Matt’s Musings

Okay, I admit it: I’m in the tank for Sarah Palin.

Unlike the mainstream media who, for the most part, pretends that they are impartial, I’m not — at least when it comes to political reporting, a topic I rarely cover. In my opinion, I believe that Sarah Palin is the most refreshing of the four candidates on this year’s Prez-VP ticket.

I am a registered Republican, but more importantly than that I am a conservative. Above even that, I’m a Christian and try to look at politics through my spiritual lens. This doesn’t mean that I am readily predictable in my political beliefs, rather I have certain expectations when it comes to a candidate and Sarah Palin is the rare person who meets most of mine. I’m not the type of person who will even consider a Democratic candidate, choosing to go third party if the Republican Party gets flaky and offers up a closet liberal instead.

Holding Back Sarah Palin

Yesterday, I was waiting in nervous anticipation for the debate, praying throughout the day for Governor Palin that she would find her voice in time to take on Joe Biden. I had seen snippets of her interview with Katie Couric recently and was, like many, disappointed on how poorly she performed. However, I also felt that she was being held back by the McCain camp who had been on the defensive mode too long, making it difficult for her to be just herself.

Leading up to the 9 p.m. (ET) start, I watched the Bill O’Reilly show (The Factor) which only stirred up my anticipation. The flamboyant O’Reilly can be difficult to watch and last night he was all that and more, letting Rep. Barney Frank have it with both barrels over the congressman’s involvement in the Fannie Mae debacle. By the time the interview was over I was on edge, wanting to put that boisterous confrontation behind me and enjoy the debate.

A Compromised Moderator?

I was also bothered by the news that the moderator, Gwen Ifill, had failed to disclose that she was writing a book that is favorable to Barack Obama, a publication that is to be released on Inauguration Day, coinciding with what some hope will be Obama’s ascent to the presidency. In my opinion, Ifill should have recused herself, but since the McCain camp didn’t demand that she do so, she went ahead and moderated. FYI – Ifill did a fabulous job, remaining impartial throughout the debate and keeping everything moving like clockwork.

Without rehashing every point made last night I believe that both candidates performed well, though I take exception to some of Biden’s claims, particularly relating to McCain’s maverick ways. McCain is the reason why so many conservatives were on the sidelines until he named Sarah Palin as his running mate, a politician who has long irked people for crossing party lines and thumbing his nose at established Republican practices. For better or for worse, McCain crossed party lines more frequently than Biden and certainly much more often than the junior senator from Illinois.

Sarah Palin — Mainstream American

Throughout the debate, I found Sarah to be confident, poised, easy to understand, knowledgeable and most definitely someone who walks in the same shoes that the average American walks in. Quite easily, I believe that Sarah can relate to us and we can relate to her, unless you’re an elitist, an avowed liberal, or simply someone who cannot stand the woman.

Harnessing her experience as governor, we learned that Mrs. Palin works across party lines, was able to get the oil companies to pass some of their profits to Alaskans, and has plenty of executive and leadership experience dating back two decades when she first started out as a PTA mom. Sarah held her own when it came to world affairs, correcting Biden on several issues including Obama’s deplorable refusal to acknowledge that the Iraqi surge was a success, articulating that a troop build up plan tailor made for Afghanistan was necessary, and making an impassionate case for our country to stand up to Iran and defend Israel if need be.

When the debate was over, both candidates were standing, but I must say that Palin exceeded expectations while Biden performed as expected. This doesn’t mean that I’m taking anything away from Joe Biden, I’m simply recognizing that he have his game day plan in place or risk losing to the governor.

At the end, the candidates shook hands, talked with Gwen Ifill, and had their families come up on stage to meet each other. That last act was priceless, a rare public display of cordiality between political families.

Will The Veepstakes Help?

Will the Veep debate help the McCain/Palin ticket? That is hard to say at this point. Clearly, Governor Palin allayed fears some people had about her, proving once again that she is smart, witty, fun, and just the right person to stand with John McCain should he become president. No doubt, I believe that the governor is a fast learner and, if something terrible happened to President McCain, she’d be able to step right in and command our nation – with God’s help, of course!

Filed under: Civilitas