Some will be curious to see America's hottest governor, others will watch to catch a glimpse of Bristol's baby bump in the crowd or a shot of her handsome young hockey player fiance. Others will watch to see if she is really the "Dan Quayle in a skirt" they have been hearing about. Some will even be interested in her take on the issues.Much depends on her speech tonight, and I tend to think it will wow the viewers. I was wowed by her presentation on Friday. I'm not saying I agree with all her ideas. I certainly don't. But she sounds great and the image -- image counts (ask Obama!) -- is fabulous.
... Maybe after the viewers realize the Obama camp has been misleading them about her experience and that the caricature many Democrats have painted of her over the past week has been far from reality, they will question whether or not they can trust team Obama. Maybe they will even wonder why the media didn't seem to know any of this either. If the stars are aligned right they might even decide the media intentionally misled them.
September 3, 2008
After all the attacks, the audience for Palin's speech tonight will be huge.
Lorie Byrd observes:
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Go Sarah!
My prediction, the only one that counts: she'll knock it out of the park.
Much depends on her speech tonight, and I tend to think it will wow the viewers.
You're right. Turning this into an election not about failed Republican policies but about cultural identity -- ooooh, look at the hunky hockey player! ooooh, look at the pretty governor! ooooh, what a cute young couple! -- may very well work to Republican advantage.
McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis was right when he said that "this election is not about issues." At least it won't be if the culture warriors of the right have their way.
She ought to come out and do a Margaret Hamilton imitation right off the bat: I'll get you, my pretty - - and your little dog, too!
I am not sure which "failed" policies verso refers to, but I certainly hope Ms. Palin does well tonight.
Oh, right, the failure to be defeated by the democrat ally, al qaeda. Right, that was a failure. Thanks for playing, now run along.
1- She shouldn't mention ANY of the scurrilous rumours. You don't dignify those remarks. It's not (Vice-)Presidential.
2- She should talk a little about foreign affairs and energy policy, to put a little meat on that charismatic bone
3- Folksy, Sarah. Not cutesy.
This is Must-See TV.
can she deliver speeches well with a teleprompter? that's all i want to know.
I canceled our attendance at the school open house tonight.
I am considering waking my daughter up for this speech.
-XC
"McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis was right when he said that "this election is not about issues."
apparently, since the media is more interested in digging dirt on sarah, the husband and bristol.
It would be great if her audience exceeded Obama's - without the columns.
And, as the New York Times has already had their hit piece editorial against the Palin pick this morning, let us all be reminded of what the all-wise New York Times told us about the surge after it was announced:
"There is nothing ahead but even greater disaster in Iraq". -- NYT Editorial, 1/11/07
There is no possible triumph in Iraq and very little hope left. -- NYT Editorial, 4/12/07
Mr. Bush does have a choice and a clear obligation to re-evaluate strategy when everything, but his own illusions, tells him that it is failing. -- NYT Editorial, 7/25/07
Latest Headline in the New York Times about the surge:
U.S. Hands Off Pacified Anbar, Once Heart of Iraq Insurgency. -- NYT, 9/1/08
Some will even be interested in her take on the issues.
LOL. I for one sure hope she spends a lot of time talking about the issues. But unfortunately Rick Davis knows their only chance is to make it "not about the issues."
Patriotism, (hot) motherhood, apple pie, rinse, repeat.
can she deliver speeches well with a teleprompter? that's all i want to know.
That's why she was so spectacular on Friday. She barely looked at the teleprompters during that amazing speech (written by herself). She composes her own speeches whilst jogging.
Expat(ish), do it please! It's like watching Dr. Sally Ride in action. It's the stuff that makes little girls dream.
apparently, since the media is more interested in digging dirt on sarah, the husband and bristol.
WAAAAH! They're being mean to our hockey mom!
No one's digging dirt on Bristol. There's more than enough on Mom.
I would love to see her speech tonight, However, since I am already committed to a board meeting where I am a Director I plan to have my husband record it for me.
Like Sarah, I too am bucking a good old boy network and am making some financial and structural reorganization proposals tonight within the entity that I'm a board member of that will make me very unpopular with the employees and manager of the entity. Oh well, life isn't always a popularity contest.
