Maybe I'll Vote After All...

"Who is she?" ... "Why was she chosen?"

I don't think any of us know the answers to those questions 100% yet...however, when I learned a few facts about Palin, McCain's choice for VP, I felt the first stirring of hope and excitement that I had experienced since the beginning of this presidential race.


Most important to me is the fact that Palin is staunchly pro-life...not just in words, but in practice. She's the 44 year old mother of 5 children. Her youngest was born just this past April, and has Down's Syndrome.

If any other conservative Christians out there felt like I did about McCain's moderate stand on the pro-life/pro-choice issue, (discouraged? Apathetic about whether he wins in November or not?) then you are probably just as excited as I am that a truly pro-life candidate is on the presidential ticket.

Besides being impressed with Palin, my opinion of John McCain has risen a little bit, just for taking the risk to choose her. I mean, it was a terribly risky move, but it may just be the move that wins the election for him this fall...

Palin has little experience in the public eye, compared to most seasoned Washington politicians. She was the mayor of a tiny Alaskan town before being elected governor - an office she has held for less than 2 years! However, Obama has very little experience in politics as well, (and he's running for Presdient,) so any hits against her for not having enough experience shouldn't be taken very seriously by anyone in my opinion. She also brings the "freshness" of having little experience, youth (she's the youngest person on the presidential ticket,) and new ideas - the very things Democrats have argued work for Obama in his inexperienced political career.

As a woman, Palin also may work to draw Hillary supporters away from the Obama campaign. Palin is the 2nd woman in U.S. history to be on a presidential ticket - and the very first Republican woman to do so.

Coming from Alaska, Palin knows a lot about the oil industry. I think her experience may interest those who are concerned about the fuel "crisis" that our country is going through. Though she has little to no experience in foreign policy, she is definitely a strong domestic policy candidate.

From the beginning of the primary races earlier this year, I felt very disheartened by the whole campaign. Obama, Clinton, McCain - not one stood out to me as someone I could get excited about, or feel good about voting for. I had almost made up my mind not to vote this year, I felt that apathetic about the choices.

Palin is just a VP nominee, but she is someone I can get excited about. A pro-life mom, who hasn't had the chance to be corrupted by D.C. politics yet, and who takes strong stands on the issues that are important to my family and I. Suddenly I feel ready to go out and vote for McCain!

We're excited to get to know more about Palin next week, as the RNC takes place in Minnesota.