Future Republican Spokesperson

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President Biden have swept the nation with Change. However, where does the election leave Palin?

“This has been all positive for me, ” Palin told reporters after Election Day, respectfully dodging questions asked about her political future.

Prideful Palin kept her head up high, that is until her interview with Anchroage Daily News and Alaska’s KTUU Channel 2. Palin explained to the reporters her and McCain’s defeat came from to much association with President Bush, “that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration?”

Republican party resides in deciphering her opinion, will she make a good candidate for 2012? Further in the interview Palin speaks out about her own campaign, ” we’re talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing. So people desiring change I think went as far from the administration that is presently seated as they could. It’s amazing that we did as well as we did.”

Palin might be just what the Republican Party needs to resurrect change in the party and bring forth a new path for Republicans. Under new leadership, Palin at the moment seems to remain a guiding torch for Republicans as a spokesperson.

If she does not decide to run against incumbent Obama, or a new Republican candidate, her support for the Republican party will influence the future outcome for Republican voters.

photo courtesy of AlaskaHDTV.com

A Super Tuesday PSA to all you readers

[a message about voting...originally from an Obama for America Facebook message, however Obama-related bits have been removed in interest of neutrality]

There are still a few hours to make a big difference in this election.

Before the polls close in your state. here’s what you can do:

1. If you haven’t already — VOTE TODAY:

2. Call or email everyone you know and make sure they’ve voted.

3. Help turn out voters at a volunteer event near you:

4. Go back to your polling location and encourage everyone to stay in line until they vote. Anyone who is in line before the polls close can cast their ballot, no matter how long the line.

5. If you can’t leave your house, get out the vote by calling voters

The election in your state is going to be close — and you can help bring the change we need.

Make history right now by voting and helping others vote.

Party Über Alles?

When the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates voted today, it was pretty clear who their picks would be.

Except for one. When Sarah Palin voted in Wasilla, Alaska today, she naturally voted for the McCain-Palin ticket.  But when reporters questioned her about whether or not she voted for Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska the VP-candidate was not so forthcoming.

Stevens, an 84 year-old who is the the Senate’s longest-serving Republican in US history was recently convicted of seven felony charges, regarding ethics violations.  Each count carries a maximum of five years in prison.   Stevens is currently running for his seventh term in the senate.  If Stevens wins, he would be the first convicted US senator ever elected.

Although Palin did not endorse Stevens, she did issue a very ambiguous statement on the matter saying “I’m confident Senator Stevens will do what’s right for the people of Alaska.”  She also reportedly called for him to step down after the conviction charges.

Palin’s response to reporters about her voting choices today were equally vague.  “I am also exercising my right to privacy, and I don’t have to tell anybody who I vote for. Nobody does, and that’s really cool about America also,” said Palin.

While the most recent polls show Stevens trailing Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by eight points in the race, many are questioning Palin’s morals if indeed, she chose party over everything and checked the box for Stevens.

And it has all come down to this

Nearly two years. That’s how long the current election has lasted. The part that has been visible to the public anyways. These two years alone average Americans like us have slogged through were painfully long enough…I can’t even imagine how those who’ve worked with the Obama and McCain campaigns are feeling right about now.

In those two years our lives have all changed in some way. The writers of this blog graduated from high school and are now college freshman, fighting uphill battles against lack of money for students, dismal futures ahead of us in the job market and adulthood. I’m sure some of you had kids, lost or gained new jobs. Maybe lost some money in the stock market. One of the pivotal moments for me personally during the past two years was when, after two previous tries to see Barack Obama speak at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Ore. and at the University of Oregon, I finally got to see the candidate up close along with a record 72,000 people (until St. Louis broke that record this fall) on Portland’s waterfront.

And that’s how one man affected my vote.

Although it may not have had an entirely clear purpose for most of it’s existence, the point of this blog was to gauge how one woman might have affected YOUR vote. It’s been an interesting fall. Ever since Palin was nominated as McCain’s VP, the campaigns grew a whole new set of teeth and claws and the candidates began pummeling each other with metaphorical hockey sticks. And the entire time, we’ve wanted to know how did that appeal to you? Did Palin’s support of special needs kids sway your vote? How about the way mainstream media portrayed her? Did media outlets like Fox News help her gain your support when they defended her against the “liberal media?” Did Tina Fey’s portrayal of her on SNL make you take a step back and say “holy shit this woman could actually be running this country?!”

Please let us know. We would love to have some feedback on your opinions of Palin, the election and perhaps just the experience of voting in general. The current polls have Obama leading by various amounts of points. We want to know WHY.

Palin For President

“Ms. Palin aides insist winning this time around is her sole objective” says a journalist at the New York Times, “But there are signs that she, too, is making sure that she is well positioned for the future if she and Mr. McCain lose. “

While most of the other candidates are focusing on rallying the people and closing arguments, Palin is focusing on Issues like energy security this Wednesday.

Monday, she met with Israel’s ambassador on foreign policy tutorials, and as time goes on she continues to separate from McCain’s positions.

