The race is on. All of a sudden, a “ho-hum” presidential race that many in this neck of the woods were less than enthused about, is the talk of the town, the television and the nation.
Who would have thought John McCain would create such and uproar (both for and against) with his vice presidential pick? Certainly not me, and obviously not the Democrats or the mainstream media (notice I didn’t call them the press.)
However, here we are, approximately 10 days since his choosing of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and approximately two months out from Election Day. And, we are still talking about her.
The “Palin Effect” began innocently enough, with Senator John McCain bringing her out for a brief acceptance speech Friday, Aug. 29. To the casual observer, McCain announcement wasn’t all that different from Democratic Candidate Barack Obama’s announcement of Senator Joe Biden as his running mate.
Personally, I had not heard of Palin before that day, and the announcement didn’t mean much at first.
Then came Friday night. I was in attendance at my church (First Assembly of God in Minden) for a banquet honoring our Sunday School teachers. That’s when someone asked, “Did you hear who McCain picked? She’s A/G.”
A/G is a term people in our denomination (I use that term loosely) to signify someone who is in the Assemblies of God. All of a sudden, I was interested in the V.P. pick of McCain.
All weekend I witnessed the “did you hear…” comments from friends and relatives.
The innocently launched “Palin Effect” was gaining momentum. Newspapers, radio, television and of course bloggers, all wanted to know more – and more they got.
The news media (notice I didn’t call them the press) learned Palin’s 17-year-old daughter was pregnant — out of wedlock. They “covered: the story by saying they are not covering the story and then getting comments about them not covering the story, which others made comments about how comments on this story that wasn’t being covered were off limits, but that how being off limits doesn’t mean it should not be commented on.
Then came Wednesday.
Yes, I made it a priority to get home and watch her speech. And, yes, I was as floored as most Americans with how well she did under all the circumstances — including the problems with her teleprompter.
The aftermath of “the speech” is still ongoing. Conservatives are inspired and Liberals are less than amused.
Still no one knows how to react. Each day I check the wire for pertinent news that I feel would be of interest to our readers. Each day, there are more and more stories about Palin. The funny thing is the stories don’t really say anything new.
Thursday, Palin will sit down with Charlie Gibson of ABC news. Who knows if that will bring any “revelations” that the media (Once again, not the press) will run with.
Regardless, this election is shaping to be one for the books — which is just fine with me.
In Memory Of