September 3, 2008

So what did you think of Sarah Palin?

A new thread, so you aren't buried down in the 600s in the comments on that last post. But stay on the precise topic to belong under this heading. The issue is only: How did she do?

IN THE COMMENTS: Revenant saiD"
From now on, when a Democrat says "But what if McCain drops dead on his first day in office?!?!?!" I'm going to say "dude -- don't tease me like that."
Prosecutorial Indiscretion said:
The response from the left tells us all we need to know: "You know someone else wrote that speech, right?"

When that's all you have, you don't have much. The speech was awesome, Palin is awesome, and there is palpable fear from the left as they realize that the woman they denigrated as a backwoods PTA mom is going to give them all kinds of hell for the next two months with a big and sincere smile on her face.
john(classic) said:
Given all the slime thrown at her over the last 5 days, I feel like I just watched one of those action films where the hero disappears in debris, smoke, and a roar, the music pauses, and the hero steps forward out of the smoke, samurai sword slung over his shoulder. The music swells.

But I gotta get used to saying "heroine."
Beldar said:
First-inning grand-slam.

By the vice presidential debate, they may have Biden fake illness, give her an intentional walk. She's going to kill them at every single at-bat.
Well, speaking of fake illness, maybe Biden is so ill, he needs to step down. You know, he's reminds me so much of Eagleton. (Just reversing that idiotically insincere Eagleton meme.)

Dark Eden said:
One word: Thatcher

310 comments:

1 – 200 of 310   Newer›   Newest»
I'm Full of Soup said...

Woohoo! First!

Unknown said...

Wow. DNC, RNC, Berlin, Paris. London - SP would rock-the-house. I would pay money to see SP & BO "debate" in the mode of Lincoln - Douglas. And I know that BO has delivered when the buildup/ pressure was on. But he has never had to do so after an onslaught like SP has endured. I am at a loss to think of another recent example like this - where the person under-the-gun delivered like SP did tonight. And there may be an example of someone doing the same - but no one in the modern era has ever done it better. Historic, simply historic. She - um' he - has my vote.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Have you noticed the MSM talking heads are speaking with trembling voices.

Anonymous said...

Apparently Palin did great because the reasonable lefties here are telling the ones who are foaming rabidly at the mouth to stop making asses of themselves.

I don't watch these events because I don't go in for cult of personality myself, but I do like to read about it.

Peter V. Bella said...

I have a fourteen year old daughter who lives with her mother. Tomorrow, I am going to tell her to study Sarah Palin, for she is a woman to emulate.

She is living proof that if you work hard, play by the rules, and focus on the positive there is nothing you cannot accomplish. This is a woman of substance, poise, and grace.

She took Obama’s best shot at smearing her and her family and she came through it with courage and aplomb and her head held high. She is the woman, the new feminist, the role model of the twenty first century. History was made in more ways than one tonight.

Donn said...

I thought it was a GREAT speech and I will be registering to vote in this election (I planned on sitting it out).

Tarkwell Robotico said...

She was magnificent. Really wonderful.

(Honorable mentions: Guiliani and the Governor of Hawaii).

Pauld said...

I thought she was incredible. Nuff said.

Revenant said...

From now on, when a Democrat says "But what if McCain drops dead on his first day in office?!?!?!" I'm going to say "dude -- don't tease me like that".

Tarkwell Robotico said...

oh, that is a terrific line, revenant.

Anonymous said...

Got bogged down a bit in the middle when talking about "her area" of energy, but otherwise a home run over the Green Monster and across Lansdowne Street.

Tari said...

Fantastic! Strong - I loved it.

revenant: ditto

Anonymous said...

Maybe Obama should step down. With his history of cocaine abuse its not really fair to put him up against Sarah.

Jeff Vaca said...

The speech was a little bit too long, but overall she did great - far beyond my expectations.

Prosecutorial Indiscretion said...

The response from the left tells us all we need to know: "You know someone else wrote that speech, right?"

When that's all you have, you don't have much. The speech was awesome, Palin is awesome, and there is palpable fear from the left as they realize that the woman they denigrated as a backwoods PTA mom is going to give them all kinds of hell for the next two months with a big and sincere smile on her face.

slumber_j said...

She did well, although not as well as she might have. Got mired in the give-and-take with the audience by delivering her gotchas too deliberately, which messed up several punchlines. It seemed to me that she should have adopted a more natural cadence early in the speech to avoid such problems. But all in all a good speech--certainly very far from the actively embarrassing norm for these things.

Peter V. Bella said...

She pushed all the right buttons tonight. It was a grand slam home run. My apologies to Trooper, but hey, Sarah Palin won the Superbowl!

Michael Wade said...

An absolute grand slam home run of a speech.

This is not a person to be underestimated. Very impressive.

MadisonMan said...

Didn't watch, grading and then wrestling with uncooperative software. But from the other thread it sounded like a winner.

Anonymous said...

Great commentary on the speech, Phil. It must have been pretty humdrum if all you can bring up is the next scandal. Surely, this one will stick.

Right? Right?

Good night, everyone, especially you leftists who are tearing you hair out. You sure are a hoot to watch.

Unknown said...

She is a great speaker, I thought at her first speech that her voice was going to grating in a long speech. But she has a great natural delivery and tone. She would be the first politician, I can stand to listen to since Reagan.

Peter V. Bella said...

Obama gave a little speech with Greek pillars in a Shakesperean setting and people cried.

Sarah Palin gave a speech to real people in a real arena and people cheered.

miller said...

Yeah. I'm glad to see that we must continue to delve, delve, delve in the Sarah!

Let's forget about Bambi and his missing $150 million dollars.

john(classic) said...

Given all the slime thrown at her over the last 5 days, I feel like I just watched one of those action films where the hero disappears in debris, smoke, and a roar, the music pauses, the tension mounts, and the hero steps forward out of the smoke, samurai sword slung over his shoulder. The music swells to triumph.

But I gotta get used to saying "heroine".

Jim Howard said...

It was a great speech. She started just a tad slow, but soon whatever nervousness she was feeling ended and she really got into the swing of things.

She delivered a number of really hard body blows to Obama. She really is a pit bull with lipstick.

Over the last week Obama has made 'experience' a talking point. Well, Palin talked about it a lot. And the more she talked experience the smaller Obama got.

Donna B. said...

I was very impressed, but since I'd been hoping McCain would choose her for some time now, that's no big deal.

What is a big deal, is that my husband who has been adamant that he will vote for anybody but McCain OR Obama was also impressed.

Also, my very Democrat son watched the speech with us (already she's bringing families together!) and he also was impressed. He's young and I'm wondering if this wasn't the first political speech that he's ever listened to beginning to end.

Yeah... I'm getting excited about this election now.

Ben Morris said...

I thought it was slightly awkward, at least relative to my expectations -- maybe because she had to work with an unfamiliar speechwriting team, or maybe because the venue was a little bigger than she's used to. But still pretty solid.

Richard said...

Absolutely first-rate. I had high hopes, but she exceeded them by miles. That is one very strong woman.

After the speech, even Chris "Tweety" Matthews and Keith "Cob-up-the-ass" Olbermann were hard put to find anything to piss on.

It will be interesting to see what sort of bounce she and McCain get in the polls.

Maxine Weiss said...

