is phrased makes it sound as if social conservatives as a whole are against the equal treatment of all Americans, etc. which I think weakens your argument in favor of Palin** Indeed, if Republicans demand conventionality in exchange for their support of the Vice Presidential candidate, perhaps they should consider that a tendency to vote traditionally on party issues characterizes narrow-mindedness, an inability to address the complexity of uniquely problematic situations, and a limited world view that is outraced by an ever changing society.

As media outlets have focused on Palin’s inexperience, pregnant daughter, and $150,000 style budget, they have joined many of the Republican Party’s own representatives in failing to observe the most important trait of her character – resilience. Palin is a woman who has refused to give up, both personally and professionally. She decided to keep her fifth child, prenatally diagnosed and born with Down syndrome. She supported her seventeen-year old pregnant daughter’s decision to keep her baby. She has sent her eighteen year old son to Iraq **good point, but you might want to rephrase this as it being his choice: watching her son ship off to Iraq possibly?** . Professionally, she was defeated for the position of lieutenant governor in 2002 and resigned from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission due to the “lack of ethics” of fellow Republican representatives.

Palin is simply a woman who never stops fighting. Additionally, all of her critics forget several factors that cast a light on Palin’s decisions. To those that attack her for keeping her Down syndrome son, I urge you to read about Hitler’s selective breeding policy. If we are to label children like Palin’s son as “defective,” we automatically label other children as more worthy of societal attention and more worthy of life. If one chooses to endorse such Nazi opinions, one certainly shouldn’t dare to criticize George W. Bush’s mild-by-comparison views. **which views are you referring to here?** For encouraging the preservation of her daughter’s baby, Palin deserves nothing less than admiration and confirms that she is not one to run away from problems, even in her personal life. For her $150,000 wardrobe that will be going to charity after the campaign is over, Palin deserves the American voter’s recognition of her company in political circles, of her position in the 2008 election, and of the price tags of the attire of heiresses such as Cindy McCain and Teresa Heinz-Kerry. Even after all of this, Palin keeps going.

If the American people and members of the Republican Party choose to ignore Palin’s potential and emphasize her inexperience, they miss the opportunity to give her the knowledge, skills, and position to handle national politics. Furthermore, if American voters do not recognize the unique opportunity to watch the development of an emerging leader, to contribute directly to the evolution of transparency in American politics, and to reflect on mistakes in leadership based on lack of experience instead of deception, they should question themselves whether they still deserve the right to political representation. If you want beautiful illusions and prepackaged candidates, you can receive the answers you want, whenever and however you want them. But if you are not prepared to receive an unpolished, uncertain, and unconfident response, look in the mirror and don’t keep on asking yourself why your leaders are lying to you. Instead, ask why you are lying to yourself.