Reactions to story from Debbie Schlussel

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    Family Matters from McCain’s Big Night

    http://www.kicktheanthill.com/?p=305
    83 days ago in Kick the Anthill · Authority: 12

    Thursday night was a bit of a downer compared to Wednesday night.  When I turned on the tube and saw Graham “pitching and swooning” I was ready to turn it right back off.  What were they thinking putting him on?  Nevermind. McCain was ok — his speech didn’t get interesting until the very end.  While facing the fact that I will be voting for McCain/Palin come November, there is some family business that is nagging me.  (Be ye warned that I am highly sleep deprived at the time of this writing and take my thoughts with a pinch of salt.) Family is a really big issue for me, and it seems to be a very real issue under the surface of this campaign.  Commitment and honor do not just apply to military service, but also to family.  We make promises to loved ones, and though we cannot control all of the circumstances in our lives, our character is defined by how we respond to the trials we face, the choices we make concerning the ones who depend on us. Debbie Schlussel has written a thought-inducing article about Sarah Palin’s family and her candidacy for Vice President.  Perhaps you may have noticed, but I have a hard time being unquestioningly worshipful about any political candidates.  No one is perfect.  I don’t have any problems with Palin’s contribution to the conservative cause — her fearlessness, competence and stands on the issues are tremendously inspiring.  But something Debbie said stuck in my mind: “For conservatives to sweep these issues under the rug now that ‘one of ours’ is doing it, is to say that for all these years, our movement was a fraud.”  We can’t not vote for Palin; we can’t decline our responsibility to do the right thing on November 4; we can’t deny that we need this Hockey Mom right now; but as conservatives, in our political discouragement over the past year and the excitement that Palin has brought to the cause, we simply cannot avoid being honest with ourselves over these issues.  Do I want Palin to step down?  Heck, no.  I’m just asking for us to avoid the same utterly blind altar of adoration that has been going on in the Obama camp by sweeping the truth under the rug or avoiding the issues we care about deeply so that we can feel better about who we vote for in November.  Also very noteworthy is a pastor’s perspective that Miss Wisabus was kind enough to pass on to me. The other family issue that crossed my mind while watching was regarding John McCain.  Before her speech, Cindy introduced all of his children, which had me scratching my head at the math.  All I really knew about McCain was what I read in his campaign bio, but his first marriage to Carol, a 15-year marriage which encompassed his time as a POW, and their three kids is not mentioned anywhere.  He and Cindy have four children, and John has another daughter and two adopted children from his marriage to Carol.  Divorce has not prevented us from electing a man to the White House before, but for me it is a gigantic measure of character.  I will not go into any personal details, but I will tell you that some of McCain’s personal circumstances have very spooky similarities to paths I’ve crossed in my own life — and that’s not a good thing.  Why delete a 15-year chapter of your life and three kids from your bio if you are the kind of leader who can face the consequences of your choices?  Other websites do carry that info, and in a less flattering light.  The McCain campaign should be in front of that info rather than behind it. All in all, I have to keep reminding myself that the Executive Branch is just the Executive Branch.  Congress and the Supreme Court are also a part of this big mess we call democracy in the United States.  We’ll start working on them next. One other thing got under my skin regarding McCain: “Country First.”  I respect his honorable service in the military — it hurts me to hear what he endured in Hanoi.  And I also understand that the illustrious Team B.O. has made their dissatisfaction with our nation a hallmark of their campaign.  But “Country First” is a problem for me.  The slogan just sort of stabs at his evangelical Christian consitutent base.  My priorities have always been God first, Family second, Country third, Job fourth, and so on.  I do not know much about POWs and how they fight to stay alive, but I can’t imagine my loveable though imperfect country being the one thing that propells me through five and a half years of torture and imprisonment.  In the very darkest nights of my soul I can promise you that my love of the United States of America would not have been able to get me through the night.  Then again, Tom Hanks did have Wilson.  Maybe I don’t get all the nuances of the rationale for this slogan, but then again, there’s a lot I have not understood about John McCain’s politics up till now anyway.  And herein also lies the difficulty for Sarah Palin.  Maybe it’s time for the campaign to scrap the slogan and start fresh now that he has a running mate who is his one-way ticket to the White House. The bottom line:  No matter how much of a stinker I think McCain has been, B.O. stinks far worse.  Save the world.  Vote Republican. Exit question: How can a “conservative” presidential candidate talk about national security and not once bring up immigration?  Again, nevermind.  McCain could build his platform on educating the masses to make goat cheese but he will still win — only because Barack Obama is the last thing that America needs.  What I’d really like to hear from McCain now is his 90-day plan:  What will John McCain do for America during his first 90 days in office?  And, does he intend to follow the new and improved GOP platform on immigration or will he blow it off once he is Commander in Chief?  I guess I’ll have another four years of not holding my breath for a proper border to be built.