Palin's debut (liveblogging)

This pick couldn't have been better. Governor Palin is a knockout. I was not going to vote for McCain, nor for Obama. Now it might be worth reconsidering just for the sake of giving this lady a career in the future of the Republican Party.

The more this sinks in, the more delighted I am by this pick of McCain's of a pro-life, corruption fighting, big oil windfall-taxing, sexy librarian married to her high-school sweetheart who just happens to be an Inuit.

Well, I recommended Palin for VP on this site, on one of your threads a couple months back. Glad McCain took my advice. Suddenly I may no longer be sitting this presidential election out.

You probably will be voting for Palin. McCain needs somebody with "surviving capabilities."

The more it's become apparent that this was a naked appeal to women voters rather than an appeal to social conservatives, the more the pick appears ultimately to be a loser. To appeal to feminists, Palin will play up her tamer view of homosexuality and down play her anti-abortion views. That is all fine if there is a large pool of feminists disaffected from Obama who still haven't commited to McCain. From a strategic standpoint, I don't think there are a large group of women there in play; they have made their choice. In emphasizing and attempting to establish her feminist bonafides, she is bound ultimately to chaffe a number of social conservatives.

I thought this was pretty funny from your last post:

Many of those Hillary voters are now in play. Followedimmediatelyby Palin is pro-life Hehe.

McCain's taking a huge risk with a VP that seems to be drawing significantly more enthusiasm than he himself is, but I think it may well pay off. Personally, I was practically praying it would be Lieberman, but no such luck.

This is going to be yet another incredibly close election, and I'm not at all certain who will win -- in a year the Democrats should have walked away with the thing. Change we can believe in, my foot. Obama's too busy soaking up fawning adoration and his own @#$%ing historic-ness that he let himself be out-maneuvered AGAIN. Hillary might not have given her acceptance speech in front of 84,000 -- but she wouldn't have lost the newscycle to Miss Alaska and Her Beautiful American Family either.

Wow!!!

When she talked about vetoing, as Governor, the Federal funding for the "bridge to nowhere," I could only imagine that Sen. Ted Stevens and the other corrupt bums among the GOP congressional screwups were really spitting their dentures into their soup bowls.

With her emphasis on reform and rooting-out corruption and wasteful spending ... this is the kind of conservative Republican ticket I can support with genuine enthusiasm. This takes us forward to "first principles" as a party and as a country.

As for her son going into harm's way starting next month (along with McCain's son in Iraq) ... this buries the "chicken hawk" image of so many in the party.

Her references to the 88th anniversary of women's voting rights this week and her acknowledgement of Hillary and Geraldine Ferraro will energize female voters. Considering the age of McCain, there is the very great likelihood that she will (with all due respect to Hillary) eventually end up being the first woman President of this country. If McCains wins in 2008, she will have the inside track as his successor. If McCain loses in 2008, she will be the frontrunner for the 2012 GOP nomination.

It was a great speech -- really knocked it out of the park. Too bad it wasnt' prime time ... but then again it was a good practice session for her appearance on Wednesday night (assuming "Gustav" doesn't re-arrange the Convention schedule).

I've still got goosebumps. I heard her on the radio, and it was no Dan Quayle moment. The lady is good. She can hold the spotlight and will.

I know many of you like to think being the party of torture and architects of a policy that has Afghanistan rebounding as a narco-terrorist state a great platform to run on, but a lot of other people think otherwise. They're called Democrats.

Meanwhile, I doubt Vladimir Putin is worrying too much about facing down the former mayor of mystery, Alaska.

Ben thought it was funny that Palin could appeal to both Hillary voters and pro-lifers. But HRC voters aren't the same as the liberal activists of her inner circle. HRC primary voters also included plenty of voters who are in play:

- working class whites who are traditional, loyal Democrats DESPITE the abortion issue;

- women, including some stay at home Moms, who were inspired by HRC's candidacy but don't necessarily share her abortion views;

and the largest category...

- rank and file voters who can't stand Bush but don't like or trust Obama.

I've been watching the campaigns for months with no intention to vote for either side in November. Now, I'm definitely voting...for Palin. I am excited about this election and can't wait to talk to my sister and mom and adult nieces about Palin. (We all voted Obama in the primary but have since become disillusioned with him and annoyed with his supporters' treatment of Mrs. Clinton. His comment about 'guns and religion' was stupid, too.)

My husband is so mad at the Republicans that he'd been planning on voting for a write-in candidate: Ronald Reagan. Now he wants to hear more about this truly conservative, not neo-con, v.p. choice.

Neither my husband nor I will consider voting for McCain, but we could ignore his name on the ballot to vote for Palin.

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How do you figure this? My bet is that if McCain loses, Palin will be tarred with failure and not a player in 2012; as I've posted before, I wonder if Romney might have turned down the offer of being McCain's VP, counting on an Obama win in 2008 and better positioning himself for a presidential bid in 2012.

