Split Ticket

I immersed myself in coverage of the RNC this week after learning of John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin for VP. Like most Conservatives, I was excited when she was announced, and absolutely giddy after hearing her speech Wednesday night. She has generated an unbelieveable amount of energy in the party and has given McCain a very solid chance of winning the election.

Without getting into too much detail about my opinion of Palin, I will just say that I believe she can be the same type of transformative political figure as Ronald Reagan, which is the highest praise I could lavish on a modern politician. She's right on the issues and presents the most well-rounded picture of authentic Conservatism I've seen in recent years. As opposed to the stories of a rabble-rousing youth we have come to expect in most candidates (Bush, McCain, Obama, et al), Palin presents the image of a smart, circumspect woman who tackled the challenges and responsibilities of life head on with vigor and enthusiasm. She didn't need a strong spouse to refine or settle her. Traditionalists admire women who demonstrate the ability to balance the responsibilities of marriage, motherhood, and career gracefully. Far from expecting or demanding that women stay at home to raise children while the husband works, most Conservatives do not feel threatened by strong, capable women. However, unlike the Left, they honor and respect women who make the decision to be full-time mothers and homemakers. About the only women Conservatives don't respect are those that take it upon themselves to criticize and judge other women for making different choices.

In summary, I'm overwhelmed with enthusiasm for Sarah Palin and could easily see her being the first female President of the United States. She has become the unofficial recipient of the mantle of leadership for the Republican Party and can expect to be the party's nominee for President in 2012 and/or 2016. I am one of several people who would like to have seen her at the top of the ticket this year. The only thing standing between her and the role of standard bearer of the Conservative movement in America is... John McCain.

Like many Conservatives, I was less than enthused about the nomination of John McCain. He has often seemed more interested in being a contrarian than helping his party succeed, and his compromises on issues such as campaign finance, immigration, and the environment have been deplorable. The Palin announcement initially assuaged my fears about McCain's Conservative credentials, but the reaction from some Republicans has revealed a rift, despite talk of the party being unified after the convention.

I do not have any hard data to support this notion, but I suspect that it would be difficult right now to find anyone who enthusiastically and without reservations supports both McCain and Palin. At first, I thought it was just Conservatives who were holding their noses a little bit, choosing to vote for McCain to get Palin now and in the future. However, I am now starting to think that those Republicans who are squarely behind McCain are offended and put off by Palin. They express concerns about her being a radical Conservative, much in same vein as Bush (my side cues, "Won't Get Fooled Again," by The Who), and bring up many of the same minuscule and petty slanders as the liberal press. It seems to me that Republicans who are happy with the moderation of the party, and were finally able to get their man nominated, view Palin as a threat in much the same way they viewed Reagan.

The party may be united in the sense that its members are motivated to pull the lever for the Republican ticket this year, but ideologically I believe there is still a rift. They will come together for the next eight weeks to defeat Obama, and may enjoy a brief hiatus during the holidays, but the fight for the heart and soul of the party will resume in earnest in January, 2009.