August 29th: Bloggers for Sarah Palin Remember

Editor's Note: Our special day-long series of posts on the first anniversary of Sarah Palin's arrival on the national political stage continues. Each of our Texas for Sarah Palin contributors have been heard from. Now we offer up this sampling of how eleven of our fellow Blogs for Sarah Palin blogroll members marked the occasion.

At Christians for Sarah Palin, this quote from Team Sarah member Charlene Spaulding is featured just below the blog's title header:

"Sarah - The night Senator John McCain introduced you to the United States of America you've left goose bumps, tears of pride, heart felt strength, your precious Gifts from God, your intellect, your spunk, a true American Woman, a true maverick for women, young girls and generations upcoming. Sarah, don't give up on us as we are all standing beside you and looking forward to the announcement "Sarah Palin President Elect 2012"

Rachelle at Conservative Girl with a Voice wrote a letter to former Governor Palin:

"I first heard about you from my dad. He is a big fan of yours- particularly for the no-nonsense way in which you cleaned up the corruption in AK and remained fiscally conservative throughout your time as governor. When you were announced as the VP choice, I immediately saw what my dad had already known: You were, indeed, a true reformer and inspirational woman at that. As I watched the event in which you were announced on that beautiful summer day of August 29th, I was immediately energized and inspired like I had been at no other time in terms of wanting to do and be more involved politically. You are a role model to me and countless other women who one day wish to run for political office."

At Governor Palin for President 2012, the remembrance started a few days early with Bill's August 26th post:

"The best thing that McCain ever did was to introduce the country to Sarah Palin. It is unfortunate that he didn't do an adequate job of defending her or letting her define herself on the trail. Palin, however, inspired a whole new generation of grassroots conservatives into action."

"I will never forget the excitement of that day watching her speech in Ohio. I knew that I was seeing a future President of the United States in action. For the first time since Reagan left the scene, I had a national politician who seemed to actually believe conservatism."

Kristina at Inspiration Sarah recalls how she has been inspired by the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate"

"Sarah is an inspiration! I have changed as a person in a good way because of her. I am no longer afraid to stand up for what I believe in. I am no longer afraid to express how I feel; to speak up. I am no longer afraid to be me and I believe that I have found the person that I want to be through supporting Sarah Palin--She never tries to be anybody else to make an impression and she never lets anyone mold her into something other than herself."

At Moms for Sarah Palin, it's a matter of pride for Tiffany:

"I would have dragged myself down to vote for McCain but Palin gave me a reason to proudly cast my vote. I hope that I get that chance again, only it will be for Palin to be POTUS."

Adrienne Ross at Motivation: Truth sums it up nicely:

"In the course of a year, I have studied Sarah Palin, admired her record, met her and her family, visited her state, and fell in love with her hometown. My mind has not changed about her. I still respect her, still believe God has called her for this time, and still know she will continue to lead with great integrity."

Ron Devito remembers at Sarah Palin's Accomplishments:

"I turned on the radio, and I heard a woman’s voice. I thought. 'He put a woman on the ticket! Freaking awesome!'"

"I listened as I exited the lot. No sooner did I leave the lot and go about two blocks, I had to pull over to the side of the road. I couldn’t drive anymore. I hung on to her every word. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. In her voice was something familiar, something soothing, and something comforting – I had not heard anything like this, since – since – 1980?"

"Her accent and expression indicated a small town background. My mind again harkened back to 1980. I tried to dismiss it as just over-enthusiasm. 'Naw,' I thought… 'Come on…this is not a resurrection of Reagan. Curb your enthusiasm, dude!' But, I couldn’t help it. She spoke about lowering taxes; about winning our wars; fighting evil where we find it; about profiles in courage; about the timing of her pick with women being given the right to vote; about using our own resources. It wasn’t just what she said. She sounded like a friend. She wasn’t talking down to us. She was having a conversation with us. I sat transfixed for the 20 minutes her speech took, and for several minutes thereafter."

Also a remembrance from Snowed In:

"I knew of Sarah Palin before August 29, 2008. And I wanted her to get the VP nod from John McCain. (I certainly didn't want her to deal with the inordinate amount of vitriol, hatred, and flat-out lying directed at her, but, silly me, I did not anticipate that happening when I was sitting at my desk one year ago today. But that's a subject for a different post.) So one year ago today, I was excited, for the first time in a while, about the future of conservatism."

Here's part of a recollection from the memory banks of Sarah Palin's laptop computer at The Lotus:

"I call Senator McCain, John McAnonymous. Madame is a lot more gracious than I am. She calls him Senator. When I was out on the campaign trail with Madame, there were all of these people working for the Senator who seemed to want to be referred to as 'Anonymous'. I don't know how the Senator kept track of them all. Did he number them? But, I digress. I was backstage when Madame gave her speech in Ohio. I was a bit jetlagged--that four hour time difference always seems to get to me--but it was a great speech. I shouldn't be surprised though; I've gotten to be the first one to read most of her speeches as she types them up, but it isn't quite the same as hearing them from her!"

At The Palination, there are several posts on the occasion from that blog's contributors. Here's just one sample:

"For the first time in my life I understood what Democrats meant when they talk about the impact that JFK and RFK had on them. It was exciting to have a nominee that we had fought so hard for, but the greatest impact by far was how I felt as a father with daughters. I can't describe it, but it felt like for the first time they could truly achieve anything, even the presidency if they so desired."

And Rob Harrison at The Spyglass recalls:

"One year ago today, I was going bonkers, and so was my blog traffic, as the whole political world was going mad at John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. After the truly awe-inspiring disinformation campaign Sen. McCain and his staffers ran to keep his pick a secret, and the wondrous overnight thread on Adam Brickley's site, with Drew (who turned out to be a staffer with the McCain campaign in Dayton) dropping hints that Gov. Palin would be the pick, to have the news come out and be confirmed was the greatest joy I've ever had in politics (not that there are many competitors for that particular honor)."

"One year later, I don't take any of that back."

- JP