Go Sarah!!
Palin hates earmarks. Really. She does.
"PAUL, Minn. (AP) John McCain touts his running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as a force in his battle against earmarks and entrenched power brokers.
"But under her leadership, Alaska has asked the federal government for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects this year. That's more than any other state received, per person, from Congress and runs counter to the image the GOP ticket is pushing."
No, seriously. She's a reformer. She's a maverick. And she hates earmarks.
Good Lord, I still remember when George W. Bush ran in 2000 as a "reformer with results." Some marketing strategies never change, do they?
Why does Byrd keep referring to "the Obama camp" and "the media" as if they are 2 separate entities?
I look forward to hearing more about Palin's crazy church.
Politico:
Brickner also described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity.
"Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment — you can't miss it."
Palin was in church that day, Kroon said, though he cautioned against attributing Brickner’s views to her.
re: the hunky hockey player
If this were a novel, multiple eager young female Obamafans would undertake to seduce that guy and wreck the impending marriage.
Yes, that is an incredibly smart move, Doyle! Attack her church! After all, there's nothing uncomfortable or untoward about Obama's late house of worship that could be brought up to counter such attacks, is there?
Tee hee! This is fun!
Maybe you should try attacking her inexperience next!
Go Sarah!!
DBQ, what a shame, but I hope you have TiVo or similar! Good luck on the meeting. :)
BTW, one of the memes being pushed today is that "she's not easy to work with".
DUH. They say that about all women in power.
When I was in the Oxford Union, that was the knock on me too. I used it to help me intimidate my debate opponents. I loved it.
Does anybody know what time the speech is (or for that matter, the schedule for all of tonight's speeches (e.g. when's Rudy?))? I haven't been able to find it on the RNC site. I can't watch live, so I want to record it.
Palladian -
I thought you guys thought it was fair game to associate candidates with the statements they hear in their church. Doesn't that make Palin an anti-semite? Doesn't that bother you at all?
And don't worry about people attacking Miss Wasilla's inexperience. They will.
Let's suppose that she has a great speech. And let's suppose that she has a delivery that just hits it out of the park.
Will the cable news actually run the speech, straight, or will they cut into it repeatedly and monkey with camera angles as they did with Thompson?
Will the print media report the speech, straight, or will they continue the pattern of their Palin reporting thusfar: distort, misrepresent, and where necessary fabricate?
"If this were a novel, multiple eager young female Obamafans would undertake to seduce that guy and wreck the impending marriage."
It would never work, Ann. A gorgeously hot young stud like that probably isn't into chicks with armpit hair. Which leaves only Andrew Sullivan who, though he'd probably be quite eager to have the assignment, probably wouldn't be very convincing in a wig and pumps.
To my knowledge there has never been a vice presidential acceptance speech so loaded with pressure and drama. I do not know if she will exit stage right pursued by a moose or soar to a cross of gold soliloquy. In any event this is an Olympic moment and opening night at the Globe all rolled into one. She has upstaged all of the fireworks and bling in Obama's acceptance speech. If her delivery is equal to the occasion, then she makes McCain look very good.
Doyle said...
"And don't worry about people attacking Miss Wasilla's inexperience. They will."
They already have. And they have looked - and will continue to look - absolutely ridiculous. A party with Obama as their nominee can't credibly play the experience card.
"And don't worry about people attacking Miss Wasilla's inexperience. They will."
And don't worry about people attacking Miss Community Activist "Present" Voter's inexperience. They do. And will.
Go DBQ!!
Will the cable news actually run the speech, straight, or will they cut into it repeatedly and monkey with camera angles as they did with Thompson?
They would have to be suicidal to do that with HER SPEECH. The backlash would be vitriolic.
Since Rudy preceeds her...I dunno if his speech would be cut out too. He's a New Yorker, and he's Rudy.
BTW, what an amazing one-two punch that is.
I do not know if she will exit stage right pursued by a moose or soar to a cross of gold soliloquy.
LOL! Teddy Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan wrapped up in polar bear pelts.