And what does it say that 24 years after people questioned whether Geraldine Ferraro was qualified to be VP, the GOP goes with someone with so little qualifications beyond being pro-life and an alleged reformer.

Well, that's one up on Obama, at least.

Daniel: I just watched Kay Bailey Hutchinson, 15 years as a U.S. Senator, trying to be excited about someone who two years ago was they mayor of a town of 8500 people. She must be wondering what's wrong with her or Elizabeth Dole or even the Senators from Maine that they were passed over for a window-dressing candidate.

I know your heart is breaking for all those left-out Republican women, Daniel, but surely you know that there was vastly, vastly more political logic in Obama putting Hillary Clinton on his ticket than McCain putting any GOP female senator.

Secondly, Kay Bailey Hutchison actually represents my state in the Senate. I've been at meetings with her. She's not a bad senator, but she would have brought diddly-squat to the national ticket. Zero excitement. She's as old guard as they get. Plus, after the last eight years, putting a Texas Republican on a national Republican ticket would have been suicidal.

Well, it only took Daniel an hour or so to get the far left talking points.

Palin is a real rformer with a genuine record of accomplishments, unlike the marketing phenom that is Barack Obama.

But please -- please! -- keep talking about Governor Palin's lack of foreign policy experience. That argument boils down to this: Experience is a crucial pre-requisite for anyone who wants to be Vice President, but not at all necessary for a President.

This is a bit curious.

I mean, I keep hearing how this will 'stoke the base'. I mean, McCain won the primary, right? He's already the party candidate. Surely, at this point, the issue is not supposed to be 'stoking the base'. It should be getting the independents, even getting a few from the other side to cross over.

If he's still not even sure of his own party's votes, he's got problems Palin won't fix. Because he should already HAVE his base, and he should be trying to pick someone to woo the moderates.

And Simon, this isn't about talking lack of experience on the Democrat side. This is about taking that particular point from the Republican side.

I doubt the Democratic leadership will bother to bring her lack of experience up UNLESS they start talking about Obama's. And yes, she's the bottom of the ticket. But after 8 years of Cheney and the role he took in policy making, and given McCain's age and general health, the Veep may be more than a figurehead sent out to officiate at state funerals, if elected.

"Daniel, but surely you know that there was vastly, vastly more political logic in Obama putting Hillary Clinton on his ticket than McCain putting any GOP female senator."

Unquestionably. But this isn't about Obama, it's about your candidate McCain and his political instincts and decision making. It's a make-or-break pick and people are going to wonder why he bypassed hundreds of more qualified people--heck, there's a female U.S. Senator from Alaska who has more qualifications to be Veep--he went with Palin.

Andrew Sullivan explains it better than I do.

Could this be McCain's Miers moment? Some readers think so: the point at which people suddenly realize that McCain is actually less interested in governing than in politics. And willing to let personal liking and respect for utterly unqualified people trump the sober responsibilities of running a country at war, a climate in flux, an economy in trouble, and an empire close to imploding.

On a raw, naked political level, it's a great pick. But when it came down to the candidates making a leadership decision about who can best help lead the country, Obama picked Biden and McCain picked the first-term governor of the 48th largest state in the country.

When the POTUS is a 72 year old man with a problematic health history? The Veep may wind up running quite a lot.

Palin is one cute politician as are most republican women.And smart too!

Too bad it's too soon for the sports-loving Palins to get involved in the Special Olympics with little Trig - they might even suborn some Kennedys.

Let's just suspend judgment until all of the pictures finally leak out. Gov. Palin is a former beauty queen.

Any guesses on Mr. Putin's thoughts?

AW,
Germany and Italy have IVF laws that allow it but require that all embryos (usually 2 or 3) be used, so that none are destroyed. That makes it more expensive, but it eliminates the problem from a pro-life perspective (if not necessarily eliminating all bioethical conservatives' objections to IVF).

there's a female U.S. Senator from Alaska who has more qualifications to be Veep

Daniel, are you even trying to be serious here?

Lisa Murkowski is the daughter and hand-picked successor of the corrupt Frank Murkowski. Her deeply unpopular appointment to the Senate was partly responsible for Palin's stunning upset of Frank in the gubernatorial primary.

The Murkowsis are of a piece with Ted Stevens and Don Young. Pork Barrell establishment Republicans opposed to everything John McCain and Sarah Palin stand for.

One of favorite actions by Governor Palin was when she ended the elder Murkowsi's career, then had the state government sell his opulent jet on ebay.

Sarah supported BUCHANAN after his scarrey Culture warrior speech in 92, and has an ad of Ted Stevens endorsing her. She is a creationist, and denies women the right to an abortion, even for rape and incest victims.
This is ULTRA UBER conservative

stick a fork in her