GOP Fired Up!

The race for the White House is on! I know, I know, it’s been going on for the last two years. But now, after the selection of Sarah Palin and a tremendously successful Convention—the GOP is in the game for real.

The nomination of Sarah Palin has completely changed the dynamics of this election. McCain’s selection of her at once energized the conservative base of the Republican Party. Then, at the GOP Convention the rest of the party and the rest of the nation got to meet her. It was love at first sight.

Somehow, somewhere in the waning days of summer, McCain finally got the message that to win the election he had to woo and win over the conservatives. And boy has he ever done it in the past few weeks.

The Republican Convention was the most watched convention on television ever, eclipsing the record set by the Democrats the week before. The Republicans averaged 34.5 million viewers compared to 30.2 million for the Democrats. Surprisingly, John McCain’s acceptance speech drew just as many viewers (42.4 million) as did Barack Obama’s.

Though McCain’s speech was too long (48 minutes) and at times downright boring, in the closing minutes he soared! He challenged us to not just find fault with our country but to make it a better one by working to correct the faults. He offered ways that we could help such as by enlisting in the armed forces, becoming a teacher, entering the ministry, running for public office, feeding a hungry child or defending the rights of the oppressed. He had it right when he said, “…nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.”

A New Attitude

I’ve noticed something very encouraging in the past few days - a new attitude developing in conservatives. It’s an “Enough…we’re not going to take it!” attitude. After experiencing the efforts of Democrats, liberal media and political attack dogs doing everything humanly possible to demean, belittle, and diminish Sarah Palin—conservatives are beginning to fight back.

One great example of this was when former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich got very forceful with MSNBC reporter Ron Allen during an interview in which he questioned the resume of Palin.

Gingrich said, "It's stronger than Barack Obama's. I don't know why you guys walk around saying this baloney. She has a stronger resume than Obama. She's been a real mayor, he hasn't. She has been a real governor, he hasn't. She's been in charge of the Alaskan National Guard, he hasn't. She was a whistleblower who defeated an incumbent mayor. He has never once shown that kind of courage. She's a whistleblower who turned in the chairman of her own party and got him fined $12,000. I've never seen Obama do one thing like that. She took on the incumbent governor of her own party and beat him, and then she beat a former Democratic governor in the general election. I don't know of a single thing Obama's done except talk and write." To see the interview, click here: http://newt.org/tabid/193/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3682/Default.aspx

What Republicans Have Succeeded in Doing

And finally, you have to believe the Democrats are reeling because of what the Republicans have succeeded in doing this week. McCain and Palin have brilliantly gained the high ground on: Reform (Obama calls it change), the women’s vote, the energy issue (drill here, drill now), defense (addressing the real threats that face America and talking about real solutions), family values, tolerance, racial and gender diversity, patriotism, honor and cultural values.

Not a bad week at all for the GOP.