Doyle says: LOL. I for one sure hope she spends a lot of time talking about the issues. But unfortunately Rick Davis knows their only chance is to make it "not about the issues."
Patriotism, (hot) motherhood, apple pie, rinse, repeat.
Too bad Obama has a lock on all the Hope and Change. Otherwise she could toss a little bit of that into her speech to stretch it out a little.
I think Governor Palin will do just fine.
"But I will tell you this: the hottest ring in hell is reserved for those in politics who attack their opponents’ families. And if there are some strategists who think that’s the way to win the election, I think they’re wrong."
Dick Durbin, June 12th 2008
A party with Obama as their nominee can't credibly play the experience card.
Then neither can a party with Miss Wasilla on the ticket. Normal people aren't going to buy the "executive experience trumps everything else regardless of the population of the town/state" argument. The idea of her anywhere near the oval office is scary.
I'd like to see her make one joke about the media / vetting process at the onset of the speech, and then spend the rest of her time talking about where she and John McCain agree on policies and direction for this country.
There'll be some biographical information as well - for those people in the audience who didn't hear Friday's speech - but I hope they keep the speech close to the issues. That's going to be a tough balance to maintain.
Personally, I'll be watching on PBS...just because it's the news channel I can get in HD.
Oh Mama have I got a meme.
As a “lifelong republican” I see Bristol’s pregnancy as nothing but a Rove plot to steal the election.
Then neither can a party with Miss Wasilla on the ticket.
Nice slight of hand, since Obama is the presidential nominee and Palin isn't. I've said it before, Obama as VP would have been entirely appropriate. I believed that before Palin.
Obama likes playing that slight of hand too, when he compares his campaign management experience to Palin's mayorhood. Oh wait, she was a governor, too? You won't call me on that, will you, MSNBC? Good dog.
Some people were lamenting that Sarah did not show up last night.
Now it seems like a brilliant move.
"A party with Obama as their nominee can't credibly play the experience card."
"Then neither can a party with Miss Wasilla on the ticket."
But, dear Doily, Palin is the Republican's Vice Presidential nominee. Obama is your Presidential nominee. See the difference? It's funny that you can't see how incredibly embarrassing unfavorable comparisons between Obama and Palin's experience are to your candidate.
But Democrats never learn to shut their mouths, even when it's in their best interest.
Is Sarah Palin more or less experienced than Woodrow Wilson at the time of his nomination. It is debatable.
I am having this flash back to the Goldwater convention in 64 when Goldwater (IIRC) made a critical comment to the convention floor about the media and its coverage--the convention floor stood nearly en masse, turned to the broadcast booth and booed and made threatening gestures at the media therein.
Oh wait, she was a governor, too?
Says more about the state than the woman.
Obama is your Presidential nominee. See the difference?
Yeah one was nominated over a grueling primary by the biggest American political party by ID, and the other was just plucked from obscurity by a desperate nominee who needed "excitement" and couldn't get his first or second choice.
Here's The Onion's take on this (sorry, don't know html):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viVAAy_qkx0
Funny, but true.
Questions, and I demand answers:
Since female fertility and a job are incompatible, has Palin had her tubes tied?
What child care will Vice President Palin use while in office?
Will Palin have access to a nanny at 3AM, when that phone call comes?
Says more about the state than the woman.
Yes, given that she defeated a sitting governor in the primary and a former governor in the general, it does say a lot about the state. That I'll give you.
I haven't been able to find it on the RNC site.
The RNC site is terrible. Last night and this morning it showed only "schedule to be updated" for today.
Clearly there's a schedule out there because people know who will be speaking. All the buzz about the speech is getting people to look for details now in order to record it or plan to watch it.
But just nothing. Embarrassing.
Palin will do well if she doesn't go off on "the glass ceiling" again, or spend time in obvious appeal to disaffected Hillary fembots. All she really needs to do is be straightforward Sarah Palin with as few canned political embellishments as possible. That will be more than sufficient. I wish her success.
Palin will do well if she doesn't go off on "the glass ceiling" again, or spend time in obvious appeal to disaffected Hillary fembots.
