Rev. Erudite Redneck, B.S., B.S., M.A., M.Div.

Of course she is real. No, it is not a new ball game. It is the same old game of sarcasm, belittlement, and half truths. If America buys it again...God will have to bless us.

Did you note that she had her 17 year old daughter's boyfriend stand on the stage with them?

Also note we still don't know shit about her.
 

All I'm saying is the game of rhetoric is a whole new ball of wax. And now we ignore it, mock it, laugh with it, etc., to our peril.
 

Hey, E.R., I hate to blog push my own, but I just put up a link to the the Sarah Palin Digest which has been created by Think Progress.

It's got Sarah Palin on lots of issues (with linked citations).

Sorry to be a poop and pimp my own blog here.

And yes sir - we're in for a wild ride.
 

What it means is that Biden doesn't have to have deference for the "lady" or play nice with her.

Better yet, they will turn Hillary lose on her. It won't be enough to beat her this time. They will have to take her out or she will be a problem in the future for the Democrats. She is definitely a Babe for the Base.

The Rural versus Urban is a losing proposition.

And, the last time a candidate dared the mean ole liberal media to find something on them, they did. I give it two weeks before she is "found out" and/or McCain has a temper tantrum about media coverage of her that blows the artificial cool he has adopted.

Besides she has two pictures in Newsweek with dead bears. One she is sitting on while on her office couch, with another head showing over her shoulder. The other picture is of her daddy and mommy watching her on TV with two bears hanging on the wall. That's good for $20 million from Bambi lovers for Obama's coffers. (now as for me, I'd love to have any of those bears across my couch myself)
 

I swear on my Quran that when I said she would be "found out" I was thinking in generic terms and had not read this yet.

You know the reporters from the National Enquirer that nailed John Edwards? Well they are on the job again.
This is from CBS:

"September 3, 2008, 4:48 PM
McCain Camp Knocks Down Enquirer's Palin Rumor
(CBS)From CBS News' John Bentley:
(ST. PAUL, MINN.) – John McCain’s campaign threatened legal action against the National Enquirer today for running a story about McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, allegedly having an affair with her husband’s business partner.
“The smearing of the Palin family must end. The allegations contained on the cover of the National Enquirer insinuating that Gov. Palin had an extramarital affair are categorically false. It is a vicious lie,” said McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt.
“The efforts of the media and tabloids to destroy this fine and accomplished public servant are a disgrace. The American people will reject it.”

Well, I remember that the Publicans just loved the Enquirer when they did in Edwards, now it is all vicious lies. I guess we will see. It is sad however, if indeed, the National Enquirer is the only media that is protecting the American people against hypocrites.
 

Hate to disagree, but from what I've seen, all she did is confirm that she can read a speech that pleases the current right-wing Republicans.

There are far too many legitimate questions out there - questions she just doesn't seem to want to answer (lawyering up is so convenient during a Presidential campaign) - and she has yet to have a single press conference.

She may be a Tina Fey look-alike, with a life that sounds like a Reba McIntire song, but in reality she is a brutal thug, like all Republicans. Under investigation in her own state, the choice seems to be piss-poor. I watched her speech, and I was reminded more of Pat Buchanan scaring the bejeebers out of people in 1992 than anything else.

Do I underestimate her? She's two years older than I am and governor of a state the size of western Europe. It would be foolish to underestimate her. We've been in High Palin mode for a week, with nary a peep from the Democrats out of deference to a tradition of silence during the other party's convention. On Friday, I suspect things will appear quite different.
 

For a view that makes sense, check this out, particularly the part about "red meat for the base". That's what this is about, because McCain doesn't do it.
 

Wow...how low are our expectations when simply reading a speech prepared for you by someone else off a tele-prompter makes one a viable candidate for VP??

Sorry, I need more than that, and I think most people do. If Republicans are going to try to continue to attack Obama over substance (a charge he answered admirably in his own speech) then they're going to have to deliver some themselves.

Where's the beef?
 

Every politician uses speech writers. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Even DEMS.

Which Candidate's Speech Writer Will Be the Next Michael Gerson?
 

Duh. Of course they do. I simply pointed out that the majority of her speech, as acknowledged by the McCain camp itself, was written even before she was picked! I think that's an interesting and telling point. What I want to know is what *she* thinks, what *she* wants to do as VP, not what someone who wrote some generic attack speech thinks. We didn't hear that last night. We didn't hear how she's going to help put people in my state back to work. We didn't hear how she's going to differ from the Bush administration on, well, anything at all.

