Commentary: Defending Sarah Palin

A Response to Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times
Ever since Senator John McCain (R-AZ) the GOP presidential nominee announced his surprise selection of Governor Sara Palin of Alaska as his Vice President Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell has been hammering away at Palin. This commentary is an attempt to respond to Mitchell and her charges.

In her first column ” The Gender Game” Mitchell mentioned the historic nature of Gov. Palin’s selection as Senator McCain’s running mate and even called her a reformer. She also thought that Palin was a fighter, but then the rest of the column set a negative tone. She bemoaned that the “Choice feels sleazy.” She then diminishes the choice by claiming that it is not Palin’s brains that McCain is after, but her gender because of Hillary voters. She called the selection a desperate and sleazy game for which women would not fall.
If Sen. McCain’s selection of Palin were just about capturing the Hillary voters by choosing a women there are others he could have chosen like Rep. Heather Wilson (NM) or Gov. Jodi Rell of Connecticut. These two women are also very intelligent and capable of leading the country. Some thought he might chose fellow Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (TX), however, rather than going with the two known individuals or the eastern Republican he chose the Gov. of Alaska. Granted Hutchison and Wilson are insiders and he was looking for an outsider. That would leave Palin or Rell and he chose Palin because according to McCain Palin campaign manager Rick Davis “He saw alot of himself in her ( Newsweek, 30 Aug 08)”. There is nothing sleazy or cynical here. This was a choice based on his instinct of who he would be able to work with the best.

McCain, Obama, and Houses: Property Ownership & Campaigns

The furor started a clouple days ago when Republican presidential nominee John McCain could not answer a question about how many houses he owned. His answer to the questions wa "I think I'll have my staff get back to you," according the Politico. Within hours rival Democratic nominee Barak Obama sent out a blast e-mail asking his supporters to write letters to the editor exposing the real John McCain.

Yes, Mr. O'Bama if asked most middle class Americans could tell you how many houses they owned. However, the amount of property, weather it is the house you live in or ones in which you have invested, are not the issue. Mr. Obama himself owns a large, expensive mansion in Hyde Park, one of the most exclusive communities in Chicago. So, what is wrong with McCain owning seven properties. If the Democrats want to enter the property debate then they better be ready for the onslaught because this will bring up Mr. Obama's affiliation with convicted felon Tony Rezco.

Also, for the Deocratic party to complain about and use a property and wealth based argument is wrong because they compalined when John Edward's large custom-built home was discussed in 2004 is hypocritical.

John McCain makes no pretenses of fighting for a paverty alleviation agenda, but Democrats always do. This is not a problem, but the Democrats need to stop playing "gotcha" on the wealth issue because there is no individual below the pay grade of a John Edwards or Barak Obama that could possibly run for presidnet.

President Bush's Vetoes More Politics than Principle

In 2007 President Bush has threatened slightly more than twice the number of vetoes he did in 2003, according to USA Today. This marker is important because in 2003 there was a Republican led House Senate that was drawing threats for similarly spending above what the president requests or attaching disagreeable legislative provisions. The Democrats took over in January 2007 and continue this practice of spending over the president's request. Those who argue that well the Democrats spend further over than the Republicans are missing the point. When your principle is capping spending on a program to control it shouldn't matter who spends how much more than the president's request. The principle dictates that you veto bills no matter who they come from when the break your cap or contain provisions unacceptable to you.

When Republicans controlled both the House and Senate the President threatened a veto on bills above his cap or with disagreeable provisions attached but than signed them anyway. One example is the transportation bill in 2004 on which the Heritage Foundation supported a veto because of wasteful spending included in the bill. The President even called the Senate version of the bill excessive for exceeding his cap. After declaring the bill excessive he signed the House version, which was no less excessive. The second example is the Defense Authorization Act of 2005, which included the Detainee Treatment Act, also received a veto threat. However, President Bush signed the bill and attached a signing statement with respect to the detainee language.

August 2008 Budget & Tax News

The August 2008 issue of Budget & Tax News is hot off the presses and spotlights state lotteries and smoking bans. It also covers the pledge by Senators McCain and Obama to support transparency in government, Congresses attempt to address flaws in the Alternative Minimum Tax and the former comptroller David Walker's remarks regarding sustainability.

New Immgrants and the Election: Will they be a factor

Let's debate like it's 1996 again. As we ready ourselves to vote in November in the most important election this country has seen in decades the politicians in Washington are wrangling over weather the newly sworn immigrant will be allowed to vote. The ceremony for the new citizens is in October. According to MSNBC the administration is being accused of slowing the process of approving immigrants for citizenship. This is the opposite of the 1996 charge that the administration was accelerating citizenship to influence the election.

Another Article asks "Will new citizens be an election factor?" There are a total of 820, 000 new citizens between the states of Colorado and Florida. Colorado is where the Democrats are holding their convention in August. Many of these voters cannot speak either English or Spanish well.