Sarah Palin said that parents of special needs children will have a friend in the McCain/Palin administration. How so? So far as I know McCain fully intents that the vast population of uninsured Americans will remain and that Americans will continue to have trouble making claims against their insurance when they are covered, during his administration. So what did Palin mean?

the same old divisive poisonous politics to me, sir. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

She's just not qualified for the office. She would be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and she's not qualified. The country deserves better.

No, thanks, Sarah -- don't want you.

Governor of how many? Something like two thirds of Salt Lake County for less than two years.

Drop the experience argument.

When you say one of the largest states I got confused you are talking about Alaska right? The third smallest state in terms of actual population. It maybe a large state geographically but it is not heavily populated unless you want to start counting the squirrels as part of her constituency. They may take exception of course since she is a hunter and has probably killed more then one in her time.

Let's compare education. Both Obama and Biden have law degrees. Both Obama and Biden have taught constitutional law. That might come in handy if you are law makers or those who sign bills into law. Palin has a BS in communications. McCain also has a BS (in military science). Neither of the Republicans has experience in constitutional law. Look where than lack of experience has gotten us with Bush. It was Bush who called the US Constitution a "g*******d piece of paper." Is that the kind of person conservatives want to lead the nation.
Palin is anti-science, pro-censorship, anti-stem cell, and may be shown to have abused power. Yes, that sounds solidly republican, but is that really what we need in a leader today?

Sadly Palain, the agent of change, failed to explain why she supported the bridge to nowhere and why she hired a high power lobbing company to get millions in earmarks for her very small town. You want to talk about talk being cheap.

As an LDS mother of five wonderful children, I am concerned about the selection of Sarah Palin. I will not vote for Obama's socialist policies and abortion on demand, but I cannot support a mother who would put her children behind her career. The church teaches that the family unit is the most important thing in this world and in the next. I would never abandon my children for some political office. Furthermore, the teen pregnancy of Palin's daughter sets a poor example for Utah families and families around the country. The Republican party has fallen far from the era of Reagan.

I find it fascinating how the republicans, who by their very definition are inclined to keep things the same, are trying suddenly to steal the Democratic platform for change. McCain/Palin for CHANGE?! That is just a blatant LIE. They want things to remain exactly the same as they were under Bush. They are CONSERVATIVES, which by definition means they want the status quo to remain unchanged. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but come on: stick with your party and their beliefs. Don't try to horn in on the Democrats promise of change. LIberals, by contrast, by their very definition, stand for change. the democrats mean it when they speak of change. The republicans simply don't, and it's extremely unflattering and dishonest for them to pretend as such. Unless they want to begin to claim themselves as liberals, which I doubt. Ugh, give me a break. It's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in at least a decade that Palin stands for change.

Let me repeat myself. What did Sarah Palin mean when she said parents of special needs children will have a friend in the McCain administration?

So you are not voting this year? If she is not qualified to be VP, then there is no way Obama is qualified to be President. All he has really done since being elected to the Senate is to run for President. Not exactly a qualification in my mind.

Gopherus- So you think in a time when there are threats all over the world including Terrorists, rogue nations, and Russia, that this nation needs a law degree more than a Military Science degree. Boy, you are way off base.
Quite frankly we have too many lawyers in power, we don't need more. Besides, despite the fact that the Democratic ticket may have taught Constitutional law, they sure don't understand the document. They believe it to be a "living" document like in Britain, which it is not, and was never intended to be. They also seem to lack the ability to really understand what it means. How do they get out of it that healthcare is a right, and abortion is a privacy issue. They also think we should interpret it based on international laws as was done in the Guantanamo case.

Sarah Palin has captured the hearts and minds of Americans all over America. She stands for the values of ordinary, common Americans. She and her husband have fished the icy waters around Alaska as commercial fishermen. Not many people in America have done anything that hard. As a conservative, she is a card-carrying member of a union. Even Mr. Obama can't match her there.

