Liam

Will the right care? The GOP won the argument in 2000 and 2004 that actual military service isn't a requirement for someone to be at the highest levels of the chain of command. (See Cheney, the Romney boys, etc.)

Republican conventions strike me more as pieces of orchestrated theatre than Democratic conventions which tend to be messier and more lively events. I have no smoking gun in the form of an internal GOP memo, but it's plain to see that the GOP mostly picks its speakers to project the image that it is a much larger tent than it really is. Colin Powell, Ahhnold, city mayors, women business execs. You almost never see the real face of the GOP, which are guys like Tom DeLay or Jim Inhofe or James Dobson -- they scare the public away. It seems the GOP learned that if it puts up people like Phyllis Schlaffley, which they used to do, they might alienate voters. Of course, the speakers they choose are all Republicans (save for the odd Zell Miller/Joe Lieberman), but when the camera pulls away and shows the audience (white male, white male, white male, white female, white male, one brown skinned guy, white male), it's kind of obvious there's a degree of tokenism up at the podium at GOP conventions.

Pat Buchanan is as partisan a guy as they come and he liked the speech but agreed that most of it was just GOP boilerplate. Still, I think Palin did what she needed to do which was to energize the people who weren't going to vote for Obama anyhow. There was no way the crowd in the arena was going to let her fail. The question now is how it played outside the arena. Obama's and Biden's speeches were designed to get outside the room more. As Peggy Noonan said, "Obama spoke to America." I also don't think the speech was intended to do anything but reignite the culture wars, which was the GOP's aim for Palin. They can't run on economic success or for managing the budget, so it's their last play open to them. They had Palin play the victim, let her be a model for the pro-lifers, let her be the martyr of an anti-American media and coastal snobs. I don't think there was a single thing any Hillary supporter could hear in that speech which would make them find a home in the GOP this year, but I think the GOP realized by around 5pm last Friday that Palin wouldn't be able to close that deal.

Please. I understand your point, but your line of arguing is pointless for two reasons. First, you're never going to convince someone who has already locked his mind and most of the people on here who think Sarah Palin can have it all have their minds locked. Second, and more important, you have no idea (none of us do) what role Todd Palin will have should Sarah Palin become the VP of president. He may end up being the stay-at-home dad guy and that would free up Sarah to pursue her career. That's fine. Insisting that Palin is abandoning her kid is sheer speculation and isn't going to help you win the debate that she's not fit to be in the position she's in or that McCain treated his VP pick with reckless abandon.

Uhhh, someone else did write it. It was announced by the McCain campaign beforehand that some guy named Sculley(?) wrote the speech for her. My point wasn't that someone else wrote the words for her -- most politicias just mouth someone else's text -- my point was that the delivery came across as being read from a teleprompter. Her biography section came off well, personal, and friendly and not sounding as scripted as the political stuff. How could it even be remotely viewed as sexism (your quote "In a sense, this isn't sexism.") In what sense is analyzing a speech sexist? Really, have you guys on the right suddenly found magic in being P.C.?!

One last thing before I sign off (I'm one of those "elites" in the eastern time zone )... I thought McCain's appearance on stage was just incredibly awkward and awful. First, it seemed to be a direct copy of what Obama did after Biden's speech. Second, after saying a few words about Palin and the family, he just looked so uncomfortable and awkward. Even I was thinking, "please, say something say something just fill in the silence, do something" but the moment just hung out there and lingered and lingered.

Eh. Her speech was okay, about what I expected. I'll give her the benefit of getting in a few good lines, but her delivery did come across as a bit scripted. Overall, I think it was designed to appeal only to the people in the room and not really give people outside her bubble much to go on. The biography stuff at the beginning was good, but her attacks on Obama had just too much condescension and sarcasm and they came across as a bit over-scripted. That part of the speech actually came off more as an unattractive sneer than a series of well placed punches. She did about what I expected and about as well as I expected. No more, no less. As B-C says, let the games begin.

The same rules apply for the Dems, they huffed and puffed over Hillary and Obama and they will now routinely frown over Palin and McCain. And I agree that the media has set up Palin perfectly for an average performance to be a stick in the eye to the elites. I have never advocated that one should underestimate Palin's abilities. I think she's absolutely wrong in some of her positions, but I suspect she'll do a serviceable job as a VP candidate. I'll come up with a word in lieu of apologists. Only "Kool-Aid drinkers" is out. I think the modern GOP has that one taken already.

The reviews of this speech have already been written. Short of having her throw up on herself or having her suffer a bout of nervous giggles during the address, every Republican on TV tonight will say it was a master stroke. She will have delivered a bloody punch to Obama. She will have thumbed her nose at the coastal and Beltway elites. She will have cowed and shamed the media as sexist and unpatriotic. She will have defended everything good about small-town America. She will be hailed as a model citizen and mom, as a brave feminist who believes in family and country. She will be hailed as the least appreciated public servant and as a maverick, a reformer, and the patron saint of sunny dispositions. And as Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy showed today, it's all a show.

