Read it carefully and read it all.
Please note that this is the prepared text–for those of you who watched it the quip about the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom is not in there and was off the cuff–KSH.
Read it carefully and read it all.
Please note that this is the prepared text–for those of you who watched it the quip about the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom is not in there and was off the cuff–KSH.
I now have a full blown crush on a politician.
She.
Is.
Fantastic.
Bring it on!
WOW! What a speech!
ICXC
John
Basking in the glow of her forthrightness and composure, and in the befuddled consternation of her opponents, the media!
Mrs. Palin is a bright person and has been a great witness of God’s grace in the way that she handled the recent birth of her baby, and her daughter’s pregnancy. As for the speech tonight, I felt that she spent 40 minutes eloquently saying very little of much substance.
She isn’t perfect – and that seems to be just what is so right about her, and right now. For me the presence of Trig (poor little guy in all that noise!) with Cindy McC. glancing repeatedly at him with obvious affection, and finally Sarah, duty finished for the moment, holding him onstage – this was the most moving of all, as it directly connected me personally with another mom who knows the indescribable feeling of bringing a baby into the world who is obviously different, and facing with resolve society’s unspoken reactions to that.
Then there is the wordless evolution of eldest daughter’s place and example in the family – will it occur to B. Obama that, now, if one of his daughters when older were to ‘make a mistake’, Bristol has showed what to do about it (rather than what Obama would suggest doing about it)? Sometimes actions say so much that words aren’t needed, and these seem to be a collection of people who know how to figure out the right thing to do for others as well.
Let’s see, energy independence (with a few specific proposals), the place and meaning of small town life in American culture, the whole family thing, tax policy, the whole family thing… yep, no substance there! Calling Sen. Obama on his qualifications counts as pure political attacks, I suppose, but that makes her seem ready to play with the Big Boys, who have – and will – return in kind. For my money, she has more authenticity than the other three Bigs (that includes her new boss). They have been politicians so long that they come across as … well… politicians. To my observation, she seems to be a politician who hasn’t disconnected from the people who put her in office. Yet…
Even the CNN and ABC commentators are positive. Barracuda she apparently is, which isn’t a bad thing to be when you are swimming with sharks.
I have had a bit of experience with speeches over the years and I thought her balance between showing herself to the world and not undercutting the main player in the Republican Campaign, that is Senator McCain, was excellent. Her presentation was excellent and her speech forceful. The pickey-pickey about it being written by an excellent speechwriter is dumb. Who thinks Obama or any politician writes his or her own speeches. He or she tells them what they want to say and the writer organizes it in the best way possible.
I know how y’all feel about Senator Obama and his position on abortion, and I would never dream to ask you not to savage him as much as you can, but can we please, please refrain from making gruesome predictions about a hypothetical abortion for two very real girls who are only ten and seven years old? Bristol Palin and and her sisters deserve privacy; lets give Malia and Sasha the same dignity.
And although I know my words will probably fall on deaf ears, the senator had been speaking about the value of [i]preventing[/i] teen pregnancy when he made his reference to a sexually active teen being punished with a child. “Punished” was a very unfortunate choice of words, but I can understand his point that an unplanned pregnancy would be a serious burden for any underage girl. Better that she not get pregnant in the first place, either by abstinence or by contraception. On that point, I agree with him.
Her speech brought tears of joy to my eyes several times during her presentation. I was impressed with her composure, control, and sincerety throughout. No substance? give me a break. She gave us a brief education on energy policy which included accurate dissertation on several foreign powers that control our oil future. This woman is terrific and all the crap that is being directed her way by the lefties/libs is a sad commentary on the intellectual capacity of a large segment of our population. I rejoined the Republican party and donated today.
Are there any Gold metals left over from the Olympics in China? If there is, someone give her one. When it comes to presenting her political points, she gave a speech worthy of the Gold.
I had to laugh listening to Anderson Cooper on CNN as he was blubbering something about how “this would never draw the votes of Independent women,” only to have the two female commentators lean over and inform him that he “didn’t have a clue of what he was talking about when it comes to how women received Gov. Palin’s speech.” In a most unusual change in circumstances, he was lost for words.
Given what she’s been subjected to by the media over the course of the past week, I am truly in awe of her.
I was absolutely thrilled with her speech! This is one fantastic lady, and she makes Obama look like a piker in comparison. This is one very tough lady, and he and Joe Biden have got a real battle on the ir hands.
