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Desperately Wishful Thinking

by John F. Tamburo, Editor in Chief, Publisher
Originally Posted: 9/3/2008 10:50:30 AM
Last Updated: 9/3/2008 3:23:37 PM

I have been around elections since Reagan 1980, and never have I seen such completely Desperately wishful thinking as I have since Sarah Palin was announced as John McCain’s running mate.  The socialist leftists of this country, a/k/a the Democrat party, and their PR arm, a/k/a the news media, have wondered aloud when Mr. McCain would withdraw his offer to Mrs. Palin.  See this link.  How nonsensical has the Left become that they would believe that a woman who, as Fred Thompson aptly pointed out on September 2, "is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field dress a moose … with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt," would whimper off into the sunset because her daughter is pregnant?  The notion that Palin, who is a tough fighter, would withdraw or that John McCain, who is just as tough, would fire her, is preposterous.  The scuttlebutt is desperately wishful thinking on the part of a shocked and terrified Left.

You see, the Democrat party was expecting McCain to choose a good-old-boy GOP-ite, leaving the mantle of "change" to Mr. Obama, who ironically chose as his co-agent of "change" a 36-year senate veteran with a history of plagarism and verbal gaffes.  McCain was tempted to go the other way by all accounts, to offer Joe Lieberman, a liberal Democrat who is right only on the war, but thought better of it.  This is good, for a Lieberman pick was, again, desperately wishful thinking on the part of the Democrats.  You see, the GOP only wins, to paraphrase Rush, when they run conservatives.  Not run as conservatives, as Rush is wont to speak from time to time, but when they run real conservatives.  Sarah Palin is just that kind of conservative.  This is what is terrifying the Left.  They are sitting on the most unpopular congressional majority in recorded history.  Their candidate openly speaks of tax hikes as the economy is faltering, which anyone over the age of 25 knows will spell disaster for the country.  The Left’s biggest hope was that the turnout of the GOP base would be depressed because of their disdain for Mr. McCain.  He has responded by nominating their dream candidate, and has instantly sent a surge of energy into the GOP.

Thus, the desperately wishful thinking.  The "was Governor Palin sufficiently vetted, who knew what and when" questions have been asked by the press.  Why?  Desperately wishful thinking that the press may somehow be able to discredit Governor Palin with the GOP base, and perhaps, much more unreasonably desperately wishfully, cause McCain to dump her (fat chance).  You know it’s desperate beyond words when Us Magazine prints a front-cover hit job on the governor.

Well, let me tell the world a few things.  Last Year, when Fred Barnes first suggested Sarah Palin as a VP -- or even presidential -- candidate, I started "vetting" her with Google.  I knew of her motherhood of what was then four kids, and her fights with the GOP establishment in Alaska.  I then decided that Gov. Palin was a rising star and started mentioning her on Conservativity.  I thought of her as an ideal McCain running mate.  Later on, I heard of her pregnancy, and wondered if she could be Vice President with a newborn.  Then, I heard of Trig’s Down’s Syndrome and gained a whole new level of respect for Mrs. Palin.  However, I thought that Mr. McCain would not have the cajones to choose her, although I thought her to be the best possible choice for him to win in 2008.  Then, my pipedreams came true!

I was expecting the Democrats and the media to attack.  Frankly the media revealed nothing that I had not read before; Mrs. Palin herself announced her daughter’s pregnancy.  That announcement was in response to a disgusting rumor that Gov. Palin had lied by saying that Trig was her own son and that Trig was her daughter’s illegitimate child.  Desperately wishful thinking with a tinfoil hat, to say the least.  The so-called "scandal" involving the Governor’s firing of a state employee is misrepresented as a family-related retaliation.  The media played up the fact that Mrs. Palin hired a private attorney to represent her interests.  Since when does hiring an attorney represent guilt of wrongdoing?  She fired someone who it is her right to fire, but only after offering him another position, which he refused.  To think that these items would shake the base when they were almost all widely known is desperately wishful thinking.  To think that this tough person woud wimp out at the last second is desperately wishful thinking.  To think that Mr. McCain, who for all of his positions with which I disagree, is likely to vacillate as McGovern did in 1972 with Thomas Eagleton (he went on to the worst loss in presidential campaign history), is beyond desperately wishful thinking.

The Left is now faced with a conundrum:  how to actually respond to a conservative on the issues instead of with ad hominem abusive.  The New York Times will obviously have the toughest time with this after running three front-page smear jobs of Mrs. Palin on the same day, and with its entire attack machine geared up to try (in vain) to destroy her.  I believe that the best thing to happen to the United States in 2008 is Sarah Palin.  Will Messrs. Obama and Biden step up to the challenge?  Now that’s truly desperately wishful thinking!