Sarah Palin’s Speech
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honored to be considered for the
nomination for Vice President of the United States…
I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America.
I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election… against confident
opponents ... at a crucial hour for our country.
And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder
missions ... and met far graver challenges ... and knows how tough fights are won -
the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.
It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee
because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.
With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost - there was no hope for
this candidate who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country
lose a war.
But the pollsters and pundits overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off.
They overlooked the caliber of the man himself - the determination, resolve, and
sheer guts of Senator John McCain. The voters knew better.
And maybe that’s because they realize there is a time for politics and a time for
leadership ... a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.
Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are
hard to come by.
He’s a man who wore the uniform of this country for 22 years, and refused to break
faith with those troops in Iraq who have now brought victory within sight.
And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as
commander in chief. I’m just one of many moms who’ll say an extra prayer each night
for our sons and daughters going into harm’s way.
Our son Track is 19.
And one week from tomorrow - September 11th - he’ll deploy to Iraq with the Army
infantry in the service of his country.
My nephew Kasey also enlisted, and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.
My family is proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the
country in uniform. Track is the eldest of our five children.
In our family, it’s two boys and three girls in between - my strong and kind-hearted
daughters Bristol, Willow, and Piper.
And in April, my husband Todd and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a
perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig. From the inside, no family ever seems
typical.
That’s how it is with us.
Our family has the same ups and downs as any other ... the same challenges and the
same joys.
Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.
And children with special needs inspire a special love.
To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message:
For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and
daughters.
I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the
White House. Todd is a story all by himself.
He’s a lifelong commercial fisherman ... a production operator in the oil fields of
Alaska’s North Slope ... a proud member of the United Steel Workers’ Union ... and
world champion snow machine racer.
Throw in his Yup’ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package.
We met in high school, and two decades and five children later he’s still my guy. My
Mom and Dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town.
And among the many things I owe them is one simple lesson: that this is America, and
every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.
My parents are here tonight, and I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally
Heath. Long ago, a young farmer and habber-dasher from Missouri followed an unlikely
path to the vice presidency.
A writer observed: “We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity,
and dignity.” I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised
Harry Truman.
I grew up with those people.
They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America ... who grow our food,
run our factories, and fight our wars.
They love their country, in good times and bad, and they’re always proud of America.
I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town.
I was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to
make my kids’ public education better.
When I ran for city council, I didn’t need focus groups and voter profiles because I
knew those voters, and knew their families, too.
Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.
And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that
experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.
I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you
have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don’t quite know
what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are
listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns
when those people aren’t listening.
We tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another
way in San Francisco.
As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is
listening, John McCain is the same man. I’m not a member of the permanent political
establishment.
And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good
standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate
unqualified for that reason alone.
But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not
going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I’m going to Washington to serve
the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right
reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.
Politics isn’t just a game of clashing parties and competing interests.
The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to
leave this nation better than we found it.
No one expects us to agree on everything.
But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and ...
a servant’s heart.
I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president
of the United States. This was the spirit that brought me to the governor’s office,
when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau ... when I stood up to the
special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol’ boys network.
Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power
brokers. That’s why true reform is so hard to achieve.
But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up.
And in short order we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.
I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing.
And today, that ethics reform is the law.
While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor’s office that I didn’t
believe our citizens should have to pay for.
That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay.
I also drive myself to work.
And I thought we could muddle through without the governor’s personal chef -
although I’ve got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her. I came to office
promising to control spending - by request if possible and by veto if necessary.
Senator McCain also promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public
interest - and as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.
Our state budget is under control.
We have a surplus.
And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending: nearly half a
billion dollars in vetoes.
I suspended the state fuel tax, and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark
spending by Congress.
I told the Congress “thanks, but no thanks,” for that Bridge to Nowhere.
If our state wanted a bridge, we’d build it ourselves. When oil and gas prices went
up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that
revenue back where it belonged - directly to the people of Alaska.
And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things
the way they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources.
As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of
our state and return it to the people.
I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North
American history.
And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas
pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.
That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead
America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do
not have our interests at heart.
The stakes for our nation could not be higher.
When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so
dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum
Reserve.
And families cannot throw away more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.
With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and
intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave
ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.
To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world
energy supplies ... or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in
Saudi Arabia ... or that Venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries ... we
Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas.
And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we’ve got lots of both.
Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s
energy problems - as if we all didn’t know that already.
But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more
pipelines ... build more new-clear plants ... create jobs with clean coal ... and
move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources.
We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and
produced by American workers. I’ve noticed a pattern with our opponent.
Maybe you have, too.
We’ve all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers.
And there is much to like and admire about our opponent.
But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored
two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate.
This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and
never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign. But
when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ...
when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to
some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to
accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The
answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more
orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous
world. America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it.