They stopped trying this after she got booed for her first mention of Hillary.
Ann wrote:
"If the stars are aligned right they might even decide the media intentionally misled them AGAIN"
Fixed for you.
Well, wasn't the glass ceiling for VP nominees already broken? I guess it doesn't count if it was done by a Democrat.
Well, with Verso and Doyle here moaning and groaning and predicting failure, we can safely say that this speech is generating buzz.
Say, dudes, how did the last two elections work out for you? Where is Ned Lamont these days?
Doyle,
You are violating Napolean's first rule of warfare, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. "
Trev -- It only counts if you win. Therefore, Palin will break the glass ceiling.
Ahhh; doyle is playing his little role as agent provocateur I see.
Oh man, it's El Presidente! The guy who loves murderous thug Fidel Castro, whose brutal regime continues to imprison people for merely speaking their opinions. On the plus side, free health care. On the negative side, an economy so destitute that women routinely resort to prostitution.
Anyway, I can tell this is a big day because all the loons are coming out of the woodwork. Welcome, you lovable fringers.
Doyle: you dont apparently understand the distinction between the presidential nominee and how the VP is picked. Got the distinction? McCain went thru the same process that Obama did; Both presidential nominees picked their VP candidates. But if you are happy with Biden I am too.
I'll bet she can do a fine job of reading off a teleprompter.
But why won't she do interviews with the press? They can't allow her to get off script.
I am curious about why many of the dems are contrasting Obama against Palin. Is the coke head versus the pot head thing? Obama wins that one going away.
Seven Machos,
You ignored Angela Davis, major-party vice presidential candidate (and socialist hero) 30 years before Hilary or Ferarro.
We have 100% literacy and total equality here in the socialist paradise. The rum is good too.
At least the socialist paradise is honest when we prostitute our women.
Definitely, if your leaders have to be on drugs, you want them amped up on coke as opposed to marijuana and most other drugs. They may not make the best decisions, but at least they'll make decisions.
Point for Obama.
At least the socialist paradise is honest when we prostitute our women.
Oh come on. Just because she moved the ticket's support among men only, and not women, that doesn't mean she's just providing them eye candy.
She's providing them eye candy AND nutty Christian fundamentalist politics.
"I'll bet she can do a fine job of reading off a teleprompter.
But why won't she do interviews with the press? They can't allow her to get off script."
Funny, I think the exact same thing about His Holiness the Obamessiah.
Dammit! I forgot that El Presidente is a subtle and great satirist! Excellent, excellent work. Your role must be so much more fun than mine.
Doyle,
I wasn't talking about Palin.
Seven,
Satire is a tool of the bourgeois.
But why won't she do interviews with the press?
Why won't the press actually vet Obama? Why won't they press him on his lie that Ayers was just "a man who lives in his neighborhood?" Why did the press actually swallow the claim that, despite going to the same church 20 years, he missed all the juicy stuff?
I suspect the answer to these questions is similar.
You ignored Angela Davis, major-party vice presidential candidate (and socialist hero) 30 years before Hilary or Ferarro.
You got me good there. I did a double-take when I saw "major-party". Then I realized who was writing it. Yes, major-party indeed.
"Hear me, O Moose..."
The guys here seem to break along party lines. I wonder what the undecideds think, but especially the women.
Is the MSM anti-Palin meltdown something those women want to see? Do they like watching yet another woman get knocked down a few pegs, and maybe even taken out entirely? or will they seek retribution? Do they prefer men skate by relatively unscathed, while the woman's parenting skills and bra size get scrutinized?
I really haven't the slightest idea.
Based on her experience and record, Governor Palin is way more qualified to be President than the former community organizer, barack Obama.
When Barack, the former community organizer, Obama was a part time instructor at a law school, Sarah Palin was Mayor of a city with 50 employees and a $12 million budget.
When the former community organizer was voting present in the Illinois State Senate, Sarah Palin was serving as chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission.
When the Former community organizer was making speeches in the U.S. Senate, Sarah Palin was serving as Governor of the State of Alaska with 25,000 employees.