Ladytenor,
With all due respect, Senator Obama cannot bring himself to see infanticide as a practice that is morally questionable. Given the senator’s commitment as a liberal Democrat, I do not know why I should take his desire for his daughters to not be “punished” as anything other than his explicit approval of their choice to terminate an unplanned pregnancy.
It was a remarkable affirmation of life and the responsibility to its protection that Bristol was not shoved in a closet. It was a bold statement that the father of the child was present and [i]on stage[/i] as well. The Palins will not be intimidated by anyone regarding this issue. Good for them. Damn good for them.
I don’t think the Democrats have any idea what is about to hit them.
Did you watch David Brooks, Mark Shields, Gwenn Eifel and company on NPR try to stammer their way around and try to avoid admitting that Sarah gave a great speech? Typical drive by the liberal media.
Just for the record, David Brooks is not a “liberal.”
[blockquote]. . .his explicit approval of their choice to terminate an unplanned pregnancy.[/blockquote]
“Their choice to terminate,” you said. Malia and Sasha Obama are innocent [b]children[/b]. Their father may support the right of a woman to choose whether or not to have an abortion, but you have no idea what these little girls would choose. Either one of them may grow up to be a anti-abortion crusader of the first order, for all we know! Please don’t accuse them unjustly, it’s unseemly–especially for girls so young.
[shakes head sadly] I don’t know why this bothers me so much….
Perhaps I should restate that phrase:
“…his explicit approval of the possibility they may one day choose to terminate an unplanned pregnancy.”
You are correct; they are indeed innocent children. I know nothing about them other than that they are adorable. But the contrast in this matter between Obama and Palin is stark and extreme. Where Gov. Palin and her husband chose to embrace their daughter and support life, Sen. Obama would actually approves of a culture that would terminate his grandchild.
I guess the only question I might have for the senator is this: would he counsel his daughter to have an abortion before or [i]after[/i] the baby is born?
Larry King has a trio of guests distorting what Gov. Palin said and has done. Was the Republican response to the Dems last week this poorly doner?
Y’all, she said nothing of what she would do to solve any of the issues/problems facing our country, and this is true even of the few issues that she did bring up. One example: she pledged to be an advocate in the White House for children with special needs. As a pediatric specialist who takes care of alot of these kids, I was thrilled to hear this. But what does she mean by being an advocate? What does she plan to do in this role? Her cheap shots at the Democrats aside, she really did not lay out much of her vision/plan for the next four years. And I do not remember her mentioning the economy once.
I adore Governor Palin. She is the real deal.
Just a few months ago, I was going to sit this one out, and let the chips fall where they may. No longer. McCain/Palin will not only get my vote, but my donations.
#17, does any of this count on the economy?
“I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history. And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly forty billion dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence. That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart. The stakes for our nation could not be higher.
When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And families cannot throw away more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.
With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers. To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world energy supplies … or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia … or that Venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries … we Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we’ve got lots of both.
Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems – as if we all didn’t know that already.
But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’re going to lay more pipelines … build more new-clear [i][sic!][/i] plants … create jobs with clean coal … and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers.”
Maybe not, but since the lack of access to cheap energy, aka peak oil phenomena, underlies US economic problems, this does address it. Good luck to them on clean coal, which technology is still not cost-effective if I understand it correctly, but the solar and geothermal options are up and running in parts of the US already – just look up the company Ormat, for instance – and wind has potential but also lots of opponents. (One of the major wind power opponents IIRC in the Cape Cod proposal was the head of an AZ-based copper miner who has a summer place (‘NIMBY’) on Nantucket so it will be interesting to see how that goes down with the Senator from AZ – but that’s a side issue.)
But in fact, I would think we are looking for the Presidential candidate to lay out their economic vision.
Physician,
This is in response to your numbers 4 & 17. I hear and understand your desire for firm proposals for how to address the issues facing us today. However, you are looking at the wrong speech for these answers. The only person who can provide the details you are looking for is Sen. McCain, as he is the individual running at the head of the ticket. Gov. Palin’s role is to support him to the best of her ability. This evening she did that admirably, both in introducing herself and starting to punch holes in the arguments raised by the other party.
I’m looking forward to Sen. McCain’s speech tomorrow evening, to provide some of the details we are both looking for.
