"Just a Gov"

The Republican vice presidential candidate has been on the political stage for just over a week now. Since her introduction on August 29, Governor Sarah Palin united and re-energized the conservative base that McCain had trouble reaching. By doing so, she revealed the true nature of politics; namely the rhetorical addiction of the Liberal Left. From their presidential nominee to bloggers, the attacks on Gov. Palin are pitiable. Their biggest assault claims that she is “just a Governor”.

To combat the use of disrespectful rhetoric from the liberal left, Governor Palin has embraced her small town roots and state experience to prove that being just a governor is no small thing. She took the response from the Obama camp and gave them some of their own medicine. Instead of letting their rhetoric discourage her, she brought her experience as Mayor to the main stage on the night of her acceptance speech at the RNC. She compared her time as a mayor to the time Obama spent as a community organizer, citing the greatest difference being responsibilities. These responsibilities trained her to handle her position as Governor; which is no small task. Senator Obama may have political clout but as a senator with merely 144 days on the job and no legislation to his name; where is the experience that qualifies him for president? Funny, that it is his campaign that says Gov. Palin, a proven reform politician, does not have the experience to be vice president. As Hillary Clinton said; "There is one job we can't afford: on-the-job training for our next president." Unlike the presidential candidate, Governor Palin has executive experience and does not require training when it comes to decision-making; at least she knows “present” is not the answer to a yes or no question.

It has to be asked, is this rhetoric of “just a Governor” the best attack the democrats and liberal left have? We can look at history and see that some of the greatest presidents were governors. Ronald Reagan was just the governor of California, but he made tremendous leaps and bounds in uniting conflicting interests, a testament to the advantage his executive experience provided. Furthermore, Franklin D. Roosevelt was just the governor New York and he is arguably one of our greatest presidents. And we cannot forget that the Democrat’s darling, Bill Clinton, was just a mere governor before running for office. If being governor was good enough for the presidential nominee then; why is Governor Palin criticized when she is only running for vice president?

Furthermore, the liberal left is scared of what Palin will do for the GOP. She took Obama’s rhetoric of change and transformed the image of the Republican ticket. In their anger, the left is attempting to discredit the newest political star by depicting Gov. Palin as ‘just a governor” when she should be at home with her kids. Because many are sympathetic to the family story of the Palins; that angry left is painting Gov. Palin as a woman of backward priorities. This is a good ol’ trick right of the Democratic playbook that is quite reminiscent of the Clinton era rhetoric about family values. The critics say that while she may preach family values, she is choosing to run for VP instead of focusing on her baby with Down syndrome and her pregnant teenage daughter. Howard Gutman, an Obama fundraiser, said on the Laura Ingraham radio show, “This wasn’t a working mother issue, this was a parent issue,” he said. His statement makes Governor. Palin’s balance of priorities appear questionable, a sneaky method of creating doubt around a candidate’s decision-making abilities. Governor Palin is a mom with her own family, just like millions of Americans. We should admire her strength and ability to manage a family and a political career not criticize her for it. The left says she is a poor parent because of her decision to run for office, citing it as one more example of her inadequacy to hold the position of vice president. She is just a Governor after all and now a bad parent! Oh No!

This political rhetoric of “Just a Gov” will not work for Obama’s camp. Governor Palin has a greater record of experience as a governor than Obama has from being a senator. They are using this rhetoric out of fear, saying she is “just a Gov ”, because they know a vice presidential candidate with more experience than the presidential candidate will cause serious problems for their campaign in the coming months.