The balloons have been punctured and the lights dimmed. Delegates have hurried off to various destinations in the nation. But the residual effect of this 2008 Republican convention in St. Paul Minnesota will be felt for generations. This convention was different; the change Obama talks about has been trumped by the change Sarah Palin embodies.
For at least a couple of generations the radical secularists have been gaining political ground in the United States. Their views are easy to categorize because they are the dominant opinions of media elitists: transnational progressivism, suspicion about the Judeo Christian tradition, multiculturalism, a loss of confidence in American exceptionalism and an acceptance of relativism.
Whether it is Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or almost any Democratic leader this radical secularist view has been their calling card. In 2006 Senator Obama gave a speech in which he cited “the myths in the Judeo Christian tradition.”
While Senator Obama discussed his “love affair with America” in his convention address, his memoir, Dreams of My Father, is devoid of any positive statement about American history.
In his Berlin speech Senator Obama said he is “a citizen of the world.” Yet his rights, privileges and comforts are not derived from the United Nations or the International Court of Justice; they are conferred by his U.S. citizenship.
Admittedly it is difficult to parse campaign political rhetoric from deeply held conviction and, despite my references, I do not have any intention of making partisan claims. What I am getting at is that this dominant secularist position has been challenged in an unprecedented manner consistent with traditional American virtues.
Sarah Palin is everything Obama and Hillary are not. She didn’t go to an Ivy League school; she is pro-life; she is pro Second Amendment; she is for drilling even in ANWR; she is suspicious of the Washington establishment and she is a devoted Christian. These are the views and conditions radical secularists most dislike (vide: Oprah Winfrey and Maureen Dowd) and these are the conditions and views shared by the bulk of silent Americans.
It is not an exaggeration to suggest that Sarah Palin is a synedochtal heat seeking missile sent by forgotten Americans, those Nixon called the “Silent Majority,” at the very heart of elitist opinion. She is American to the core – home-spun, simple, tough. One might even describe her as someone out of the Jacksonian tradition.
For some she will be easy to dislike, but so far, now that the dust has settled on the Republican Convention, she is the rising star in the party, and more significantly, the symbol of the forgotten American. Whether she will be an extraordinary vice president or have what it takes to be president remains to be seen. However, in the culture wars where traditionists have been on the defensive, she is a remarkable counter force – the voice of America that reasserts what makes this nation unique.
When delegates at the Republican convention shouted “USA,” what they meant was “unify standards of America.” Clearly Sarah Palin sings that hymn. Like Senator McCain she is fiercely independent and as she has now noted several times, doesn’t care what the political establishment thinks of her. She talks and acts like Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” and from what I can tell; has sent a shiver down the collective spine of the political elite. Whether she and McCain win in November is in some sense irrelevant; in the cultural battleground, tradition has reasserted itself, and from my perspective, it’s about time.
Herbert London is president of Hudson Institute and professor emeritus of New York University. He is the author of Decade of Denial (Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2001) and America's Secular Challenge (Encounter Books).
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written by Jay Golub , September 09, 2008
"Whether she will be an extraordinary vice president or have what it takes to be president remains to be seen. However, in the culture wars where traditionists have been on the defensive, she is a remarkable counter force – the voice of America that reasserts what makes this nation unique."
That is perfectly put, Herb, and something many, including me, didn't see as a benefit to this nomination.
She really does appeal to the blue-collar workers McCain seems to be trying to appeal to on a daily basis and through the "country first" convention held in St. Paul, but in a way that was not expected. Instead of pandering to thier issues, McCain has appealed to thier core principles - principles we already know Obama disregards - guns, God and country life.
This selection, and the response it has recieved from the main-stream media and the Dem's in general, tacitly pats all of those "regular" American folk on the back and lets the elitist, harvard grads in politics know thier days may be numbered....
written by Daniel Peterson , September 09, 2008
Kirsten Powers has been criticizing Democrats and Liberals on response and reaction to Sarah Palin.
Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if there were more Democrats like Powers and more Republicans like ... me..
who show respect to the opposing side? 
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