She's gonna make mincemeat out of Joe Biden when they debate. She'll mop the floor with him, and it'll be fun to watch him squirm.

Hey, Levi looks content, doncha think? Maybe this marriage thing ain't so bad afterall, he's probably thinking to himself. I'm sure the Palins have a huge dowry waiting, so it's all good !!!!

I thought the young boys looked so dapper in their blue-blazers and ties. Those fresh-scrubbed, clean-cut Alaskan boys ! Wholesome and all-American !!!!!

I love that whole Alaskan vibe,and everything that the Palin family brings to this ticket. Glamorous, fascinating, and such strength and family unity.

Beldar said...

First-inning grand-slam.

By the vice presidential debate, they may have Biden fake illness, give her an intentional walk. She's going to kill them at every single at-bat.

TMink said...

I am voting for Palin. McCain gets the pickup.

The BS in the media sickened me and Palin inspired me. The two pushed and pulled, attracted and repelled me in a new direction.

When she said "A servant's heart" millions of evangelical Christians said "She's one of us." That "servant's heart" phrase refers to obeying Christ, being submissive to His will. It refers to personal sacrifice for the greater good. That phrase was code, and we got the message. I wish I could have heard those many voices across America as they said "Praise God!" in different ways.

Trey

Dark Eden said...

One word: Thatcher

Unknown said...

I loved the speech, much more than I'd hoped for.

It's so great that Obama's team had to send phil in here. I wonder if they get overtime for late night attack posts?

KCFleming said...

Twas beauty killed the beast.

Aaron said...

The bases were loaded and she knocked it out of the park. She went all in and flopped quads.

Sarah Palin is full of win.

Christy said...

Great speech. She left us confident that she can hold her own in this race and isn't going to let the bastards get or put her down.

Athena DePaul said...

B+. Great speech, but not history-making outside the context.

Good balance between talking about herself, McCain, and Obama. She deftly handled the hint of her own family controversy and then went right on the attack! I think that was great - any hint of weakness and the media would have pounced.

The delivery was good, with just a couple of weird moments in the timing (WAY better than Guiliani). Great overall theme of reinforcing the differences between the candidates.

The speech alone isn't going hand McCain the election, but I predict a McCain bounce, a hard fought battle, and an eventual slight McCain victory.

Chad said...

BTW, I support Bob Barr not these fake conservatives.

Maxine Weiss said...

Not Thatcher---too stiff.

More Golda Meir....a calling and called to serve.

Ronald Reagan? A Time For Choosing...the Barry Goldwater speech.

Never thought I'd see another Ronald Reagan in my lifetime. And, they kept looking for a gimmick with him too.

Couldn't find it.

Really quite an extraordinary woman.

Put her in office, and fast track her to President. What we saw tonight was Presidential material.

Athena DePaul said...

The prove-my-foreign-policy-credentials pop quiz in the middle dragged a little, but the bit about the styrofoam columns more than made up for it!

Ann Althouse said...

Stay on topic here. I'm deleting OT stuff. No news reports.

Anonymous said...

This wasn't just a great political performance, this was a great political performance under mind numbing pressure.

Wow! The game has changed. It is going to be very, very hard for Obama and Biden to land a blow on the smiling face behind the daggers.

Anonymous said...

Talk about home runs. Bob Barr is going to knock it out of the park. All 75 people in the Magnolia Room at the La Quinta Inn in Jacksonville are going to be going apeshit with praise.

Maxine Weiss said...

Uh, isn't it bedtime?

Althouse has special powers that allow her to delete in her sleep.

Dark Eden said...

//the smiling face behind the daggers.

I like that, a lot. It feels like an entirely new Republican Party doesn't it?

VariableSpin said...

I'd say an 'A' for content and a "B-" on delivery.

Technically I thought she was a bit too measured and halting in places. That could be an artifact of the teleprompter which is new to her. I think it diminished somewhat the power of her sparkling personality.

To be honest, I was moved more by her introductory speech. There she was more extemporaneous and passionate.

I, however, am probably a tough grader. I didn't have the low expectations that most of the media seemed to have.

Alex said...

Seven Machos said...

Talk about home runs. Bob Barr is going to knock it out of the park. All 75 people in the Magnolia Room at the La Quinta Inn in Jacksonville are going to be going apeshit with praise.
11:25 PM

Dude. That's harsh.

Chad said...

It was a good speech. She must have been under a lot of pressure given that Drudge is reporting that the National Enquire (Althouse's favorite news source) has a story that Governor Palin is having an affair with her husband's business partner and tried to pressure her daughter into a shotgun wedding.

KCFleming said...

I loved it, but so what? I cannot vote for Obama.

The MSM hated it, or were begrudgingly surprised, but so what? They cannot cannot cannot vote for McCain.

I want more to know what the middle thinks. Good? Bad? Don't care? Watching Family Guy instead?

miller said...

which part of "don't post news reports" do you not understand?

vbspurs said...

A history-making speech from a rookie national politician, who is anything but a rookie in politics.

Her presence, as much as the utter devastating bullseyes she hit Obama-Biden with, was astounding.

Even MSNBC panelists have to grudgingly concede she has poise. She looked like she did this every day of her life. She clearly has an enormous fund of self-confidence, which I believe comes from her roots in Alaska, her family, and her values.

Watching the speech, my heart was racing in the first 5 minutes, but by minute 20 of her speech, when she got in that dig about the Greek pillars, I felt a weight as big as house lift off my shoulders.

I suppose like many people I just wanted her to look competent.

I didn't expect, really didn't expect her to be so gritty, so steely, to give as good as she got, and how.

Can you imagine how Senator Obama and his campaign must've felt tonight?

Had it been a face-to-face confrontration, the things she said about small towns, her sister Heather and her husband owning a gas station (the very people Obama merely refers to in passing, she actually is RELATED TO), about the Gubernatorial jet plane she put on eBay, well, let's just say Obama would've slunked away with a tail between his legs.

Politics is a vicarious business.

People who share your political views sometimes say the things you want to say, but can't.

And Sarah Palin's speech was exactly that -- she spoke for that America that Obama and Biden merely knock on doors asking votes from.

She, on the other hand, lives that life.

I think America got the sense if they elect her, she won't be a phoney about HERSELF.

The speech was crafted from the finest traditions of Will Rogers, and Mark Twain.

She was folksy, but you got the sense this woman's spirit is what allowed pioneers to conquer a prairie.

Well done, Governor Palin. Good night guys. :)

Cheers,
Victoria

katnap said...

What a great speech from an amazing woman....I just have to say....'I AM A REPUBLICAN WHO WEARS LIPSTICK!!!'

As for the Druge Report regarding the affair??? Margaret Thatcher said it best..."When they attack one personally it means they haven't a single political argument left." -- Margaret Thatcher

Dust Bunny Queen said...

She was incredible! I have never been so proud. Not only did she give a great speech....she controlled the crowd with humor and grace.

Most of the speech was pre scripted of course but I absolutely loved it when she ad libed the joke about Hockey moms* Perfect to be so at ease to be able to make an off the wall joke in the middle of the biggest speech of her life.

* What's the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom?
|
|
|
lipstick!

Anonymous said...

Biting sarcasm with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye is an opponent killer.

She did a fantastic job tonight.

Michael S said...

