And Reagan Smiled...

With Governor Sarah Palin's acceptance speech now behind us, I think we can all have full confidence in the fact that John McCain made the right pick for VP. Indeed, with one hell of a speech, her arrival on the National political scene has truly been announced, much to the (very apparent) chagrin of the liberal media.

Now this grocer's daughter and devoted mother who is despised by the press, has risen to become, more-or-less, the standard bearer for her Party.....er, no, wait, sorry. That grocer's daughter part belongs in Margaret Thatcher's life story, not Sarah Palin's; although I suppose you can probably understand why I might have gotten a little bit confused, eh? Yes folks, with what could only be described as an 'iron' resolve and assured sense of self that must have surely made the Iron Lady, herself, proud, Mrs. Palin not only stood up to her detractors in the media and in the Obama campaign in her speech last night; but coolly mocked them - and practically dared them to pick more fights with her.

They had derided her experience as a small-town Mayor, so she gave them a quick lesson in what Mrs. Thatcher must have meant when she commented on how interesting it was "that the things that [she] learned in a small town, in a very modest home, [were] just the things that," in her mind, "[had] won the election" for her Conservative Party.

They have harpooned her family, and the perfectly normal ups and downs it has been through recently, so she stood up for them, proudly; perhaps with a little bit better understanding of what Maggie meant by stating that a "woman who understands the problems of running a home [would] be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country."

Furthermore, and to get away from the Margaret Thatcher quote references for a second, she got in several great shots at Barack Obama, laying into his inexperience, a man who, having already been pulverized by Palin warm-up act Rudy Gulliani, must have been feeling pretty beat up after last night.

But let's get back to those Thatcher comparisons for a second, shall we? The comparisons work for several reasons. First, Palin's got a willingness to take on the establishment for the sake of reform that resembles the one Prime Minister Thatcher had when she brought down Great Britain's crippling Union beauracracy. She also has this unique ability to frighten her opponents in much the same way Margaret Thatcher scared the living daylights out of people like (former French President) Francois Mitterrand. Moreover, Governor Palin also seems to posses the confidence that comes from knowing ones political actions are rooted firmly in sound political principle. Finally, and most importantly, she's got a toughness that perhaps even Ronald Reagan lacked - that being, I suppose, the toughness that comes from being a woman playing what has, historically, been very much a man's game.

Put simply, Mrs. Palin has served notice that she is here to stay, that she will not be done away with easily, and the she will be a force for conservatism in American politics. However, to be fair, much as I love Mrs. Palin, she has a long way to go before she actually becomes the second coming of Margaret Thatcher. That, as the Iron Lady would certainly point out, can only come when she has consistently delivered, on a national level, the results that she has so far managed to produce on both the local and State levels. Nevertheless, as we saw last night and have seen throughout the last week, the tools, drive and stubborn will necessary to accomplish the, undoubtedly difficult, tasks she has set herself are all there. The conservative movement in America may have just found what it has been looking for in recent years - although we will have to find a new metal to start her nickname with, since Iron is already taken.

Maybe gold will do; afterall, that's what Americans went to Alaska to find in the first place, right? And her speech last night certainly stood out, much they way gold always has, to the 30 million-some-odd 37.2 million (!) people who watched it. But then, the 'Golden Lady' just doesn't seem to me like it will strike fear in the hearts of media-idiots all across America quite the way it should. And given their collective level of intellectual prowess, perhaps it really is only fair that they receive an appropriate warning for someone like Governor Palin.

Although, you know, come to think of it, even those in the media should have been able to pick up on the signs that came out of her speech last night. Indeed, I think it's safe to say that, after last night, Sarah Palin's critics in the Media, and those on both the Left and even on the Right, have been sufficiently warned: this Lady, is definitely not for turning.