This article is a response to “The Conservative Case Against Sarah Palin”, which can be read here.

Although it hasn’t stopped some of the more vicious elements in the media, the left is beginning to realize that directly attacking the charming and compelling Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin is a difficult proposition. They have already begun to shift their focus to John McCain, charging that the selection of Palin was a reckless decision that speaks to poor judgment. Some conservatives, too, wonder if their cause would be better served by a Mitt Romney or a Tim Pawlenty. Here, then, are several reasons in support of McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin, followed by a defense of Palin’s conservative credentials.

1. McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin has energized the conservative base

The money is rolling in. In the two and a half days following McCain’s announcement, his campaign received donations topping $10 million, and, while initial expert analysis was split, conservative newspapers and websites were flooded with thrilled commentators. Five days later, many of them still can’t contain their glee. Palin connects with the conservative base in a way that her running mate never has. Social conservatives, many of whom are skeptical of John “I’m not a Puritan” McCain, love her for her firm pro-life position and religious conviction, and it’s unlikely that they will penalize her for her daughter Bristol’s unplanned pregnancy. Like many conservatives (but not McCain), Palin is also a fervent advocate of domestic drilling, including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). This enthusiasm comes at a particularly crucial time, not only for McCain–who needs the energy to sustain his campaign–but also for the Republican Party as a whole, which has failed to fill the leadership vacuum created by the departure of Newt Gingrich, and slogs through public opinion carrying President Bush like an albatross around the neck.

2. Palin’s experience, though thin, is the right kind of experience for conservatives

Much has been written about Palin’s lack of experience, but it is nonetheless true that she is the only candidate in this election with executive experience. The ability to choose quickly and wisely between the lesser of two evils or even between two relatively good choices is a skill that must be honed through practice. Legislators, swaddled in a cocoon of blissful unaccountability, have the advantage of passing the buck. Our political system incentivizes their vacillation and equivocation, because they aren’t expected to accomplish anything except winning elections and bringing home pork. The information revolution has assured that no vote, position, or sound bite can disappear down the memory hole, and, now more than ever, legislative experience teaches that the best way to make a decision is to vote “present” when a tough one comes along. Far from being a certain advantage, legislative experience could be detrimental to the candidate’s judgment and leadership ability, which is why many conservatives prefer to support business executives and state governors.

So, why the Governor of Alaska, out of all of the governors? Because Alaska is remote and “easy,” not in spite of it. Palin could have nestled under Ted Stevens’ wing, kicked back, gotten kick backs, and cruised in the stream of politics as usual. Alaska is firmly latched on to the federal teat, it’s rich with oil money, and it’s got a tiny population. Under those extremely narrow conditions, socialism can actually work and provide a very addictive lifestyle, as like Scandinavia before the multicultural fad. But she chose instead to be a political and economic reformer, risking public ire and the backlash of the entrenched corrupt Republican machine. Governor Bobby Jindal has done a bang-up job in Louisiana, but then, the situation was ripe for reform in a way that wasn’t true of Alaska. Governor Palin has achieved unparalleled results with impressive alacrity, and that makes her a cut above the other contenders on the short list.

Palin’s record also convincingly demonstrates her leadership ability. In her 16 years of public service, she has hewn her own path, yet garnered tremendous support from her constituents – enough to translate into approval ratings that frequently topped 80%. Obviously, leadership alone is not sufficient to make a good president, but it is necessary. It is the only element of personal character or experience that distinguishes the set of America’s most popular and successful presidents from the mediocre and the truly awful.

3. Sarah Palin is a symbol of hope and change

As is evidenced by Congress’s abysmal approval ratings, Democrats aren’t the only Americans interested in change. Palin is the ultimate Washington outsider: a feisty, contrary, dynamo with a ready willingness and proven ability to transcend party lines and tackle political corruption and government sloth on both sides of the aisle. Americans are furious with Congress, and tired of platitudes. They want results, and they want to hear a real plan for a better future. In this arena, Palin can go the distance with a smile. Much has been said about McCain making a bid for Hillary supporters, but he’s more ambitious than that; McCain is using Palin to co-opt Obama’s defining message. If the effort succeeds, it could re-launch the Republican Party.

4. Sarah Palin embodies the conservative ideals of rugged individualism and success through diligence

In recent years, conservatives have been losing ground in the battle of ideas. The American Dream, once so widely revered, has been invoked too many times with too little ideological buttress. If confidence in that ideal dips below a certain threshold, calls for limited government and individual responsibility will be lost in the din of liberal promises for government solutions. Sarah Palin’s unique story and meteoric rise from fisherwoman to Vice-Presidential candidate reads like a modern Horatio Alger novel, and she could do much to restore American confidence in conservative ideals.

Sarah Palin is a highly unusual Vice-Presidential pick. She didn’t attend a top private school, she wasn’t groomed for executive office by a political machine, and she isn’t an attorney. But consider that the elite academic left has foisted fascism, communism, and socialism on this country, and it’s no surprise that Bill Buckley said he’d “rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.” Palin is a conservative, a reformer, and a Heinlein generalist. She’s a doer who has racked up an impressive list of accomplishments in a short time. In that light, McCain’s pick should look good to conservatives.