10/14/08 President in cowboy boots

Which presidential candidate best understands farming and the ranching? I'm Jeff Keane stay tuned Susan and I will be back to give you our two cents. After reading articles in my stockmen's papers and BEEF on line it is obvious that ag policy is not the top agenda for either presidential candidate, but Susan I then got to wondering who you think would be more comfortable in a pair of cowboy boots? Well I know for a fact there are cowboy boots in the McCain closet that have seen arena dust but they belong to Cindy McCain who was Arizona's junior rodeo queen in 1968 and has a soft spot for rodeo having grown up with horses and a dad who loved the sport. If I had to place my bet on candidate who best understands our ways I would vote like the BEEF magazine readers. A whopping 81.5% of over 15,000 cattle producers polled said they are voting the McCain/ Palin ticket. You get two westerners for the price of one, verses none! Susan the most important issue for producers are property rights, with national security, energy, repeal of the Death Tax, and maintaining the tax cuts rounding out the top five. And Sarah Palin's addition means a lot to ranchers and folks like me who share her strong belief in our second amendment right to bear arms, which by the way came in number six of the top ten reasons American ranchers will be voting for John McCain.