HISTORY BEFORE OUR EYES

I have several friends and family members who have expressed to me their disgust with the Obama inauguration.  They say things like, why is everything about him being black and do we really need Oprah and Halle Berry telling us what an amazing guy he is and the rest of Hollywood and all the media anointing him as the savior before he has done anything as President yet.  I understand, and quite frankly I already have a little Obama fatigue as well.

Let’s get one thing straight, I did not vote for Obama.  I am conservative and disagree with just about every stance he has taken over the years and with almost everything he said in his campaign.  I didn’t vote for McCain either, like I said I am conservative, I believe in small government, something the Republican Party abandoned many years ago, but I am getting off topic. 

What people have to realize is what this means to black people everywhere.  There are many people still alive from the time black people were not allowed to use the same drinking fountain as whites, or use the same bathroom, eat at the same restaurant, go to the same school, or play on the same sports teams.  People my age, I was born in 1970, have not seen much of this.  I will admit to hearing a girl in my grade school called a zebra because she had a black father and a white mother but she was pretty popular and was even voted on to the cheerleading squad in high school, so the large majority of people treated her with respect.  But the point is, many black people were mistreated.  They were treated as second class citizens and found it tougher to do just about everything from getting an education to getting a job or once they had a job, getting promoted. 

What Obama represents is a feeling of WOW, look how far we have come.  If a black man can be elected President of the United States, the leader of the free World, then there is truly nothing that they can’t do.  It is amazing, historic, even to people like me who disagree with his politics.  I remember seeing one of my favorite columnists Walt Williams, who is a black conservative, cry when Obama was officially announced as the winner of the election.  At first that confused me but I think I understand now.  The late great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in his famous I have a dream speech that he could see the day when a man was judged by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin, this is proof that that day has come.  We as a country should celebrate, it should be a bigger celebration than a normal inauguration, it is history and I hope my kids remember it.  So while the media and Hollywood is grating on your nerves, relax, take a deep breath and enjoy the fact that you are witnessing history.

Sarah Palin covers what McCain is lacking

Sen. McCain chose his VP running mate, the Governor of the state of Alaska Sarah Palin. What most presidential hopefuls do is pick a VP that gives them something they are lacking. For example, Senator Obama has only been a Senator for 2 years, so to make up for his lack of experience he picked Joe Biden who has been a Senator even longer than McCain (now that is old!).

Just for fun lets see how well McCain did at picking a VP with qualifications he is lacking. Lets start with family values, Palin is the mother of 5 with the last one being born just a little over a year ago. She found out before the birth that her newest baby would have a handicap and let everyone know she considers it a blessing from God that He would trust her with one of his special children. McCain dumped his wife that had cancer for a 20 year younger, better looking wife. That is definitely covering for something McCain is lacking.

Next lets look at the game of politics. McCain is considered a master politician who is willing to make deals that he doesn't believe in but that may advance his career. Some examples of this are campaign finance reform, blocking immigration reform, and agreeing to a global warming bill to cap emissions. All of these bills were sponsored by McCain and cosponsored by democrats to advance his career. Palin ran against a Republican Governor who wasn't ethical or conservative enough, she lost and he tried to end her threat by offering her an important position in the republican party in Alaska, she didn't take it and beat him in the next election. No deals, no politics, just ethics.

Finaly, McCain is not a conservative, in fact he is exactly the type of guy that my lifelong democrat grandfathers would have voted for. The only difference is he would have been running in the democrats party. Governor Palin is the most conservative person that has run for President or Vice President that I have seen in my lifetime. She believes in and implemented in Alaska a low tax low spending fiscal policy, she is a member of the NRA who likes to hunt and fish. She believes in pumping more oil to lower gas prices and is as pro-life as it comes. She told the Federal Government to keep the money for the bridge to nowhere because she doesn't believe in wasting any money.

I would say McCain did a great job covering his weaknesses but the question remains, why would any conservative vote for a guy with this many weaknesses? If you can hold your nose and vote the lesser of two evils, more power to you, I for one can't do it, neither Obama or McCain will get my vote in November.