I'M A BELIEVER!

Sarah Palin delivered last night! She singlehandedly erased ANY qualms I had about voting for McCain this November. In fact, I'm pretty fired up now about the possibilities that await us should we get this dynamic team of reformers elected. The Maverick and the Barracuda could really shake things up in Washington and bring the kind of changes this country really needs.

The RNC rocked last night with just the right mix of humor, heroism, hope and straight talk. My man Huckabee offered support for his "second choice" for President (his first preference, of course, being himself) and it was great to hear him wax eloquent again. Rudy Guiliani's speech was pure ear candy injected with the good medicine of laughter...the former Mayor of NYC - a hero in his own right - did a great job comparing Obama's inexperience and weaknesses with the accomplishments and strengths of McCain and Palin. The evening ended with the much-anticipated and history-making "debut" of the woman everyone has been talking about...the one that the liberal left-wing media has been having a hey-dey with. The Governor of Alaska took the stage with ease and confidence and proceeded to "wow" us all with her effective and personable delivery of a well-penned headlining speech. It was not ALL straight from the teleprompter however; Sarah interjected a little spontaneous humor for the benefit of the hockey moms in attendance by pointing out that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is the lipstick! (Palin T-Shirts sporting this one-liner are already for sale on the internet!) Sarah Palin's speech was revealing...one who listened was left with a good sense of where she comes from, who she is, what she believes, who she believes in and what she will do for our country if given the opportunity.

John McCain's choice for Vice President - Sarah Palin - might very well have been a stroke of genius. For certain, it has energized the Republican party - something I feel was needed desperately. Quite possibly his decision is causing women, in particular, on all sides of the political spectrum to take a second look. Since McCain and Palin's message is that of "country first" I am hopeful that ALL Americans are taking the time to look and listen - to soul search and pray. November is just around the corner and our very future is on the line. What we do in the voting booths will reveal whether or not McCain's pick for a running mate will bring about a checkmate...for our sake and the sake of our children, let's hope it's so!

The Cost of a Vote

If this doesn't blow your socks off, you must be barefoot...a fellow blogger posted the following statistics on Mike Huckabee's website - they are very telling, I think.


Mitt Romney:

Money Spent $87,644,955.00
Total Votes 4,077,460
Cost Per Vote $21.49

John McCain:

Money Spent $39,145,649.00
Total Votes 4,797,839
Cost Per Vote $8.16

Ron Paul:

Money Spent $20,380,121.00
Total Votes 564,194
Cost Per Vote $36.12

AND LAST AND LEAST:

Mike Huckabee:

Money Spent $7,107,364.00
Total Votes 2,383,877
Cost Per Vote $2.98

Statistics from CNN's Election tracker.

NOW...

WOW! Not only does this illustrate that it is NOT all about the pocketbook and that the widow's mite goes a very long way...but it also certainly should give you a foreshadowing of how Mike Huckabee would run our government - he truly IS a fiscal conservative. And look at those dollars spent by Mitt Romney - no wonder we haven't heard much from him today. Where did those spent fortunes get him? The arrogance of his recent remarks suggesting that Huckabee should drop out of the race was magnified tenfold last night, in my opinion...for it was a BIG night for Mike and a BIG disappointment for Mitt. Guess he's behind closed doors today - perusing the checkbook registers and consulting with his wife as to how much more of their children's inheritance they should lay on the line. Another point to consider - of the mega-millions that the other candidates have invested in their campaigns - how many of these dollars represent "favors" that will need to be returned. Let's face this harsh reality - most people who give expect something in return. It's like my husband said, "The more you pay a ballplayer, the more touchdowns you expect." But, in Mike Huckabee's case, I honestly think his supporters donate with the bigger picture and higher ideals in mind. It is an outward expression of our sincere desire, hopes and prayers to see a truly worthy and wonderful man leading this country.

As for me and my house - we respect the fact that Governor Huckabee has not only run a race with integrity, but also with frugality. He has come SO FAR with SO LITTLE MONEY - compared to the others anyway. What he is NOT short on, though, is the respect, admiration and dedication of millions of Americans whose voices were heard last night - voices proclaiming that they want this breath of fresh air to BLOW AWAY the other candidates and clear a path straight to the White House.

Bandit the Huckadog on Super Tuesday!

Bandit, my rat terrier, did his part in helping secure a victory for Mike Huckabee in Georgia on Super Tuesday! He amazingly stood in a perfect, rigid stance...with his "bumper sticker side" facing the busy street...for over two hours as his "mom" proudly waved her Huckabee for President sign to the passers by and those who were on their way in to the Gainseville Civic Center to vote. I am quite certain my campaigning canine caught at least a few votes! One woman pulled up, took one look at Bandit, and said simply, "O.K., I will..."

It was a fun Super Tuesday - and an even better evening as we watched the coverage of the primaries...Bandit laid out next to me in the bed, no doubt exhausted from his day of endorsement...seeing results that certainly dispelled the media's purported notion that this was a "two-man race" going in. Mike Huckabee enjoyed the first victory of the evening with a resounding win in West Virginia...later, we learned that the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Georgia gave Huckabee the nod. The nail biter state was Missouri - and I finally succumbed to sleep with the anticipation of an early morning affirmation of my candidate's viability. Unfortunately, McCain barely edged out Huckabee in this bellwether, winner-take-all state...so this Wednesday is filled with a little bit of woe, I'm afraid.