Outstanding. Pretty impressive for what is likely her first major national appearance.

Maybe she and McCain will pull it off. And in a few years Obama will tire of toiling in the Senate and not run for re-election and go back to penning fiction.

If only we could be so lucky to not have a chance to see Durbin, the other half of the Illinois "gruesome twosome", not be re-elected this year...

MC said...

I already can't wait for the VP debates. That blowhard Biden against the pitbull with lipstick? It will be priceless.

Chad said...

Miller wrote to me
"which part of "don't post news reports" do you not understand?"

I posted her "speech was good." She in fact did an amazing job given that news is breaking that she from the Drudge Report and the National Enquirer that she is having an affair with her husband's business partner.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Maxine Weiss said...

That's your basic Ronald Reagan playbook---how Reagan could use humor to completely disarm his opponent.

Joe Biden is running scared. I'm sure his stuffed-shirt is about to explode.

Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sloanasaurus said...

She was fantastic. What a great delivery. And the jabs were delivered with perfect sarcasm.

Wow.

dualdiagnosis said...

I gotta say that the way she went after Obama was a thing of beauty.

I have a feeling that she was holding back, the Dems better watch themselves, this lady won't be rolled.

AlphaLiberal said...

Snarky. Not particularly honest. She claimed credit for being against the Bridge to Nowhere but we know she worked for the funding.

How does her message relate to your life? If hating on Democrats is important to you, she was great. If better wages or health care are important to you, not so much.

Me, I'm glad Obama and Lugar pushed through legislation rounding up and accounting for old Soviet "new-clear" weapons. I'm glad he worked on ethics legislation and government transparency, even if he gave Republicans a piece of the action. Palin lied about this (though to be sure, she probably didn't know).

It'll be amusing to hear Republicans whine when Joe Biden mops up the floor with her. They'll demand he not be tough on her.

(Was Boehner drunk?)

Dan Karipides said...

If Giuliani had given the speech of lifetime it would have been a hard act to follow. But he didn't. In comparison Palin appeared poised and her timing was much better. True it was impossible to tell because of the ridiculous number of interruptions, but I think it would be hard to argue that she gave a poor performance.

I think the highlight quote of the night from Palin was "There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you."

More thoughts here.

SukieTawdry said...

She did magnificently! As John McCain would say, my friends, we may have had the privilege of seeing the first major address by the woman to become the first vice president and first president of the United States. I couldn't be more pleased.

former law student said...

Very impressive. In the other thread I nominated her for Rookie of the Year. Not as good as the pulpit-polished Huckabee, but way better than the choppy Giuliani.

I agree the Reps should flip the ticket around.

Sloanasaurus said...

It'll be amusing to hear Republicans whine when Joe Biden mops up the floor with her. They'll demand he not be tough on her.

She is definately the underdog with Joe. It will be a good debate.

The real risk for democrats is Obama in a debate. Debates are Obama's worst venue. It's where he makes all of his mistakes.

Sloanasaurus said...

I really enjoyed how both Giuliani and Palin ripped "community organizing." It's a risky attack. I have high regard for community orgainizers. It can be a worthy cause. Some in the media will attempt to say Palin is being "insensitive."

But, its Obama's fault. He opened himself up to fair attack when he ripped being a mayor of a small town.

Obama opens himself up for attack a lot. Lets hope he isn't elected and opens America up for attack by our enemies.

s1c said...

Good, not great but good. I liked the subtle digs at Obama. I think she will more than hold her own in the big bad world.

Alex said...

After this, the prospect of Obama winning makes me feel all icky inside.

EnigmatiCore said...

She was great.

miller said...

"Lugar and Bambi pushed through"? Over how much opposition? Did that make the news? Can you quote the news articles praising Bambi for his work? IIRC, Lugar got the lion's share of the credit.

It's like a law about apple pie.

Name something tough that Bambi's done in his entire career that didn't involve choosing which wine to go with his foie gras.

Harvard Law Review? Doing exactly what?

"Community organizer"? What's that, exactly? That's a job description that could mean anything.

And when he was organizing the community, what happened to the $150 million he was given to distribute?

EnigmatiCore said...

And Rudy showed why he should have been on top of the ticket.

I haven't the foggiest why he ran such a poor campaign.

Peter V. Bella said...

Athena DePaul said...
B+. Great speech, but not history-making outside the context.



Please, name one woman who has ever given a better political speech; a political speech of historic proportions? Oh, yeah, there is not one.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Technical 8.3
Content 9.1
Connection with crowd 9.0
Asthetics & style 8.7 (lose the hairdoo)

Yes the pointy hairdo should go. I liked her hair in the pony tail effect. Otherwise I agree with Theo on the ratings.

But... Awesome speech. Good vocal tone. Hand gestures in sync with her words indicating that she believes what she things. (Maybe not so much in some parts where she was doing the party talking points.) Pausing in just the right moments to allow the crowd to vent but not so long that she loses control. Only one or two times did I see any hesitation.

Einfahrt said...

Well done. A written teleprompter speech (as all are in this context,) well delivered with only minor technical flaws (slight timing issues,) and visible comfort in both the venue and the content.

Not quite on topic, but she does well in one-on-one interviews as shown in the CNBC Maria Bertelomo (sp?) interview on energy production two-three weeks ago.

She did fine, and the measure will be in the energy of the Republican base and the attention garnered from the undecided.

The left is going to get feisty over this, simply because the renewed energy puts paid to the irrelevance of conservative issues that has been assumed.

(NTO John Lynch)

miller said...

I can't really rate a speech; I'm not a professional speech-giver.

I expected her to be competent, and she exceeded my expectations.

However, politics isn't really about speeches you give - those are great for external use, but the real work is in what you do.

She has an impressive set of accomplishments behind her. The line about selling the private jet on eBay was great.

AlphaLiberal said...

Using a 5-month old kid as a prop was tacky and tasteless. Also invites talk about her family, which they pretend not to want. Shouldn't that baby be sleeping?

Not a lot of solutions. Not much beyond, guess what, she hates Barack Obama.

Boehner was definitely drunk. Not tipsy, not buzzed. Hammered.

Cedarford said...

It was a good speech. Very well done and I don't think Republicans were let down at all on her oratorical skills and potent message.

Now we wait and see how well Palin was vetted.
I think her time and Lingle's was very appealing to women and the independents of the West and Midwest.

As for portions written by campaign writers, please....Several Obamabots claim their Black Messiah is so brilliant, so transcendent in his knowledge of all domestic and foreign affairs with his superhuman judgment based on a 2002 speech Putin could have penned - that he writes his own stuff.

Unlike less brilliant, less sophisticated Republican candidates...

Nope. Team Axlerod has brought along other black vessels needing to be filled with the right words - and they must have copyrighted it so they can use the same stuff in other campaigns. Much of Barack's stuff is lifted right out of John Streeter and Deval Patrick transcripts done by Team Axelrod writers. The paragraphs and lines they know work with a liberal audience, plus the stuff about how transcendent of crass old politics Streeter and Patrick will be.

Loved that line about how Obama has managed to find the time to write two books about himself, but no time to pass a piece of major legislation in his career.

former law student said...

And Rudy showed why he should have been on top of the ticket.

The crowd liked when he said nice things about their war hero, but otherwise he was not connecting with them.

