So Inspired!

Last night I remembered why I chose to study political science. I remembered why I chose a major that required countless internship hours spent knocking on strangers’ doors in an unfamiliar town with volunteers I’d never met. I remembered why I chose a major that forced me to write--on average--a ten page paper a week comparing European governments to that of our own great country. I remembered what I initially planned to do with my life.

Sarah Palin reminded me I once believed I would lead a life of public service. Not just in the service of my family, but serving the people of my community in the greatest country on earth. In the early days of discussing marriage, Brandon and I decided I would stay home and raise the family we hoped to have. I shelved any notion of law school, because who wants to be saddled with law school debt while they’re digging in the sandbox?! Any sort of pubic service aside from the PTO was the last thing on my mind. Until I saw Governor Palin and her children on stage last night.

I will be the first to admit I wasn’t thrilled with the outcome of the GOP primary. I was supportive of Rudy, Mitt, and Mike. I had NO intentions of voting for a “community organizer” and a socialist, so there was no chance I’d cross party lines, but I certainly didn’t have a fire in my belly over McCain. (By the way, if someone would like to explain to me what it is that a community organizer does, please feel free to drop me a line. Bradley University doesn’t cover this as a part of their degree program. Maybe I should have gone to grad school.)

I was hopeful McCain would choose Romney as his running mate. I dreamed of Huckabee on the ticket, but knew better. I sat glued to the TV last Friday morning, almost in a cold sweat. I nearly dropped my hairdryer when they started mentioning Sarah Palin. Who?! I vaguely knew of her. I knew she had given a lot of people the boot that deserved it. I heard she was a spitfire, but I knew little else about her.

I ranted and raved and told Brandon we might as well get used to the idea we’d be forking over more of our income to the government and we better buy a large SUV while we still could. I fielded phone calls from confused friends who wanted to know what I thought. Which always amazes me, btw. I even said, “Forget it. I’m not even requesting a yard sign this year.” That’s a BIG deal when you watch these races as closely as I do.

I started to get more excited about Gov. Palin the more I researched her. She started to sound a lot like someone I know. I dug into her policy background and found I agreed with her nearly 100% of the time. She’s a mom. I’m a mom. She’s a mom that runs a state. I’m a mom that runs carpool. I started to identify with her. As a life long Republican I’ve NEVER so closely identified with a national candidate. Usually Republican women are portrayed by the media as one of two ways. We’re either supposed to be buttoned up, Nancy Regan types or we have bangs to the ceiling, a skirt that skims the floor and do little aside from run church bake sales and yell about our right to own guns. Gov. Palin excites me!

I was inspired by Sarah Palin’s enthusiasm, freshness, and normalcy. I can relate to her as a conservative, a woman, and a mom. I could be her. She saw a situation in government she didn’t like and she decided to run for office and do something about it. She governed a town that is almost the same size as the one in which I was raised. Do I for one minute think that would be easy? I view running a small town the same way I view working for your parents. Your boss always knows where you are, when you’re available to work, and they aren’t afraid to call you a moron in front of your customer.

Alaska is an entirely different ball of wax. They are somewhat removed from the lower 48. They run their own show so to speak, and they manage the largest amount of natural resources our country has. Governing Alaska, managing Alaska is no easy task. Alaskans are independent spirits and Gov. Palin has an 80% approval rating.

True Governor Palin hasn’t been running a state all that long. Still in that short time she’s authored and sponsored more legislation than the community organizer ever has. If you’ll check voting records, the c.o. voted “present” more than he voted for or against anything and he has yet to author or sponsor ONE bill in the senate or state legislature. Even if Gov. Palin had been governing Alaska for a week, my money would still be on a mom of five. If you can survive that, you can survive anything.

I am a huge advocate of one parent being home with their children, if at all possible. I wouldn’t trade my job for the world. I love spending every minute outside of school with my kids. Brandon and I both feel that’s best for our family. However, I have a choice in the matter and so does Gov. Palin. SHAME on anyone who would dare say she shouldn’t be a running mate. How dare they?! It is especially infuriating to hear women who are themselves working mothers question her choice to run for office. Not just disheartening. Disgusting. Regarding the disabled child…because our family includes a member with Down Syndrome I will also shout from the rooftops that it can be done.

Sarah Palin gave me goose bumps. Sarah Palin made me excited to vote for her and thereby McCain. I am so energized by her strength, tenacity, and yes experience that I cannot wait to volunteer for our ticket. I am honored to vote for a spunky mother of five who doesn’t tolerate any nonsense and a war hero whom I believe is the only one to guide our troops home safely and with honor!