Tom DeLay: My Wife May Now Vote for McCain

40yearfan · September 2nd, 2008, 11:02 AM

Tom DeLay: My Wife May Now Vote for McCain

Tuesday, September 2, 2008 9:08 AM

By: Ronald Kessler

ST. PAUL — Last spring, Tom DeLay’s wife Christine announced publicly that she would not be voting for Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Instead, she said, she will be voting for Libertarian candidate Bob Barr.

But in his first interview about McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as the GOP’s vice presidential nominee, the former House majority leader tells Newsmax that his wife now says she may be voting for McCain.

“It’s not because Sarah Palin is a woman,” DeLay says when asked how McCain’s choice will affect the votes of women. “It’s because he chose someone with strong conservative principles and character.”

Since leaving Congress in 2006, DeLay has formed First Principles, a political consulting firm, and founded the Coalition for a Conservative Majority. DeLay says delegates and Republican leaders at the GOP convention in St. Paul are energized by McCain’s choice.

“Instead of making a political choice, McCain made a principled one,” DeLay says. “Palin has a world view and so much character.”

In contrast, DeLay says, Barack Obama made a politically expedient decision in choosing Joe Biden as his running mate.

McCain’s choice “illuminates the decision-making capacity of McCain,” DeLay says. “McCain chose principle over politics. If Obama had gone with principle, he would have chosen Hillary Clinton, but he let his personal animosity get in his way. It shows he is naïve and lacks judgment and objectivity.”

DeLay contrasted Palin’s comment about the news that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant and about to get married to Obama’s comment that he would consider it a “punishment” if his daughter became pregnant out of wedlock.

In her statement, Palin said she is “proud” of her daughter’s decision to have the baby and “even prouder” that she and her husband Todd will be grandparents.

“Palin said she considers a baby a blessing,” DeLay says. “They are going to accept responsibility for their actions and deal with it in a strong and meaningful way.”

By choosing a vice presidential candidate with administrative experience, McCain has “rounded out” the ticket, DeLay says. “I’ve been calling on him to choose a governor,” he adds.

What Palin lacks in years of experience she makes up for “ten times” with her principled world view and foundation for making decisions

“She has accomplished a lot through standing on her principles,” DeLay says.

Meanwhile, DeLay says, Biden reportedly wants to re-make Obama’s image so he comes across as more of a regular guy.

“Obama is trying to hide that he is a radical socialist,” DeLay says. “If you read between the lines of his speech at the Democratic National Convention, that is what he is. Yet he tried to hide it with clever words.”

Obama will probably outspend McCain five to one and has a much bigger organization, DeLay says. But he predicts, “The American people will see through him.”

Before the Palin pick, the race was all about Obama and whether you are for him or against him. Now, DeLay says, “It’s a race between the two of them.”