Blue Moon said...

Even as a Obama guy I thought the speech was good - I'd give it an B+. I am having a hard time assessing how it will "play" with undecideds because I have pretty thick skin when it comes to rhetoric. I am reading elsewhere that some think it was a bit too sharp, even some righties are saying that. The community organizer line was pretty funny -- my parents no doubt are furious at that line. I thought the most searing line was "two memoirs, no bills." Can't believe the first debate is only 3 weeks away...

BO and JB have to be careful how they respond -- Harry Reid has already stepped into the bucket by referring to the speech as "shrill." Paul Begala had a cow on CNN when it was suggested that "shrill" was sexist -- along the lines of "that's nothing, did you hear what they called Hillary?" All the women jumped on him for saying that.

I think the PUMA business is overblown, but there are a lot of women with only one foot on the Obama bandwagon that could be turned off it the Dems play this one wrong.

AlphaLiberal said...

Sloan, a friend of mine was a community organizer in Chicago. He was killed. By knife.

Yeah, they really took it to community organizers.

Dark Eden said...

//Using a 5-month old kid as a prop was tacky and tasteless. Also invites talk about her family, which they pretend not to want. Shouldn't that baby be sleeping?

I get the feeling that they are DARING the left to keep talking about her family. Maybe I am reading too much into it and you certainly are.

Alex said...

AlphaLiberal said...

Using a 5-month old kid as a prop was tacky and tasteless. Also invites talk about her family, which they pretend not to want. Shouldn't that baby be sleeping?

Not a lot of solutions. Not much beyond, guess what, she hates Barack Obama.

Boehner was definitely drunk. Not tipsy, not buzzed. Hammered.
11:47 PM


Classy leftism on the display, as usual. You must feel proud.

KB said...

What?!??!! Palin had speechwriters? What an amazing thing that lefties discover the existence of the speechwriter after Axelrod had propelled Obama to new heights by recycling his old Change cliches.

The fact that so many people are using Obama talking points as if they are their own is an irony that is obviously lost on them.

vbspurs said...

There are seminal speeches in American political history.

There is the "cross of gold" speech William alluded to earlier.

There is the "Ask Not" inaugural address by President Kennedy.

But years from now, all of us who lived through this moment real-time watching this composed woman who came out of now where, eviscerate her opponents, will refer to it as the "Pitbull with Lipstick" speech.

I don't know if Michael Vick is feeling scared tonight. But Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden should be.

Cheers,
Victoria

Ben (The Tiger in Exile) said...

Balls of steel.

Could be our Maggie. Well, she'll make a name for herself...

former law student said...

The line about selling the private jet on eBay was great.

That line was wack, as the kids used to say. Putting a bizjet on eBay is like advertising it in the Penny Saver -- no one looking for a jet would look for it there.

EnigmatiCore said...

"National Enquire (Althouse's favorite news source) has a story that Governor Palin is having an affair with her husband's business partner"

Actually, the National Enquirer reports this:

Another incredible allegation emerging from the family war is that Palin, a mother of five, had an affair with a former business associate of her fisherman husband, Todd.

“Todd discovered the affair and quickly dissolved his friendship and his business associations with the guy,” charges an enemy. “Many people in Alaska are talking about the rumor and say Todd swept it under the rug.”


In other words, they call it "incredible" and note that the only source is "an enemy." Which basically means the Enquirer is reporting that her enemies are trying to start rumors.

So good luck with that, Phil.

Althouse, feel free to wax this if you wax Phil's.

Randy said...

Alpha Liberal: You keep bringing up that Bridge to Nowhere like it is a problem. It's not.

Sarah Palin originally supported the Bridge to Nowhere. After a closer look, Governor Palin killed the Bridge to Nowhere.

Barack Obama opposed the surge, saying it could not and would not work. When the surge worked anyway, Senator Obama refused to admit his mistake.

Sarah Palin was acting while Barack Obama was talking.

(BTW, IIRC, Barack Obama voted for the Bridge to Nowhere. I could be wrong, though. Maybe he voted "Present.")

Alex said...

AlphaLiberal said...

Sloan, a friend of mine was a community organizer in Chicago. He was killed. By knife.

Yeah, they really took it to community organizers.


Ah, a self identified communist. Thanks!

Chet said...

How many times did Bill and Hillary use Chelsea as a prop? And this was way back when Chelsea was a teen and trotted out.

Chelsea was used right after the Lewinsky thing, walking in between Mom and Dad.

Tasteless.

EnigmatiCore said...

Oh, wait.

"BTW, I support Bob Barr not these fake conservatives."

Ah. Phil is one of those. And by those I don't mean a 3rd party type. I mean a full moby, probably a Kossite, pretending to be a disgruntled conservative to see who will follow.

Because, after all, since he and his peers are sheep, they assume the other side must be as well.

miller said...

The line about eBay was a killer, because it was de trop - everyone instantly connected with it, and having Meg Whitman up there previously made it all the more delicious.

Chad said...

Well EnigmaticCore,

My point is she handled the pressure quite well. Concerning the National Enqurier, obviously Althouse finds it to be a compelling sourse for news. Who am I to argue?

vbspurs said...

Sloanasaurus wrote:

I have high regard for community orgainizers

Community organisers are wonderful people, but the point here is not that they are to be disregarded, but that a man who spent years as one, considers that to be on equal footing as being a mayor of an American city.

They want after Palin VERY HARD this weekend, calling her the Beauty Pageant queen, and dismissing her for her quaint little resume.

Well guess what? She showed them tonight she once might've been Miss Wasilla, but she is no Miss Congeniality.

Cheers,
Victoria

Joe said...

I was going to vote against Obama, now I am voting for McCain.

Shouldn't that baby be sleeping?

You're not a father are you?

Randy said...

I thought Governor Palin's speech was fine, BTW.

miller said...

I don't know who you are to argue, but you certainly have a hard time with clear directions to stop posting news stories in this thread.

That seems to make you a bit thick.

EnigmatiCore said...


The crowd liked when he said nice things about their war hero, but otherwise he was not connecting with them.


The cameras on CNN HD, and the microphones, sure transmitted a different feed than you must have had, because they were very raucous and pumped throughout.

Simon said...

I thought she killed. And I thought that Andrew Sullivan's bitchy little whine that she spent so much time trying to introduce herself and her family was pathetic given that Sullivan and his comrades have spent the last several days trying to create an utterly misleading and slanderous false impression of her.

Unknown said...

Delivery, tone and content all excellent. Definitely ready for prime time and very much vindicated McCain's choice.

Sloanasaurus said...

Yeah, they really took it to community organizers.

Except in this case Obama asked for it because he ripped on her for being a small town mayor. Obama deserved it. He opened himself up for an easy attack.

Republicans have been waiting a long time for the return of a great natural political speaker.

We have found it with Palin.

Peter V. Bella said...

AlphaLiberal said...
Snarky. Not particularly honest.



We don't have to smell your breath to know your head is up your ass. Your boy, Obama and his supporters created the slime, smear, and vicious campaign against the only woman in either party who could win this election. Obama/Biden approved of it and let it ride.

Your tactics failed. Admit it and move on. Oh, wait, you can't. Part two of the Obama smear will start tomorrow and you will be one of the cheer leaders?