Unlike traditional Democrats and Republicans, she believes that the solution to America's problems lies in the hearts and minds of the people, not in the halls of Congress.

What a refreshing idea. What a refreshing candidate.

She loves life. She lives life. She has breathed life back into American politics.

You want change? Sarah Palin offers real, substantial change - not just words, mere words.

re:real change 6:40 am
Lie. Palin did not support the bridge to nowhere.

There will be an announcement later today about a real qualified veep? Male or female. I don't care. I can't jump on this one. It's does not pass my gut test. I can't give McCAin the presidency. I had issues with him before, but now that he shoots from the hip. No flipping way will I give him the guns.

I won't vote ID politics. I will vote for what is best for this womans family. And it's not McCain/Palin. Loser ticket.

To (To Sorry Loa) at 7:43,
If the Constitution is not a living document why are there provisions to amend it. Why is there a branch of government that has the duty to interpret it when deciding if laws meet its standards. Please don't tell me that Democrats are the only ones who believe it is a living document either. Who has been pushing for (foolish) amendments to it over the past decade? I'll give you a hint, one of the has been Hatch.
Did you know that McCain finished near the bottom of his class? How valuable is that degree? Do you plan on fighting every nation in the world? If not wouldn't a degree that will assist in diplomacy and treaty formation serve us better than on that taught the principles of war that are not valid in todays conflicts?
If you'd like to debate issues such as why abortion is a privacy issue you'll have to get the Desert News to give us more space. It isn't a simple argument. You need to consider the constitution and biology. You need to be willing to seek answers that require more than a sound-byte to address such issues

I guss she kows about special needs. After all, instead of tending her baby, 3 days after birth she was back at he office.

Raising a family is something we do part time. Career first!!! and so many women are jumping aboard the train. It's going to crash. The next generation needs parents. Needs mom's who are nurturing them. Not nannies that change their nappies.

Trophy Vice sounded great last night. A great start to the next 60 days. Advice to hockey mom (or pit bull in lipstick): don't believe the Pubs spin that since you are from Alaska and have a husband that works the fields, it makes you an "energy expert" or that living near Canada and Russia makes you ready to negotiate international treaties.

THANK YOU. I've been trying to get that very point across. Who is raising these kids? Dad? Evidence shows me he's dropped the ball on THAT one. And now, McCain is trying to hold up madame Sarah as a mom just like me, with a family just like mine.

No.

I gave up a very good career to be a mom to my 7 kids. My 17 yr old daughter is not steady dating one boy. I'm home when she gets home from school and work. I know where she is, who she's with and what the plans are for the evening. I know, things 'happen', but with me at home, raising her and her sibings, there is less a chance. If only.. If only we'd put our families first, and not just try to redefine what a family is. I have issues with Obama. Big ones. But, I'll be voting for him, so the GOP can spend the next 4 getting it's collective act together. We need to stop this train, and stop it NOW. I don't want these people running my country.

that's what I am doing. I don't agree with 90 percent of his platforms. but, I think it's time to switch horses and move to the otherside of the river while the GOP drowns under it's own weight of McCain and his really bad decisions.

This mom want's Michelle as frist lady. She's already stopped working, and will continue to stay home while her husband is at 'work'. Besides, their kids are cuter.

I am certainly not a conservative, but the attacks on Palin are disheartening. Did you ever think that Gov. Palin's husband is very supportive and will be helping take care of the family as well? Also, at least one of her children is grown and out of the house. I also must say "let thee without sin cast the first stone". Her daughter made a mistake, but is trying to do the right thing. I don't think that sets a bad example.

Sen. McCain's military science degree was awarded to him during the height of the cold war. Oh, and Palin did support the bridge to nowhere before she opposed it.

