Last modified: Thursday, September 11, 2008 11:16 AM PDT Jeff koterba editorial cartoon for SEPTEMBER 5th 2008 palin The Country Curmudgeon: A breath of fresh air By Roy Hicks By selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, John McCain might have hit a home run clear out of the ballpark. I’d personally hoped he would have named Mitt Romney to consolidate the conservative base, but Romney got beaten up in the primaries for his Mormon faith, and his candidacy could have actually hurt the GOP ticket. The temptation to add a woman must have been irresistible. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s name was mentioned. Her problems were she’s not exactly a rock-ribbed conservative, and she’s relatively unknown to the general public, but McCain’s choice of Palin was a stroke of genius.  She’s relatively young and a tough-as-nails, no-nonsense conservative governor. She comes across well on television and in public as a cheerful and dynamic personality: not only an experienced chief executive, but a good mother to five children — one of whom is presently serving with the Army in Iraq. She should be able in debates to take on Democrat hack Joe Biden, the chief scoundrel who attempted to assassinate the character of Clarence Thomas in 1991. In her public persona, Palin comes across as not only good-looking but also as a staunch conservative and a spunky fighter: exactly what McCain’s campaign needed to consolidate the conservative base. This election isn’t going to come across as a re-run of Walter Mondale’s dreary 1984 campaign with Geraldine Ferraro, but as a breeze of cool, fresh oxygen blowing across our political landscape. It’s to be hoped our voters now understand electing Barack Obama would be a disaster for the country. “Change,” indeed! Inviting only galloping socialism, higher taxes and defeatism everywhere around a troubled globe we must do everything we can to contain and control. It might have been better for the GOP if Obama had chosen some obvious buffoon like Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson to run with, but Joe Biden will do. At least he’s not Hillary Clinton. In observing the GOP convention, what was fascinating was to watch the women in the audience when Palin took the stage to start firing barbs at the Democrats. They were positively electrified, and rightly so. She delivered a stinging rebuke to everything the radical Obamas stand for — higher taxes, bigger government, ever-increasing restrictions on America’s right to free itself from international energy dependence — and boldly asserting our right to self-determination. Watching this, one could see how Sarah Palin might well attract the votes of a lot of disgruntled women sore about how Hillary got frozen out from a rightful nomination and looking for a genuine champion of a woman’s right to make her way on her own merits and a lot of grouchy men worried about McCain’s conservative credentials.  Better yet, Ralph Nader’s name will appear on the ballots in at least 39 states. That ought to siphon off at least 4 to 5 million cuckoo votes, which might have been enough for Obama to win: just like 1992 in reverse. Without Ross Perot — that nutcase with the bad haircuts — we never would have had Bill Clinton, and the country would have been far better off for the next eight years. I’m tempted to predict John McCain — presenting his calm white-haired gentlemanly and grandfatherly image, together with this dynamic woman — could win this election rather handily. Not by a landslide, but decisively. Let us pray because the alternative is simply unthinkable. Kindly, don’t weary my editor with accusations of my being a racist. I’d fight anyone like Obama and his socialist agenda if he were white, green or purple. Roy Hicks, a Payette resident, writes a weekly column for the Argus Observer. Comments or questions for Mr. Hicks can be directed to: Roy Hicks, Argus Observer Newsroom; 1160 S.W. Fourth St. Ontario, OR 97914