Victory in Iraq is finally in sight ... he wants to forfeit.
Terrorist states are seeking new-clear weapons without delay ... he wants to meet
them without preconditions.
Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America ... he’s
worried that someone won’t read them their rights? Government is too big ... he
wants to grow it.
Congress spends too much ... he promises more.
Taxes are too high ... he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print
in his economic plan, and let me be specific.
The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes ... raise
payroll taxes ... raise investment income taxes ... raise the death tax ... raise
business taxes ... and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of
billions of dollars. My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service
station that’s now opened for business - like millions of others who run small
businesses.
How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you’re trying to
keep your job at a plant in Michigan or Ohio ... or create jobs with clean coal from
Pennsylvania or West Virginia ... or keep a small farm in the family right here in
Minnesota.
How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the
American economy? Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election.
In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.
And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.
They’re the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on
buttons and banners, or on self-designed presidential seals.
Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speechmaking, in which crowds
are stirringly summoned to support great things.
And then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do
great things. They’re the ones who are good for more than talk ... the ones we have
always been able to count on to serve and defend America. Senator McCain’s record of
actual achievement and reform helps explain why so many special interests,
lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect
of a McCain presidency - from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.
Our nominee doesn’t run with the Washington herd.
He’s a man who’s there to serve his country, and not just his party.
A leader who’s not looking for a fight, but is not afraid of one either. Harry Reid,
the Majority Leader of the current do-nothing Senate, not long ago summed up his
feelings about our nominee.
He said, quote, “I can’t stand John McCain.” Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no
accolade we hear this week is better proof that we’ve chosen the right man. Clearly
what the Majority Leader was driving at is that he can’t stand up to John McCain.
That is only one more reason to take the maverick of the Senate and put him in the
White House. My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a
journey of “personal discovery.” This world of threats and dangers is not just a
community, and it doesn’t just need an organizer.
And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how
they are always, quote, “fighting for you,” let us face the matter squarely.
There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you ... in
places where winning means survival and defeat means death ... and that man is John
McCain. In our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity
than the nightmare world in which this man, and others equally brave, served and
suffered for their country.
It’s a long way from the fear and pain and squalor of a six-by-four cell in Hanoi to
the Oval Office.
But if Senator McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made.
It’s the journey of an upright and honorable man - the kind of fellow whose name you
will find on war memorials in small towns across this country, only he was among
those who came home.
To the most powerful office on earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from
having once been powerless ... the wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the
grace of God ... the special confidence of those who have seen evil, and seen how
evil is overcome. A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio,
recalls looking through a pin-hole in his cell door as Lieutenant Commander John
McCain was led down the hallway, by the guards, day after day.
As the story is told, “When McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he
would turn toward Moe’s door and flash a grin and thumbs up” - as if to say, “We’re
going to pull through this.” My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America
needs to see us through these next four years.
For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words.
For a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.
If character is the measure in this election ... and hope the theme ... and change
the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America
elect a great man as the next president of the United States.
Thank you all, and may God bless America.
Wow, she kept the lie about the Bridge to Nowhere.
Gutsy.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2151 hrs
Wow, that was a red meat speech. Very condescending towards Obama, and made it clear there is a very stark choice to be made.
I bet a lot of wives/mothers out there echoed mine: that baby ought to be in bed at this hour.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2217 hrs
Too bad Palin’s a liar.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2220 hrs
What, where you three just waiting for this post to go up?
The base is ignited boys…..the Palin surge began tonight. The only question is whether McCain drags down the ticket.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2229 hrs
She talks about John McCain standing up for people.
Little light on specifics. So what has he done?
By the way, no mention about health care.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2230 hrs
I kinda think that when Mommy is being nominated to be vice president of the United States, bedtimes go out the window. Besides, how do you know her baby usually sleeps at 10:00? Not all 4 month olds are on a normal sleeping schedule.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2232 hrs
Steve,
I know the base is excited, I can hear the banjos and rifles all the way up here in ‘Tosa.
I was trying to keep an open mind, but the elitist/competent government type in me felt it was too condescending and too white trash. Kind of Zell Miller but with a skirt.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2233 hrs
I’ve been “governed” my whole life by the “Harvard/Yale” crowd with one major exception. The guy from Eureka College…...
I liked being governed by the guy from Eureka. Palin has those same qualities.
BTW Wendy, Owen will chew you out for starting two threads on the same subject…
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2235 hrs
By the way, no mention about health care
Gimme Gimme Gimme… Typical lib. Always looking for the handouts.