When the former community organizer was debating hillary clinton over who opposed the surge more, Sarah Palin was working on bringing to life the Alaska pipeline - the largest construction project ever in the history of America.
No wonder democrats and the liberal media is smearing Palin's family, they know talking about her real qualifications would only highlight the fact that Barack Obama is not ready to be president.
You are violating Napolean's first rule of warfare, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. "
Yes indeed and how did Napoleon fare out at Waterloo?
Oh wait...never mind.
What can you say, Hoosier? The Duke of Wellington didn't interrupt him.
Sloanasaurus-
I can't wait for the soon-to-be-released McCain campaign commercial comparing Palin and Obama.
What an incredible misstep by the Obama campaign and their press supporters.
Doyle: "I look forward to hearing more about Palin's crazy church."
On the crazy scale, Palin's church is several orders of magnitude under Obama's church. Let's start with the Boston Herald's observation:
"The problem for Obama, who campaigns on a message of racial reconciliation, is that the "mentor" whose church he joined and has generously supported is a disciple not of King but of James Cone, founder of a "black liberation" theology that teaches its adherents to "accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy."
Cone's book, "Black Theology & Black Power" is "required reading" at Obama's church of over 20 years for "parishoners who want to more fully understand their church". And Cone, in an interview, said that Obama's church "most embodies" his teachings. Hmmm.
Oh, and Cone, who was Obama's mentor's mentor, believes that God must either help blacks destroy the white enemy, or God must be killed(!):
"Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him.
The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community ... Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy."
Now that's crazy.
It's become a cliche from overuse and the insipid connection to Wimbleton, but Rudyard Kipling's If comes to mind:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
I don't think Palin's going to lose her head. And after tonight, the media will have a much harder time blaming her for the fact that they lost theirs.
What can you say, Hoosier? The Duke of Wellington didn't interrupt him.
I'm not certain of the timing but I heard Napoleon was saying it about Wellington.
Hoosier,
Hmmm.
The benefit of the media feeding frenzy is that expectations are rock bottom. The way the media and her opponents have been spinning it, if she manages to utter a coherent sentence it would seem a triumph to them.
It sounds like they half expect her to come out and read off a few shaky, monotone lines, look up, see their scary cameras, then run off and hide like a sixth-grader that just flubbed her audition for the school play.
Obviously you guys are not history buffs as the correct quote was
"Never interrupt your enema when he is making a mistake."
That was Napleon's greatest error as the British posioned him by giving him a enema using a tincture of Mercury that lead to his death.
Perfidious Albion strikes again.
I do recommend a political enema for the whole congregation so we can get rid of all this bullshit and concerntrate on what is truly important.
THE WORLD CHAMPION NEW YORK GIANTS KICK OFF THE NFL SEASON ON THURSDAY!
Did I tell you lately that the Giants won the Super Bowl?
Oh and some guy named Brett is playing for the Jets. Loser.
the craziness here burns
comparing her part-time mayorship to teaching at chicago law school
thinking she is prepared to be VP, much less P
and, after all of the "michelle obama hates america" nonsense, not a word about her husband actually belonging to an anti-american party
sometimes i think you're all paid ops
That was Napleon's greatest error as the British posioned him by giving him a enema using a tincture of Mercury that lead to his death.
Incorrect Trooper. Nappy had hemorrhoids and always used an inflatable cushion and eschewed shoving things up his ass.
Not that there is anything wrong with that.
the craziness here burns
They have medicine for that. You can mail order it too and it comes in discreet packaging.
I am quite certain that Palin will hit a homerun. She crushed an incumbent governor in an election and has the highest popularity rating of any sitting governor while taking on her own party's establishment. That takes some exceptional political skills that I think we will see tonight.
The media is setting expectations so low it would be easy for any politician to exceed them. But as Governor Palin has alreay shown last week she has charisma that reminds me of Ronald Reagan.
I think that alot of people are going to be wiping egg off their faces come Thursday night.
