…the end of man is to know

In what is the most “No ‘Effing Way” of every “No ‘Effing Way” I have written, McCain has pulled a rabbit out of his hat. Everyone had Romney, Pawlenty, or Lieberman as the top 3 with Condi, Cantor, and Kay Bailey Hutchinson in the second tier. Instead, he completely hoodwinks the entire country and launches Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

I always thought she was a great pick, but her lack of media coverage and speculation made me think it wasn’t going to happen. Serious props to The Midnight Ride, who called Palin as a VP pick in late June. Also, Madison Classical Liberal talked about her in early July. Finally, Extremism in Defense of Liberty also called it in late June. I privately talked to Extremism, Midnight Ride, and The Silent Majority about it, but I didn’t have the onions. I was weak and didn’t want to the risk in formally endorsing her. I was wrong.

Palin is a TREMENDOUS pick for a ton of reasons, increasing in legitimacy:

1. She is a woman. There is no bigger middle finger to Obama’s “post-racial” campaign than putting a woman on the ticket. It’s hard to argue you have a monopoly on change when Palin is the first woman with a serious shot to be in the White House (no, Geraldine Ferraro does not count).

1A. Moreover, this could get the Hillary supporters. Clintonites have long argued that Obama and the media were sexist and unfairly cruel to Hillary. Now that Clinton is out of the race, female voters who want to fight sexism will be drawn to Palin. She has a son with Down’s Syndrome and is a former beauty queen. Palin is feminine and has definite appeal to disgruntled female voters looking for a role model.

1B. Palin is tough to beat in a debate. As someone who spent 5 years in speech and debate, I would dread going toe-to-toe with a female, especially an accomplished and intelligent one. It is hard to be a male and go offensive against a female. The fact of the matter is that anytime a guy gets aggressive, he runs the risk of being perceived as a know-it-all sexist pig. While Palin has to face the prospect of being seen as an icy bitch if she gets aggressive, this puts a huge burden on Biden in the VP debate.

1 C. Palin is EXTREMELY attractive. This is a stupid reason. Okay, it’s a really stupid reason. At the end of the day, thousands upon thousands of males will vote for “The Hot Chick”. I think it is exceedingly shallow to vote based on aesthetics, but if it means helping out the conservative movement, I won’t resist. Behold, the new White House Hottie:

2. Palin has real conservative credentials. Any Evangelicals who didn’t trust McCain, must vote GOP. Any small-government libertarians don’t have to waste a vote on Bob Barr. Palin took on the most corrupt state in the country, Alaska, at a time that what was really hard. Ted Stevens is terribly corrupt. The Murkowski family is a dynasty of corrupt, incompetent leaders. Palin has gotten rid of superfluous government expenditures and slashed the budget. She has sound energy policy and is the ultimate on how to reduce oil prices.

3. She balances out this ticket in a way that no other candidate could. Male-female. Old-young. Experienced-fresh. Senator-Governor. There is nothing “missing” from this ticket. There is no weak link that applies to both candidates. They have strengths which back up the other’s weaknesses. Even if Obama wants to hammer Palin on experience, it’s tough-sledding. Obama has 3.5 years of experience in the Senate and Palin as 1.5 years experience as Governor. That difference is relatively small. Also, Palin has been in the City Council from ‘92-’96 and served on Alaska’s Oil & Gas Commission, before resigning in protest of the lack of ethics. She is on the young side, but has achieved great things.

Perhaps Palin’s (and McCain’s) greatest achievement? Taking ALL of the wind out of Obama’s sails, bumping him from the top of the headlines and making this race even more competitive.

The big news this morning was that the United States will soon lose its white majority. The Census Bureau estimates that sometime in 2042 the combined black, Hispanic, Asian, and native American population will exceed the Caucasian population.

I won’t go the nativist route and suggest that all immigrants who don’t look like “us” are inherently evil. I don’t believe that darker skin or different ancestry is necessarily bad.

However, I’m not going to jump for joy. I don’t think this country needs a non-white majority to be successful. I just think it shouldn’t matter.

