Recently, we had the honor of seeing real class among women in management positions. Dana Loeschfor example, who had the courage to sit in an arena full of furious students and teachers who answered vexing questions with competence, compassion and class. Sarah Huckabee Sanderswho showed class at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, during which she was ridiculed with vicious insults from a self-proclaimed “nasty woman” posing as a comedian. And most recently, Sarah Palin, who once again became the object of ridicule after John McCain announced that he regretted choosing Sarah as his running mate. (As they say, with friends like these.) But quintessentially Sarah Palin stylewith the highest class and dignity she didn’t want to discredit a man she considered her friend.
In the era “nasty women” it’s really nice and quite refreshing to see women showing off the best of us for a change. I wouldn’t discredit Senator McCain any more than Sarah if it weren’t for me DownI think it’s time to set the record straight about Sarah Palin, John McCain and the 2008 election.
I was one of many moms who volunteered for the McCain/Palin campaign. I served as the Operations Manager at the Victory Center in Dayton, Ohio – a very different center from a regular center. It was run almost entirely by homeschooling moms. The back room was reserved for our children to do schoolwork between walk lists and phone bank shifts. The hall looked like the front room of a cozy cottage, with a rocking chair, a sofa, and various Americana items scattered throughout the room. A wide selection of snacks were available for purchase in the lobby opposite the phone bank, and mums from the local community brought pots of food to feed the volunteers who lived there. The uniqueness of the Victory Center was not only in the staff and decor, but Whythey were there.
As I wrote in 2008I’ve never been a McCain fan. Honestly, I couldn’t believe he was ultimately nominated. I deeply respect and honor him for his service and sacrifice to our country, but I am incredibly disappointed in his performance in the Senate. He has repeatedly demonstrated extreme lack of judgment, impoverished leadership, and terrible, and sometimes downright disastrous, voices. Honestly, I decided to be one of those dissatisfied voters who stayed home during the election. Enter – Sarah Palin.
Before Sarah Palin took the stage, the Republican vote was literally flat, which was a huge disadvantage for any candidate. Elections are not won by parties, despite popular opinion among party leadership. They are won by countless dedicated grassroots volunteers, hard-working Americans who believe in something bigger than themselves and are willing to fight for it. But 2008 left us with a grim choice: go to the polls and hold our noses – once again – or just stay at home.
Up until the moment Sarah Palin took the stage in Dayton, Ohio, I would have told you – as I told the McCain campaign repeatedly – that I didn’t think there was anything in the world they could do to force me to vote for this man, let alone working for him day and night. But there was also Sarah, who injected a dose of energy into this campaign comparable to a Hail Mary at a Huskers game. She walked onto the stage and straight into our hearts.
Homemade pink glitter hats and signs with slogans like “Palin Power,” “Mama Bears Unite” and “Read My Lipstick” began popping up across the country.
Not only did I join the campaign, but I literally lived at the Victory Center for over a month, manning the phone bank, organizing walk lists, and personally walking neighborhoods, knocking on thousands of doors with my children. Our kids did math in the morning and civics all day long. It was amazing. Moms from all over the country came to us, knowing the importance of the battleground state of Ohio.
I remember the day when phone bank volunteers approached me with a dilemma. We kept meeting people who said they were voting Republican in the election, but when asked if they were voting for John McCain, they answered “no.” I thought about it for a few minutes, then it hit me. “We need to change the question,” I said. “Ask them if they vote for McCain/Palin.” Suddenly all the answers were yes. Some callers flatly said, “No, ma’am, I voted for Sarah!”
I must admit that I have gained a modern respect for John McCain during this election. Choosing Sarah was an incredibly brilliant move on his part. In just 10 minutes, I stopped being adamantly opposed to McCain and was willing to work at night for him – just so we could get her. McCain finally used his Maverick status for something other than “crossing the aisle” and it was amazing! Suddenly there was something worth fighting for Downand more against. Because McCain chose Sarah, we began to believe in her his.
I have worked on many campaigns, but what I saw at the Victory Center was something I had never seen in any other campaign. Every day there was a diminutive miracle that inspired me – mothers who came to the center with their breastfed babies, a woman who came every day for 6-8 hours calling for volunteers to fill the phone bank, a youthful mother seven months pregnant who came every morning with my three youthful children for walks around the neighborhood and phone calls. Her little family almost single-handedly explored every neighborhood in Huber Heights, Ohio.
I doubt Sarah Palin will ever truly know how much good she has done for this country simply by having the courage to join the fight. Despite the result, what she did for this nation in such a miniature time, when she was willing to promote herself and her family into the national spotlight, was phenomenal.
It may be true that John McCain regretted choosing Sarah, but the fact is that Sarah Palin was the energy that brought this campaign to life. Damn, she wascampaign. Selecting Sarah Palin was the wisest decision McCain made. It was the one thing that united the nation behind him and something he could truly be proud of. Regardless of his impoverished performance in the Senate or his disparaging remarks about the election, we can always be grateful for what we will remember most about him – he gave us Sarah!
