Palin misses her chance

Welcome to Spin Alley. That’s what CBS aired directly following the vice presidential debate Thursday. First question from Katie Couric to Joe Lieberman: what did Joe Biden do well? Answer: I’m not here to tear down Sen. Biden, etc. He spoke glowingly of Sarah Palin, but refused to speak negatively of Joe Biden. Lieberman’s counterpart’s answer directly went at the head of Palin and then proclaimed Biden the unadulterated winner.

I use this as a precursor. It’s despicable how the left treats the right, but not vice versa. It’s a factor in why I’m voting McCain-Palin. With that in mind, Gov. Sarah Palin lost the one and only
VP debate this election season. Any conservative that says otherwise is spin-doctoring. That’s not a bad thing. Her ticket I believe will serve this country more effectively than the Obama-Biden one, so it’s justified to defend Palin. But in keeping with the facts, she lost last night.

Biden clearly demonstrated his longer tenure in politic, had answers for foreign policy questions, play the crowd beautifully with smooth speech and an award-winning grin. Palin, in contrast seemed caught in the headlights somewhat at times, reaching to find the point she wanted to make. She had the ability to seem unprepared, which I did not expect. To her great credit, however, Palin did not stumble or back down. She did no damage to McCain, but I did not walk away thinking she had what it takes to “shake up Washington.”

I loved her start, taking the bull by the horns by saying to Biden as they met, “It’s nice to meet you. Can I call you Joe?” Loved it! Direct slap at Obama’s calling of Sen. McCain as John on Monday night. The problem was that she didn’t follow up by actually calling him Joe. Every once in a while she did, but she said it timidly. It was mainly “Sen. Biden,” “the senator,” “him,” “you.” Biden never called Gov. Palin “Sarah.”

She tried to corner the “down-to-earth” corner to death. But she didn’t need to. Palin already had that one won the first week of her nomination. Every other line referenced her children, her husband “Todd and I,” hockey moms, the working class. While Biden tried to horn in with his Scranton and small-town Delaware references, I doubt that many people bought it. She was right. She’s the definition of Middle America, but she beat a dead horse too often, and it got tiresome. I wonder how often she did that in order to avoid the issue questions, because the only issue she seemed to know is the energy crisis.

“No, I don’t agree. But since that’s such a short answer, I’m going to use my remaining time to talk about something I want to talk about. And that’s energy. You know in Alaska…” Ugh! My head! Stop, lady, stop! Every time she spoke of energy she put another hole in her foot. She clearly did not answer the question, and in fact blatantly admitted to bringing up energy on her own. She glossed over foreign affairs (not that Biden said much of anything substantial, but he did sound damn good with his time on it). There were clear lines drawn on fundamental policy, but it was nothing to shake a stick at. Obama and McCain have already done that and will continue to do that in the next two debates.

But some things weren’t so clear. One example that stuck out to me was definition of marriage. Based on what each candidate said on the matter, they agreed. Biden spoke first and said he was not in favor of changing the definition, but he did favor granting homosexual couples the same basic rights as heterosexual ones. Asked if she agreed, Palin could not bring herself to say as much. But her answer did not distinguish her belief as any different that Biden’s. Oops! But not so fast – the truth is that they have the same belief but different views. She just couldn’t think on her feet fast enough to challenge the senator.

Here’s what she should have said: We share the same beliefs but have opposite views in our actions. For example (something she specifically failed to provide throughout the debate and something Biden hit home time and again), regarding abortion I’m pro-life. You’re pro-choice. We both believe in the sanctity of life and would not choose abortion. However, I’m for enacting that into law because I believe that abortion is murder. I walk the talk. You simply talk the talk because you tolerate murder by giving women the right to choose it. Likewise, I say make the definition of marriage as between man and woman law. However, because you and Obama stand idly by while states like California and Massachusetts legalize gay marriage, your view is to allow that to happen. Therefore, the results of your actions contradict your views. I, on the other hand, keep my views, actions, and beliefs all in the same line.

But she didn’t. Palin failed to show how her stances, views, beliefs, policies were better than Biden’s. And the door was open for her to. But this is why I’m still voting Republican, because her and McCain’s views are superior to Biden’s and Obama’s even if she didn’t articulate them last night.

The Rise of the Age of Ethanol

Imagine a world where gas costs half of today's outrageous prices. Imagine a world where landfills are shrinking rather than growing. Imagine a world 15 months from now where ethanol is the primary fuel source, not oil.

It's not as far-fetched as it might sound. I recently met Mike, a man who stands at the forefront of these amazing feats. He owns part of a company based out of Dallas that is in the midst of project to turn biodegradable trash into ethanol. Stop and think about this for a minute. Recycling increases, thus reducing space taken up and pollution created by landfills. The price of oil comes down due to a lower demand. Ethanol becomes the primary source of vehicle fuel. Less need to control oil leads to cheaper gasoline prices. Perhaps a bit far-reaching, but in theory this would reduce American military in the Middle East as well. On top of it, this is a permanent solution to disappearing fossil fuels.

The last year I went to look at new cars. I looked at a 2007 Dodge Ram. It had the capabilities to use both regular gasoline and 90-some odd-percent ethanol fuel. The salesman explained to me that this is the direction new vehicles are headed. (A side note: all military equipment still runs on diesel.) The market is there for ethanol. People want to go green. The environment needs it. Most importantly, the economy needs it.

The physical project Mike helps run will take place in Houston, where the land is available. Unfortunately, the company needs political blessing to make this happen. It has nothing to do with waste or pollution. It hinges on dealing with the contract of the trucking company that services Houston. Mass amounts of money are tied up in hauling trash to landfills. Mike's company will take a large portion of the trucking company's profits away.

It will take at least three months to get the clearance to begin work at the Houston site from offices of the city of Houston, Mike says. Then, they can be operational within 12 months. Here's hoping they can get clearance sooner rather than later. I'm not going to go into any further detail at this point on the politics of this situation. Not because it does not need to be addressed, but because of lack of knowledge at the moment. But this is a great business venture in my mind because it bring down the price of gas, it brings down the need for oil, it reduces pollution, it frees up land, and it can indirectly reduce violence in the Middle East.