On Palin...

I went in to this political season with a soft resolution to refrain from talking much about the presidential race on my blog. The longer I continue updating this site, the more embarrassed I get at things I said years ago and I didn't want to make any ridiculous uninformed statements that I would look back on years from now with regret. But the Sarah Palin event is too compelling for me to resist. So here goes, one of my first hesitant postings of the election.

I really like the lady. Has there been another political figure in recent memory that is more literally a "person of the people" than Sarah Palin? She is someone I can imagine running into at H-E-B and having a real conversation with about her kids, local news, or sports. I heard Joe Biden today say that in her entire speech she never said the words "middle class." I think this is humorous and proves out out of touch he actually is with the middle class. Her very story screams middle class. I think it is possible the Democrats could greatly underestimate the connection someone like Palin can make with certain blue collar voters that would never consider voting Republican.

What I really loved about her speech is that it took the gloves off of the McCain campaign where it came to questioning Obama. I think because of the obvious historic nature of his candidacy, no one really knew if they could treat him like a normal person who wants to be president. Palin's attacks on Obama actually marks, in my opinion, at least as great a stride in race relations as the possibility of him being president does. It means that we are finally not only not considering race as a barrier for upward mobility, but also that we are no longer afraid to criticize someone of color that we disagree with on principles. My gut feeling is that this is something Obama appreciates as well. The greatest attack line (which is really all the VP in an election is good for) was the making fun of "community organizers." This is honestly a job that I had never heard of until Obama's story became a part of our national consciousness. I thought I was the only one, but I guess I wasn't.

Okay, enough of the praise. There is a huge concern with Palin I have that could possibly make me rethink voting for McCain. I am actually shocked that the liberal media (and I'm increasingly believing the truth of that) has not jumped on. Did anyone else notice Palin's lapel pin? It was incredibly small, but it appeared to me to be the Israeli flag. Now, I have no problem with Israel and believe them to be a valuable ally of the United States in the Middle East. But I have run in evangelical circles enough recognize that her wearing that pin wasn't simply a mark of solidarity with one of our friends. If it were she would also be wearing flags of Britain, Australia, and of all the East European countries. But the Israeli flag pin alone reveals something disturbing to me-- it is an obvious wink to those who believe our alliance with Israel is a divinely ordained one, and one that allows us to see our military as an arm in the arsenal of God. These people, led by guys like John Hagee and Rod Parsley, are anticipating Armageddon and have no problem using our military (and our nuclear weapons) to speed up the process.

I hope I am overreaching in my assessment. It'll be interesting to see if the media makes anything of this. I think it is probably something that is on their radar, but fear of appearing anti-semitic is likely keeping them from bringing it up as an issue.

So, that's a lot of rambling. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm open to being reproved...
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Edit: After posting this I did a little further research on the lapel pin. There are some saying that it was a pin worn by family members of those in the military who are in harms way-- which makes sense because of her oldest son. I stand corrected-- but it still looks like the Israeli flag to me.