15 REASONS WHY PALIN IS PERFECT FOR
MCCAIN -- AND JEWS
by THE JEWISH PRESS
1. Coming from the conservative wing of the Republican party, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin unites the GOP by helping to secure support from the conservative base, which was not enthusiastic about all of John McCain's positions. And McCain's choice of Palin shows his willingness to work with conservatives and recognize their concerns. Donations for the campaign will now flow in.
2. She is a governor (of the largest state in the union). Before that, she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska for two terms, and before that a city council member for two terms. She reduced property tax levels while increasing services and transformed Wasilla into a business friendly environment, drawing in new industry. She worked with local, state and federal officials to promote solutions to the needs of Alaska's communities. And she served as chair of the Alaska Conservation Commission, which regulates Alaska's most valuable non-renewable resources: oil and gas.
Moreover, as governor she recently passed a gas pipeline plan. In other words, she knows firsthand about a vital area that is on everyone's minds right now. She generally has been very effective within her state at getting things done.
Although criticized by the mainstream (i.e., liberal) media for being too inexperienced and only a heartbeat away from the presidency, these are transparently biased, agenda-driven attacks. As a governor, she has more executive experience than Obama and Biden combined - and the presidency is an executive position.
But she is not running for president. While in a normal election the charge against her might have some validity, this is not a normal election. The last time a senator (like Obama or McCain) was elected president was 1960. Obama has never even headed a single Senate committee. Palin may have been a mayor of only 9,000 people - but that's 9,000 more people than Obama's ever governed.
3. Her approval rating in her state hovers between 80 and 90 percent -- the highest of any U.S. governor -- and this at a time when, nationally, the president is polling at 27 percent and the Democrat-controlled Congress around 9 percent.
4. Palin is pro-Israel. She's fostered warm relations with the small Jewish community in her state, which comprises roughly 6,000 people. Palin met with Israeli Foreign Ministry official David Akov, Israel's consul general for the Pacific Northwest, and they discussed cooperation between Israel and Alaska on various issues, including counterterrorism efforts. He invited her to visit Israel and she impressed upon him her desire to do so, reportedly telling him that Alaska's residents love Israel.
"The Jewish community should be very excited that Sarah was selected. She has been very conscious of the Jewish community here in Alaska and now with the opportunity of her new position, she'll have the opportunity to look at the Jewish community globally," says Jewish businessman Terry Gorlick, who knows Palin well and has worked with her on a number of issues. "Sarah's absolutely pro-Israel."
Both Gorlick and Alaskan Rabbi Joseph Greenberg have noted that as governor, Palin signed a resolution honoring Israel on its 60th birthday and supporting Alaska's ties to the Jewish state. An unrelated video of her shows she has an Israeli flag in her office in Juneau (see http://alaskapodshow.com/index.php/2008/02/20/ at timestamp 6:50 -7:55, the right side of the screen).
The Juneau Christian Center, a church Palin attends, is scheduled to hold a Night To Honor Israel in March of next year, in conjunction with Christians United for Israel. (By contrast, Obama's church published the Hamas manifesto in its news bulletin -- from a positive perspective. And Obama's pastor of twenty years not only described Israel as carrying out "state terrorism," he bestowed a lifetime achievement award on Louis Farrakhan, with whom he paid a visit to Libya.)
5. Palin hunts and fishes, is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and supports Second Amendment rights. Her husband, Todd, works in the oilfields and is a champion snowmobile racer. He's also a union member. They have five children. These biographical details will help garner votes across the heartland of America, from those who can identify with her roots and common touch - her self-described "hockey mom" lifestyle.
6. She comes across, both in person and on the stump, as genuine, motivated, and down to earth - in short, the real thing: a person who got into politics to truly serve the public and make a difference rather than as a means to pursue a powerful and glamorous career. These traits are an antidote to the pomposity and smugness of Joe Biden, known for his stealing of speeches, or the narcissism and arrogance of Obama, who wanted to stage a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Germany while still running in the Democratic primaries.
7. While Obama talks a lot about change, his choice for VP was the quintessential Washington insider, a Senate presence for decades. Palin completes the maverick image of John McCain by offering the real change of someone from outside Washington who has demonstrated real independence and integrity, fighting against corruption -- even within her own party. As governor, she signed ethics reforms and reached across the aisle to Democrats and independents. She is prepared to take political risks to do what is right. This is bound to gain the attention of independent voters.
8. Being a woman, Palin will appeal to at least some of the many Hillary Clinton supporters who felt their candidate was treated shabbily by Obama, who did not even meet with her to discuss the possibility of a VP slot despite the fact that she received almost as many votes and actually won a good number of the key swing states.
9. At 44, she invigorates the ticket with her youth and energy (but she is still not too young; Richard Nixon was only 39 when Dwight Eisenhower selected him as his vice presidential running mate). Thus her youthful presence offsets Obama's on the Democratic side, but here it is associated with the right person - as vice president, not commander-in-chief. She brings to the GOP ticket a fresh face and very attractive public image -- and generates extra curiosity and interest in the Republican campaign. She also increases the likelihood of young votes.
10. She is a strong fiscal conservative. Like McCain, she is opposed to wasteful federal spending.
11. She is religious (but not very public about it), and believes creationism should be taught in public schools alongside evolution, even though her father was a science teacher.
12. Palin is pro-life. She recently gave birth to her fifth child, a son, whom she learned had Down Syndrome when she was four months pregnant. She says she never considered ending the pregnancy. She lives her beliefs. The Palin family released this statement the morning after his birth: "Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed."
Contrast this attitude with Obama's strong opposition as an Illinois state senator to the Induced Infant Liability Act, which was designed to protect babies born alive after surviving late-term abortions. Obama preferred to continue allowing the hospital's usual practice in such cases -- leaving the baby to die alone in a soiled utility room, even though the baby was capable of receiving medical attention. This was recognized by others as simple infanticide. Even staunch pro-choice advocates like NARAL and Sen. Barbara Boxer supported a similar federal bill, the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, which passed the Senate unanimously.
13. Palin believes marriage should be defined as the union of a man and a woman and she opposes same-sex marriage.
14. Like McCain, Palin is a strong supporter of the military. Her son enlisted in the army and is being deployed to Iraq. As the mother of a son in uniform, she can be a voice for those in the military and for their mission. Whereas the Democrats give lip service to the idea of supporting the troops, they have been invested politically in military defeat and an early withdrawal from Iraq, such as when Harry Reid claimed incorrectly -- while our troops were still fighting -- that we had "lost."
Palin will actually support the troops in their mission. And who will be able to say she does not care about them? At the same time, she will surely be sensitive to the concerns of the troops and of military families.
15. Palin strongly supports U.S. energy independence and "drill here, drill now." She advocates drilling in Anwar (Alaska), which could produce billions of barrels of oil and minimize economic dependence on foreign oil from countries like Saudi Arabia that funnel funds to terrorists. Energy independence not only means lower prices; it also means increased national security and decreased support of states that sponsor terror.
McCain, who previously opposed offshore drilling, recently changed his position as gas prices continued to climb. His pick of Palin could signal a change of position toward Anwar, too.
Mark Bernstein holds an MA from Oxford University in Fine Art. He is currently vice president of N.I.L.T. (Netivot Israel Louna Terror Victim Fund), a non-profit organization helping terror victims in Israel, and is a writer on political issues.
Copyright 2008 www.JewishPress.com
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