McCain Southeast Region Update

Saturday, 8/30/08
66 Days to the Election of John McCain
McCain Nightly Memo
From: SE Regional Offices, Tallahassee
To: McCain Team Member
Topic: The Reform Ticket

John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin: Real Agents for Change

Senator Barack Obama has made bringing change to Washington the central theme of his campaign. He has talked about the importance of bipartisanship and the need for America's partisan divisions to heal.

The problem for Barack Obama is that his record simply does not match his rhetoric. Senator Obama talks about bipartisanship, but the truth is that he voted 97 % of the time with Democrats in 2007. The National Journal ranked him as the most liberal U.S. Senator in the coun try. That is not change; that is the same old partisanship.

Senator Obama talks about making tough choices and reforming Washington, but in the Illinois State Senate Obama voted present over 130 times. If Senator Obama can't even demonstrate the courage to vote "yes" or "no" in the Illinois State Senate, what are the chances that Obama will have the courage to take on the deeply entrenched special interests in Washington?

While Barack Obama has talked about change, John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin have delivered it. In Alaska, a state plagued by political corruption, Governor Palin passed a landmark ethics reform bill. Governor Palin has repeatedly reached across the aisle in Alaska, working with Democrats and Independents to pass important legislation. Governor Palin has not backed down from challenging big oil companies, even though the move has not been popular with many Republican leaders in Alaska.

John McCain has made a career of challenging the status quo and bucking the political establishment. In choosing Governor Palin, John McCain has picked a great governing partner to shake up things in Washington.

Top Alaska Democrat Praises Choice of Governor Palin

Former Alaska State Representative and current congressional candidate Ethan Berkowitz praised Governor Sarah Palin's record of ethics reform and bipartisan credentials in a statement Friday.

"This is an exciting day for Alaska," Berkowitz said. "Gov. Palin has made her name fighting corruption within her own party, and I was honored when she stepped across party lines and asked me to co-author her ethics white paper."

Must Clicks

On Friday, Jo hn McCain took a bold step toward bringing reform to Washington by selecting Alaksa Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

Watch Governor Palin speaking in Dayton: Governor Sarah Palin Addresses America

Find out what top Democrats have been saying about Senator Barack Obama: Watch "Remote Control".

Convention Watch Parties

John McCain will be accepting the Republican nomination next Thursday, Sept. 4th in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Republican National Convention. What better way to see history unfold than a having a Convention Watch Party at your home?

This is a great way to support John McCain with your family and friends. Our goal is to have numerous Convention Watch Parties around the state. We are counting on people like you to demonstrate to the media-- and more importantly voters-- that momentum is continuing to build for John McCain.

In Case You Didn't Know

Wasteful Washington spending has gone from irresponsible to indefensible. In the Senate, John McCain has fought pork barrel spending tooth and nail. In fact, John McCain has never made a single earmark request in 25 years. As President, he will seek the line item veto to reduce wasteful spending and eliminate earmarks that have led to corruption.

John McCain's new running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, has a similar record of fighting earmarks and wasteful spending. When Congress passed legislation authorizing $ 400 million for Alaska to build the "Bridge to Nowhere", Governor Palin said, "Thanks, but no thanks." In addition, Governor Palin is the rare politician who has actually used her veto power and cut budgetary spending.

Senator Barack Obama's record on spending shows that his message of change is nothing more than lofty rhetoric. Barack Obama has requested nearly 1 billion dollars in pork barrel spending. That is a million dollars for every day he's been in office.

Must Reads

The Reform Ticket
Review and Outlook
The Wall Street Journal
August 30, 2008

If any doubt remained that former fighter pilot John McCain loves to take unconventional risks, he put them to bed Friday by picking Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Introduced in Dayton by Mr. McCain, Governor Palin swung the bat pretty well. We'll now see if she can hit curve balls.

It's a daring pick because Mrs. Palin has never faced national scrutiny and hasn't had to deal with foreign policy. Most VP choices are designed to do no harm, and we tend to agree with the maxim. Democrats are already saying they can't wait for Mrs. Palin's debate against "statesman" Joe Biden. On the other hand, the record shows that Sarah Palin's political career is a case study in taking on the big boys. We suspect her record of fighting the status quo was uppermost in J ohn McCain's decision.
To read more, click here: The Reform Ticket

Trumping Obama on Change
By Stephen Dinan
Washington TimesA
ugust 30, 2008
She unseated a sitting Republican governor in a primary by running against the Republican establishment in Alaska. If anything, her zeal for busting pork-barrel spending may outstrip Mr. McCain's. And she's spent her time in office fighting for ethics reform.
To read more, click here: Trumping Obama on Change

Nutter Crowd Greets Palin With Enthusiasm
By Joanne Smith & James Cummings
Dayton Daily News
August 30, 2008
Even if they didn't know much about her going in, the capacity crowd at Wright State University's Ervin J. Nutter Center roared its approval of John McCa in's surprise selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
To read more, click here: Nutter Crowd Greets Palin With Enthusiasm

Finally This Evening...

Would you like to share your excitement about John McCain with your community? If so, John McCain is calling you to action. We need volunteers for our Door-to-Door campaign in Georgia.
Door-to-door volunteers speak with their neighbors face-to-face on behalf of John McCain. This is an easy way to make a pivotal contribution to our grassroots campaign. It will only require a few hours of your time every week.

If you are interested in helping with this important effort, please respond to this email.

Reform, Prosperity and Peace