But it might. Minorities tend to be very liberal and vote heavily Democratic. This will create such an irreversible Democratic stronghold that it will force the Republican Party to the center to court voters. Out of necessity and availability, the Democratic Party will move its “mainstream” far too the left. So we’ll be back to a 50-50 political split, but the center is shifted left.

I see two issues: identity and ideology. First, my primary concern is that all Americans see themselves as American. Those who enter this country and gain citizenship cross over an important threshold. They swear allegiance to this country. They are entitled, and encouraged, as citizens to vote for and press for changes that they feel would improve America. However, it is critical that the US try to better itself, not Mexico, Canada, Russia, or even Liechtenstein. It’s a mentality and identity shift. I will put faith in the new citizens that they are up to the task.

The second issue is of political ideology. I understand why Hispanics, African-Americans, and Jews are overwhelmingly Democratic. The Democrats are extremely liberal on racial issues. It is the Democrats, NOT the Republicans, who play identity politics. Barack Obama’s website divides up people into classes, religions, races, and geographies. He then explains how he is the best for each of them. Democrats want Black Americans and Asian Americans. Republicans want American Blacks and American Asians. There is a difference.

However, some of the political allegiance is out of circumstance. African-Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately low-income. The Democrats’ economic policies provide instant tax relief and government funding for low-income individuals. It’s pointless to argue how tax hikes on business owners are antithetical to the economic welfare of ALL Americans. But if racial minorities can remove the shackles of a government which tells them they can’t do it on their own, they won’t need government. The minority who rises above his low-income background, racism, and a government which wants him to be dependent, can make his own political choices. He then can look at the issues more objectively…and hopefully choose Republicans.

The United States is a melting pot. We must accept and engage minorities. It is incumbent upon the white majority (”The Man“) to show minorities that we are not racist. We are not going to keep people out or stifle child births. We simply want to make sure they know our values and have their hearts and minds in the right place.

I find it terribly ironic and tragic that this, and many other, conservatives must take the message of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Colorblind Society and run with it. Because the only people who think this report is actual news are racists….the Democrats who rejoice and the Republicans who bemoan.

“The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for.”

These words were declared by French swimmer Alain Bernard, who predicted a victory in the 4 x 100 men’s freestyle relay.

This is what happened.

The United States pulled out a huge upset in the closing seconds with a remarkable finish by American anchor, Jason Lezak. As I sat in the living room with a bunch of friends, we all got sucked into the moment. When we realized America pulled the upset, we cheered. A group of 20somethings, who don’t watch or care about swimming, cared, if only for a moment. We heard Bernard’s words, knew about Phelps’ quest for 8 golds, and felt a surge of patriotism. This is the Olympics.

I’ll do my best to not plagiarize my prior post on sports nationalism. Instead, I simply want to fawn over President Bush. Say what you about his policies and politics. However, this man has been a great leader in the past few days. He has been in Beijing meeting with world leaders, chatting with Bob Costas, and watching Americans compete. I love that he is representing his country as Head Cheerleader. As he told Costas in a very fair and pointed interview, Bush has come as a sign of respect to the Chinese people. While I usually don’t buy political bs, Bush is right on point. I choose to believe that the Chinese people can appreciate that the leader of the free world has arrived to celebrate with them. China has poured billions of dollars into this event and Bush is legitimizing it.

This is international relations. At a time when the United States is still involved in an, albeit improving, Iraq. At a time when the economy is struggling and the presidential race is heating up. At a time when President Bush has some of the lowest approval ratings in recorded history. Bush is using the wonder and joy of the Olympics to promote goodwill. What better setting than the Olympics to promote human rights issues? What better site than Beijing to extol the virtues of free-market economics?

When Joseph Nye first coined the term of soft power. It was a bit unclear what he actually meant. It is hard to get countries to want what you want. It is even harder to expect countries to share your values. But this is EXACTLY how to do it. Show respect for countries, their norms (provided they aren’t too offensive), and do it in the most positive way possible. I can’t help but gush at how positive it is that Hu Jintao invited the entire Bush clan (no pun intended) for lunch. Surely these sort of positive, optimistic approaches are foreign to both followers of the Cold War and of the Bush administration.