Watching Sarah Palin hit it out of the park this morning I found myself moved to tears. She affected me on so many levels; as the sister of a girl who got pregant in her teens, welcomed and loved her child; as the cousin of a Down's syndrome baby; as a mother; as a "smalltown", OK, village, girl; as a politician; as a fiscal conservative; as a voter; yes, even as a thirty-seven year old who would sell something precious to look that damn good at 44.
But mostly as a woman.
Here's something to annoy many of the ConHome faithful; Palin is perfect proof that David Cameron's A list was the right idea, and that promoting candidates who look like the country mattered. I wrote the first major blog column in the country, I think, right here on CR guessing that Palin would be the pick. And I said she'd be electrifying. This is because she's a talented woman.
The A list was a correct response to the idea that women voters and voters from ethnic minorities feel excluded if 91% of the parliamentary party are white males. Don't give me your rubbish about the most talented man for the job, race and gender not important. The hell it's not. For one thing, women simply don't buy that 91% of the most talented candidates, by a remarkably consistent co-incidence, happened to be white men. They want to see candidates who look like them. Who they can empathise with.
Sarah Palin's pick as possibly the first woman in the OEB had plenty of women, who never thought they'd see the day, weeping ecstatic tears of joy. The validation was supreme. It's the American dream; after more than two hundred years of men, a daughter of the frontier gets her day at bat.
Now it is almost impossible for McCain and Palin to actually win this election. The generic Democrat-Republican numbers and Sen. Obama's awesome GOTV machine pull me back to reality every time (although I pray I am wrong, I doubt it). But Sarah Palin just took their sexism and intrusion and told them to shove it. She rocked. She is the presumptive frontrunner for next time. She has smashed that glass ceiling into little pieces. Kudos to Sen. Clinton for putting 18 million cracks in it.
McCain did not just pick a woman. No disrespect, but Sen. Kay Bailey Hurchinson would not have had the same effect. He picked a talented woman. And the A list did the same - no AWS, just a chance to be heard. Competing with men or white competitors every step of the way. David Cameron's courage and feminism is like that of John McCain. For McCain's pick of Palin - knowing about her daughter's pregnancy - he will forever be a hero in my eyes.
There was a comment on an earlier Palin piece of mine by the inappropriately-monickered "Libertarian" asking why I didn't use my husband's name, was I ashamed of him, etc. The answer to that is no. I am proud every day to be my husband's wife. I use my own name, Libertarian, because I am a feminist. And never prouder to be one than this morning. If you don't like that, guess what? I don't particularly care.
The A list has not thrown up a bunch of tokens. Shaun Bailey, Priti Patel, Wilfrid Emmanuel-Jones, Joanne Cash, Margot James, David Bull - there are so many oustanding names there from communities previously unrepresented in our party. Those who have heard the above and many others speak know I'm on the money.
The net-nerds are gunning for Palin (did she ever have an affair? what about Troopergate?) and her family. But she is standing straight with all the courage and guts of her running mate. Likely, she will not win this time. But as an oustanding woman, she says nothing but good things about John McCain and the Republican party. I am moved beyond telling by her selection and her speech. God bless all gutsy women, and God bless America too.