Over her last Vice Presidential Debate and appearances such as SNL, she has gained the hearts of Republicans.

Websites have been created to promote her presidency in 2012, for instance according to this website, “start today for a real conservative victory within the GOP in 2010/12.”

Author of the website, Ron Holland spoke to the Washington Post, “She has real potential to change the direction of the GOP back to it’s conservative and somewhat libertarian roots.”

Morton C. Blackwell, former President Reagan’s liaison also spoke of his support for Ms. Palin to the New York Times, “She’s dynamite” and when asked if recent damaging appearances had lessen her support with conservatives he replied, “not a bit.”

Ms. Palin’s candidacy of Vice President has given her reliable connections and in-depth experience in the Republican Party Policies. Including the gain of support from the Susan B. Anthony List, Woman against Abortion, whose conference call last week gathered 40,000 participants.

Despite her optimistic Republican followers,“She’s vastly unpopular among moderate and independent voters, and while she could be in a position to be popular among an increasingly smaller Republican party, she’s got to figure out a way to extend that and figure out a way to strengthen her weaknesses,”said Mr. Dowd to the New York Times.

Long Time Democrat Votes for Palin

Wendy Button has written speeches for  John Edwards, Hillary and Bill Clinton and even Barack Obama. So why would such a die hard democrat vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin in the 2008 election? The democratic speechwriter has always believed in the democratic views in the past but is turned off by the nasty slandering that has festered in this election.

“Here we are about a week out and it’s déjà vu all over again. Really, front-page news is how the Republican National Committee paid for Governor Sarah Palin’s wardrobe? Where’s the op-ed about how Obama tucks in his shirt when he plays basketball or how Senator Biden buttons the top button on his golf shirt?” writes Button on her blog that is posted on The Daily Beast.com.

She also goes on to say that she does not agree with Governor Sarah Palin on many things, and even admits that she was one of the early skeptics of this odd pick for a running mate. Button has come to like Palin for her real, hockey mom, persona. “When someone fights her way to get scholarships and work her way through college even in a jagged line, that shows determination and humility you can’t learn from reading Reinhold Niebuhr.” Button writes.

Her blog is recomended reading for anybody that has yet to decide on who they will be casting their vote for this tuesday. Her opinions are highly educated and informed. Button gives insight on what the words in Obamas Speaches really mean.

If a long time democratic woman like Wendy Button will change teams this late in the election with her job on the line, who knows what will happen between now and November 4. America may be watching Palin for longer then the polls are suggesting.

Just to lighten the mood…

Update on $150,000, “Out of the Closet”

In a recent interview by Foxs News, Sarah Palin reports she shops frugally at home. For example one of her favorite places to shop is a consignment store called Out of the Closet in Alaska, not a typical Saks Avenue retailer.  

*Not to be mistaken, Out of the Closet in Alaska does not resemble or associate with the Out of the Closet store in California who donates to AHF.

Allegations concerning the 150,000 dollar shopping spree consign with property of the RNC. She does not own any of the clothes herself, rather she receives certain days when she is permitted to wear it and then must return it. “We have three days of using clothes that the RNC purchases” said Sarah Palin to a Fox journalist.

In a filing report  RNC confirms paying $13,200 to make-up stylist, Amy Strozzi who works on reality show, “So You Think You Can Dance.”  She was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks in October, which is nearly double the money paid to McCain’s foreign advisor, Randy Scheunemann.

Nevertheless, Palin reassures the public that the clothes will be donated to a charity.

Update on “Typical Women?”

You have to hand it to Anderson Cooper. He is one journalist who gets the right information in the news before anything can mislead the masses. In this short clip of breaking news, Cooper confirms that Palins use of tax payers dollars to fund travel for her children to be at her side were in fact unnecessary.

Thank you CNN for clearing that up. Now America can rest assured that Sarah Palin would undoubtedly have a positive influence on white house expenses.

Typical Woman?

Women sure are good at spending money. That’s the stereotype that seems to be confirmed by Sarah Palin anyway. The issue of her unnecessary spending as the Alaska Governor has been pulled back from the dead with the help of AP and Anderson Cooper. Cooper discusses the possibility that Palin not only spent state funds to pay for her children to travel across the country with her to political conferences, but also covered it up. The idea is that Palin may have covered these expenses by amending reports to say that the trips were official family business.

Former Sr. Adviser to Mitt Romney, Bay Buchanan, made a good point when she said that bringing the family along is part of the territory, but how much of a woman’s personal life should cross over into her political life.

ABC news reported that Sarah Palin spent $150,000 on clothing and accessories since she entered the political race in September; that’s 150,000 Republican Party campaign dollars that generous supporters sent to McCain/Palin fund raising committees.

There is dispute over whether or not these transactions are legal, but the more controversial issue here is honesty. Why would a woman who preaches about being an average middle class gal need cloths from Saks and Neiman Marcus?

If this kind of frivolous spending is going on already, before Palin even enters office then what do we have to look forward to? This issue really brings out the question of whether America, or any country for that matter, should take stereotypes of a woman into consideration when she is running for a major government position.