Ikdemott, I don't actually think they're setting expectations low. Just the opposite. Listen to all the talk that's basically saying she has to give a good speech tonight. I mean, yes, I think she does. But I think that, for the media, anything less than a grand slam out-of-the-park, bust-a-windshield home run with simultaneous fireworks (preferably exiting her eyeballs) will be cast as evidence she can't escape this "lack of experience" meme.
There needs to be a camera on McCain and Biden tonight during Palin's speech. McCain has bet his presidential bid on her. Biden has to face her in the debate. Watching their body language and facial expressions will be pricelss.
I have a prediction:
The welcoming committee will riot in multiple locations tonight, timed to disrupt network coverage of the speech.
This election is over if the Governor gives a clear, issues driven, high road speech.
I hope the MSP counter terror outfit has good sources deep inside the Democrat oops pardon Leftist leadership cadre.
It's going to be ugly. And a wasted effort...
but that's what those folks have become great at, so once more for the revolution! And hope! And Change!
Sloan, that was absolutely great comparison. Succinct way of getting it into the right perspective.
Why a community organizer thinks he's ready to be president is beyond me.
What's funny too is that I just realized how little we're all talking about Biden. No one cares about Biden. Republicans are perfectly happy for Biden to be on the ticket, so there's nary a 200 comment thread about him.
That's kind of sad. I feel a little bad for Biden now.
He's like the kid who has tried for years to be really popular, finally becomes the most popular guys lackey--saving parking spaces, and running errands--and then the popular guy isn't so popular anymore because the hot new cheerleader/valedictorian won't have anything to do with him.
I agree with TmjUtah. This speech is going to be interrupted by something - by protests, by something - and if nothing happens, the MSM will find some way to foul up the coverage. "Technical difficulties," a bad angle... Something.
From CNN's Political Ticker:
According to a senior McCain adviser, the speech has three main goals:
First, Palin wants to leave no question about which ticket has a better hold on the economy.
Palin will emphasize her experience and understanding of the energy economy and talk about how Alaska is the “intersection of global energy markets and domestic production.” Here, she’ll try to combat questions regarding her experience.
Palin will also pit John McCain against Barack Obama, making the case for the Arizona senator on the basis of policy and character.
“After she delivers these lines, McCain’s decision to choose her will be much more obvious,” said the aide who has been working with her on the speech.
Finally, Palin will introduce herself to voters as a likable, funny and smart person.
Sounds like a good plan to me. Palin is working with McCain staff on this speech, she hasn't left it in anyone else's hands. As the saying goes, read the whole thing -- it's pretty short.
Hooiser Daddy said;
"Incorrect Trooper. Nappy had hemorrhoids and always used an inflatable cushion and eschewed shoving things up his ass."
Yes but the British doctors sold him on the idea that inserting properly lubricated things in his anus would bring him relief and satisfaction based on the pioneering work of Dr. Titus Wilde.
This research is continued to this very day by various journalists, bloggers and beagle fanciers.
Yeah, I agree Biden is a bit of a sad sack. Unlike Obama, he seems to lack a sophisticated understanding of human relationships. Socially he's 30 degrees off true north. When I saw Biden and Obama interviewed together it embarrassed me how he praised Obama to his face. As Hemingway once said, "praise to your face is an insult."
What do undecideds / independents / women think? I can only speak for myself and my small piece of the planet, so FWIW:
I'm something of a "maverick" too. I always vote but I am generally pretty indifferent to all things political. I am not enrolled in a party. I watch some (though not a lot) of the conventions and debates on CSPAN. Even PBS is too talking head obnoxious (although I like their other programming). Over the years, I have voted Dem, GOP, third party, write-in. I never watch network news, only local. I read local papers. I have no cable TV or Tivo.
I work in a small city, and have lived in a rural area for my entire life. I am a lifelong northerner. I am Catholic (not fallen) and a PhD holder. I teach (education classes) at a public university. I am a member of the faculty union. I am a vegetarian. I am an animal lover who supports animal rights. I am very into organic gardening, recycling, composting, simple living, volunteering, buying local, and donating to charity. I am childfree and pro-life. I do not drive. I favor holistic health. I am anti-big box and pro-historic preservation. I am optimistic about the future. I am close to my family. My views are all over the place, but I not an extremist.