As others have said, this speech wasn’t suppose to be big on specific policy. This was Sarah introducing herself to the American public, laying out her qualifications for VP, and pumping up the crowd for McCain. She did her job very, very well. It will be an interesting few months.
#5, TACit, I missed the speech but I loved what you wrote and on the basis alone I am looking for a video-tape of it.
Hi #22, it’s here if you can get on the NYT:
http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/conventions/videos/20080903_PALIN_SPEECH.html
She’s a real fighter for her constituents 🙂 “As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a “bridge to nowhere.””
[url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check]Source[/url]
I have to admit I was impressed with the speech, or maybe perhaps her speaking ability, and I used to be a political speech writer back in the day. It definitely raised my eyebrows. I was expecting nervousness and stilted delivery, given what all the talking head punditocrats who got wind of her early morning practice speech were saying. She didn’t look the least bit nervous and has a good gag writer to boot.
If she can get some coaching on issues, I think she might actually give Biden a run for his money in a debate. She came off like a ball of fire, and that is what McCain needed. I would not want to get into a talking war with her. I understand now, even despite her baggage, why he chose her as running mate. She is certainly the best speaker of those who were on his VP shortlist.
I am still undecided for whom I am going to vote; I don’t really trust Obama but I am still not sold on McCain, and have been seriously considering throwing my vote away to a 3rd Party Candidate as a protest vote. But this speech is making me rethink that.
#25
Archer,
Please don’t throw away your vote. I have been an unenthusiastic supporter of Sen. McCain because his conservative credentials are shaky at best. After watching Gov. Palin’s speech last night, however, I am now a wildly enthusiastic supporter of the Republican ticket. If we can get them elected, we can look forward to the possibility of voting for Sarah Palin for President four years from now.
#22,
Tory,
You’re in for a treat.
#22, I imagine its on Youtube by now.
A great speech for those who will support the Republican ticket no matter what. But did it do anything to sway those disillusioned with McCain even after his about face on the issues that caused the disillusionment in the first place? Will it sway the swing voters who just might be looking for something new from the GOP rather than the same old thing we’ve endured for the past 8 years? Do they really think those women unhappy with Hillary not being picked are going to dump their issue allegiances and vote for McCain/Palin just because she’s a woman? I think not. But it was a very nice speech that made her sound very good. I’m still concerned about someone who is running for an office who admits doesn’t know what that office does or admits they haven’t thought much about the mess we have in Iraq.
Like Gov. Palin, I am the father of a son who will all too soon be re-deployed ‘in harm’s way’ – and I join her in saying: the man who can be trusted with the life of my son and those who serve with him is John McCain, the ONLY candidate who has in fact fought for us! May God continue to Bless this extraordinary woman and our next Vice President, Sarah Palin.
for anyone thinking she pulled this off by reading the teleprompter, word comes that the thing malfunctioned part way through her speech (it also did for Guliani). The same thing happened to Obama and here’s what happened:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDJSVPAx8xc
what a contrast!
I really believe we are seeing the most significant development on the political landscape since Ronald Reagan, 1979. The Dems have managed with some success to paint conservatives as heartless, care only about the rich, war crazy people. In one fell swoop, Gov. Palin has rendered nearly every argument advanced by liberals over the past 25 years moot. End of story.
here’s a little bit more on her appeal. By all accounts, I should really be a Democrat or liberal Republican (my immediate family members all are). Went to the private schools with relatives of George Bush, Senators’ kids, Lt. Governor’s kids, (many of them ECUSA people as well) etc. – all establishment types. Sara Palin and I have very little in common background wise. Yet when I read about her ousting the corrupt Alaskan Republican party machine as she was elected Governor in 2006, I knew we had potentially found the face of the Republican party for the next 25 years. I just did not realize how soon she’d be on the national stage, and I can’t believe the country’s good fortune to have her advocating the things she does. From reform to abortion to energy exploration, she is just a winner. I can honestly say that I’d be MORE inclined to support her if she was the candidate for President. I think I’ll get a chance to do that though somewhere down the road….
Here’s my number one reason for voting for McCain this November: Palin for President, 2012. That’s if she doesn’t get there sooner. If Reagan and Thatcher had a daughter it would look and sound like her.
I’d go for a ticket of Brooks and Shields. That’s really what we need.