Mike Richards says, "Unlike traditional Democrats and Republicans, she believes that the solution to America's problems lies in the hearts and minds of the people, not in the halls of Congress."
Um, where have you been. This is what Obama has been saying and practicing since the day he became a Community Organizer. He has said and implemented "change needs to happen from the bottom up." He is a prime example of how grassroots organization can get things done. He inspires people to get involved. He doesn't just say pretty words, person by person he is getting people to participate actively in their communities and in politics. That is why I believe that if he is president, something might actually get done. I am at least willing to give him the chance.

Palin believes in creationism. We already had one idiot in office for eight years. No more mouthbreathers in office!

To MormonMomof5 and @ 8:26

You make me embarrassed to be a member.

YOU may decide to stay home, but who are you to say that She should.

When will you stop imposing your beliefs on others.

Sarah Palin is a great example. The teen-age pregnancy says nothing about her. Oh unless Lehi, Alma, Mosiah, Jacob, and Adam all dropped the ball too.

And what would you rather her daughter do other than get married and keep the baby - have an abortion? While she made a mistake, at least she is owning up to it.

Finally, a team has stood up within the Republican party to admit that the direction taken by the Republican administration needs to be changed. I look forward to McCain and Palin further discussing how off track the Republican party is. By taking the lead on this, they pre-empt the Democrats. What will Obama & Biden have to talk about?

Some tough guy, John McCain. He pledges a respectful campaign then sends a woman to the podium to do his dirty work! Which man will be there tomorrow? Mr Nice or Mr Me Too?

That Con Law experience has not helped Obama since as Sarah astutely points out that in his years as a senator he has not written any meaningful legislation.

In fact, the President does not legislate at all, he is the chief executive.

Seems like you need a Con Law course. However, they are not as insightful as you'd think - trust me.

In fact, if Obama really cared about health care, the economy or change, WHY HAS HE NOT TRIED TO IMPLEMENT CHANGE AS A SENATOR?????

You do not oppose 90% of Obama's platforms.

Why would you want the country to become 90% of what you dont want it to be because of the cuteness of the children?

Sara Palin's speech = lies. As for the "bridge to nowhere," she took the money and spent it on other stuff.

Those of you who say Obama hasn't done anything as senator are simply undermining the credibility of anything else you say by proving your ignorance.

Obama passed bipartisan legislation to secure loose nukes and keep them from terrorists, created a public database of government grants and contracts to prevent waste and corruption, and spearheaded the most sweeping congressional ethics reform package in decades.

McCain, on the other hand, simply rubber-stamped Bush's policies.

And Palin has spent the last two years working with lobbyists to funnel federal pork to her state -- more per capita than any other state.

And if you don't think she supported the Bridge to Nowhere, ask her why Alaska kept the $237,000,000 the federal government gave her for it!

It's hilarious to see all you people accuse us Obama supporters of "drinking the Kool-Aid," then you hear one nasty, mean-spirited, fact-fallow speech from the mayor of Polar Podunk, and you all of the sudden thing she's Reagan reincarnated.

Yes, GOP values on full display last night:

Mean and misleading sermonizing, a parade of self-righteous serial adulterers, and to top things off, practically having the shotgun wedding reception of two teenagers right there on the stage!

Personally, I'm thankful that the Republicans chose someone who isn't tainted by DC politics. Does it really matter that she didn't know what the VP is responsible for few months ago? I'm sure they'll fill her in on what she needs to know after taking office. I'd much prefer a VP who I could share a nice cup of hot cocoa with instead of some arugula eating, Harvard educated, elitist politician.

@9:19: Democrats haven't the votes to do any of this. The Senate barely has a majority and couldn't even override a veto. So stop blaming Obama for the lack thereof when the circumstances prevent him from doing such.

Actually, I am really excited to see a Republican who can almost single-handedly bring the Republican party in line with women's rights. The Republican party NOW believes it is GREAT to have a working mom in political office, thanks to Palin. I'm hoping that they also plan on giving her equal pay. This is something that Equal Rights Advocates have been hoping for, for a long, long time.

