Why I (Meredith) am voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin.

We believe in low taxes, spending discipline, and open

markets. We believe in rewarding hard work and risk-takers and letting

people keep the fruits of their labor.

We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a

culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense

justice impartially and don't legislate from the bench.

We believe in the values of families, neighborhoods, and

communities. We believe in a government that unleashes the creativity

and initiative of Americans, government that doesn't make your choices

for you, but works to make sure you have more choices to make for

yourself.

I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise

them.

I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them.

I will cut government spending. He will increase it.

My tax cuts will create jobs; his tax increases will eliminate them.

My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and

keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses

to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run

health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.

We all know that keeping taxes low helps small businesses grow and

create new jobs. Cutting the second-highest business tax rate in the

world will help American companies compete and keep jobs from going

overseas.

Doubling the child tax exemption from $3,500 to $7,000 will improve

the lives of millions of American families.

Reducing government spending and getting rid of failed

programs will let you keep more of your own money to save, spend, and

invest as you see fit.

Opening new markets and preparing workers to compete in the world

economy is essential to our future prosperity.

I know some of you have been left behind in the changing economy, and

it often seems that your government hasn't even noticed. Government

assistance for the unemployed workers was designed for the economy of

the 1950s. That's going to change on my watch.

Now, my opponent promises to bring back old jobs by wishing away the

global economy. We're going to help workers who've lost a job that

won't come back find a new one that won't go away.

We will prepare them for the jobs of today. We will use our

community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their

communities.

For workers in industries that have been

hard-hit, we'll help make up part of the difference in wages between

their old job and a temporary, lower paid one, while they receive

re-training that will help them find secure new employment at a decent

wage.

Education is the civil rights issue of this century.

Equal access to public education has been gained, but what is the

value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with

competition, empower parents with choice.

Let's remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward

good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.

When a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve

a choice in the education of their children. And I intend to give it

to them.

Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one.

Many will choose a charter school. But they will have the choice, and

their children will have that opportunity.

Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched

bureaucrats. I want schools to answer to parents and students.

And when I'm president, they will.

My fellow Americans, when I'm president, we're going to embark on the

most ambitious national project in decades.

We're going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries

that don't like us very much.

We'll attack the problem on every front. We'll produce

more energy at home. We will drill new wells off-shore, and we'll

drill them now. We'll drill them now.

My friends, we'll build more nuclear power plants.

We'll develop clean-coal technology. We'll increase the use of wind,

tide, solar, and natural gas. We'll encourage the development and use

of flex-fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.

Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more

drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better

than that.

We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to

rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and

restore the health of our planet.

My friends it's an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and

we've faced greater challenges. It's time for us to show the world

again how Americans lead.

[an excerpt from John McCain's acceptance speech given September 4, 2008 in Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN]

All this and a confident, smart, ethical woman that my daughter can look up to.

Vote McCain*Palin!