John Feehery: Speaking Engagements

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Good Night For McCain

Posted on September 3, 2008

 


 


            Watching Fred Thompson on the stage last night prompted many of my friends to comment:  Why didn’t he do this during the campaign?


 


            Thompson was simply awesome.  He slugged away at the opposition as he gave a stirring recital of McCain’s character and personal story. 


 


            Thompson was so effective that his speech overshadowed a very fine effort by Joe Lieberman.  Had Jack Kemp addressed the Democratic Convention in Denver with a message that Barack Obama was the right choice, the news media would have been so excited it very well may have died of a heart attack.  Instead, the spinners all turned their attention on the latest attack against Sarah Palin.


 


            Palin’s story is holding up fairly well under an intense attack from the left wing.


 


            Her personal story is, well, complicated.  She has five kids, one in Iraq, one with a child, one with Down’s syndrome.   The other two are 14 and 8. 


 


            By all accounts, she has done a remarkable job of balancing the family life with the professional life.  Achieving this kind of balance is the struggle of all working mothers (and fathers).  She should get some kind of credit for being a good mother and being the most popular governor in the nation.  But, alas, she doesn’t.


 


            Somebody once said that if you want to get somebody to get something done for you, find a busy woman.  Well, McCain wants to get elected President, and he might have found a busy woman to help him accomplish that goal.


 


            I didn’t really buy the idea of a built in media-bias against woman candidates when Hillary Clinton complained about it.  But looking at what the media is trying to do with Palin has given me new respect for what Hillary had to put up with. 


 


            For example, I kept hearing rumors from the press that Palin was going to join Laura Bush and Cindy McCain at some event.  Well, if Palin were running for First Lady, that would be appropriate, but she is not. She is running for Vice President.  I can’t see Dick Cheney doing an event with Laura and Cindy.


 


            But that is kind of bias that Palin is facing.  It is real, it is nasty, and it is really sad.


 


            All that being said, I am glad this convention is finally getting started.  We are back in the game.





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