Sarah

How do know when you have connected with Americans? When they start calling you by your first name. While I drove home today I listened to the radio and I heard more than a few callers refer to the Republican Vice Presidential running mate as 'Sarah'. Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin seems to have that certain something that makes you take notice and pay attention. She is real. A real woman, a real mother, a real person and a real reformer. If you look at most politicians today and see car salesmen with a high priced educations in very nice suits, you probably look at Governor Palin and say, she is one of us, only she's crazy enough to get into politics.

I remember hearing her name mentioned a few weeks ago and I thought she would be a great pick, but I really figured McCain would choose Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. While Alaska and its 3 electoral votes factored little in choosing Palin, once you look at her accomplishments in the 49th state, one image starts to emerge.

Reformer.

Here is someone who has a solid reputation as an executive with little tolerance for BS and will stand up to special interests and the status quo, even in her own party. If you are like me, a republican who has lost faith in the GOPs ability to stop spending like democrats and cut the corrupt dead wood from inside the party, Palin seems like the perfect choice. She says no to 'feel good' legislation, pork barrel projects, and she is a true conservative.

I'm sure in the next few weeks the microscopes will be pointed at every vote, veto and personal decision Sarah Palin has made in the past few years, and guess what, we will find out that Governor Palin is human. She has obviously made a few decisions she wishes she could change, a few words she wishes she could have back, but that is where her ability to be a real person and connect will show. I am not sure what skeletons are rattling around in Palin's closet, but I'll bet she doesn't have an unrepentant terrorist as a friend and political backer.

As for those who think Senator Joe Biden will tear her to shreds in a debate, don't count those chickens too fast. Carter was going to clobber the paper thin intellect of Reagan, and Kerry was going to demolish the dim witted Bush. The great thing about Americans is their ability to see candidates for who they are. Every few decades they make a mistake, President Jimmy Carter comes to mind, but on average, they pick the right leader for the right time.

In the dangerous times we live in, who would you put your trust in, the number 1 and number 3 most liberal US Senators, or a politically moderate combat veteran and a tough, reform minded mother of 5?