Where do we go from here? Governor Huckabee has assured his supporters and notified the press that he will stay in the fight - go to the ring at the sound of each bell - until that "magic number" of delegates needed to secure the nomination is reached by someone. It's somewhat obvious that McCain, mathematically speaking, has the best chance of doing that, but miracles CAN and DO happen...at any given moment McCain or Romney could commit a grand faux pas that fatally ushers them out of the race...one never knows the future for sure. So, that being said, I'm glad that Huckabee is willing to go the distance with the conviction that "it's not over 'til it's over".

This morning I can't help but hear, in my head, the lyrical words of John Lennon: "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..." For many Americans whose Huckabee-loving voices were heard at the polls yesterday - we still believe...we still pray...we still know that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

Halloween...Humbug!

Halloween in the sixties was actually fun...but then I was a kid. Can anyone else remember when mothers actually MADE their children's costumes, when trick-or-treaters didn't have to be reminded to SAY "trick-or-treat" as they held out their cute plastic pumpkins, trick-or-treating for UNICEF, or when hospital emergency rooms didn't have to volunteer their x-ray equipment to look for RAZOR BLADES? Nowadays we're lucky if 50% of the kids who come to the door even bother to dress up - and they don't come with the cute plastic pumpkins to collect their candy - oh no, they come with huge pillowcases. Call me crazy, but I make them say "trick or treat" if they want a hand-out from me...just standing there like I owe you something doesn't cut it. It just doesn't feel fun anymore...at least not in my neighborhood. People come to our neighborhood from all over the county for candy donations. Last year I even had a couple of adults - not dressed up mind you - with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths as they muttered "trick or treat" (I guess I give them credit for saying the magic words though). I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling them to grow up. I mean, can one really need a Snickers bar that badly that they would humiliate themselves so? I WAS happy, however, to see a few kids collecting change for UNICEF - at least that tradition is still alive - but my bubble was burst when one of my neighbors (who was obviously too young to remember trick-or-treating for UNICEF in its hey-day) said - in disgust - "Can you believe some kids were trying to get money?" I give up...

This Halloween I'll try to be a good sport once again...I've bought about $30 worth of good candy and will dole it out until it runs out. Then, I'll turn the outside lights off and let the dogs out of the closet (where they will no doubt have to stay in order to avoid going nuts from the doorbell ringing) and I'll crawl into bed to watch Mike Huckabee on the Bill O'Reilly and Hannity and Colmes shows! Huckabee on Halloween - now THAT'S A TREAT!

My Spin On It...

Yesterday's debate in Orlando and its subsequent coverage on FOX left me more than a little frustrated at times. My beef is certainly not with Mike Huckabee who, once again, outshined them all as far as I was concerned. The source of my irritaion is the media as a whole - the way that they control who gets the air time - and the way they can spin stories in a way that just doesn't seem fair and balanced to me at all.

Mike Huckabee was given less than half the time opportunity that Giuliani and Romney were given to speak last night. As far as I was concerned though, Giuliani, Romney and Thompson wasted most of their precious time sparring and stabbing at eachother. As if that wasn't bad enough to endure, we also had to listen to Fred Thompson tell a Ted Kennedy fat joke and Rudy attempt to tell a cell phone joke. Finally though, Mike got HIS time - set the record straight that he was not interested in participating in a "demolition derby" - and proceeded to deliver his usual intelligent, well-spoken, and sincere ideas for leading this nation forward. FOX News had a focus group on hand to offer their observations during and after the debate...several of the people commented that, as a result of the debate, their support had shifted from other candidates to Huckabee. They also made a couple of comments noting the disparity in the amount of time given to Huckabee to speak - one gentlemen even exclaiming "they NEED to let this man SPEAK!"

This country not only NEEDS to HEAR THIS MAN SPEAK...this country NEEDS to HAVE THIS MAN LEAD!

Lastly, my other source of frustration has been how the results of the Value Voters' Straw Poll have been presented in the mainstream media. Headlines and statements by Mitt Romney himself that Value Voters have decided he is "their man". Well, that's just a little misleading. First of all, the results that they are referring to are of the online votes that took place through the Family Research Council's website (one only had to donate $1 to be eligible to vote and I think the voting started months ago). Even so, Mitt Romney only had 30 more votes - yes THIRTY - than Mike. Hardly a landslide victory and, in my opinion, anything that takes place over the internet is suspect anyway. What REALLY MATTERED - and WHAT WASN'T BEING TALKED ABOUT - was that out of the actual 952 attendees at the Value Voters Summit who voted IN PERSON AFTER HEARING ALL OF THE CANDIDATES SPEECHES - a whopping 51% voted for Huckabee - and a mere 10% voted for Romney! Now THAT'S the REST OF THE STORY!

Mitt Romney - A Real Doll?

No offense really, but this is my impression of Mitt Romney, who I desperately do NOT want as my next President. I feel that he is a flip-flopping, spinning, scripted, slick, walking, talking Ken doll.

MY vote will go to someone REAL...someone who follows his convictions...someone who speaks from the heart with sincerity, humility and grace...the ONLY man who my head, heart and gut tell me is worthy of leading our nation forward...MIKE HUCKABEE.

Every time I have the privilege of hearing this man speak I grow more convinced that HE IS THE ONE! I encourage everyone to check out clips of Huckabee on You Tube...just look and listen...I'm confident that you'll agree that he is the best man standing in this critical race.

Hmmm...Huckabee!

Governor Huckabee had me with "hello" last night! He said just what I needed to hear to spark the flame of interest in this next Presidential election. Check out this video of the exhange between him and Ron Paul and perhaps you will understand why I've decided "I LIKE MIKE"...