Green Lights and Alrights

So you can rev her up
Don’t go slow
It’s only green lights and alrights
~ Harry Connick, Jr  “With a Wink and a Smile”

So.  Miss Sarah did just fine up there in St. Louis at the VP debate, didn’t she?  The fact is, of course, a matter of chagrin to major news networks, who were not permitted the luxury of editing out her good responses and showing only the gotcha moments.  Poor Katie, poor Charlie, poor Gwen: they couldn’t control her image, because the debate was broadcast to the world in real time.  This means Sarah Palin had a chance to show what she was really like to at least 70,000 Americans, who were able to decide for themselves who she is and what she’s about. 

And people liked what they saw, winks and all.  Turns out Sarah Palin is a bright, articulate, accomplished woman who can stand up to a career politician and shame him with a smile.   

On Thursday night, Sarah Palin proved that she can relate to average people because she’s an average, hard-working American herself.  She also showed that it’s possible to make a real difference by applying practical life lessons to achieve high goals.  This hockey mom proved her bona fides by running for her first office in an attempt to make things better for her kids.  She got noticed, and was eventually appointed as a state ethics commissioner who oversaw oil company activities.  She was mayor of a small town before being elected governor, and proved to the people of Alaska (larger than Texas and California together) that she is a leader who knows how to get things done.  Oh yeah, and she’s also raising four kids.

This is in contrast to both Obama and Biden, who prefer talk to action.   Biden, known for his yakability in congress, couldn’t best her in Thursday’s debate because she was allowed – finally! – to show her natural gift for cutting the crapola and stating her case in plain old English.  What a breath of fresh air! 

Senator Joe Biden, who has served in Washington D.C. for over 20 years, has proved that he is a Common Man by … riding the Amtrack to work every day from his home in Delaware to the District of Columbia?  Folks, how many common people do you know who can afford to take the train between work and home every day?  Did you know that the cost of his daily round-trip ticket is close to $200?  Do you know any average electricians, teachers, nurses or administrative assistants who can do that?  Me neither. 

To prove his mettle as an average joe, Senator Biden said during the debate that he talks to his constituents at a diner in his town “where I spend a lot of time.”  Oh, say it ain’t so, Joe!  The diner to which he referred closed in 1990.  This giant lie, easily verifiable, was ignored by his adoring fans in the press, who prefer to spend their time parsing every impression ever uttered by anyone in Alaska who has so much as seen the woman in person. 

What about the whopper he tried to sell us when he denied that Obama said he would sit down without preconditions and talk with the leaders of rogue nations?  Folks, the moment is memorialized on tape, and a quick review of film shows that Obama said in his July debate that he would indeed talk to Ahmadinijad without preconditions.  And he meant direct president-to-president conversations, and not the State Department schmoozing normally done before rising to the level of the head honchos.  How do I know this?  Because the questioner asked him specifically to repeat his answer. 

So let’s see – with Biden and Obama we get pontificating, prevaricating, pseudo-intellectuals who prefer to spout hypotheticals when faced with decisions.  On the other hand, we have Palin and McCain, who have shown courage under stress, integrity when faced with corruption, and authenticity as all-American icons.  Oh dear, tough choice. 

I’m a rebel at heart.  When two lawyers tell me I should trust them, my first instinct is to wonder why they would need to tell me I can trust them.   I have to see more than a college degree to know that the person is qualified to be the leader of the free world.   Instead, I look to maverick out-of-the-box thinkers with proven track records and verifiable accomplishments.  People like that deserve the green light, and I plan to give it to them in November.