SIMPSON: Sarah Palin has arrived

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By Jim Simpson

Sarah Palin may well be the savior of the Republican Party. Her speech was an indisputable grand slam. For once we have a Republican who actually articulated what the Republican Party stands for — real American values and real Americans. Not the William Ayers radicals, not the alternative newspaper leftists, not the professional fleece artist “community organizers” like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, not the vitriolically anti-American Communist Party USA that the “other” community organizer seems to like so much, not the smug Washington leftist elites or their mindless media water boys. Real Americans who make this country what it is.

She unapologetically championed the basic Republican message: strong defense, limited government, low taxes and integrity. She brilliantly contrasted her experience with Mr. Obama's and slapped down her Democrat detractors in a manner that was gutsy, defiant, and right on target.

Mr. Obama has been pretending to take the high road by criticizing those who manufactured a bald-faced lie about the parentage of Mrs. Palin's newborn child and who have spared no expense to smear her and her pregnant daughter. But I have a question for Mr. Obama. If he really means what he says, then why have the attacks continued? Either he was just posturing (my belief) or his supporters don't even have enough respect for him to stop. Either he is fundamentally insincere or he's not even enough of a leader to reign in his most devoted followers. Either way, that marks him as a loser.

Mrs. Palin wasn't fooled. She knows that all the smears are part and parcel of the Democrats' game plan. So she took off the gloves and positively ridiculed Mr. Obama. She put him where he belongs, and he will have a tough time regaining whatever real dignity he has. I have never seen a Republican so effectively fight back against that pathetic putz and his vicious regime.

A few gems:

“I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer' ... except that you have actual responsibilities.

This is a man [Obama] who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word 'victory' except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot, what exactly is our opponent's plan

And I this one:

“I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment, and I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone. But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion — I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country

Finally, we have a Republican with some backbone. And she articulated the reasons to vote for Mr. McCain better than he or his highest paid campaigners have been able to do to date.

The Democrats are shaking in their boots, and with good reason.

I feel optimistic. Thank you, Sarah Palin.

Jim Simpson, a free-lance writer, served as an economist and budget analyst for the White House Office of Management and Budget.