Do you ever consider that people who disagree with Bush policy may have valid reasons for their disagreements? Honestly, your posts are predictable to the point of being Pavlovian. They're not hypocrites. Do you consider every businessman who dislikes the regulatory scheme governing his industry a hypocite if he adheres to the rules? These people adhere to the rules of the game. They dislike the rules, they know the rules make their jobs more difficult, but they don't say one thing and do another. They are not hypocrites. If they are to operate and if they are to help fight this disease they have to operate within the rules. Why do they take the money? Because if they didn't, they wouldn't be able to do their jobs. Because without them, there would be almost no resource available to the people they are trying to help and because they feel a dedication to the people whose health they are trying to keep intact.

What you're seeing among all GOPers, with the exception of the "Left Behind"ers, is what's called putting on a brave face in public. Behind the closed doors, they're very concerned, some are angry and almost all are resigned to the notion that McCain has bad judgment. In public, it's all pride and bluster. Noonan and Murphy merely got caught on a microphone saying what I've been hearing among family and colleagues since Friday. And now we know the GOP establishment is just as bewildered, angry and insulted as many outside the Beltway. (Of course there are many outside the Beltway who are walking on air over this pick.) A co-worker of mine had a grandfather who was a US congressman from the midwest (GOP). Her mom is very active back home in state-wide GOP politics. My co-worker said "I know my grandfather just turned in his grave." No one in the family but her mom are voting for McCain this year. Palin sealed his fate with them.

People misuse the term hypocrite all the time. Palin's not being a hypocrite. She doesn't believe in abortion or birth control and she's walking the walk. I'd agree that her prescription is a failure and that she is ill-informed that abstinence education is the best way to prevent pregnancy in teenage girls. Nor is it an effective way to teach kids about STDs. I have a friend who is an HIV outreach worker in Africa. His job is one that relies quite a bit on HIV prevention funds from the US federal government. He's not even allowed to volunteer information about HIV prevention through condom usage with prostitutes in places like Nigeria or the men who frequent them. Bush's rules basically gag health professionals. My friend will lose funding for his outreach work if he volunteers information about condoms. He can discuss them only if someone asks -- and no one over there asks about condoms. Needless to say, Bush programs (and ones I suspect Palin would encourage McCain to continue) are doing little to stem the tide of growing numbers infected with HIV.

So when do we start playing Palin Bingo? you know, an adaptation of that game bored college kids play in the lecture halls of repetitive, cliche-addled professors? I suggest a different version, where we pick 16 words we know the McCain apologists will all be saying about Palin's address (regardless of how good or how awful it is -- and it'll be good enough, I'm sure). First one to get four in a row wins. My board: authentic fighter warm all-American maverick reformer values home run (or any variation on the theme) real winner experience family elites conservative spunky private

What matters is what role Todd Palin will have. As I asked four or five pages ago: is he going to quit his job and move to Washington to be the primary care giver for their baby? If so, then I have no problem with a woman like Palin running for and serving as VP or even President. If Todd Palin is not going to quit his job, but take on some kind of employment, whether in Washington or Alaska, I would think the Palins were doing a disservice to their family. Being the VP isn't like working as an accountant where one can leave the office early or telecommute a few days a week. A job at that level often requires lengthy travel, intense scheduling and will be the master of Palin's life. If she can do it with the undivided help of her husband, more power to her. But an added problem for me is the 17 year old daughter. Where is she going to go? Back to Alaska to live with her teenager husband? Or will she stay in Washington (and will the teen hubby?) to be near her family? I'm sorry, but there are just times when a young woman needs her mom -- I know this as a single dad with two girls -- and I'd imagine that the first several months of teenage motherhood would be one of those times. Having her be in Alaska or having Sarah Palin off to Pakistan or Burundi or Germany would not be in her daughter's best interests. Todd could be the best dad on earth, but he's still not going to be able to fill the role of surrogate mom to their daughter. I speak from experience.

... and that she headed up a 527 Group to raise electoral funds to support Sen. Ted Stevens. 527s were set up to deliberately avoid... wait for it... McCain-Finegold election financing laws. ... and that she and her husband were both members of a political party (her husband actively so until 2002 at least) which advocated the seccession of Alaska from the US and whose homepage and founder have some pretty inflamatory and hate-filled language about the US, very much akin to Reverend Wright's "goddamn America" stuff. ... and that while mayor her town was only one of six towns in all of Alaska to hire a lobbyist to acquire federal pork $$ (also known as earmarks), but introduced herself last week as being a crusader against earmarks. ... and that the lobbyist firm she hired had ties to convicted felon Jack Abramoff. ... and that when she fired her former brother-in-law's boss, she replaced him with someone she knew had a history of sexual harrassment. ... and that she claims to be a cutter of taxes but not only left her hometown $20 million in debt, but that she raised taxes more than she cut them. ... and that her governance of Wasilla was so controversial that she faced a removal effort and town management was placed in the hands of an administrator. ... that she fired the Wasilla town librarian because that person wouldn't remove certain books from the town library shelves. I'm sure there's more, but all this speaks to the fact that McCain did not vet her. She was only subject to an interview the day before she was picked. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?hpid=topnews I am still waiting for someone to defend McCain's vetting of her and how this shows non-reckless behavior on his part.