I like Palin. I like that she is from Alaska. I like that she lives according to her beliefs. I LOVE that she is rural. I like that she is a regular person. I like that she is female.
I like both McCain and Obama too. I like that Obama is African American. I admire that McCain has been so tested. There are other things I like, and I have some concerns about both too (some important, some not very important).
I would prefer it if both Obama and Palin has more experience, and if McCain was younger, but none of that is a deal-breaker. To me, there is another "ism:" I come from a long-lived family and find a lot of the questioning of health and age to be ageist!
My least favorite of the candidates is Biden, and that is because he plagiarized which is one of my "line-in-the-sands." (Anti-cheating is practically a moral crusade for me in my classes.)
I think at the moment I am leaning McCain. That isn't really due to Palin (I have been freaked out by Obama's definition of who is rich and who will be taxed more, also the Biden plagiarism thing hasn't helped), but she certainly has sparked my interest. So far, I am pleased with, and yes, even energized (assuming such a thing is possible for me) by his choice.
I don't discuss politics all that much with them, but my sense is that most of my friends and colleagues support Obama. This is not a surprise, considering where I work and live (very blue). Quite a few of the women were Hillary supporters, and I am not sure how many have now switched to Obama and how many are undecided or for McCain. I suspect at least two of my female friends now support McCain (although not necessarily due to Palin, but it hasn't hurt).
I more often discuss politics with my family, and we talked about Palin over the weekend. We all feel the same way. We know two men from my hometown who moved to Alaska after college. I believe both are GOP (not sure, but I think AK is majority GOP?). One doesn't like Palin. Having known him since childhood, we're pretty sure his feelings can be attributed to sexism; he had nothing of substance to share, aside from expletives. The other said that Palin is a dynamo and the only downside to her as VP is that Alaska will lose her as governor.
The MSM coverage is pathetic. Lower your blood pressure and improve your mood by turning it off, and if you must watch, CSPAN is the only way to go.
This four-hour old post about Sarah Palin only has 99 comments. That is totally unacceptable.
Why would anyone think Palin won't get a rousing reception tonight?
It's the Republican convention and it's expected.
There will be so many standing ovations it will become comical.
* Based on Thompson last night, I just hope the woman has a glass of water.
Sarah Palin was selected to garner votes from the Christian right...period.
Those who think Hillary voters, who support a woman's choice, gun control, getting out of Iraq, national health care, etc. are the very last group to shift their votes to the Republicans because of Palin's conservative views of each and every one.
I'm not saying it's wrong or that the Republicans can't win, but there's no other reason for the selection, especially considering the many Republican Governors, Senators, Congressional people and the like that were passed over.
*Who here thinks Sarah Palin is more qualified than Tom Ridge or Romney or Pawlenty or even Lieberman?
This should get a rise out of a few here:
Wall Street Journal columnist and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan and former John McCain adviser, Time columnist, and MSNBC contributor Mike Murphy were caught on tape disparaging John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate.
"It's over," Noonan said.
When Chuck Todd asked her if this was the most qualified woman the Republicans could nominate, Noonan responded, "The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political bullshit about narratives. Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and that's not what they're good at, they blow it."
Murphy characterized the choices as "cynical" and "gimmicky."
Yes, it's undeniably interesting no matter what side of the aisle you're on.
At least the socialist paradise is honest when we prostitute our women.
Palin = Jinetera?
Oh, wait up wait up. No one told me this charming little tidbit about you.
So let ask you a question, El Presidente?
You are currently in Cuba right now. Posting from Cuba, are you? One of the very few with internet connectivity on that island?
(Which means you are higher-up in the government, since that freedom of information isn't trusted to just anyone)
Because this is why having a person like me on a blog is priceless -- I've travelled to Cuba. And amongst the 6 languages that I speak, I speak Spanish.
I also know a lot about the infrastructure and history of Cuba intimately.
So here's the deal:
You better make sure you're not BSing Althouse about being a Cuban posting from Cuba, porque mi vida, yo tengo muchos contactos alli que yo puedo usar para confirmar todito que estas diciendo. No seas comemierda.