Yeah, you mighty, modern, fighting liberals are real honest, ethical, decent, and moral people alright. When all esle fails, make stuff up, as much as possible, and see how much will stick. You lost tonight sonny.

Simon said...

"Hillary Rodham Clinton endorse[s] the Republican charge that John McCain’s running mate has been subject to a sexist double standard by the news media and Democrats." That's because Hillary lives in the real world where words have their ordinary meaning.

miller said...

Kids are pretty resilient & adjust to things.

Plus, it's kinda funny how Barry can bring his kids out & that's cute, but if Ms. Stay-in-the-kitchen Palin brings hers out, that's neglect.

Ever taken a kid on a trip? They have to handle a lot of changes. Most of them do just fine with a little love and attention. Looks like Trig is getting that.

Takes a village, and all that.

AlphaLiberal said...

"I get the feeling that they are DARING the left to keep talking about her family. "

Yo, gullible one.

The only ones talking about her family are Republicans and Dr. Laura, who attacked her.

Show me someone, outside of anonymous web site comments, who has attacked her family.

It's a strawman. The Republicans need to create that image that she is under attack to play victim.

Dishonest.

EnigmatiCore said...

"Concerning the National Enqurier, obviously Althouse finds it to be a compelling sourse for news. "

Yep! And I'll go so far as saying they do a better job than the New York Times does. When reading the Enquirer, you find out that the allegation is made by a single anonymous source they describe as an 'enemy' making an 'incredible' claim.

The Times would have said that it was someone with intimate knowledge of the situation making serious charges that must be addressed.

Simon said...

MadisonMan said...
"Didn't watch .. [b]ut from the other thread it sounded like a winner."

Well, geez, MM - don't take our word for it. You should watch it and conclude she was great for yourself!

Swifty Quick said...

Joe Biden is running scared. I'm sure his stuffed-shirt is about to explode.

Or his plugs to come unplugged.

Peter V. Bella said...

AlphaLiberal said...
Sloan, a friend of mine was a community organizer in Chicago. He was killed. By knife.


Man, you are a legend in your own mind.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Using a 5-month old kid as a prop was tacky and tasteless. Also invites talk about her family, which they pretend not to want. Shouldn't that baby be sleeping?

5 month old babies can sleep through a John Phillips Sousa parade, jet plane taking off and riding on a roller coaster. Ok maybe not the roller coaster. Have you ever had children????

So if she had a babysitter for the boy, you would probably be whining about her trying to hide her Down's Syndrome child. Can't win with you liberals. Alpha or Beta types.

She was really great tonight and exceeded all expectations. I'm looking forward to her (ha ha ha) debates with Biden.

John McCain could not have picked better. Can you imagine tonight with Mr Plastic Romney or Joe Lieberman as the VP pick? Would they possibly have galvanized people the way that Palin just did? I don't think so.

Peter Hoh said...

Peter Bella, I wish you would stop claiming that Obama smeared Palin unless you can back it up with some evidence.

Chad said...

Miller, Miller, Milly,
Get a grip. I am talking about the speech my simple friend. She did a nice job given that Drudge is all over her about having an affair with her husband's business partner and that she tried to pressure her daughter into a shotgun wedding. Here is the link that she probably looked at before going on stage. http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3ne.htm
It should be noted that Drudge is promoting this story not some left wing blog.

Randy said...

Andrew Sullivan for starters. Matthew Yglesias for another.

Sloanasaurus said...

Community organisers are wonderful people, but the point here is not that they are to be disregarded, but that a man who spent years as one, considers that to be on equal footing as being a mayor of an American city.

Yes, I totally agree. Obama doesn't get that. To him community organizing was the ultimate showing of his marxist beliefs.

Once the trashing of Palin's family and personal life ends, the media will move on to making Palin look like a dummy. They will try and ask her obscure questions, questions they never asked Obama. They will bring up silly things she did as Mayor, like attend school parades, etc...

I think she will be smart enough to respond in kind.

Peter V. Bella said...

I heard Joe Biden is going on a political fact finding tour of the whole world to get more foreign policy experience. He notified Obama that he will not be back until December 1 and wished him good luck.

vbspurs said...

Obama/Biden approved of it and let it ride.

I actually disagree totally with that. Whatever dirty politics may be at play here, I think both Senators Obama and Biden made it clear it wasn't coming from them directly, and that they would not condone attacks to the family.

Gov. Palin didn't once attack Malia and Sasha Obama, nor Joe Biden's family or grandchildren.

She attacked record, and the overweening grandiosity of Obama the politician.

IOW, she did it right.

Cheers,
Victoria

EnigmatiCore said...

"Sloan, a friend of mine was a community organizer in Chicago. He was killed. By knife."

Sorry for his death and your loss. But that doesn't make being a community organizer an impressive Presidential resume line item.

You know, it sounds like Chicago could use a lot fewer community organizers and a lot more cops.

Peter Hoh said...

BREAKING NEWS: Dems announce Biden to step down from VP spot.

Obama's new VP? Bristol Palin's baby.

Zachary Sire said...

The crowd loved her.

You all sort of loved her, I think.

But will America love her?

In the first major, national appearance in front of millions of television viewers, beamed out to a vast majority of people who have no idea who she is, Sarah Palin is here to introduce herself as...a snide mom with some bitchy one-liners (that she didn't even write--some old white man did).

I am woman, hear me roar?

sonicfrog said...

Best line of the night:

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."

Ouch! And I wonder - was the community Obama was busy trying to organize bigger than the population of Wasilla, Alaska? I bet not. But since the details of Obama's community organizer days seem less important to the press than the lives of Palin's children, or whether a former Bush lackey wrote Sarah Palin's speech tonight, I guess we'll never know.

miller said...

Yep.

Thick.

"Don't post news stories."

Thanks for respecting the wishes of this blog owner.

Squid Vicious said...

After that speech, I think I'm at a point where I'm eager to vote for the ticket just because I want to see what she is capable of (and I mean that in a good way).

Also, the volume of huffing and mewling from the usual liberal sources says to me that it was a good speech.

Simon said...

Zachary Paul Sire said...
"The crowd loved her. You all sort of loved her, I think."

No, I loved her. I'd do anything for her and I'm going to do anything i can do to get her elected.

"But will America love her? "

That's the $64m question.

Chad said...

Miller,

Could you please stop wasting Althouse's bandwidth with these personal attacks on me and just post on Palin's speech?

Drudge posted this http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3ne.htm during the speech. I wonder if Governor's Palin's boy friend was sitting near Levi?

Kevin said...

OMG, Palin's a WOMAN?

miller said...

Phil, you are such a kidder.

A bit thick, but a kidder.

Peter V. Bella said...

peter hoh said...
Peter Bella, I wish you would stop claiming that Obama smeared Palin unless you can back it up with some evidence.


You can wish upon a star for all I care. Prove he did not authorize, pay for, conspire with Markos, and approve it.

I will bet that he will role out part two and it will be worse. Then after it loses traction, he will go oops, that is off limits. Yeah, right.

I live in Chicago. I know how politics is done. Obama and his campaign approved every step of the porn that they put out and they are not done yet.

Simon said...

phil said...
"It should be noted that Drudge is promoting this story not some left wing blog."

I give Drudge about as much credence as I give the New York Times. And the difference between that and the New York Times escapes me, lately.

