I Cheered, I Laughed, I Cried
September 5, 2008
by The Stiletto
|NOTE: The New Agenda is non-partisan, and does not endorse any candidate. The following is The Stiletto’s personal opinion.
Sen. John McCain gave perhaps the best speech of his life. He was expressive, relaxed and very engaging, with much of his remarks devoted to a promise of a bi-partisan administration, and taking the Repub party back from Congressional legislators who had become corrupt, power-mad spendthrifts (you know who you are).
I cheered when he stuck it to those who questioned how Sarah Palin could raise a family of five children, including a baby who has Down syndrome, by acknowledging his gratitude to “my wife, Cindy, and my seven children.”
I laughed when McCain subtly skewered his narcissistic opponent by stating, “I’m not running for president because I think I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need.”
I cried when McCain explained that when he became a POW in Vietnam he was selfish and cocky. After the Viet Cong tortured him until they broke him, he went back to his cell consumed with shame and one of his fellow POWs tapped out a message on the wall that “I had fought as hard as I could” and “to get back up and fight again for my country and for the men I had the honor to serve with, because every day they fought for me.” It was then, McCain said, “I fell in love with my country … I loved it for its decency, for its faith in the wisdom, justice, and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again; I wasn’t my own man anymore; I was my country’s.”
I felt this very same way! I was moved and inspired. John McCain is a man of honor – a true patriot and reformer.
I love Hillary. I believe that a McCain/Palin presidency will reach across party lines and work with Hillary and democrats who are truly interested in country first.
Shame on the DNC/RBC and so-called dem “leaders” who allowed and had their surrogates perpetuate the misogyny leveled against Hillary Clinton. They are now using the same disgusting smear tactics against Sarah Palin.
I am very grateful to have this forum to fight the good fight. Sexism against any woman – democrat, republican, and everywhere in between – is unacceptable.
Millions will remember in November. They underestimate us, don’t they?
THE DAILY BLADE: “Straight-Talking” Mac Is Back!…
No grandiose staging for John McCain’s speech accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for president. At his request, convention organizers had reconfigured the stage to build a sort-of fashion model’s catwalk that jutted into the audience so …
I would hope this site does not become a place to bash candidates because of their political positions or personalities. I think it is important that we focus on women and womens issues only. If this is a place where we truly hope to achieve some common ground between women of many political ideologies, then respect is a tool we should all reach for contantly.
As a very pro-woman woman and a lifelong Democrat, I supported Hillary in the primaries. I was shocked and confused as I watched the media and people I had always considered political allies working to undermine her campaign. Not only that, but when I visited political websites where I had always felt at home in the past, I was saddened to see how badly Hillary and her supporters were bashed, often being labeled as traitors or racists. It was as though I had stepped into an alternate universe.
When Obama finally secured the nomination, I was conflicted. Part of me felt like I should support him, but another part of me couldn’t stop thinking about the vitriol that was directed at me by his supporters. I am not a vindictive person, but I just didn’t feel like helping the Obama campaign. I had basically decided I was going to sit out this election.
Everything changed for me when John McCain named Sarah Palin to be his running mate. When the media and the leftwing blogosphere began to attack her, questioning her mothering skills and her experience (as though it was so inferior to Obama’s) I was so angry. First they worked to destroy Hillary and now they were doing it again to Sarah. Here are two women, different but both strong and accomplished, each in her own way.
If they both could be so easily dismissed, then what woman would ever be good enough.
When I saw the people at the Republican convention cheering for Sarah Palin, I was blown away. And even though I disagree with her on a number of things, I still felt a sense of pride that the achievement of another woman was being recognized.
I guess what I am getting at is… I have decided, for the first time in my life, to vote for a Republican. I want to support a woman. I want a woman to break the glass ceiling even if I don’t agree with her on every single issue. I am voting for Sarah. I am voting for myself. I am voting for my daughter. And in a strange sort of way, I feel like I am supporting Hillary by doing so. The sexist behavior of the Democrats can not be allowed to stand. I need to feel like I am getting the last word.
Alexandra: if the situation were reversed, I would do the same thing. This is bigger than any political party for me. Neither one of them had better count on using me as a pawn anymore.
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