news-record.com

I thought the speech was excellent, but I wanted to comment on was the brilliance of the hockey mom comment. I'm married to a soccer mom--at least our kids play soccer--but let's face it, soccer moms aren't up to running the country. Besides their SUVs and dependence on Starbucks, they're enabling their children to play what is, at its core, a basically socialist sport--the athletic equivalent of "Kum Bay Ya." Conversely, hockey (despite its Canadian origins) is a good old-fashioned violent sport, the kind of thing your mother--if she's the right kind of mother--would want you to play. Sure, the hockey mom is still a mom, but she's no tree-hugging sissy. She applauds the body checks and encourages little Olaf to get the stitches and not miss the next shift. That's who we need running the country.

I hope you can make it to the party tonight Doug.
McCain Nation Gathers at Guilford County GOP Today

The chance of me watching a convention, are about as good as hell freezing over. Well last night hell froze over. I had read and seen all the ugly cartoons, had bad the lady was. She hit a home run! Her state as a budget surplus, they have stopped the state gas tax for one year. They even gave a refund to the Alaskan people. What has your man tax hike mike did?

Katie Couric was so intimidated, she called her the governor of Arkansas. Way to do your homework, Katie.

Doug Johnson, Alaska has a budget surplus for the same reason Iran and Venezuela do: OIL!

She read a speech, written by other people, much of it before she was selected for the VP slot. What Palin demonstrated last night is that she can read.

My guess is only as good as yours, but I figured she wrote the stuff about her family and experiences in Alaska and the McCain people wrote the attack stuff on Obama. The speech was somewhat disjointed, indicating more than one author. I doubt any presidential/veep candidates write all their own speeches.

"I doubt any presidential/veep candidates write all their own speeches."

Would make (Obama) a difference (Obama) if they did (Obama) though, wouldn't it (Obama)?

Obama's a very good speaker and writer. You could say his speech at the Dem convention four years ago, which I would bet he wrote himself, propelled him from an unknown to where he is now. He's made many more great speeches since then, but he speaks too often on too many subjects to write it all himself.

I'm sure he doesn't write them ALL. Do we have any indication that McCain or Palin write ANY of their own speeches?

Not sure what you're driving at. I don't know for a fact whether Obama, Biden, McCain or Palin writes any, all or none of their speeches. As I said earlier, one's guess is as good as another's.

I'm interested by this talking point of Palin not writing her own speech, which I heard on two networks (Fox and CNN--Brit Hume, in fact, called his panelist on it). Do Democrats really want to get into a discussion over whether VP candidates write their own speeches?

My take: "she just read it" is a grumpy concession that it was a great speech.

The Republicans have themselves quite a woman here ...* Doug

Are you sure? More like a freshmen male running for President of a high school senior Class.

Doug--

I didn't see one bit of lipstick...I just saw teeth...and heard some growling....some snarling...more growling

The Democrats have their work cut out for them.

According to a Detroit Free Press focus group Palin's speech played poorly with independents. It seemed like it was a good fire up the base speech, but probably won't bring new people into the fold. I wonder if McCain will allow her to be interviewed now.

I think that the "community organizer" also has a long way to to prove the a majority of the American people that he is ready to be president, the office for which he is running. I don't think that voting "present" more than 100 times indicates that he is willing to make even a tough vote, let alone a tough decision!

When did Obama ever fight the corrupt politics of the Chicago machine? He didn't. He went along without question. That's how one succeeds in Democrat controlled Chicago politics. Apparently Obama's "brilliant" VP choice not long ago, when speaking about Obama, said that the presidency is not a place for on the job training.

Is Biden ready to be president? Apparently even Democrat voters didn't think so when he rean for president and got fewer than ONE percent of Dems to vote for him!

Andrew--

Read the comments on the site you posted. There's no telling what the truth is. But, I'm not so sure she will play well in cities regardless.

She was the attack dog last night, but she did it with
humor--just like Reagan used to do. Whether Democrats like it or not, that likability factor will carry her a long way.

Andrew, Detroit Free Press focus group? I would have loved to have seen the demographic make-up of that group. It's probably like the CBS poll that had Republicans as 26 percent of the polling group! Gotta love you liberals. This wonderful woman has you uys beside yourselves. Obama is out there defending his "community organizer" resume. He hasn't yet explained his 100+ "present" votes in the Chicago State Legislature! I guess he didn't want a radical left-wing voting record out there when he ran for president. Change? What a joke. A typical liberal Democrat as in Mondale, McGovern, Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry. Some change!

Um, Tony, the whole job of a community organizer is to help people to organize to take on (what you ask?) the political machine! If he was working for the political machine in Chicago, why would he help people stand up to them? And voting present in the Illinois (not Chicago, which still isn't a state) legislature was the same as a "no" vote because they need a majority of those present to actually say "yes" to pass a bill. It was a procedural thing. Don't concern yourself with context!

As for the focus group, it was largely suburban, and had a mix of Republicans, Democrats, and independents. You could see the link to see the make up if you wish.

I don't understand your last sentence. You mentioned a bunch of guys who were never president, so if someone like them were president, it would indeed be change, right? Seriously, what is up with Republicans taking up the change mantle? McCain was on about it tonight. How does letting Republicans keep the White House represent change? And as for a comparison to Kerry, the best one belongs to Sarah Palin who was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it.