Election Issues Today

Sarah Palin’s big night–on the biggest stage of her life. This will really be her introduction to Prime Time and the American public. I am writing this Wednesday morning, so we shall see if all the hype adds up to “can’t miss TV” or not. I think Palin needs to limit what she tries to accomplish during this speech. She has to come across as knowledgeable yet not too full of recently-crammed facts and figures. She has to come across as possessing leadership quality and abilities, but not too staunchly…not a man, for crying out loud. And no tears. Tearing up now, in the face of a few challenges to her family problems and doubts about her qualifications, would seriously call into question her fitness and readiness for the office of VP, to say nothing of the position she is asking the nation to place her in: President-in-Waiting.

So far, the loyal GOP delegates are standing firm with McCain’s choice.  She has energized the anti-abortion, gun-rights, evangelical and conservative wings of the party.  What else she brings to the ticket she will need to demonstrate tonight:  She needs to deliver a home-run speech.

I don’t get why they have elected to bring the young man who has impregnated the daughter here to St. Paul and, perhaps, to the convention stage! What would that be saying? If they valued their privacy before, they are certainly throwing it up for the entire World to discuss now.

And I really take issue with the McCain campaign manager, Rick Davis, in publicly stating that this campaign is not about issues, but personalities. Why should it be so? If I agree with him privately, that nearly ALL political election campaigns are about personality, I would not say so publicly if I were in his position. Why wouldn’t he be moving in the other direction? Why wouldn’t he be reminding the media and the public electorate that we are deciding the direction our country will take in the next four years, and we have ISSUES like the economy, health care, poverty, hunger, energy and battle against terrorism-and there are MAJOR differences between the candidates and the political parties. Let’s concentrate on that, not on a teenager’s pregnancy.

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