For months I have said that this presidential election would come down to the candidates' choice for vice-president. I know, it's crazy isn't it? Who bases their choice for President of the United States on that person's choice in a running mate? I'm not sure if anyone else does, but this year, I do.

I do not like Barack Obama. I never have. With all his talk of hope, change, and inspiration, I have yet to hear him state a single thing he will do that fills me with hope. I have yet to hear him tell me what he is going to change that will actually make things different. I have yet to hear him say anything that inspires me to vote for him. Don't get mad, I am just being honest.

Now, here's another tidbit you will love.

I do not like John McCain either. I never have. He has worked hard on the opposite side of many issues that are important to me. For years he has been known as a RINO in Washington. A Republican In Name Only. While it's true that he has an exemplary record when it comes to some conservative issues, I have a hard time reconciling that record with his record on many issues like illegal immigration and energy.

Both candidates have now chosen their vice-presidential running mates.

Barack Obama chose Joseph Biden, the senator from Delaware. I found nothing hopeful in that decision. Joe Biden has been in Washington since 1972, where is the change? Truth be told, I do not find the Obama-Biden ticket to be inspiring at all.

John McCain chose Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. And now, I finally get it.

For the past year I have heard Barack Obama talk about hope. I saw that hope today when Sarah Palin walked out and greeted the crowd in Dayton, Ohio. For the first time since this election cycle started I have hope that America might not be going to hell in a hand-basket.

In addition to hope, Barack Obama has spoken of change. Nothing embodies the word change more than Sarah Palin. She is known as a barracuda on the basketball court, and as governor she spent her time cleaning up corruption in the state of Alaska. If any of the candidates, for president or vice-president, represent the true possibility that things can change, it's her.

It's an understatement to say that I haven't been inspired much this election cycle. I threw my support behind Fred Thompson when he announced his candidacy only to find that Fred really didn't want the job. Since then, I haven't endorsed a single candidate on the national level, and I had no intention to do so. Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain have inspired me in the slightest, and truth be told, until today I was planning to vote for a third-party candidate. But John McCain chose Sarah Palin and inspired me.

Barack Obama was right. We can have hope for the future. We can change things. We can be inspired. Thank you Senator McCain for choosing Sarah Palin as your running mate.

Today, John McCain announces Sarah Palin as his running mate for vice-president.

Sarah Palin is an excellent choice, and honestly, one of my two preferences for the job. Mrs. Palin has served as Governor of Alaska since 2006, giving her executive experience, even if only two years worth.

Before serving as Governor, Mrs. Palin ws appointed Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, by then Governor Frank Murkowski. She served in that position from 2003-2004, when she resigned because of the 'lack of ethics' of her fellow Alaskan Republican leaders. She has proven she is a woman of ethics, that's for sure.

Sarah Palin is educated and she in not a lawyer. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism with a minor in politics.

When she was pregnant with her son Trig, she and her husband, Todd, were informed the baby possessed an extra chromosome and would have Down's Syndrome. Rather than choosing to end Trig's life at that early stage of the pregnancy, she chose to welcome him into the world with open arms.

Sarah Palin is an educated, proven leader with executive experience and an honest and ethical core. She hunts, fishes, and eats mooseburger. I wonder if that tastes like buffaloburger?

Congratulations Mrs. Palin. Good luck in November!

It's that time of the year again. September marks the beginning of the end as far as I am concerned. The end of the year will be here before you know it, and when it arrives you will think back and wonder where the time has gone. It's always a blur to me.

September seems to start a bit slow, but before you know it, October will be here. Fall will be in the air, and then it will suddenly be Halloween. My kids will spend the next couple weeks meticulously planning their costumes for the evenings events, only to change their minds at the last minute, usually on the morning of Halloween.

As we get closer to Thanksgiving, the kids will get excited all over again. As homeschoolers, we make a big deal about Thanksgiving and the kids always dress up in Pilgrim and Indian costumes. They pretend to be living in that time, at that time, for up to two weeks leading to the actual day. The whole thing kicks off when they choose the Thanksgiving gift for the table. They sometimes disagree on who gets to be who, but for the most part the whole time is a blast. They make videos of their daily 'events', and they celebrate the lead up to one our nation's greatest holidays.

Twenty days and counting. The House Republicans have continued their discussion of the American Energy Act for 20 days.

While House Democrats partied in Denver and waited to see Senator Obama accept his party's nomination for President, House Republicans remained on the House floor talking about energy. They have been discussing wind, solar, nuclear, and other alternative energy sources. They have been discussing drilling for oil and natural gas, to decrease our dependence on foreign oil.

Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats walked away from the House when there was still work to be done. No Democrats have returned to Washington to discuss energy. None of them have been seen on the House floor since August 1st.

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