Josh Ferguson
Just my thoughts but aren’t they the most important thoughts out there?

Joe Biden made a very surprising comment at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire today. He said:

Make no mistake about this, Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Let’s get that straight….

She’s a truly close personal friend and she is qualified to be President of the United States of America, she’s easily qualified to be Vice President of the United States of America and quite frankly it might have been a better pick than me….

She’s first rate. No, I mean that sincerely, she’s first rate. (Source)

I’m really not sure why he would make such a comment. If Biden feels that Hillary would have been the better choice, it begs the question of why didn’t Obama pick Hillary instead. Doesn’t this call into serious question Obama’s judgement which we’ve heard repeatedly is so much more important than experience?

Last night I watched the Republican National Convention mostly to hear Sarah Palin in her first speech as the Vice Presidential candidate. She was preceded by Mit Romney who did a forceful conservative speech, Mike Huckabee, and Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Giuliani’s speech was fantastic. He seemed very at ease and relaxed to be speaking to the thousands of people present. His speech mostly dealt with the differences between Obama and McCain. Here are some classic quotes:

Then he ran for the state legislature – where nearly 130 times he was unable to make a decision yes or no. – It was just too hard – He simply voted “present.”

As Mayor of New York City, I never got a chance to vote “present.” And you know, when you’re President of the United States, you can’t just vote “present.” You must make decisions.

A few years later, he ran for the U.S. Senate. He won and has spent most of his time as a “celebrity senator.” No leadership or major legislation to speak of. His rise is remarkable in its own right – it’s the kind of thing that could happen only in America. But he’s never run a city, never run a state, never run a business.

He’s never had to lead people in crisis.

This is not a personal attack….it’s a statement of fact – Barack Obama has never led anything.

Nothing. Nada

They would have you believe that this election is about ‘change versus more of the same.’ But that’s really a false choice. Because “change” is not a destination … just as “hope” is not a strategy.

Obama was going to take public financing for his campaign, until he didn’t.

Obama was against wiretapping before he voted for it.

When speaking to a pro-Israel group, Obama favored an undivided Jerusalem. Until the very next day when he changed his mind.

I hope for his sake, Joe Biden got that VP thing in writing.

When Russia rolled over Georgia, John McCain knew exactly how to respond.

Having been to that part of the world many times and having developed a clear worldview over many years, John knew where he stood. Within hours, he established a very strong, informed position that let the world know exactly how he’ll respond as President. At exactly the right time, John McCain said, “We’re all Georgians.”

Obama’s first instinct was to create a moral equivalency – that “both sides” should “show restraint.” The same moral equivalency that he has displayed in discussing the Palestinian Authority and the State of Israel.

Later, after discussing it with his 300 foreign policy advisors, he changed his position and suggested that the “the UN Security Council,” could find a solution. Apparently, none of his 300 advisors told him that Russia has a veto on any UN action. Finally Obama put out a statement that looked …well, it looked a lot like John McCain’s.

Here’s some free advice: Sen. Obama, next time just call John McCain.

Sarah Palin, who reportedly wrote her own speech, delivered her remarks expertly and endeared her to all the Republicans there indicated by how often they stood to give their ovations. It’s been reported that Palin wasn’t McCain’s first choice as VP but I think he’s glad he made the choice now. Here are some excerpts from her remarks.

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.

And children with special needs inspire a special love.

To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.

We tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

But here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion – I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.

Politics isn’t just a game of clashing parties and competing interests.

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.

And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources.

As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.

I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.

And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.

That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.

We’ve all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers.

And there is much to like and admire about our opponent.

But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform – not even in the state senate.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word “victory” except when he’s talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed … when the roar of the crowd fades away … when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot – what exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger … take more of your money … give you more orders from Washington … and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy … our opponent is against producing it.

Victory in Iraq is finally in sight … he wants to forfeit.

Terrorist states are seeking new-clear weapons without delay … he wants to meet them without preconditions.

Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America … he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights? Government is too big … he wants to grow it.

Congress spends too much … he promises more.

Taxes are too high … he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.

The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes … raise payroll taxes … raise investment income taxes … raise the death tax … raise business taxes … and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that’s now opened for business – like millions of others who run small businesses.

How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you’re trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or Ohio … or create jobs with clean coal from Pennsylvania or West Virginia … or keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.

How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy? Here’s how I look at the choice Americans face in this election.

What’s not to like about this lady?

Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, was announced as John McCains running mate. This was a huge surprise since most pundits thought it would probably be either Mitt Romney or Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

I believe that McCain is going for a grab of the disenchanted Hillary supporters in the Democratic party. I think McCain waited to view the discontent among Hillary supporters at the Democratic convention. During the Democratic convention, the media coverage stayed firmly on how upset Hillary supporters were. The very next day McCain makes his surprise announcement that he was going to have a woman as his running mate.

Not only is Palin a woman, but she’s a very conservative woman that espouses conservative values above her party. She’s known in Alaska as a reformer that will even take on her party’s leadership when there’s wrong-doing.

Another way this helps McCain is that she is the only person on either ticket that has executive experience. Everybody else has been in the legislature for their whole careers.

This pick helps McCain in every way that he’s weak. I think this was the single decision that will jettison him to the President’s office.

Here’s some information about Sarah Palin:

* She’s pro-life
* Lifetime member of the NRA
* Has fought against earmarks and pork spending
* Cut taxes as a mayor and governor
* “Maverick” in that she governs based on principles and not party
* Hunts and fishes
* First runner up in Miss Alaska pageant
* In 2007 had a 6.6 billion operational surplus in the budget