No matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat, no one can deny the fact that Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska and now the Republican Nominee for Vice President of the United States, gave a phenomenal speech at the Republican National Convention.  I was at the convention and felt the electricity in the room when she spoke.  I always tell our lawyers to never underestimate your adversaries.  Sen. Joe Biden will have his hands full in debating Sarah Palin.  Not only was her speech delivered flawlessly, but the tone and the content showed a deep understanding of major issues facing the United States.  Her depth of understanding of the energy issue will play out significantly in this campaign.  Her understanding of the nature of the threat we are under as a country and her support for the top of the ticket, Sen. John McCain, struck the perfect chord in her acceptance speech for the Vice Presidential nomination. 

There’s also no doubt that Sarah Palin has a personality and delivery style that touches Americans coast to coast.  The media continues to raise criticism of her, and even after her phenomenal speech, I expect that will not change.  However, she has shown herself to be a tough woman who understands the challenges and responsibilities ahead. 

What is also encouraging to me is the fact that Sarah Palin does not shy away from her Christian beliefs and faith.  In a recent interview with Time – just two weeks before her selection as VP nominee — she described herself as a “Bible-believing Christian.”  For those who don’t know, this means that she has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and would ascribe to an evangelical form of theology.  It’s also been reported that she attends a nondenominational church.  And in 2006, the Anchorage Daily News reported that her faith began at an early age. 

“Palin’s parents say they are not political and don’t know how she decided to turn her ambition and work ethic toward politics. Her Christian faith, they say, came from her mother, who took her children to area Bible churches as they were growing up (Sarah is the third of four siblings). They say her faith has been steady since high school, when she led the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and grew stronger as she sought out believers in her college years.”

Americans are by and large a religious people. It was Justice William O. Douglas of the Supreme Court of the United States who said that “[w]e are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.” 

Sarah Palin has a deep faith in God.  In her speech, she talked about how evil is overcome by good, and how people can endure even a difficult task of serving as a prisoner of war by the grace of God.  These unifying statements are principles that she personally believes in and should be welcome in the marketplace of ideas.  It does not mean that everybody else who is listening has to agree with her position, but it should not be dismissed simply because it’s religious.

It is interesting to note how Gov. Palin described the importance of her faith to Time just a couple of weeks ago:  “I knew early on that the smartest thing for me to do was to work hard, do the best that I can, make wise decisions based on good information in front of me,” she told Time.  “And then put my life, get myself on a path that could be dedicated to God and ask Him what I should next. That will be the position I will be in as long as I’m on earth — that is, seeking the right path that God would have laid out for me.”

Like millions of Americans, Sarah Palin’s reliance upon God to direct and to help her make decisions that matter is no different than our Founding Fathers’ reliance upon “Divine Providence.”  And it is not unlike millions of other Americans who ask for God’s wisdom every day of their lives on issues that are large and some that are small.

Sarah Palin did not make a religious speech last night; she did not make one focusing on the cultural issues either.  Instead, she focused on her life story, her guiding principles, her concern about energy and defeating radical Islamists.  She gave a fantastic speech! 

She will serve as a worthy opponent to Sen. Biden and she will be a force to be reckoned with.