And here we have a governor, and mother of five, who gave birth and then was back on the job 3 days later. What a Woman!!! I think we should all be shouting her praises. GO WONDER WOMAN!!! Show us how it's done!

Here is my reason to vote for Obama.

Because the repubs have accomplished nothing in the last eight years.

Except ruin our ecomomy, and on and on.

Did you see Tucker Bounds, McCain's spokesperson, on CNN the other night? The interviewer asked a simple question: what is one executive decision that Sarah Palin has made as commander of the Alaska National Guard. He hemmed and hawed, and had no answer. The interviewer pressed him a bit, and he panicked. No answer for a very straightforward question.

The McCain camp was so angry afterwards they canceled McCain's interview with Larry King on CNN that night.

Palin has NO assets but her ability to read nasty speeches and wear a dress.

Yep, change is in the wind.

(1) No more unapproved books to read.

(2) No more evolution lessons in biology class only Creationism.

(3) No more choice for women on whether or not they will have a baby.

Change is a'comin'.
...

This has me laughing out loud that those on the left have such a problem with Palin's governing experience (yet one of Obama supposed virtues was that he had little Washington experience and therefore could change it). Hmmm. A one-way street I guess.

Many on the left point out Palin is a women with a special-needs child and worry that Palin can't focus on her family if she is VP (but they had no problem supporting Hillary Clinton mainly BECAUSE she was a woman/mother). Again. A one-way street.

Quit being so one sided and blinded by your party interests! Palin is just a VP candidate. Judge her on her positions, not on being inexperienced or being a woman and mother!

Still others on the left are concerned that Palin's daughter got pregnant out of wedlock (usually a situation where lefties encourage understanding and additional government support) but again the one-way street in this case, and now this situation needs to be condemned and used by the media as a tool to discredit or disqualify their opposition.

Hmmm. Interesting how this one-way street works for the Democrats.

I hope you all caught a glimpse of the teleprompter in front of Palin on TV last night. I just think it's amusing for her to accuse Obama of being a reader of teleprompters when she is obviously doing exactly the same thing.

$20,000,000 in debt is her legacy to her town when she left office as Mayor.

If you really think Democrats have a patent on the campaign promise of "Change"... go back into ANY Republican or Democrat campaign for the past 30 years and you will see the promise of change in Washington. I'm not saying Republicans have been successfull in delivering their promise of change (that is very subjective and has to be left to the opinion and judgement of the individual). Personally I think some Republican administrations (Reagan for example) have made some serious changes in Washington, but I'm not here to debate that. My point is... Democrats aren't the first to promise change, It's practically an American political campaign tradition. That's why our Constitution REQUIRES frequent elections and even REQUIRES by LAW that the government (at least the President) to change at least every 8 years. So your assertion that "ONLY OBAMA CAN PROMISE CHANGE" is obsurd.

So entertaining to watch Republicans running against the Establishment, when they ARE the Establishment. How stupid do they think we are?

Hypocrisy is the word of the day!

Last month, Karl Rove, that embarrasing "Utah native," was discussing some of the potential VP choices of Barack Obama. When the name Tim Kaine, Virginia's governor, came up, Rove derided that choice, saying Kaine had "only" been the mayor of Richmond, Virginia, a city with "only" 200,000 people, and then was "only" governor of Virginia. Rove said that experience was inadequate to be one breath away from the presidency, and derisively mocked Senator Obama for considering such an inexperienced candidate.

Fast forward to this week. Rove is now praising McCain's choice of Sarah Palin. Why? Because, in Rove's own words, she has been a mayor (of a town of, what, 9,000 residents?) and a governor (of the 47th most populated state), and that experience prepared her for this role.

This is stunning hypocrisy, in the sense that it is so obvious. How does someone like Rove even live with himself? He is so far up the proverbial partisan creek, there is no hope for him.