If you want taxpayers to pay for your healthcare, you know who to vote for.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2237 hrs
Owen doesn’t chew me out, but thanks.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2251 hrs
Tell you what, Keith…
I don’t know where you live - not that it matters much - but I challenge you to go next door to your neighbor’s house (or apartment, or condo, or hut, or whatever) and ask him to pay for your healthcare starting tomorrow. I’ll even give you a chance on this, and tell him it will only cost him $200 a month, or $2400 a year starting next Monday - which by all accounts, would be a steal.
What do you think he will say?
But aside from your neighbor likely telling you to go pound sand, healthcare doesn’t poll really well - it’s generally not even a 15 percent issue with likely voters this year. But if you want your team to run on a 15 percent issue, go ahead. Hell, I hope you do.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2258 hrs
I know the base is excited, I can hear the banjos and rifles all the way up here in ‘Tosa.
I was trying to keep an open mind, but the elitist/competent government type in me felt it was too condescending and too white trash. Kind of Zell Miller but with a skirt.
(pinot grigio speaking) WOW. You’re a fucking tool.
So, Sarah Palin from pop. 5,000 Wasila, AK is “elitist.” But the $1.5 Rezko-home owning Barack Obama is in the clear?
You’re killing me. Seriously, you’re a riot. Stop it.
Posted by Fuzz on September 03, 2008 at 2301 hrs
I sorta skimmed the second sentence due to the tears in my eyes from your first sentence.
Yes, she’s from a small town. Small towns = white trash. Tosa is WAY more sophisticated. It’s like West Allis with classier road signs.
Posted by Fuzz on September 03, 2008 at 2304 hrs
If you can spell “pinot grigio,” you haven’t had all that much.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 03, 2008 at 2316 hrs
“West Allis with classier road signs.” Wow, that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all night.
Posted by Recess Supervisor on September 04, 2008 at 0101 hrs
I bet a lot of wives/mothers out there echoed mine: that baby ought to be in bed at this hour.
Not unless they know the different time zones - 10:00 Wisconsin time is 7:00 Alaska time. Or is it only “men” who know about time zones?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 0641 hrs
Health care is choking us. You down with that pilot but no wonder you are for a candidate who took abuse for five years since you seem to enjoy it yourself.
This was an amazing torrent of lies and hate. The media vetting will continue and this time they hopefully won’t back down after being used for the past eight years by John McCain. The payback is coming and it won’t be pretty (maybe to some).
Get your jollies now. On many levels the indie voters will be very afraid of this shrieking fraud and with good reason.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 0704 hrs
BTW—we are all bosses and this is a job interview. You have just been lied to—big time.
What kind of company are we working for?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 0724 hrs
I was trying to keep an open mind…
Now that’s funny!
Judging by the reaction of our regular lefty trolls, I’d say the speech did exactly what it was supposed to do.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 0733 hrs
Health care is choking us. You down with that pilot but no wonder you are for a candidate who took abuse for five years since you seem to enjoy it yourself.
Actually Keith, I thought about it…
She DID mention healthcare. Very specifically I think.
She talked about how Barack’s proposals include growing the federal government and raising taxes.
Government is too big ... he
wants to grow it.
Congress spends too much ... he promises more.
So yeah.. I think she addressed it very specifically.So many good points, but my favorite:
I might add that in small towns, we don’t quite know
what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are
listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns
when those people aren’t listening.
We tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another
way in San Francisco.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 0748 hrs
Has Keith asked anyone on here to pay for his healthcare yet?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 0918 hrs
Not unless they know the different time zones - 10:00 Wisconsin time is 7:00 Alaska time. Or is it only “men” who know about time zones?
Posted by mht on September 04, 2008 at 0641 hrsWow, was that some ownage I smell in the air?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 1021 hrs
but no wonder you are for a candidate who took abuse for five years since you seem to enjoy it yourself.
This right here shows how shallow, vindictive, hateful, and petty you are. Fuck you.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 1148 hrs
Health care is choking us. You down with that pilot but no wonder you are for a candidate who took abuse for five years since you seem to enjoy it yourself.
I missed that the first time around. Real classy Keith. Its nice to see how the sacrifice of a POW serves as a punchline for your off-base comments. You are a piece of work.
As if your tasteless comments weren’t aggregious enough in their own right… You might know that I voted for Ron Paul in the primary and will be voting for Bob Barr. So McCain isn’t “my candidate”... Though as an objective 3rd party (no pun intended) observer, I can see that McCain has character and conviction Obama can only write about.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 1230 hrs
Wow, Jason, you actually read his posts?
Good catch, and I concur with your reply.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 1344 hrs
Jason, you’ve got to take it easy on him - he has PMS (Palin Madness Syndrome). Or is it Palin Derangement Syndrome (PDS) or Palin Hysteria Syndrome (PHS)?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 1354 hrs
Re #5. That’s because government is not in (or shouldn’t be in) the health care business. That’s what doctors are for.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 04, 2008 at 1522 hrs
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