Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, left, is joined by Republican presidential candidate John McCain, right, and daughter Piper at the end of her speech at the Republican National Convention. (Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press)
This was a gift. Palin surely exceeded most critics expectations with a speech, crafted by the John McCain brain trust, that was strong, concise and delivered expertly, if vague on future action. (His advisers had already crafted one, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, then had to scrap the entire speech after it was deemed “very masculine.”)
Palin dimmed her former beauty-queen wattage by wearing a demure beige jacket with zip decolletage, a slim black pencil skirt and pumps. She made sure that, as the first female Republican vice presidential nominee - and the first woman to run for the position in 24 years - that no visual flash would detract from the substance of her speech.
Wednesday was the night the Republicans decided to go on the offensive and attack the Democrats. The words liberal, elite, East Coast and cosmopolitan (used as an invective by no less than former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani) were bandied about in a manner that hadn’t been heard since the Reagan years.
Indeed, to listen to the party’s history as rewritten Wednesday night, the Republican’s grand recent history skipped straight from the Gipper to John McCain, with nary a Bush to behold.
Some of this strategy worked beautifully. At other times, especially in the hands of Mitt Romney, the rhetoric became the theater of the absurd. The former governor of Massachusetts, as elite and East Coast a state as you can get, a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, tarred the people in power for being too, and I quote, liberal.
“But let me ask you, what do you think Washington is right now, liberal or conservative? Is a Supreme Court liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo terrorists with constitution rights? It's liberal! Is a government liberal or conservative that puts the interests of the teachers union ahead of the needs of our children? It's liberal!”
This would be the Supreme Court of John Roberts and a Republican majority and a government largely ruled by He Who Shall Not Be Named (and Certainly Shouldn't Come And Speak), George W. Bush.
They should hand out awards for such absurdities.
Giuliani. McCain's former rival, served as the designated pit bull. (Palin did get off a wonderful line about her past as a hockey mom:”You know what they say is the difference between hockey moms and pit bulls? Lipstick.) He labeled the Democratic nominee Barack Obama, rarely mentioned by name, either, “as the least qualified presidential candidate in at least 100 years.” He repeatedly rallied the crowd to deride the job of “community organizer,” a night after the convention’s theme had been service.
He pointed out that the Democrats had held a four-day convention without using the phrase "Islamic terrorist." Then again, so far, the Republicans have been unable to utter the words "sub-prime mortgage crisis" and "failed economy" and, curiously, "Dick Cheney."
Giuliani chided Democrats for their sexism. “How dare they question if she has enough time to spend with her kids and vice president?” This, from a man whose own children are barely speaking to him and refused to join his campaign.
Palin, flanked by video images of the Liberty Bell, the Washington Monument, and other American landmarks, re-introduced herself on a personal level, as she had on Friday with her announcement, before moving on to her professional accomplishments. She said of her husband’s accomplishments “it all makes for quite a package.”
She celebrated one of the evening’s other big themes: “Drill, baby, drill,” arguing that America should rid itself of dependence on foreign oil and natural gas.
“Take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska, we’ve got lots of both.”
It wasn’t until 10:55 EDT that Palin, for the first time during the convention's evening sessions, brought up the issue of developing alternative sources of energy such as solar and wind power.
At the end of her speech, which was warmly received in the hall, and celebrated by skeptical television commentators (the very elite East Coast types that had been ridiculed in speeches), Palin was joined by her family. Not only her husband, Todd, known in Alaska as the First Dude, but all five children, and the newest addition, her future son-in-law, high-school hockey player Levi Johnston. One can only imagine that a year ago he was just dating her daughter, and now he’s on national television.
John McCain closed the festivities, as Barack Obama had done with Joe Biden a week earlier, by strolling on stage to hug his running mate. (In 1984, Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro pointedly decided not to, believing it would belittle her role.)
“Don’t you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States?” he asked to a roar of acclamation.
Finally, McCain seems to have directed the party away from other effluvia and back to the matters at hand.
Comment removed.
It's Palin's views that should make every thinking person shudder.— voiceofreason- The treatment Palin has gotten by the Dems and the Liberal Press in any other party would be called SWIFT BOATING. Let us not hear any complaints from Obama about such tactics.— vc bear
- I agree, it's time to stop focusing on the sordid effects of abstinence-only education, and concentrate on the important things, like how she said no to the bridge to nowhere... but kept the money! And how, as an advocate of Alaskan secession, she actually doesn't put country first at all, but maybe third, after state and hockey.— Jon McGoran
I agree that she exceeded all the low expectations but my 15 year old son said she sounded more like a high school principle than a vice presidential candidate. It will be interesting to see how she handles the unscripted vice presidential debate with Joe Biden.— wfs0868- Amazing. And by amazing I mean the Republican party went from almost stealing my Democratic vote to making me not even want to vote in this election. Is this the best our country has to offer? I don't want a self proclaimed hockey mom as my back-up plan for a 70+ year old presidential candidate. I also don't want Obama and his fantasy's for my president. I guess I won't have to waste gas driving to the polling place in November. Oh well, maybe next time.— MVKrum
- wow...there's a reason 15-year-olds can't vote. and being fifteen, just how many vice-presidential candidates has your son heard to compare palin to? palin has more experience than obama. liberals hate that. so you attack her motherhood. how much time does obama spend with his kids? and i bet palin whips biden's arse. can't wait to see it.— phillygoingtothedump
- Well Karen you are just one of those elite media persons that Mrs. palin spoke about. Well at least we kno w she has made decision in her time as Mayor and Governor which is more than we can say for Obama who voted "present" 130 times while in the Illinois legistative body. Also who cares who wrote the speech, do you think Obama and Biden wrote there speeches, get a life they all have speech writers so give that line up. I'm a registered Democrat who surely is voting for McCain/Palin in November. I'm tire of the double standard that this country has for women and recently in regards to how Obama hasn't been asked any hard questions about his past, but the media questions whether this baby is Palin's. Get a life people.— Pooh
- FACT: Whether its Obama/Biden or it's McCain/Palin, it will be more of the same. Both sides are weak and scare the heck out of me. We are in for some interesting years ahead with these 4 as the candidates. Hate to sound like a downer, but do any of these people REALLY get you excited? If they do that's your business, but I think there are a lot of people out there who are very underwhelmed with their choices for President.— MVKrum
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- Palin dimmed her former beauty-queen wattage by wearing a demure beige jacket with zip decolletage, a slim black pencil skirt and pumps. She made sure that, as the first female Republican vice presidential nominee - and the first woman to run for the position in 24 years - that no visual flash would detract from the substance of her speech. Hey Karen, What was Rudy wearing? What the hey has her outfit have to do with ANYTHING.— NC Dennis
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- Most Americans are going to relate to Palin (a palindrome for "plain" by some accident) than Obama. It just seems that the Democrats didn't plan to ease the Clintons out with a centrist, moderate, bipartisan substitute that has enough experience to trounce what the right throws. Palin is throwing real heat. Obama is running for the presidency of the United State of Europe.— CleanupPhilly
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