Glenn Beck has very well written and thought provoking article today on the CNN site regarding the smear campaign that is going on against Sarah Palin. The main points that I would like to address are:
1. "Sarah Palin believes that God told her to go to war in Iraq."
Really? Hmm. I don't remember those being her words. Let me go back and check. No, she said that we should all pray that the war was in God's plan, "Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan.".
Now, being of what many consider a new age religion (we can save that debate for another time), I can't honestly say that I know a lot about God's plan is, but I can say it doesn't sound like she said that God sent us to war. She explained this, despite a misquote from Charles Gibson on her exact quote, as to being similar to Abraham Lincoln's speech where he says that we cannot know what the exact will of God is. Despite that others may state that religion plays no place in politics and we have a separation of church and state. First, tell that to Mitt Romney, then you might want to include that sentiment to almost every politician in our country including Barach Obama who prayed, ""Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."
2. "Sarah Palin has no experience."
Okay. Well, let's look at exactly what that experience is compared to the experience of the person that is actually running for the main office on the other party ticket, shall we?
First and foremost neither candidate would be running if they didn't feel they were qualified and experienced enough for the job, correct? So, keeping that in mind let's place their experience side by side.
When Barack announced he would run for the presidency he had served exactly 767 days as a state senator. During that time his own party during the primary campaign questioned the amount of time he actually spent performing his duties. Several senators let the nation know that he had voted present or was absent over 100 times. Present does not mean that he voted yes or no, it means that he voted a strong maybe. Maybe's won't be good enough in decision making in the White House.
Sarah Plain agreed to run as a vice presidential nominee after having served as Governor of Alaska for 634 days. How much more experience did Obama get in those extra 133 days? Evidently, in his opinion, enough to make him less than a heart beat away from making major decisions for an entire country. But with all due respect out of the two Palin is the only one that has executive experience. She has run a business, a small town, and a state. The state she has run has given her an insight into the energy crisis and what we need in that arena. She would be one heartbeat from the presidency, yes, but he would be zero heartbeats away.
3. "Palin was just a small time mayor. Obama has more employees working on his campaign then they have citizens in her whole home town."
First, that might or might not be true. I have no idea. But I do know this, employees go home at night. They get a paycheck for work they complete. People who live in a small home town are home all day and all night. Decisions made for them impact entire family units, schools, businesses, and government systems. If an employee of Barack Obama does not do their job they get fired and are off the team. If an employee of the city doesn't do his job the entire community may suffer.
Secondly, I think people may have forgotten that after that time as serving as mayor she also has served as governor. Whoops. Is managing a presidential campaign the same as managing an entire state? I think the duties here might be slightly different.
Finally, Barack has rightfully bragged about his money raising skills. I have to say this has been impressive. But even so, his $22 million dollar per month intake is not comparable to the more than $1.3 billion dollar monthly intake of the state of Alaska, which is run by Sarah Palin.
4. "Palin only supports abstinence taught in sex education classrooms."
Well, even if this were true, does it really matter if that is what she supports? I think somewhere along the line we forget that we have a powerful voice in this country - the vote. But in reality this is not what the lady believes anyway. Palin actually said, "I'm pro-contraception, and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues. So I am not anti-contraception. But, yeah, abstinence is another alternative that should be discussed with kids. I don't have a problem with that." This is hardly an earth shattering stance.
5. "Sarah Palin cut special needs funding in Alaska by 62%. She says she's an advocate for families with special needs?"
Whoever started this rumor really didn't do their homework. It didn't take long to find the true information here. By rerouting the monies in her state and designating educational programs, such as a military program for youth, Sarah Palin actually increased the monies given to special need children by over $40,000 per student. That is more than a lot of states can even fathom. The state of Alaska has a budget for special needs children of $73,840 per student, and Palin accomplished this in only three years.
Now, I realize that her good pal from Wasilla started spreading rumors about her. But in truth this woman's claims have been proven to be either stretched beyond the recognizable truth or out and out lies. Why? Who knows. Sometimes people say things to get their 15 minutes of fame. What motivates people to do smear campaigns?
So, before you go to the voting box, (I honestly don't expect people to change their minds) I hope you feel better informed. When you mark your box or pull your lever pull it as an informed voter and not one that is steered by misquotes, lies, and truth stretching. We are, after all, a nation of intelligent people.
