Senator McCain, long time whipping boy of disenchanted conservatives, may have just single handedly saved the Republican Party. Let’s face it; three weeks ago we were on the ropes. The Republican Party was facing its sharpest fall from grace since the great depression. A mere four years ago we were cheering the success of our embattled standard barer, President Bush, and reviling in yet another Congressional majority. Then within two years it all seemed to fall apart. We lost both houses in 2006 and by August of 2008 we were secretly preparing our “we’ll get ‘em next time speeches” as we looked at the specter of an unrestrained Obama presidency.

We were suffering from a lack of inspiration. We felt little reason to unite as the party leadership continued to try (unsuccessfully) to co-opt issues that should stay in the realm of far left wackos, like global warming. Stalwart conservatives were voting against Obama more than we were for McCain and if there is one lesson we should learn from the 2004 Kerry campaign it’s that you can’t win by voting against someone. You have to be for someone or something.

Senator McCain made history when he picked Sarah Palin as his Vice President, but not for the superficial reasons you are likely to hear on the news. Yes she may be the first woman Vice-President or even President, but McCain’s running mate is much more. Finally we have someone to vote for. Sarah Palin is a rock solid conservative able to inspire us and communicate those beliefs with a grace seldom seen. John McCain made history, because the selection of Sarah Palin will prove to be a turning point in our history. We will one day look back and see 2008 as the year conservatism and traditional American beliefs were resurrected from the doldrums of socialism.

As we conservatives fall deeper in love with Sarah Palin, John McCain might be remembered more for playing cupid than any of his other laudable accomplishments. This got me thinking about some of the other Republicans out there. The old guard, which so often infuriated the party base, is beginning to be replaced by a younger generation who came of age mentally and politically as Ronald Reagan was leaving office. Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty are just a few of the new faces of the Republican Party. However, unlike the Rockefeller and “new tone” Republicans they are inheriting the party from, they have shown no need to get along with Democrats and don’t seem to care what the elitist media think of them. They wear their beliefs on their sleeves and aren’t afraid to defend them.

Even if the McCain-Palin ticket doesn’t prove to be a recipe for success this year we have good reason to hold our heads high and soldier on. I know this sounds like the “we’ll get ‘em next time speeches” I mentioned earlier, but it’s not. Republicans lost big in 1964 and 1976, but out of the ashes of defeat millions of Americans found a voice and kindred spirit in Ronald Reagan and ushered in a revolution in America just as important as the one which preceded it 200 years earlier. No one can tell for sure which if any of the afore mentioned people will be the next Reagan or if that’s even possible. My vote’s with Palin, but if they stay true to their beliefs and we support them, collectively this new generation of Republicans just may prove to be the most dynamic and important in our nation’s history. We shouldn’t let the irony that the elder statesman we so often deride as a RHINO (I’m as guilty as anyone else) is the one ushering in this new generation. We should also reward him with the presidency.

With so many hailing the rise of China and America’s demise as a superpower we don’t need internationalist liberals or weak kneed Republicans running this country. We need a moose shooting, dog sledding, beauty queen who self identifies as a bulldog wearing lipstick. Now where can we find one of them…