Really Pissed Off!

The Republican Convention appears to have been a success as the McCain-Palin ticket has united the Republican Party, and is prepared to go head to head with the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Does trouble lie ahead for the Republican ticket? The choice of Sarah Palin is a gamble for John McCain, as she brings the support of both the Republican Right, as well as some if the disenfranchised Clinton female voters behind the ticket. The pundits ponder on his choice, as they consider Sen. Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge as probable McCain choices. That would have been a disaster for John McCain, as he would have lost the Republican base. The gamble may well pay off, but the big question is how Sarah Palin withstands being completely vetted and has the “maverick” John McCain returned from hibernation after eight long years?

For the past eight years, John McCain morphed from the “maverick” Republican, who would cross the isle in the Senate on issues of importance to the nation into a minion of President George W. Bush. The main issue that John McCain has stood alone against the Bush Administration has been the our troop strength in the Iraq War, which he correctly demanded from the very beginning of the “peace.” Looking at the John McCain of 2000, you would not recognize him as the same man during the Bush Administration. The “maverick” all but disappeared, only to suddenly show up in St. Paul Convention Center during his Acceptance Speech, as he pledged to “restore the principles” of the Republican Party, as “we were elected to restore Washington and we let Washington change us!” John McCain never uttered the name of George W. Bush in a speech that lasted for nearly 50 minutes. It was as close to an indictment of the present Administration that you will ever hear in any political arena. If John McCain has any chance to become elected, he took the first big step in that direction on Thursday Night when he tried to convince voters that he is not George W. Bush! If he succeeds, the Democrats are going to be in a close battle for the White House.

John McCain’s most difficult task is to put “red meat” on the issues facing this nation. We have a good idea where he stands on the issues, but there has been relative silence as to how he and the Republican Party will “fix” America. The Republican Platform of 2008 reads like a laundry list, with little specifics. On the other hand, the Democratic Platform of 2008 is much more specific as to the problems facing most of us. I’ll bet that no one will read these two platforms, so it’s up to the candidates to bring home their message. So far, John McCain has failed to bring any “change” of policy, as to how he is going to solve the problems we face beyond the next election. What policies we’ve heard echo the Bush Administration. Barack Obama’s policies are definitely about “change” in the way our government is run. Until the Republicans can come up with a plan for the “change” they now promise, they will have to run their campaign on “personalities”, and that’s why John McCain has chosen Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

To keep the Republican base, Sarah Palin is “right”on the issues. Not only does she appear to be a fiscal conservative, but has the reputation of a fighter as she won the nickname “Sarah Barracuda” for her fierce competitiveness on her high school champion basketball team. Her real value to the ticket is “her story” and her ability to project her personality. Both John McCain and Sarah Palin are seen to be “mavericks” and that is the only way that the Republican ticket can win this election. Palin’s path of destruction to the highest post in the state of Alaska may be the Achilles heel of this ticket. Her past is clouded by questions regarding “Troopergate,” accepting illegal contributions as did fellow Alaskan, Sen. Ted Stevens, her “original” support for “the Bridge to Nowhere” and the banning of books from the public libraries may be only the start of serious problems for a candidate who was not properly vetted. The one big question is whether the Republicans will undergo ”The Eagleton Scenario” as they scramble to replace her with another Vice Presidential candidate? It happened in 1972 when George McGovern was forced to replace Sen. Thomas Eagleton due to "depression." It could happen again. The "real" story of Gov. Sarah Palin has yet to be told, as the facts are now being unraveled. The Republican Party had better hope that what's crawling out from under the rocks of Alaska is fiction and not fact!