I tried to be objective about the Republican convention, given its incredibly negative tone. I must admit that it was refreshing to see a woman taking center stage for such an unlikely event. Sarah Palin is certainly making history in many ways.
What I did not care for was Senator John McCains arrogance about being an agent of change - was he an agent of change at one point? Absolutely - a maverick even - indeed. And now, he is beholden to lobbyists and other special interest groups and is a bona fide Washington insider. The money from big spenders is falling into his campaign troughs in buckets.
While he claims to be an insider Senator McCain, he has voted with the current administration some 90% of the time - that is a pretty big risk for the American people to take that he will maybe vote appropriately 10% of the time in his new administration. Indeed, in a recent headline in the Economist, the cover shows Senator McCain and essentially asks what happened to the McCain we all knew.
At one time, he all but villified right wing Christian conservatives, and yet he picks an extreme right wing Christian conservative, who opposes abortion under any terms (Senator McCain defers to a woman's right to choose in certain instances, such as incest and rape, etc.), who is a lifelong member of the NRA (what - do they hand those things out with birth certificates in Alaska hospitals?) and tried to fire the town librarian for refusing to destroy or remove questionable material from the shelves. Ms. Palin did not count on the town rallying around the librarian en masse. Would that her brother in law, the fired Public Safety Commissioner had had the same support.
Which of these men is the real agent of change? Today's Gallup poll indicates that McCain received a "bounce" from the convention and now leads Obama by some 3 percentage points. The American people are listening, but are they paying attention?
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