Swifty Quick said...

She is definately the underdog with Joe. It will be a good debate.

I dunno. Biden is a pompous windbag who doesn't know when to shut up. He has a history of making really boneheaded mistakes when he extemporizes. If she has any competency at all she should be just fine.

Randy said...

ZPS: How did you like Barack Obama's speech? Will it thrill you any less to know others wrote most of that, too?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I am woman, hear me roar?

Well, we don't know Zack are you the catcher or the pitcher?

Unknown said...

She's laying into Barack Obama. What is he, once those styrofoam pillars are dragged off the stage?


That's perhaps the cheapest shot of the speech. The speech stank unless you're one of the faithful, but Palin was electrifying. McCain is shown to have made a brilliant choice. Whether it's enough to put him over th etop, we'll see. This will be a race now. She's sizzling Teflon.

We fooled you in 2000, and we fooled you in 2004, and we'll fool you again in 2008.

We had nothing to do with electing G.W. Bush. It was magic or God's will or something.

The Iraq War is almost won. Sure, we said it was won five years ago, but look at all the progress we've made.

We love our young soldiers, that's why we send them into harm's way on faulty premises.

It's un-American to extend human rights to terrorists. When the Vietcong violated John McCain's human rights, that was different.

None of this has been rhetoric and eloquent speechifying and misdirection. Only Democrats do that sort of thing. And by the way, what a lovely family I have. All hockey moms are Republicans.

The Republican party is the party of the working man.

ALL OF WHICH is so bankrupt after eight years no one with less charisma and star power and hots than Sarah Palin could stand in front of the nation and make even the faithful believe it anymore.

McCain used to be a cool guy, but he sold his soul to become a party hack.

Whatever good Palin has done in her career so far, she too has sold her soul to step up on the national stage as a party hack.

An exceptionally talented one.

miller said...

Palin can't be a woman - she's not toeing the party line that feminists must be librul.

She must be an Ann Coulter clone. You know. Wink wink.

A woman who doesn't go along with feminism as it is defined today is like a black man that doesn't go along with grievance theatre. Both will be castigated as inauthentic.

Dark Eden said...

I demand a genetics test on Palin! A friend of a guy that works as a poolman for the chauffeur of this guy who knows a guy who works in the media has it on good authority that Palin is in fact Reagan and that Thatcher's illegitimate love child.

Alex said...

Zachary Paul Sire:

Got bitter?

Asante Samuel said...

Started slightly stiff in appearance and delivery, if she had remained stiff the entire speech I wouldn't have noticed. It was only after she got comfortable, began to pause in the right places, to smile after the zingers, that it was evident in hindsight there was initial nervousness. Damn, they must be sweating like slaves on auction day over at Howard and Nancy's

Chad said...

Oh Miller,

Truly "thick" people always think it is others that are thick. To let you in on a "secrect" that everyone else reading this knows-I AM PUTTING YOU ON MAN!

miller said...

Andrew, you sound bitter. Clinging to your guns and religion now?

miller said...

Phil.

That's news to me.

Alex said...

It seems the trolls are finally sobering up after their previous bender and are infesting this blog!

BJK said...

As much as I do love the 'lipstick' line, that's a line that Palin has used before. (I've seen it in print several times in the past 4-5 days.)

I think that it's fairly obvious that Palin herself did have a few re-writes in the speech (beyond the lipstick line itself, which I'm guessing was a welcome ad-lib as an insertion). You could see moments where her inflection shifted as if she were talking in a different voice; the "what a mayor actually does" line comes off differently than some of the other barbs.

On the other hand, there were clearly some stumbles (Harry Reid as the "majority of the Senate" instead of the 'majority leader') and a time or two when she had to fall back on the prompter. I don't think it was a first-inning Grand Slam (but then again, I'm kind of biased against that sort of thing after this afternoon's Brewers-Mets game). That said, I liked it...and I think anyone who listened with an open mind will like it as well.

Sarah Palin is the type of woman that every man with half a brain wants to meet and have 5 kids with. While I look for someone closer to my own age (and single) who can live up to that standard, at least I can vote for her.

AlphaLiberal said...

COunt the logical fallacies....

"...a man who spent years as one, considers that to be on equal footing as being a mayor of an American city."

A) Obama never said that and it's not relevant to anything. Republicans want their VP candidate compared to the Dem Presidential candidate. Got it.

b) Wasilla doesn't qualify as a city.

Community organizers change lives and improve communities in long-lasting ways. It's hard work that requires dedication to your fellow man. It involves skills needed in leadership.

And being a community organizer is being a REAL REFORMER, not a fraud reformer like McCain who abandoned his efforts at immigration reform, etc.

Maybe Obama should have married into some crooked mob-related money? That would make him respectable to Republicans?

Blue Moon said...

Are "cling" and "always proud of america" and Jerimiah Wright just going to be snappy comebacks during speeches and debates or will there be "I approve this message" commercials explicitly talking about them?

MC said...

alphaliberal said:
"Sloan, a friend of mine was a community organizer in Chicago. He was killed. By knife."

Well, I'm sorry to hear that, and I feel for you and his or her family and friends.

But a community organiser doesn't seem to have the responsibility as mayor. What have we heard about Obama's days as a community organiser? What did he do that showed great responsibility?

Obama's days as community organiser are a blank. Nothings been said about them, and they haven't been scrutinised. Why do you think that is?

Chad said...

It is of no surprise to me that it is news to you. I just like taking every opportunity to reply and post that Drudge is reporting that Palin is having an affair according to Althouse approved sources. (The John Edwards Precedent) I wonder if Palin's boy toy is Levi's dad?

The Palins could be the best thing to hit D.C. since the Clinton's showed up. Talk about drama!

Peter Hoh said...

Okay, I hate to throw cold water over the excitement, but this isn't over.

It's the bottom of the first. The rookie's turn to bat. "She's a girl," they yelled as she stepped up to the plate. The pitcher signaled the outfielders to move in. She hit a home run.

There's a whole lot of baseball left. The game's not over, but it sure got a lot more interesting.

AlphaLiberal said...

Peter Bella, you really throw out wild unsubstantiated charges.

Unknown said...

Sarah Palin delivered perfectly. As did Rudy in his tee-up.

She is gifted, in Clinton and Obama gifted territory and she's just starting to get practice, meaning she will only get better.

(FWIW, I taught speech for 24 years and am proud to say that one of my former students recently was hired into the White House speech writers, and we're hoping he is being groomed for McCain/Palin. He was in my classes for only 2 terms so I don't get much credit, but I am proud)

The New Republic just now is showing the fearful comments of focus group liberals and independents who believe that Sarah Palin knocked it out of the park.



McCain will not be nearly as charismatic as his Vice Presidential pick. But he should be able to build solidly on her knockout.

The lines I wish were in John McCain’s acceptance speech, guaranteeing him the election:

“Our opponents claim to be worried about Governor Palin being able to assume the Presidency if I were to experience an early, unexpected demise. I certainly don’t expect that, nor does my mother. But in such an untimely event, there is no worry there, my friends.

The first phone call Vice President Palin would make would be to Defense Secretary Petraeus.

The second phone call would be to Secretary of State Liebermann.

The third phone call would be to Homeland Security Secretary Giulianni.