Chirac was the first foreign leader to observe Ground Zero and to express solidarity and look how Bush treated him a little while later. But thanks for the help with Gustav.

GC did his homework, I was just winging it from memory.

Kimmy, you're not confused, your just being selective in memory. In the opening days of the DNC, McCain had pulled ahead for the first time 46-44 (Gallup, I believe). As of today, it's Obama 49, McCain 43, making for an 8 point swing in Obama's favor. Rasmussen, which tends to have polls that favor Republicans (probably all in their methods of sampling) today has Obama at 51% -- I forget McCain's % but think it was around 45 or 46%. The Obama-breaks-50% was all sampling done after the selection of Palin but before much of the past few days' media storm. I'm sure after the RNC the numbers will adjust again.

I'll find the link, but I believe I read somewhere that Kalnins gave the benediction at Palin's gubernatorial swearing in. Edit: my error, it was her new church's pastor.

Another one from just a few weeks ago... http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/090...s.html#comments "Brickner also described terrorist attacks on Israelis as God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity." Oh, and Palin was there that day. Sen. McCain, Miami-Dade is on the phone. They'd like a word with you...

The open question is what will Todd Palin's role be and until we know it's wrong to judge. Will he hang up the fishing nets and become a house husband in Washington? What about the daughter -- will she return to Alaska with her teenage husband or will she be staying in Washington to get her mom's and dad's help? These are all questions the Palins will need to settle themselves. I'm a single dad -- my kids' mom passed away a couple of years ago -- so I know parenting, especially single parenting requires A LOT of time and work. I've had to curtail my job aspirations because there's just no way I could spend more time at the office or on a plane than I do with my kids. Palin's new job will put mine to shame in terms of stress and commitments. Unless Todd becomes a full-time house husband, I just don't know any mom could manage being the VP and a mom all at once, even with a nanny or an assistant.

So, is the media now going to start poring through the sermons of Palin's preachers, or would that suddenly be off limits (unlike when Jeremiah Wright was the subject of GOP wet dreams a few months ago)? And just as important, is the GOP going to suddenly express the notion that a person's religion is a private matter? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/p...tml#postComment "But Pastor Kalnins has also preached that critics of President Bush will be banished to hell; questioned whether people who voted for Sen. John Kerry in 2004 would be accepted to heaven; charged that the 9/11 terrorist attacks and war in Iraq were part of a war "contending for your faith;" and said that Jesus "operated from that position of war mode..." "During the 2004 election season, he praised President Bush's performance during a debate with Sen. John Kerry, then offered a not-so-subtle message about his personal candidate preferences. "I'm not going tell you who to vote for, but if you vote for this particular person, I question your salvation. I'm sorry." Kalnins added: "If every Christian will vote righteously, it would be a landslide every time." Months after hinting at possible damnation for Kerry supporters, Kalnins bristled at the treatment President Bush was receiving over the federal government's handling of Hurricane Katrina. "I hate criticisms towards the President," he said, "because it's like criticisms towards the pastor -- it's almost like, it's not going to get you anywhere, you know, except for hell. That's what it'll get you." Much of his support for the current administration has come in the realm of foreign affairs. Kalnins has preached that the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Iraq were part of a "world war" over the Christian faith, one in which Jesus Christ had called upon believers to be willing to sacrifice their lives." This is the church Palin grew up in and of which she was a member at the time such statements were made. Why didn't she stand up in the pews to protest?

Shortly after winning his senate seat, Biden's wife and young daughter were killed by a drunk driver while they were out shopping for a Christmas tree. Biden's elder son was also in the crash but survived and remained in the hospital for some time. Biden decided to give up politics, but was encouraged by senior members of the senate to be sworn in, which he did some time later. He commuted home on the train from DC each night to be with his family. He remarried five years after the death of his first wife and daughter.

I actually feel quite a bit of sadness for the daughter, she must be under so much pressure and is probably feeling on edge that her status (I was going to say "mistake" but I knew the loonies would come after me for calling a baby a mistake) could very well cause her own mother to fall into ignominy. Adults can sometimes barely weather the scrutiny, but a poor 17 year old. My heart goes out to her, actually. I feel no empthay for McCain nor for Palin, though. I mean, how blindly ambitious must Palin be to put her own kid in a position of being the butt of late night talk show jokes and the centerpiece of some media frenzy. Did she ever really consider what was best for her own family or was she dazzled by her prospects? (I'd ask the same of a man with a pregnant teenage daughter, so step off.)

OK, maybe I should rephrase. She has expressed no interest in domestic affairs. Is that better? But you raise a point. What's her position on monetary policy? About federal funding of No Child Left Behind? Where is she on means-testing of Social Security benefits? Can you tell me what she has ever said about stem cell research or tax breaks for solar or nuclear power? What about continuation of the Bush tax cuts? How about SCHIP benefits? Medicare coverage of prescription drugs? What does she think is the best way to fight inflation? Cut the deficit? Deal with the mortgage crisis? If she can't talk about these things what business did McCain have in asking her to be his 2nd in command on such matters?