Jackson Jambalaya

Hattiesburg blogger, Becca Neal, writes for Jackson Jambalaya the following essay on why she support Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Ms. Neal is not a journalist or pundit. She is not part of the chattering class. She is simply a 25-year old regular working wife in Hattiesburg who tries to keep up with what is going on in the world. Her blog, The Perception of Life, can be found at http://www.beccanealtharp.blogspot.com/. Its so easy for those of us who are political junkies that we forget what "ordinary" people might think or how they see things. Enjoy.

I absolutely love Gov. Sarah Palin's nomination for Republican Vice President. She is intelligent, straightforward, confident, motivating, and ethical. I doubt we will see her dancing around any questions as the Democrats this year. Her powerful speeches are logical and contain no glamorous words; just facts and solutions. I was already a supporter of John McCain before he announced his running-mate. Sarah Palin has just reinforced my decision.

As an animal-welfare activist, however, I do not like Palin’s fight to keep polar bears off of the Endangered Species Act Protected List. Does her reason for keeping the polar bear unprotected by the Endangered Species Act have more to do with her concern for harm by "protecting" a “healthy species like the polar bear” or her concern that protecting polar bears may disrupt drilling in ANWR? I also disagree with her support for the aerial hunting of wolves. Even if Alaska needs predator control, I think that aerial hunting is very unsporting. I am also worried about the effects drilling in ANWR may have on wildlife, although I do think all attempts will be made to limit its impact. However, I think that these concerns are secondary to the priority concern of what she can do for Americans.

As a Christian, I appreciate Sarah Palin’s Christian values. I love her support for teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools. Her reasoning that this opens the floor for healthy debate in the classroom is logical and a big step in the right direction. I also love the fact she is pro-life and agree with her statements that the only acceptable reason for a woman to have an abortion is if her life would be in danger if the pregnancy continued.

Palin is a huge advocate for becoming more energy-independent as a country by tapping our own supplies of fossil fuels while furthering research and development for other forms of energy. I think this will have a tremendously positive impact on our economy,which is our Presidential Team’s second-largest responsibility (the first being homeland security). She wants to take this country in the right direction and has already influenced John McCain position's on drilling for oil.

The Democrat’s attempts to drag Sarah Palin’s name through the mud are laughable at best. Obviously calling her too inexperienced is a dumb move on their part… they should avoid even bringing up the word “inexperienced”. I think the ramblings and accusations about her family life are ridiculous and irrelevant to this election. I think she scares Democrats because McCain/Palin truly is the Republican “dream ticket”.

Palin was a smart pick for the Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee not only because of her positions and ethics, but also because she could help McCain win the election for a superficial, yet existing, reason... Now no matter which political party wins the election, the “glass ceiling” of a white male belonging in the White House will be shattered. This takes the edge of making political history away from Obama.