And the next would be to Secretary of the Treasury Romney.”

Peter Hoh said...

Victoria @ 11:55 They want after Palin VERY HARD this weekend, calling her the Beauty Pageant queen, and dismissing her for her quaint little resume.

No, it's Simon who wants after her very hard.

Alex said...

Alpha Liberal:

Do you really want to die on the hill of defending "community organizers from Chicago"???? These are notorious Communists whose sole purpose is feeding the DNC machine. The rest of America elects city councilman, mayors...

Palladian said...

Zach, did you book your flight yet? When should I expect you?

Palladian said...

You know, Zach, you might not want to go back after your visit.

Wouldn't it be funny if we end up married?

Roberto said...

Well delivered presentation, but all negative, nothing positive.

The speech's effectiveness will fade in a matter of days.

Americans want solutions not criticism and snide comments.

Thus far there has scant mention of the economy and I don't understand why?

Simon said...

Peter - I've been accused of worse.

Unknown said...

Can't wait to hear all the "reforms" they are talking about.

I think the speech was delivered really well. She knows how to connect. Bravo.

Substance isn't what the crowd wanted (nor is it what apparently the gushers on this thread want, either). They wanted red meat. They got it.

I suspect, however, that the mean spirited attacks, a few too many, are not going to resonate with the middle folks. So the GOP wants to energize their base.

Too bad their base is shrinking.

Overall, a good speech, but lots of room for Obama to fight back, and thanks to the ultra nasty tone from nearly all the speakers tonight, hiding behind the victim of 'mean press' card isn't going to work.

PS... Can someone tell me who was the source of the 'she should be raising her baby not running for VP?' Last I heard it was actually a nut job on the right, Dr. Laura. Looking for a link?

Alex said...

Michael said...

Well delivered presentation, but all negative, nothing positive.

The speech's effectiveness will fade in a matter of days.

Americans want solutions not criticism and snide comments.

Thus far there has scant mention of the economy and I don't understand why?
12:25 AM


Like Obama's contentless speeches? Except for the part where he promises all the government goodies for the bottom 95%. That was sheer brilliance.

sonicfrog said...

Zach wrote:


In the first major, national appearance in front of millions of television viewers, beamed out to a vast majority of people who have no idea who she is, Sarah Palin is here to introduce herself as...a snide mom with some bitchy one-liners (that she didn't even write--some old white man did).


I'm not sure what else she was going to, or you expected her, to do. Biden's speech was in the same vein... and you liked it! In fact, you said:

As far as Biden, he had a lot of good lines, but I wish they would've been delivered even stronger.

So why was Palin so horrible for being strong and Biden was good but not strong enough? And BTW, the guy that wrote her speech (I'm sure she helped) is not that old, he's 49, only two years older than Obama.

PS. No one call Zach names. I consider him a friend, even though he never visits my blog!

Freeman Hunt said...

She's a phenom. The only reason that I'm still awake is that I can't tear myself away from basking in the glow of tonight's convention.

Roberto said...

Alex,
Obama was a "community organizer before AND AFTER he was a State Senator and a U.S. Senator.

And by the way, community organizers serve the American people on a daily basis in ways I'll bet very few here do.

Belittling those who do good work for others is a waste of time and makes you look small.

Unknown said...

Andrew, you sound bitter. Clinging to your guns and religion now?


"Nuts."

Palladian said...

"PS. No one call Zach names. I consider him a friend, even though he never visits my blog!"

Hands off! Zach and I are to be the Levi and Bristol of the Althouse blog.

Scrutineer said...

Dark Eden - One word: Thatcher

Three words: Mary Ann Thatcher

Palladian said...

I'm the Levi and he's the Bristol, by the way.

EnigmatiCore said...

The Moderate Voice:

But, her innate gifts that she has honed and turned toward leadership, toward being a running mate now, her talents will continue to make her a formidable opponent. For anyone.

It would be an error to think she is Senator Biden’s opponent. She isn’t.

She is Senator Obama’s opponent.


Yep.

Roberto said...

Alex,
Obama spent quite a bit of his time talking about positive aspects of his potential election and what America could accomplish via his vision of the future.

I don't think you listened to it.

Palladian said...

Zachary will be calling me Sire by the end of his visit here.

Zachary Sire said...

How did you like Barack Obama's speech?

I was not too impressed by Obama's speech, just as I have never been impressed by him in general.

Back to PALIN's speech (every time someone criticizes Palin, it's always WHAT ABOUT OBAMA WAHAHAHAAAAA), even though it played well in the crowd, how should people who are currently community organizers, out there helping people, feel that this random person is on stage mocking the hard work they do every day? Rude and a stupid move by her speech writers.

EnigmatiCore said...

But check out this sexist take on it from the same author. Or is it a take that merely assumes sexism in the general population (i.e., the angry feminist's take)?

Alex said...

Michael said...

Alex,
Obama spent quite a bit of his time talking about positive aspects of his potential election and what America could accomplish via his vision of the future.

I don't think you listened to it.
12:33 AM

Oh wow, I'm so about to be converted to Obamessiah because of that! Pray tell, what did the messiah do as a "community organizer" except feed the Chicago Democrat machine?

EnigmatiCore said...

So why was Palin so horrible for being strong and Biden was good but not strong enough?

Because a woman should know her place.

Unknown said...

Oh sexism is only sexism if it comes from your opponent. Witness the pins people wearing (if you could see past the diamond-encrusted McCain pins) that say "Hottest VP from the Coolest state!"

Yeah, that's appropriate.

Sloanasaurus said...

how should people who are currently community organizers, out there helping people, feel that this random person is on stage mocking the hard work they do every day? Rude and a stupid move by her speech writers.

Hah, I knew someone would make this criticism. In fact she was belittling Obama's own comparison of himself as a community organizer to her being a small town mayor.

You know very well that your taking the quip out of context. In contrast to Obama who really was ripping small towns.

Alex said...

Poor "community organizers". I'm sure McCain/Palin are killing themselves about having lost that vote!

Excuse me.

BWAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Unknown said...

michael said,

Belittling those who do good work for others is a waste of time and makes you look small.

But michael, that's exactly what the Obama campaign and Obama himself have been doing in ridiculing Governor Palin's service as mayor. If you went the cite, let me know and I'll look it up for you.

So, I expect that you will now show all here how you are not a hater and denounce Senator Obama for belittling those who do good work.

qwerty said...

Wow. Longtime Althouse reader. Seldom post.

Am more than a little surprised at how many thinking people are ready to turn over the most important governmental decisions to a young-earth creationist.

I guess its true that no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of American voters.

Zachary Sire said...

Sonic- yes I liked Biden's speech. But this is apples and oranges. Biden has been around for decades and we know him for being a loquacious attack dog. There was nothing momentous surrounding his speech. Palin had much more to prove on a variety of levels.

Palladian- I don't know where you live! You need to let me know. You know I am unemployed so I will expect you to take me into your family with open arms...which makes ME the Levi. You can be the Track.

Sloanasaurus said...

McCain has some outstanding women advisors. Meg Whitman, Sarah Palin, Carly Fiorina, all highly successful self made women.

I can't name any women working for Obama... wait Caroline Kennedy. Now there is a self made woman.

chickelit said...

To be honest, the woman made me so happy I shed tears.