Listen up conservatives, and be honest with yourselves. If you think Obama is not qualified to be the President, there is no way you can support Palin.

I believe many Americans voted Bush into office in 2000 because he was the type of guy we could all sit around and have a beer with. And look at what that got us. Now people are saying that they want to vote for McCaine/Palin because they could sit down and have a cup of cocoa with her?

If you repeat the same action over and over again and expect different results, aren't you qualified as being insane?

So as far as parents with children with special health care needs, they're just going to get moral support, right? Palin isn't interested in any reform of the health care system to make coverage easier to get, or to make it so people aren't jacked around by their insurers. Have I got it about right?

At first glance, Sarah Palin looks like an excellent choice by John McCain as his running mate. She is articulate, poised, and funny. The questions about knowledge, wisdom, ideas, analytical skills, and decision-making ability remain unknown.

However, there are many issues that are very clear. She is an Evangelican Christian with the beliefs common to evangelicals on social issues. Her beliefs are firm and do not contrast at all with the last eight years.

Her desire to include creationism in the science cirriculum, her disapproval of sex education in schools, her "drill, drill, drill" attitude toward energy policy (particularly in ANWAR), her ties with the oil and natural gas industry require more in-depth examination.

In a day where Republicans are reciting the mantra "Change You Can Believe In", there has been no discussion of what went wrong in the last eight years. They continue to believe in the current administration and the policies it has created and give every indication they will continue in the exact same direction. Why call for change when everything has been so good in from their prospective?

Sarah Palin appears to bring more "Bush" back into the McCain campaign. Where is the reform in that?

Give Mrs. Palin high marks for her speech last night. It would have been a tour de force IF she has written it. As it is she does give a good speech and may in fact may make McCain look even worse than he already does in public speaking. Two last points that I especially liked about the speech was the crediting her husband as a proud union man and her praise of Harry Truman the haberdasher (that the way they talk in Wasila). Those points, I'm sure really gave the "base" cause to wonder.

Yes, good point, Gus.

What exactly are McCain and Palin going to change? The Republicans have had the White House for eight years and the house for six of the last eight. So what Republican policies do McCain and Palin intend to change?

McCain voted with Bush 90% of the time. Odds don't seem very likely that McCain would change much if elected.

On the other hand, Sarah Palin's Jeff-Foxworthy-in-drag routine was really funny. And her 17-year-old son-in-law looks like a nice boy. And I think she said change or something. I guess that's enough for my vote.

What speaker speaking at an even the magnitude of a national convention speaks without a teleprompter???

And when did Sarah Palin trash Obama for using a teleprompter? Are you making this stuff up?

Your partisan efforts to discredit her at all costs (even if you have to make up something to complain about) is amazing.

GenM @ 8:49,

If I plagerized Mr. Obama, I apologize. That was not my intent. I don't consciously steal words.

The greater point is that Mr. McCain and Mrs. Palin have taken a stand diametrically opposed to Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden (or vice-versa, if you prefer). You can line up behind the candidate whose ideas and ideals you find comfortable and so can I.

This election cycle started out with an extreme liberal against a not-as-extreme liberal, at least in my opinion. The more I studied the issues that are important to me and the more that I studied the candidates and their history, the more obvious it became that to choose either would be to choose liberal principles.

Then, out of the blue, along came Sarah Palin who was not afraid to say that she believed in God, that she belived in life, that she believed in and supported the military. She not only said it, but her history shows that she lives it.

That offers real change, not just words, mere words.

Lew Jeppson | 7:42 a.m.
Since you keep repeating the question and can't seem to figure it out on your own...

What Sarah Palin meant when she said, "parents of special needs children will have a friend in the McCain administration", was that SHE has a special needs child, of course she can empathise with parents of special needs children in a way that NO other candidate can. SHE will be in the McCain Administration, SHE will be the advocate for special needs children.

What did you think she meant? I thought it was farely obvious unless your actually trying to not understand what she was saying.