Gov. Sara Palin

It wasn't until the summer of 2007 that I actually started paying attention to Presidential elections. I had a persuasion class in which we were asked to start to analyze stump speeches and take a look at the messages that individuals were trying to convey. Since then I have started to listen more to what people are saying, what news organizations are saying, to what talk radio is saying, and to what candidates are saying. After all of this listening I decided that it was time for me to do something. I went and found the local Officer Selection Officer for the United States Marine Corps. I filled out my application and was later selected as a candidate eligible to go to Officer Candidate School and be evaluated for my leadership potential as a company grade officer. I continue to listen to messages of those presidential hopefuls with a new interest as the decisions of the new President will have a direct impact on my life, even to where I might live.
Last week was the first time that I watched the Republican National Convention to any extent. I was not able to watch Gov. Sarah Palin live on TV but I was able to watch her on CNN.com the following day. (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/03/sot.palin.entire.cnn ) I was throughly impressed by Palin's speech. She was strong, stable and spoke with conviction about a number of issues that are very complex. She spoke about new energy as though she had dealt with the issue before. She did it all with a sense, not of holier than thou but that she was your average citizen who lives a life that people can relate to. She believes in America and more importantly she recognizes that this is country is still an experiment in self-government; and that it can still fail. I've never been more impressed with a political figure than I was watching Gov. Palin deliver her speech.