Ready to rock
It’s Friday, and Delegates from across the country are arriving in Minneapolis for the festivities that will begin Sept. 1 in St. Paul.
They are greeted by the news that Sen. McCain has chosen a conservative woman as his running mate.
Gov. Sarah Palin has energized this campaign. I have a smile on my face that just cannot be erased. As the working mother of two daughters, I can relate to what it is to multi-task, balancing children, family, career and commitment to all.
I am impressed with the VP pick for her personal and political accomplishments. I think she must be able to use both hands, perhaps simultaneously, and have eyes in the back of her head, like me, my mom, my grand mom and most of the moms I know who are working hard to make ends meet while raising a family.
As we walk to the Conservative Leadership luncheon, delegation Chair Don Murphy and I are recognized by campaigners and political operatives from across the country. It is a nice feeling to know folks we worked with during the primaries remember us.
Once there, the chatter is about Palin’s background as a hockey player, a broadcast journalist and her high school nickname of Sarah Barracuda. The consensus is Gov. Palin is a strong contender. She has 13 years of government experience under her belt.
Sara Palin has taken on the government. She has reformed Alaska in many ways, including being fiscally responsible by lowering taxes and going after the big oil companies. Her tenacity has served Alaska constituents well, and, as Gov. Palin has said, she will do no less for the citizens of the United States.
This week has been so filled with the committee work that I hadn’t even noticed the cute emblems in the hotel lobbies which illuminate the RNC seal lighting the way.
So now it is off to St. Paul where the party begins. It is time to repack my suitcase and shuttle to the new hotel. Some state delegations are staying in Minneapolis. While I dread the repacking, it comes with the solace that the new hotel is only 5 blocks from the Xcel Energy Center. Come Monday, all the members of Maryland’s Delegation will be there. It seems fitting that our convention will be in the Energy Center – we are so ready to rock.
-- Carmen Amedori
Carmen Amedori, 52, is a resident of Westminster and was a state delegate representing Carroll County from 1998 to 2004, when she was appointed by then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to serve on the Maryland Parole Commission. A native of Baltimore and graduate of Villa Julie College, Amedori worked as a paralegal and journalist while raising two daughters, before entering the world of politics. She was one of the few elected officials in Maryland who supported John McCain when he ran for president in 2000, and was an alternate delegate at that year's convention. Her backing has not wavered, and this year, Amedori is the Western Maryland regional director for McCain. She has also been cleared to be a surrogate — meaning she has the blessing to speak on McCain’s behalf when called upon.
Cheryl Miller, 55, and her husband, Michael, coordinate the Volunteers for Obama office in Anne Arundel County. She is an Annapolis resident and mother of two who runs a home-based event planning business. Despite studying political science at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania, Miller was not particularly involved in politics until this year. She was invited to a fund-raiser last fall, and soon found herself immersed in the Obama campaign, working phone banks and traveling to Ohio and Pennsylvania to door-knock. This will be her first convention.