So calm down, Mr/Ms Anonymous. Be happy that she do a great job reading off a teleprompter, because that's the only good thing people will remember after they start looking at her book-banning, oil-drilling, tax-raising record.

So yes, she can do a good job reading a speech, as can many politicians. But, my point was that doesn't make her a viable candidate.
 

"how low are our expectations when simply reading a speech prepared for you by someone else off a tele-prompter" Hey Alan, do you even realize how much this applies to Obama?
 

The hard part here is noting that the Dems will be tempted to go after Palin's target audience, who I think are nuts and will never vote Democratic.

And yet, every election season, they try. Why would the far right vote for Republican lite?

So anyway, you can't ignore her, probably you should ridicule and shame her: this is politics. But just don't try to BE her.
 

""how low are our expectations when simply reading a speech prepared for you by someone else off a tele-prompter" Hey Alan, do you even realize how much this applies to Obama?"

Hey Mr/Ms Anonymous: Um. no. Can Obama give a good speech? Sure. Does that make him a viable candidate for President? Of course not. Making a good speech doesn't qualify one for public office. That's my point. You disagree, apparently, Mr/Ms Anonymous, but I maintain actual qualifications beyond the simple ability to read out loud in front of a crowd are required.

For example, we know much more about Obama, his leadership, his specific plans, how he can campaign, how he can debate, how he can work within and between parties. We know he was right about Iraq before we went in, and we know he's right about Iraq now (even the Bush administration is finally seeing the light.) We still don't know anything about Palin's abilities in those areas, and what we do know about her record isn't going to fill anyone with confidence. I'm sure trying to ban books will endear her to a certain segment of America, but they were already going to vote Republican anyway.

If you listen to the Obama acceptance speech, you'll hear about his specific plans for the country, exactly what he'll do. Has Palin? No. Has McCain? No. Obama has already led an entire generation of young people to become interested in politics. Has Palin? No. Has McCain? Heck no. Obama fought a tough fight for his nomination. McCain was crowned months ago, and Palin was given her nomination to placate the base who have always been suspicious of McCain.

So again, on the basis of one speech alone, should anyone think this woman should be put one fibrillation away from the Presidency? Nope. So I'll reiterate my point again, since you missed it, Mr/Ms Anonymous: "So yes, she can do a good job reading a speech, as can many politicians. But, my point was that doesn't make her a viable candidate."

Rich, I agree. All the Democrats have to do is point out her far, far right ideas and that'll scare the independents away from the McCain/Palin ticket in a hurry. Today is no different than yesterday, and her scandal-laden past and out-of-the-mainstream ideas are still a total gift for the Democrats. And now they also know they don't have to pull any punches.
 

Alan, I think you've got two different Anonymous signers there. The two comments probably "crossed in the mail."

Anyway, I usually try to stay out of the political and religious fray here on ER's blog. Besides, I'd hate to have to give up ER as a long-time bloggy buddy when it came to blows because we don't exactly see eye-to-eye in those areas. :::grin to ER!:::

However, just to be fair, at least give McCain a chance to actually give his acceptance speech. ;)
 

Most speech writers find the "voice" of the person they are writing for. It is when the speaker is giving a generic speech written for them to give that it doesn't count. Palin's speech was off the shelf. Well delivered, but pre-package and micro-waved for the gourmands in the audience.

What can a good speech mean?

It can mean Leadership!

Perhaps if we still taught the great speeches of the past in school we would still understand that.

Mavericks don't lead.

Obama is the first potential Leader we have been offered in decades.
 

Yesterday Nora O'Donnell on MSNBC did a preview of the speech and mentioned that it was written prior to the Palin pick (sorry for the alliteration), but was adjusted to be less masculine after Palin was picked.

Less masculine? After listening to it, I had to wonder if the original had been a series of grunts and whoops of "hate! hate! kill! kill!" with the occassional blast of machine gun fire for emphasis.
 

FF: Oh I am. As I said way up there ... we'll see what he does. Apparently they're rearranging the furniture for him, so it should be a barn burner.

dcup, in "feminizing" the speech, apparently she wanted to add the following line, but it got canned at the last moment: "I'm just like any modern woman trying to have it all. Loving husband, a family. It's just, I wish I had more time to seek out the dark forces and join their hellish crusade."* :)


*h/t Morticia Addams.
 

Alan - Ha! Was that before or after the last burst of machine gun fire?