Ever since the Obama campaign dismissed Sarah Palin as a “former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience” I have been chomping at the bit. Those comments were simultaneously elitist, condescending and contemptuous of small town Americans all over this country.
Add the pillorying of her pregnant teenage daughter by the mainstream media. One suspects if Bristol Palin had been from Gloucester, Massachusetts she would have been celebrated. But alas, no Juno in Juneau.
Suffice it to say, many believed Sarah Palin would wilt under the pressure and scrutiny. But anyone, man or woman, who can handle a hockey stick (not to mention a rifle) can take care of themselves just fine and she did exactly that at the Republican National Convention last night. It was perhaps fitting the self described “average hockey mom” spoke near center ice at the Xcel Energy Center, the home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
Sarah Palin might view herself as an average hockey mom but she threw more body checks during her speech than anyone since the Hanson Brothers in Slap Shot. Palin threw Obama against the boards when she said being a small town mayor was like being a community organizer only with actual responsibilities. She scored a power play goal when she scolded Obama for wanting al Qaeda terrorists to be read their rights. The hat trick was completed when she stated the White House was not intended to be a journey of personal discovery. Sarah Palin can more than ably “assist” John McCain. It is enough for Obama and Biden to scurry to the safety of the penalty box. She would make Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby proud.
(Yes, leave it to a Canadian to come up with all these hockey metaphors.)
There is no doubt that many on the Left will continue to underestimate Palin especially in her forthcoming debate with Joe Biden. Well, Biden might wish to consult with his former Senate colleague Frank Murkowski about taking her lightly. This is the Frank Murkowski who spent two decades in the U.S. Senate and a term as Governor of Alaska before Palin wiped him out in the GOP Primary. Obama and Biden might also wish to talk to former two term Alaska Governor and fellow Democrat Tony Knowles about doing battle with the former small town mayor. They will both tell you Sarah Palin is not just shooting at an empty net.
Aaron Goldstein was a card carrying member of the socialist New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP). Since 09/11, Aaron has reconsidered his ideological inclinations and has become a Republican. Aaron lives and works in Boston.
