What A Knockout!

It's safe to say that the attitude among many conservatives towards the prospect of John McCain becoming the next POTUS has been less than excitement.

Even after the Saddleback Forum hosted by Rick Warren a couple of weeks ago, which artfully highlighted a glaring contrast between the leadership qualities of the two candidates, conservatives, though encouraged by the direct answers McCain gave to issues of great importance to them, were still worried. Rumors have been floating around ever since that a pro-choice VP pick was not "off the table", and with names like Ridge and Lieberman also being mentioned, there was palpable fear the base would be completely abandoned in foolish pursuit of the supposed "moderates." (By the way - how do you appeal to a swath of voters who don't seem to believe strongly in any ideology? Sounds like trying to "herd cats".)

Today was a brand new day, though. Choosing Sarah Palin as his VP running mate, was the kind of bold move that can seriously alter the script of the campaign this fall. Though an unknown to most outside of the ranks of conservative news addicts like myself, I have been introduced, and subsequently impressed with her over the past year, as she's given birth to her fifth child, and approved the construction of a new natural gas pipe line, which has afforded her some national recognition. She was mentioned as a possible VP selection many months ago, though no one seemed to give it much more than a passing note.

She was a brilliant choice for several reasons. First off, agree or disagree with her ideology, she has character and integrity, calling out her own party members on wasteful government and questionable ethics. She is very down-to-earth and easy for most Americans to relate to. She is attractive and well-spoken; friendly and engaging. Ideologically, she is very conservative, trying to make her state more self-reliant; contributing more to the nation economically than they take in government aid. She is a life-long NRA member. She is staunchly pro-life, and certainly family-oriented, living out the values she espouses. The fact that she is a woman in the historical context of this campaign, is really only the icing on the cake.

For former supporters of both Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, she offers the executive experience of a governor, and the pro-business economic and social conservative bona fides that were so important, without the hard feelings supporters of either candidate might harbor for the other.

This choice only makes McCain, whom the Democrats have tried to characterize as the "third Bush term", and as old, out of touch, and no longer with the "maverick" edge that has defined him for so many years, look simply brilliant. Sarah Palin is not a "go along, to get along" type of politician, reassuring voters that she will not simply be a window dressing yes-woman. I can't imagine a more "maverick" choice in it's unpredictability. Her youth and down-to-earth personality balance out his age and cultural downsides. She couldn't be much farther outside the beltway, balancing out his lengthy legislative association.

What a way to reenergize the base, and suck all the air out of the post-DNC news cycle. What a grand slam!

Redemption

Though much belated, Rush Limbaugh finally accepted former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on his program today to mend fences, and resolve some misunderstandings. Frankly, Rush's mischaracterizations of Huckabee's opposition to Mitt Romney's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination have long been a point of contention for me towards what I otherwise believe to be a fairly "spot on" daily analysis on his radio program. It has irked me for months that neither he, nor any of the other nationally syndicated talk hosts like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, as well as National Review editor Rich Lowry, acknowledged the recent change in positions of former Governor Romney, and instead chose to characterize him as a victim of religious discrimination when he failed to secure the nomination. Governor Huckabee and his supporters were dismissed as religious zealots, out of touch with the mainstream of the Republican party.

To Huckabee's credit, he has never lashed out bitterly at his detractors, or criticized their lack of support and mischaracterizations of him. He has instead kept on plugging ahead, focused on the goals he based his campaign on, and patiently waiting for his critics to acknowledge the truth.

That patience was rewarded today, as Huckabee was finally granted his first appearance on Rush's show since the primaries. Since it is rare that Rush ever has a guest on, this appearance should be that much more meaningful. Governor Huckabee was finally able to have a conversation with Rush that allowed him to set the record straight - about the questions he had about the character and integrity of Mitt Romney, not his religion; as well as the deal that was made in West Virginia, whereby Ron Paul's supporters threw their votes to Huckabee on the final ballot to give him the win over Romney. To my ear, Rush treated the governor with respect, asking him thoughtful questions that he himself has been contemplating out loud for the past couple days, looking for Huckabee's own incite; such as if there's any contingency at the convention should a hurricane strike New Orleans while it's under way, to which the governor gave a classic, humorous response: "They'll send Pat Robertson down there to pray it off the coast" (a poking reference to Fidel Castro's "supernatural" claims).

It was certainly a moment that long time fans of Rush, and big fans of Gov. Huckabee have long been hoping and waiting for. Let's hope that the fence-mending continues!