Palin May Prove a Good Pick

Conventional wisdom received a hearty hip-check last week from a young governor and hockey mom of five who comes not from a swing state, but one that is rural and remote.

Governors, with their executive experience and budget background, have long-been desirable candidates for VP. Let’s consider a few of the additional qualities this young mother will bring to the job.

Work Ethic: Five children, including an infant. Demanding executive job. Political career. This woman has a master’s degree in multi tasking and must not need sleep. She already works around the clock, so Washington’s time demands will be nothing new.

Negotiating skills: Law school breeds good arguers and debaters – people who know how to work the system because they designed it. People who don’t like to lose.

On the other hand, compromising and negotiating are survival skill for moms. Convincing a young child to be quiet in church or a teenager to be respectful – this is an art. So is knowing when not to negotiate. Never negotiate with a terrorist, especially one disguised as a two-year-old throwing a tantrum.

Patience and Persistence: Bad behavior, at home or in government, isn’t going to change overnight. Small, consistent steps forward can produce dramatic long-term results. Eliminating earmarks might not be possible in one year, but they can be gradually phased out. Good things take time.

Moderation: Too much TV, Intranet, video games and junk food can corrupt the mind. The same is true in Washington. Too many parties, perks, special interests, money and prestige can corrupt the leader. We need leaders who are willing to take on the power establishment in Washington like Palin did with Big Oil in Alaska.

I was among the throngs of people who initially dismissed Sarah Palin as too inexperienced. Now I’m among those who are cheering her entrance into this race.

Washington has armies of people who hold the law degrees, the MBAs, the decades of business and political experience that supposedly provides the proper background for a leadership. Yet our government today is a mess.

Maybe it’s time to consider a candidate like Palin who has a different set of credentials. Someone who is serving in one of our nation’s highest executive offices with the overwhelming approval of the people who elected her, and still embraces her experiences as a mother, a PTO member and mayor of a small town.

The unapologetic way in which Sarah Palin combines active motherhood and a successful political career is an entirely new model for women, made possible through a strong partnership with her husband Todd. Feminists are deriding her pro-life example – this is not who they want shattering the glass ceiling. Yet Palin offers a compelling new vision for embracing family and work.

Many Americans applauded her persona and speech at the Republican convention because she gave voice to a basic conservative philosophy that has been lost in recent years. Lost in the spending, scandals and gridlock of Washington. Lost in the marketing of Karl Rove’s “compassionate conservatism” that turned out to be big government with a feel-good name.

People are excited about Sarah Palin because she represents the kind of feisty, sensible, relatable candidate we want but were beginning to believe could not exist in today’s political culture.

She’ll need every bit of pitbull (and plenty of lipstick) to survive.