A Tale of Two Warriors

Ron Lipsman writes a piece for American Thinker which fits right in with the theme of this blog. He describes the type of warrior that Obama is and gives us a good picture of an opponent who is weak and defeatable. The classic battle between liberalism and conservatism is one that flourishes with warlike imagery, villains and heroes and strategies that engage the mind on a higher level. So how much more fitting is it that Barack The Barbarian is pitted against Red Sarah, the personifications of our conflicting ideologies.

Lipsman describes Obama's warrior characteristics:

Yet in some sense, he actually is a warrior -- not in any military context, but rather in the classic parlance of the progressive movement. He is an aggressive, motivated, and dedicated soldier in the battle to remake America into a collectivist social welfare state. He struggles mightily to undermine the Constitution, destroy free-market capitalism, subvert traditional culture, and weaken the sovereign nature of the American republic. In this struggle, he belittles his opponents, pursues his objectives relentlessly and engages in elaborate feints and misdirection to confuse and demoralize the opposition.

Sounds like a warrior to me...except that the field of engagement is the political arena instead of a military battlefield. The weapons are words, money, favors, and the media, not guns and missiles. Physical courage does not enter the equation; it is replaced by idealistic conviction, single-minded devotion to a cause, and stubborn unwillingness to entertain the thought that one might be wrong.

Obama and his fellow progressives who are running the country have established the fields of battle in their war to remake America. Moreover, they discuss those fields in military terms, replete with all the implications for national calamity, extensive casualties, and lost opportunities that are normally associated with the winds of war.

Obama prefers appeasement to confrontation. He prefers despots like Chávez or Castro to democrats like Netanyahu. Unwilling to project strength, Obama believes that obsequiousness and understanding will reverse the intent of America's enemies. Some warrior!

Compare him with his opponent who Gary P. Jackson calls a Joyful Warrior:

This brings me back to this simple, but magnificent moment in Virginia, caught on film. When I look at this photo, I see a supremely confident and virile woman. A woman who truly has the bull by the horns. A woman filled with unbelievable vitality. A woman who is in charge. A woman who wields great power.

You know what else I see? I see joy.

Sarah Palin is a happy, joyful woman, and that my friends, is the key to the whole thing. Here is a lady who has had the very worst the hatemongers of the world have to offer up thrown at her. I mean for one year solid the most vile of attacks have come her way. Most people would have stepped back, and maybe went underground for awhile, and certainly, no one could have blamed Sarah had she, herself, taken that route. But obviously, this is a woman who simply isn’t built that way.

Instead, Sarah is the team captain who would lead her high school basketball team to a state championship, playing on a broken ankle, and scoring the final game winning points. This is the young wife who, while working in the rough world of commercial fishing, had an accident that would crush her hand, sending her to the hospital, only to see her return right back to work that day.

This is the PTA mom who thought she could make a difference in her hometown and would eventually turn into a crusader against corruption as both a city councilwoman and two term mayor. This is a woman, who after being appointed the to powerful job as the state’s chief energy and environmental regulator, saw massive corruption not only in the industry she regulated, but within her own political party as well.

This would lead Sarah to the Governorship, and her accomplishments as Governor most certainly speak for themselves, as do the consistently high approval ratings. The highest for any Governor in the nation.

With all of this going on around her, just how was Sarah able to maintain her strength and remain so joyful about life?

Sarah speaks about her faith in God often. Unlike other politicians who seem to be afraid of becoming labeled as a religious extremist for daring to mention their faith, Sarah readily speaks of the strength and guidance she receives from God’s word, and how this strength and guidance serves her as she goes through life. How this helps her as a leader. As with most Americans, faith is the strong foundation that Sarah builds her life upon.

Whether it’s corruption, health care, energy, monetary policy, Afghanistan, the global warming hoax, or any other pressing matter, Sarah always has the courage to take on the establishment, to speak out. To take a stand while others remain timid.

Hemingway called courage: grace under pressure. Sarah Palin is one of the most courageous politicians in the modern era of American politics.

While Obama retreats in the face of adversity (cancelling off shore drilling leases because of the BP spill), Palin advances in a different direction. She takes the position that the BP spill should not deter us from drilling, but in fact should motivate us to drill more and focus more on safety. Palin writes:

All responsible energy development must be accompanied by strict oversight, but even with the strictest oversight in the world, accidents still happen. No human endeavor is ever without risk – whether it’s sending a man to the moon or extracting the necessary resources to fuel our civilization. I repeat the slogan “drill here, drill now” not out of naiveté or disregard for the tragic consequences of oil spills – my family and my state and I know firsthand those consequences. How could I still believe in drilling America’s domestic supply of energy after having seen the devastation of the Exxon-Valdez spill? I continue to believe in it because increased domestic oil production will make us a more secure, prosperous, and peaceful nation.

While Obama would lead his army away from confrontation, Palin motivates them and makes them confident of victory even when going head on against the strongest of opponents.

So far the Obama army tactics are failing. Another Black Conservative writes:

No matter what Palin says or does, the obsessive liberals are there to seize upon every nuance. Even when it is pointed out to them that their obsessive attention is propelling her right into the White House, they just cannot help themselves...

As a foot soldier in her army, I see her as our movement's greatest leader - a Reaganesque figure who has still yet to be fully recognized for all the greatness she possesses.