A Very Interesting Question!

Following is a very interesting question posed by Josh_Painter on the conservative web site RedState.com in his diary entitled, "Is This Young Governor Qualified to be VP?". Enjoy!!!!

"How qualified to be vice president of the United States could a Republican be who:

Is young - under 45 years old?

Speaks in favor of economic development of Alaska?

Advocates and engages in exercise for personal fitness?

Has lived in the wilds of the American Northwest?

Fishes, hunts, and loves the great outdoors?

Has a reputation, not as an environmentalist, but as a conservationist?

Has at least five children?

Is a moralist for whom every issue is a struggle between good and evil?

Is a reformer who has taken on the GOP's "good old boy network"?

Believes corporations should be controlled, but not strangled?

Said, "These fools on Wall Street think they can go on forever. They can't"?

Has made some powerful enemies?

Believes the military needs to be expanded?

Has shown a brilliant sense of political symbolism and timing?

Believes the people, not the courts, should determine their own policies?

Is not a lawyer?

Has never been elected to national office?

Is on the GOP ticket for VP with less than two years in the governor's office?

Pretty well qualified, as it turns out.

The year is 1900, and the candidate for vice president is Theodore Roosevelt."

Amazing, huh? And you probably thought, like I did, that he was talking about Sarah Palin. Isn't it amazing, though, how much like Teddy, Sarah is?

Here's some biographical information about Theodore Roosevelt from "The White House - History and Tours - Past Presidents":

"With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in the Nation's history. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.

He took the view that the President as a 'steward of the people' should take whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution. 'I did not usurp power,' he wrote, 'but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power.'...

As President, Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government should be the great arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in the Nation, especially between capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none.

Roosevelt emerged spectacularly as a 'trust buster' by forcing the dissolution of a great railroad combination in the Northwest. Other antitrust suits under the Sherman Act followed.

Roosevelt steered the United States more actively into world politics. He liked to quote a favorite proverb, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick...'

Aware of the strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, Roosevelt ensured the construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the Monroe Doctrine prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the Caribbean and arrogated the sole right of intervention in Latin America to the United States.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War, reached a Gentleman's Agreement on immigration with Japan, and sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world.

Some of Theodore Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in conservation. He added enormously to the national forests in the West, reserved lands for public use, and fostered great irrigation projects.

He crusaded endlessly on matters big and small, exciting audiences with his high-pitched voice, jutting jaw, and pounding fist. 'The life of strenuous endeavor' was a must for those around him, as he romped with his five younger children and led ambassadors on hikes through Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C."

In my humble opinion, Sarah Palin has the potential to be the type of leader that Teddy Roosevelt was. Let's hope she becomes our next vice president and then makes a successful run for the White House in 2012.