Unknown said...

michael,

Obama spent half of his speech being mean spirited about John McCain and Republicans.


You really don't understand a lot of words, do you michael, like "hypocrisy".

qwerty said...

Wow. Longtime Althouse reader. Seldom post.

Am more than a little surprised at how many thinking people are ready to turn over the most important governmental decisions to a young-earth creationist.

I guess its true that no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of American voters.

Unknown said...

qwerty said,

Am more than a little surprised at how many thinking people are ready to turn over the most important governmental decisions to a young-earth creationist.

I guess its true that no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of American voters.


I don't happen to be a creationist, but I fail to see how someone would be less of an effective administrator if they are, unless they are directly over a school board.

Perhaps you can give a us a list of all the things that disqualify someone from an executive job.

My list begins with a concern about lack of executive experience.

Sloanasaurus said...

I hope Althouse puts up a post on this claim from Biden-Obama that they will prosecute Bush if they win the election. This is serious stuff. This is potential real live civil war we are talking about.

What a stupid an ignorant comment made by Biden. Does he have any sense of history and patriotism that the greatest gift of America is all about transferring power peacefully. A prosecution of the prior administration will end that 200 year old tradition for all time.

Hasn't Obama-Biden read any Thucydidies. The prosecution of the prior leader has been tried many times before in history and it always ends badly for everyone.

Now I am thinking it can't be true. Even Biden or Obama aren't that stupid.

Hey said...

Sorry but community organizer is not a goddamn job. It's a bullshit treasonous Saul Alinsky fraud.

Giving up Wall Street to be a community organizer is a crime and evidence of idiocy, not something to be proud of.

Volunteering is wonderful. Trying to make it your full time job is a fucking travesty.

At least back in the day those who went into community service as a full time occupation -priests, nuns, reverends, and pastors - never considered themselves as political candidates. This is also one of the reasons why I hated Huckleberry Fin in his ludicrous run for president. Not to mention how well it worked out last time that the US elected an avaricious governor of Arkansas.

Freeman Hunt said...

Am more than a little surprised at how many thinking people are ready to turn over the most important governmental decisions to a young-earth creationist.

(1) Don't know that she really is a "young-earth creationist."

(2) Last I checked the VP was not Executive Head of Biological Sciences in America. I'm a bit more concerned with what a candidate thinks about, say, economics or foreign policy. You know, things actually relevant to the job.

If I have, just to throw out a total hypothetical, a capitalist versus a socialist or an appeaser versus a victor, the choice is terribly easy. It's easy even if the capitalist/victor thinks that dogs just popped right into existence from nothing.

Unknown said...

qwerty,

Keep smearing Palin and we will hitting it out the park

Palin said during her 2006 gubernatorial campaign that if she were elected, she would not push the state Board of Education to add creation-based alternatives to the state’s required curriculum, or look for creationism advocates when she appointed board members.

qwerty said...

So .... Brent, while you wouldn't want your local school board to hold Palin's views on earth science - you don't mind if the executive in charge of national education policy listens to and appoints people who agree with her faith-based view of the natural world.

Interesting. I was sort of worried that Obama was generating irrational enthusiasm. But this eases my mind.

former law student said...

was the community Obama was busy trying to organize bigger than the population of Wasilla, Alaska?

In fact, it was almost 20 times as big. The church-affiliated organization Obama worked for covered Greater Roseland, which comprises four of the 77 official community areas of Chicago: Roseland itself, Pullman, West Pullman, and Riverdale. According to the 2000 census, the population of Greater Roseland was 107,800 compared to Wasilla's 5500.

qwerty said...

I don't recall asserting that the VP was in charge of biological science - but isn't it fair to draw assumptions about someone's judgment based on whether they think Genesis trumps observable evidence?

I really don't care about creation-science as an issue - but people who hold that view (whether they claim they will enforce it as policy or not) are not people I am eager to see in leadership positions.

Good luck to us all.

Randy said...

Michael, as you thought Palin's speech was too negative, and too full of attacks, I was positive you must have posted similar comments about Joe Biden's speech. I looked hard, but I couldn't find them. Perhaps you could direct me to them.

As to Obama's speech. Yes, it was good. That David Axelrod does a good very job with his speeches. I was pleased to note that none of this one borrowed any more of the Axelrod phrases that Deval Patrick already delivered. Now that would have been embarrassing.

Freeman Hunt said...

but isn't it fair to draw assumptions about someone's judgment based on whether they think Genesis trumps observable evidence?

No. Not if the opponent shows reprehensible judgment on issues directly relevant to the job. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the effect of being evolution ignorant on the ability to be President is exactly nil.

chickelit said...

Sarah Palin defined "Lipstick Republican"

She embodies it. She brought it alive, nurtured it, and with any luck, she will make it history.

qwerty said...

Hopefully she will be as glib as you - freeman - when it comes to the biblical injunction to be submissive to her husband - unless we are ready to invest him with executive authority by proxy.

I spent 4 years in bible college. I know her type (and the Monica Goodlings of the world) better than most posters here. I am not as sanguine about our future with these types in positions of authority.

Palladian said...

"Palladian- I don't know where you live! You need to let me know. You know I am unemployed so I will expect you to take me into your family with open arms...which makes ME the Levi. You can be the Track."

Oh I like the direction this is headed...

I live in Brooklyn, baby! You can JetBlue here for peanuts!

Palladian said...

Ok, must drive images of Track and Levi getting it on OUT of my mind or I'll never get to sleep...

Zachary Sire said...

To think...we used to be neighbors. I lived by Prospect Park. I took the F train to work at 30 Rock.

Unknown said...

I know it's late and time to wrap this up, but, if I may.....

AlphaLiberal said,

How does her message relate to your life? If hating on Democrats is important to you, she was great. If better wages or health care are important to you, not so much.

Using the word "wages" in this day and age is telling. Wages is the Dmeocrat/union term. Most Americans use "salary" or "income".

I saw Obama's speech. What in it made anyone hope that they were going to get better healthcare or "wages"?

Athena DePaul said...

Peter Bella (11:46):
Please, name one woman who has ever given a better political speech; a political speech of historic proportions? Oh, yeah, there is not one.

The "given by a woman" is what I meant by outside the context - The text and delivery of the speech would not, I believe, be history making were it not having been given by a woman. I thought it was a given that it was the best speech by a female politician in our country's history.

When I say B+, I'm setting a curve where an "A" speech is something like Antony's oration on the death of Caesar.

On my scale, I would give Obama's speeches a collective C+/B-. They're too formulaic "I believe that [blah blah] but we must take into account the sincerely held beliefs of our opponents who believe [opposite belief], and we must work together to find common ground."

I think Palin was better than Obama. I think her speech was, as I said, great. I think it did everything it needed to do and then some, both stylistically and substantively. I am greatly looking forward to watching her continue to wipe the floor with Obama and Biden.

Ray said...

It's un-American to extend human rights to terrorists. When the Vietcong violated John McCain's human rights, that was different.

Speak of American troops as the moral equivalent of terrorists and wonder why people think you're un-American. John McCain was a uniformed soldier, in the legitimate service of a recognized country, as opposed to a murderous psychopath pursuing a personal religious agenda. Slight difference there. You people may not be anti-America, but you sure as hell ain't for it.

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