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.