Well, my feet have healed, I have caught up on my sleep and am finally feeling more like my normal self. I have to admit that the excitement and enthusiasm I gained in Minnesota is still with me and maybe it is because of the way that many Americans are embracing the pick of Sarah Palin as the VP nominee. I also had the privilege to attend a special fundraiser for Senator McCain in Chicago on Monday the 8th, thus extending the aura of the Convention. It was also a great time to catch up with some fellow delegates and local candidates that were part of the delegation in Minnesota. What was great about the event was that it may be the only time McCain visits Illinois before November 4th and it was a very small and intimate gathering, allowing everybody who wanted to a chance to meet the Senator and get in a few words. It was the first time my husband got to meet the Senator, but I hope not the last. It is clear that as part of the campaign, we have a lot of work to do in the next 53 days and that anything can happen in that short time. As McCain says, Game On. As for my diary, rather than turn it into a political mouthpiece or rant session, I will continue to update readers about local campaign events and campaign worthy items. For example, Brendan Appel, a Republican candidate for the state house will be campaigning in Evanston this Saturday both at the Northwestern Univ. football game and at a fundraiser after the game. He is the type of local candidate that Republicans can rally around and could very well be the next Palin, starting out local and eventually broadening the base he serves. As for Palin, I think she handled the Charlie Gibson interviews with precision, thoughtfulness and detail. There was no doubt of his contempt for her and it didn’t faze her one bit. The area that the media will try to trip her up on is foreign policy, where they perceive she is weak. I think she is showing she is far from it and if anything, seems to have a bigger picture than they do. First, as a governor forced to share fishing waters and drilling access with Russia, there is no doubt she has experience dealing with one of our major foreign policy challenges. In addition, she has had to work often with the many Indian nations in her state, each of them a sovereign state of their own. So her ability to handle true international legal issues has already been tested. She also recognizes the complexities of Eastern Europe that we face in our future and that Bush doctrine means many things to many people. I hope she continues to challenge the media on their basic assumptions about world affairs and will not take their assessments for granted. In closing, I would like to share this upclose photo of Senator McCain taken the other night:
Senator McCain up close and as friendly as ever.
No Comments Yet
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
