I saw Sarah Palin’s speech in Virginia live and it was electric. The crowd was so charged up that the enthusiasm came through the television. I stopped what I was doing to watch and listen. Several times I stood up in my living room and applauded Palin’s comments. I especially loved the crowd’s chant “Use your brain. Vote McCain!”
After heading over to Anchoress‘ place, I realized I missed another great speech, that of Tito Munoz, otherwise known as Tito the Builder, who introduced Sarah. Tito is an American citizen who emigrated from Colombia. He owns his own construction company and is living his American Dream. Tito is the one who took on the media and told them to back off Joe the Plumber. Byron York was there and writes about his experience talking to Tito after a McCain rally in Virginia:
“Are you going to check my license, too?” he asked me. “Are you going to check my immigration status? I’m ready, I have everything here. Whatever you want, I have it. I have my green card, I have my passport — ”
Someone asked why Munoz had come to the rally. “I support McCain, but I’ve come to face you guys because I’m disgusted with you guys,” he said. “Why the hell are you going after Joe the Plumber? Joe the Plumber has an idea. He has a future. He wants to be something else. Why is that wrong? Everything is possible in America. I made it. Joe the Plumber could make it even better than me. . . . I was born in Colombia, but I was made in the U.S.A.”
Well, Tito made another appearance, this time at Sarah Palin’s Leesburg rally today where he introduced her.
What a great story. He comes here, becomes a citizen, works hard, builds up his business, and becomes successful. Instead of being angry at the work he had to put in to get to wear he is, he’s grateful. Anchoress writes it best:
An attitude of gratitude instead of entitlement. A patriot’s love of country. An individual’s understanding of personal exceptionalism. A guy who truly embodies the transformative power of genuine hope; the sparkle from the wheel.
The guy who came to America and said, “all I need is a chance.”
God bless Tito the Builder.