GETTING SCHOOLED WITH RUDY GIULIANI

Last evening I spent nearly five hours inside the Xcel Center. While there were multiple speakers, it was former New York mayor and former Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani whom I would most like to meet. He was funny, honest and persuasive.

“I'm sorry -- I'm sorry that Barack Obama feels that her hometown isn't cosmopolitan enough. I'm sorry, Barack, that it's not flashy enough. Maybe they cling to religion there.”

These Giuliani words referring to vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin meant a lot to me. At first I thought about how Greenwood is not very cosmopolitan either, but it is my home. I believe you can’t insult it just because it is not very big.

“We're the party that believes that parents -- parents should choose where their children go to school. And we're the party -- and we're the party that unapologetically believes in America's success, a shining city on a hill, a beacon of freedom that inspires the world. That's what our party is dedicated to.

Since my parents home school me and I enjoy how that allows me to spend more time with my family, I am glad that Giuliani and others in the Republican party support school choice.

Giuliani is outspoken and witty like my friend Alex. I am more low key -- maybe that is why I like being around people like them. For example, one Sunday after my church school teacher continuously reminded us to bring our Bibles, three kids still forgot. With a laugh, Alex replied, “ Sinners.”

Giuliani had some great lines too, such as:

“She's got an 80 percent approval rating. You never get that in New York City, wow.”

Most people in the Xcel Center laughed. That is because Giuliani’s approval rating was less than 40 percent before 9/11. I think it’s cool that Giuliani can laugh at himself.

Concluding his speech to Republicans, Giuliani told the crowd: “And now the job is up to us.”

I actually completed a few political jobs myself throughout the convention week. As a Y-Press reporter, I took photographs, collected audio, interviewed a 17-year-old delegate and a 20-year-old convention speaker, and met a lot of other interesting people. I hope what I’ve learned during this trip and what I learn in future reporting for Y-Press will help me vote for the best presidential candidate in 2016. I’ll be 20, and it will be my first time to vote for president.

You must log in or register to post comments.