Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gave a speech two nights ago that drove home just how deep the McCain camp is willing to stand in their own pile of lies to win an election that they are now basing on the themes and goals that they have usurped from the Democrats.

Let's start at the top.

It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.

With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost - there was no hope for this candidate who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war.

Simply put this is categorically not true. McCain's downturn in 2007, among conservatives, had nothing to do with his commitment to a war and everything to do with his ties to the McCain - Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill, the McCain - Kennedy Immigration Reform Bill, and his initial opposition to President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of Americans. He used the success of the surge in Iraq as a leaping point for his rebound but it wasn't the topic that got him into hot water to begin with.

Then after chastising Obama for his supposed Scranton - San Francisco flip she declares:

As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is listening, John McCain is the same man.

Hmmm. Let's see. How exactly did McCain turn around his campaign after floundering in 2007? By distancing himself from both reform bills and signing on to extend those tax cuts permanently. By becoming a different man.

And as for what the right reasons are for 'Going to Washington', Palin declares:

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.

Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. That's why true reform is so hard to achieve.

Here we hear Palin begin the mantra that many Republicans are now trumpeting, change. The problem though is that all I hear are trumpets. I don't here any ideas that are any sort of change from the current administration. You may not like Obama's ideas for the future of this country. National healthcare, ending the war, reducing the national debt, repealing Bush's wealthiest one-percent tax cut. But at least when he says he is the candidate of change, he isn't blowing smoke up your ass.

In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.

And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

The Republicans have been spouting on about change ever since they realized that this country might just be fed up with Bushy-boy, but they haven't given one credible example of what that change may entail.

In fact McCain's two crutches in this election are his stance on the war in Iraq and his now flip-flopped approval of extending and making permanent the Bush tax cut. Sounds like status quo to me Palin. Certainly not a challenge to it - not by any means. Certainly not change. And in fact, McCain is exactly the type of individual who uses change to promote his career. He did just that by reversing his stance on the hotly debated tax cut issue and fell in line with the party code.

But you want to talk change and reform Palin? You want to talk about balancing the budget? Ok lets talk.

I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law.

While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for.

That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay.

I also drive myself to work. And I thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef - although I've got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her.

Really Palin? That's what you are taking with you to the White House. You got rid of your private jet, you drove yourself to work, and you fired your personal chef!

You think balancing a massively complicated federal budget and curbing out of control spending in all aspects of the federal government is akin to your personal choice to cancel the luxury jet, drive yourself to work and fire a chef? Your decisions to limit your own personal wasteful spending while in office are very respectable but to think that those beliefs somehow give you, and to an extension the McCain - Palin ticket, some sort of footing in the battle to cut wasteful spending is appalling and insulting to the American public.

And as for this war and our impending 'victory' or Obama's reluctance to use such a term.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot - what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.

Let's get one thing straight Mrs. Palin. The mission of this war was to find Iraq's WMD's. That has never been done. There has been no victory in that battle. Just a series of failures. Not by our brave soldiers, but by our current leadership. But that line of reasoning has been brushed under the rug by our current administration, your party. Now you feed us the party line of fighting terrorists and making the U.S. safer for its citizens by way of regime change. You cling to your victory in a war justified after initial reasoning proved to be baseless while Obama continues to live in the real world where people acknowledge that the Republican war against Iraq has been nothing but a massive smoke and mirrors routine. Then again your running mate fought in Vietnam and perhaps, unhappy with the outcome, he is simply looking for redemption.

And finally:

Taxes are too high ... he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.

The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes ... raise payroll taxes ... raise investment income taxes ... raise the death tax ... raise business taxes ... and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that's now opened for business - like millions of others who run small businesses.

How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you're trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or Ohio ... or create jobs with clean coal from Pennsylvania or West Virginia ... or keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.

How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy? Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election.
In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.

And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

First and foremost Obama wants to drop the Bush tax cut. The tax cuts put into place so that taxes aren't too high, for the wealthiest that is. So which is it? Are they too high or not? And Obama's line of thinking as to why we should repeal the tax cut is exactly what McCain thought back in 2001 and 2003 when he was against the tax cut. That is, he was against tax cuts in times of war. Wake up Palin: WE ARE STILL AT WAR. Your son is deploying on 09.11.08. Or is the reality of war only important to you when you can use it to trumpet McCain's so called toughness or as an attempt to draw attention away from the fact that you had such little control over your family that your 17-year-old daughter is now unwedded and pregnant.

You complain that Obama is adding a massive tax burden to the American people. An unjustified and brutally expensive war added a massive tax burden to the American people! You can't simply ignore your debts Palin. And this nation is in debt. Taxes are needed to pay off that debt and increase the financial standing of this nation internationally. Until then all the investment that leaves this country for overseas will continue because it's cheaper and more profitable to do so. But how do you plan on fighting that? By increasing tax breaks to big companies and wealthy few. By increasing the deficit and increasing the already widening gap between the haves and have-nots in this country. Brilliant!

Lest I be labeled a hater though, you did close with one accurate statement.

If character is the measure in this election ... and hope the theme ... and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.

The real man of character, hope and change: Barack Obama.