Cheers,
Victoria
Michael,
This one's interesting too:
Where is it written that only senators are qualified to become President?... Or where is it written that mere representatives aren’t qualified, like Geraldine Ferraro of Queens?... Where is it written that governors and mayors, like Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco, are too local, too provincial?... Presidential candidates have always chosen their running mates for reasons of practical demography, not idealized democracy…. What a splendid system, we say to ourselves, that takes little-known men, tests them in high office and permits them to grow into statesmen.... Why shouldn’t a little-known woman have the same opportunity to grow?... [T]he indispensable credential for a Woman Who [sic] is the same as for a Man Who [sic] – one who helps the ticket.
New York Times editorial, July 3, 1984. (h/t)
Victoria,
El Presidente is an Althouse gem.
Next you'll be accusing Sir Archy of not being a ghost.
Or Titus of not being fabulous.
I was undecided. I'm a DTS, though in my early days I voted Dem. Then Lib.
Palin was a big plus for McCain, in my eyes.
The current attacks against her have made me decide to vote a full Rep ticket, regardless of what happens in the next 8-9 weeks.
I may even donate.
I don't know how else to express my displeasure. Palin's eminently attackable on a lot of fronts--but the pregnancy thing was beyond the pale.
It's beyond policy.
There probably aren't many like me, though. The Dems better hope there aren't, anyway.
she wasn't attacked on her pregnancy
mccain's camp preemptively threw it out there, and then the media pounced. the media, not obama.
further, i also like "regular" people. but i wouldn't want one to run my law firm. or the companies i invest in. or the bank that holds my savings. nor do i want one to run my country. for those positions, i want hypercompetent.
Uh... Michael:
"Sarah Palin was selected to garner votes from the Christian right...period."
If that was remotely the case, then the Obama campaign staff wouldn't be looking out the fifth floor windows and wishing they were on the tenth. The New York Times and CNN wouldn't be executing DNC talking points as brazenly as they have been... and that's saying a lot.
McCain has all the Christian right votes he expected to have already, and that's not near as large a demographic as the bloviating of the media, or you, try to make it out to be, anyway. The Palin nomination was aimed squarely at likely voters with jobs who have serious reservations about McCain's connections to CFR and the global warming scam. Voters who are tired of institutional politicians. Governor Palin hacked her way into office in what is arguably the most bare knuckle state Republican party in the nation, and won her offices over the still - warm carcasses of men she confronted on ethical grounds. Rep and Dem. It's just a bonus Governor Palin is an attractive woman. The affected demographic is (mostly) white male voters, but not rigidly so; not nearly.
She will be attractive people who are by nature identity voters; and yes, that means that disgruntled Hillary supporters may well rationalize voting for McCain; they might as well, since voting Obama should honestly take a huge suspension of disbelief for any doctrinaire feminist.
If this speech is successful, and I strongly think that it will be, I fear Chris Matthews and Olbie may need to be medicated. By prescription, I mean. And somebody should visit Andrew Sullivan, and just sit with him.
As far as Noonan is concerned, I respectfully disagree with her call.
In my (ignorant) opinion, what has killed the Republicans since 2004 is their embrace of the political culture as defined by the handlers, media, and shills that litter the swamp that has become DC. That's not what WE elected them for; and they aren't done paying for their hubris yet... not by a long chalk.
Nice big stone buildings, there in the District. But it's still a swamp, and if you dig a hole it comes up stinky.
So, no, I don't think Noonan has the right angle. We'll all see tonight.
Can someone tell me; what is the new Althouse hair cut?
Or, must I dig through the haircut thread on my own?
The Exalted said...
"the media, not obama."
Since approximately 9am on Friday, the difference has escaped me.
Next you'll be accusing Sir Archy of not being a ghost.
Or Titus of not being fabulous.
Ack, Blake, and especially El Presidente, I am so sorry!
You know Cuba is my hot button issue, but also, I had no idea about the mascot status of El Presidente. Must've happened on my various leaves from Altouse.
Cheers,
Victoria
El Presidente is gracious to those he does not se deseparaceda.
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