Alaska’s young and dynamic Lt. Governor, Sean Parnell, stepped up to the plate this year to give Young his first serious challenge in many years. And Alaska Republicans were split down the middle about who they wanted to represent them as their lone voice in the U.S. House.

With 99% of the votes counted, Young has a very slim lead that amounts to fewer than 200 votes. A third candidate, State Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, has less than 10% of the vote…

Don Young - 42,539 votes (45.47%)
Sean Parnell - 42,387 votes (45.31%)
Gabrielle LeDoux - 8,618 votes (9.21%)

Their endorsement closes by taking note of the fact that even though many RedState contributors supported other candidates during the primary season, they’ve closed ranks around McCain. They promise that adding Representative Cantor to the ticket will make us all proud to be Republicans…

John McCain’s story is one of determined heroism in the face of torture and fear. It is a story that is profoundly moving. Though few of us at Redstate supported McCain in the primary, all of us view him as a patriot.

John McCain makes people of all political stripes proud to be American. Eric Cantor will make you proud to be a Republican.

What do you think? Should it be Cantor or someone else? Perhaps Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, or Charlie Crist? Sound off in the comments!

This might be the best spot the McCain campaign has come up with to date…

This widespread acceptance mostly serves to validate the government’s unsavory attitudes towards public administration - a model of tyranny that it apparently intends to export around the world, in light of recent abusive governments in Myanmar, Zimbabwe and Sudan.

From the Chicago Tribune:

If the Chinese government had any doubt about whether its mix of authoritarian politics and free-market economics could gain acceptance in the 21st Century, more than 80 visiting heads of state provided a stamp of approval.

Curiously, many defenders of Beijing have accused the West of racism - ignoring the fact that most who are urging recognition of problems in China are expatriate Chinese or Tibetans.  Certain freedoms - speech, religion, and an expectation of relative freedom - are biological mandates, based upon the existence of our faculties for constructively exercising them.  They are also required as the basis for an effective and healthy, non-tyrannical government.  The false accusation of racial prejudice is a nonsense attempt to reposit the needs of humans into a vague suspicion about lowest common denominator motives that is only superficially convincing.

China may grow in wealth and power using the “everyone shut up and play along” model - but it has little chance of becoming a civilization that others can look to for guidance, unless substantial reform is implemented.  Real change will have to come from the people; the government is too in love with itself to possibly contemplate giving up much power.  Unfortunately, the latest wave of nationalism has rendered the populace totally ineffective for meaningful participation in their own political system.  Until they get some more substantial “disruptions”, things will pretty much stay the same.

Typically, presidential candidates have gotten a bump in the polls after naming their vice presidential running mate. Obama apparently received no immediate benefit in the polls from naming Biden as Gallup Poll Daily tracking interviews conducted during the day on Saturday still showed Obama and McCain closely matched in voter preferences for president.

Plus, surveys indicate that Biden is less popular nationally than Joe Lieberman was when Gore named his as his running mate back in 2000…

But what’s even more telling is the fact that Biden produces only a net 7% gain for the Obama campaign in this measurement…

In past election years, Vice-Presidential candidates have normally produced a much higher net positive for their tickets. Some examples include John Edwards who gave John Kerry a 17% advantage, Lieberman gave Gore a 12% boost, and Kemp gave Dole an 18% bump. Back in 1992, adding Al Gore to the ticket improved Clinton’s standing 25%.

The election would be, essentially, over with. McCain/Clinton would instantly be a lock to win. This combined ticket would easily draw 70% of Republicans, 40% of Democrats, and a safe majority of independents.

Conservatives would be angry, to be sure. But at the same time, I think a lot of people would be willing to live with the prospect of Hillary Clinton as Vice-President if it meant that there was no chance Barack Obama became the next President.

Clinton, for her part, would be attacked and branded a traitor by many Democrats. But many others, still bitter about the primary fight, would likely rally to support her. Remember, John McCain is a conservative who has been able to appear to independents and conservative Democrats by speaking his mind and not always following the party line.

It would be an insane move, really. But just imagine it. With one stroke, Barack Obama’s presidential aspirations are ended. We guarantee at least four more years of a (largely) Republican administration. And as a bonus, the Democratic Party is smashed into pieces.

But since we all know this isn’t going to happen, let’s at least hope McCain considers picking Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to draw in female voters. And just imagine a Palin vs. Biden debate. Great entertainment!

One of the most overlooked episodes during the 1987 collapse of Biden’s campaign was a snippet of footage captured by C-Span in which the Delaware senator, in response to a question about where he went to law school and what sort of grades he received, delivered this classic line: “I think I have a much higher IQ than you do.”

While any human being — especially a candidate for president who is constantly being poked and prodded — can be forgiven a momentary flash of temper, Biden’s detractors point to that incident as evidence that the senator thinks he is the bee’s knees and doesn’t care who knows it.

Biden, by his own admission, has the capacity to fall in love with his own voice and wander off on tangents about his life that have nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Clearly Joe Biden really think a lot of himself. Maybe I was wrong before when I said that he was a bad choice for Obama. That kind of self-love and total arrogance makes him the perfect fit for the Obama ticket. Two peas in a pod.

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I wanted Clark too, and I have to admit I’m pretty let down that it’s Biden. But I’ve known for some time that it wouldn’t be my guy.

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Ho hum.

I will be interested in the “official” explanation and the “real” explanation.

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The pick of Biden has played right into the hands of the GOP. By demonstrating that we think our candidate is “weak” on foreign policy, we have handed the GOP a stick to beat us with.

I’m now more nervous than ever.

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I can’t believe I woke up for this. Biden better open his statement with a really funny plagiarism joke.

The commerical itself is so brand new that it isn’t on McCain’s YouTube page yet, but the campaign managed to get a copy to the major news outlets early this morning…

UPDATED: Here is the better video quality ad from the McCain YouTube page.

He’s also proven himself as a gaffe machine. When this campaign began he was caught on tape calling Obama a “clean” and “articulate” black candidate. Many people bristled at that kind of language. He also stumbled when he noted that you couldn’t go to a Dunkin Donuts or 7-11 in Delaware unless you had an Indian accent.

How long until the excitement from the diehard belivers starts to wear off?

This should prove to be very entertaining.