Thursday, September 4, 2008

Loaded for Moose

Sarah Palin showed last night (transcript, video) why John McCain selected her as running mate (besides the ethics-reformer, popular-governor, social-conservative reasons).

Mitchell of Chicago Sun-Times states, "Sarah Palin may come from the backwoods of Alaska, but she has the heart of a street fighter." Shanahan of The Sun writes, "Democrats and their Lefty media backers had been sneering that she was a small town nobody... You will not be hearing that again." Romano for Newsweek says, "The most powerful part, at least for the journalists in attendance, came about a quarter of the way in... I say 'powerful,' but mostly I mean 'terrifying.'" Marketwatch notes a significant uptick in voter perceptions of Palin's efficacy following the speech. WSJ asks, "Is there still an enthusiasm gap?" Kay of National Post writes, "Her pointed barbs at Obama's weaknesses were legitimate, and slyly, amiably expressed." The Trib opines, "And if you're a Democrat, don't be too swift to dismiss Sarah Palin as just a compelling and talented speaker."

The difference one evening can make!

Update: RedState breaks news that Palin's TelePrompter stopped functioning halfway through the speech:
Unfazed, Governor Palin continued, from memory, to deliver her speech without the teleprompter... Contrast this to Barack Obama who, when last his teleprompter malfunctioned, was left stuttering before a crowd unable to advance his speech until the problem was resolved.
Hat tip to Drudge

1 comment:

Macro Guy said...

There's an enormous meme online comparing Palin to Teddy Roosevelt. The moose-hunter / Bull Moose Party connection doesn't hurt; but the comparison runs deeper.

Like Roosevelt, Palin is a relatively inexperienced outsider with frontier attitudes and a deep affinity for hunting and the outdoors. The much-quoted phrase, "A heartbeat from the presidency" was first coined by Sen. Mark Hanna (R-OH) in criticizing William McKinley's choice of Roosevelt as his running mate.

McKinley, of course, was assassinated, and Roosevelt went on to be one of America's favorite presidents.