McCain Makes His Choice

On Friday, after the Democrats finished their convention with an all-singing, all-dancing star-stadded finale in Denver, Republic Presidential nominee Senator John McCain made his choice for running mate.

Unlike Senator Obama, who went with a "safe" choice in Senator Joe Biden, Mr McCain demonstrated his maverick personality again by choosing the relatively unknown Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

Deciding not to go with the choices regarded as likely by the media, namely Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty, Senator McCain has managed to invigorate his own base while completely wiping the Democrat's convention from the front pages.

Conservatives, with a few notable exceptions are delighted with the choice. Worried that McCain would go for Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, or a pro-abortion choice, they reacted with gusto when the name of Gov ernor Palin was announced.

The Republican Vice Presidential candidate, who has Irish roots on her mother's - Sarah Heath (nee Sheeran) - side of the family, has a compelling story and a history of supporting conservative ideas without being beholden to the Republican Party Machine, like Senator McCain himself.

Governor Palin holds pro-life views, and lives those views having decided to give birth to her last baby (this year) despite a diagnosis of Down's Syndrome in the child.

She is a life-long member of the NRA, supporting our Second Amendment Rights, and spends some of her spare time hunting moose and caribou.

She is also a strong advocate of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and extremely knowledgable in energy issues, a subject that will almost certainly gain widespread attention in this election cycle, especially as winter nears and the cost of heating oil predictably increases.

She is a thoughtful supporter of the death penalty, having stated that, as Alaskan Governor, she would, if the legislator passed a death penalty law for murderers or rapers of children, she would sign it.

Though she opposes Same-Sex Marriage, she does support Civil Unions and vetoed a Republican attampt to remove benefits from gay public sector workers in her state.

Governor Palin, like Senator McCain, has also shown herself to be independent of her own political party.

After spending several years as Mayor of her home town, Wasilla, she was appointed as the chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission - from which, a year later, she resigned citing the "lack of ethics" demonstrated by her fellow Republicans.

She then went further and filed formal complaints against the Alaskan Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, then, running on a clean government platform, she defeated the Republican incumbant, then-Governor Frank Murkowski, in the primary.

Her independance thus proven, she later 'killed' the Bridge to Nowhere project championed by Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens, who is now under investigation himself.

In Senator McCain's introductory remarks on Friday, he said, "I found someone with an outstanding reputation for standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies; someone who has fought against corruption and the failed policies of the past; someone who's stopped government from wasting taxpayers' money on things they don't want or need and put it back to work for the people; someone with executive experience, who has shown great tenacity and skill in tackling tough problems, especially our dangerous dependence on foreign oil; someone who reached across the aisle and asked Republicans, Democrats and independents to serve in government; someone with strong principles of fighting spirit and deep compassion someone who grew up in a decent, hardworking, middle-class family, whose father was an elementary school teacher and mother was the school secretary.

"They taught their children to care about others, to work hard and to stand up with courage for the things you believe in."

It seems like Senator McCain has found his kindred spirit and his choice bodes well for the future in a Republican administration.

The choice of Governor Palin also marks another turning point in Republican party history - the nomination of a woman as Vice Presidential candidate.

This alone may have an impact on the upcoming election, especially given the rancor that still exists in Democratic Party circles after their tough primary.

It remains to be seen whether Senator McCain can be victorious in this election cycle, where so many of the underlying conditions favor the Democratic candidate, but his choice of Governor Palin certainly gives him a better chance of success.