I have never been more wanting of a nap when it comes to party conventions.

That is, until Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took the stage.

This has been a year of frustration for someone who lusts after politics as much as myself.  I’ve found this year’s candidates to be underwhelming on both sides of the ticket. 

As many times as I have heard someone tell me Illinois Senator Barack Obama is a great “community organizer” (whatever that means), I have difficulty placing much faith in him to solve many of our problems.

Palin seemed to share a similar view and did not hesitate to attack him for it.

Obama’s vice presidential choice, Sen. Joe Biden (D – Del.), was the perfect compliment to Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience.  But when it comes to excitement, Biden is about as exciting as a tree stump.

The fact Biden appears so dull doesn’t really matter however, because Obama has brought excitement to the Democratic Party which has not seen since at least the days of former president Bill Clinton.

On the other side of the political spectrum, excitement has been much harder to come by.

Republican constituents appear to still struggle with the idea that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is the Republican nominee for President.

McCain has had problems exciting the party base, particularly conservative voters, because of his prior stances on immigration reform and global warming.

Combine that lack of excitement with his 72-year-old, monotonous voice and you have some who lacks just as much fire as Biden.

After a rock-star performance by Obama at the Democratic National Convention, McCain’s choice for VP was more highly anticipated than ever.

He would have to make a radical move at just the right time to keep his poll numbers from falling victim to a post-DNC, Obama surge.

And he certainly did.

Surprising many political pundits, McCain announced his VP choice in Palin.

Palin, a former small-town mayor and self-indicated hockey mom, arrived a wildcard and relatively unknown character among the Republican base.

But it did not take long for Palin to send sparks flying into a drained Republican Party.

Her speech was filled with countless one-liners poking fun at Obama’s party-induced celebrity status.

“I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer’, except that you have actual responsibilities,” Palin said in reference to Obama’s lack of experience as an executive.

She then followed with a one-liner criticizing Obama’s experience in the United States Senate.

“Listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who authored two memoirs, but not a single major law or reform – not even in the state senate,” she said.

Palin was more than fluent in her attacks on Obama.

Palin, some have said, was in prime position to offer criticism considering she is the only person out of Obama, Biden and McCain who served in an executive position.

Palin is far too conservative for a person of moderate political tastes such as myself.  But her right-leaning positions of abortion, oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and tax-cuts will more than satisfy conservatives’ thirst for a traditional ideology after McCain was chosen as the Republican candidate for president.

All of a sudden, there’s life in a once downtrodden Republican Party.

Republicans finally have a celebrity of their own.

Cory Watson, a junior journalism major from Mebane, is a sports reporter.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments