They Even Like Her Here in Northern California
THE CORNER
By Peter Robinson
From a frequent correspondent: I was just in a class here at work, and our teacher (who is not an overtly political woman, but clearly comfortable, shall we say, in the San Francisco ambiance) spontaneously and enthusiastically asked if we'd heard about Palin. 'She seems really progressive on oil!' I mentioned that I'd been aware of Palin for a few months and had heard nothing so far that I didn't like about her, and my teacher responded, 'me too'. Understand that this is at a place where Bush jokes are considered normal. We even have a 'green team'. I think this is a big deal. (Feel free to post, but don't say where you got this.)
Olbamermann Update
By NR Staff
Stephen Spruiell has a great cover essay on MSNBC and its Obama crush in the new issue (September 15) of National Review. You can subscribe to the Digital version -- here -- and within minutes you'll be reading that excellent report. Stephen also has an excellent updating piece on the Olbermann Broadcasting Network here.
More Re: Why Sarah Palin is No Dan Quayle
By Peter Robinson
Emails like this coming at the rate of roughly one a minute: Toss me in as another Republican who's ecstatic about this pick and who's writing a check. I teared up as I watched the speech given by Gov. Palin. I haven't been this proud to be a Republican in far too long a time. I am proud we have a bona fide American hero running for president who has the political chops to miraculously energize his base and sucker punch the opposition at the same time. Unbelievable. Now where's my credit card...
An American Madness
By Jay Nordlinger
Will Sarah P. be considered a woman -- by the media, by the "chattering classes"? That is a question worth pondering. Possibly, she'll be considered just a conservative Republican. Did anyone ever consider Mrs. Thatcher a woman -- in a political-electoral context? Are black conservatives considered black? Are Cuban Americans considered Hispanic? One of my favorite facts about a recent Supreme Court case had to do with this last question. The case was the University of Michigan Law School case (relating to race preferences). According to documents submitted, an admissions officer questioned whether Cubans should be counted as Hispanic, saying, "Don't they vote Republican?" Race, ethnicity, and "gender" are very, very screwy things. I have written about this general subject all my writing life. Years ago, there was a mayoral race in Detroit. The two top contenders were African American. One was a dark-skinned man and the other was a light-skinned woman, with freckles. The theme of the woman's campaign was that the man wasn't black enough. In other words, she was to his left -- and he did not express sufficient grievance. Yes, a very, very screwy country, in many ways.
Palin Pros & Cons
By Andy McCarthy
I think Peter really nailed the biggest upside here: 'she has thrilled the GOP's conservative base, which can now in good conscience give itself to the McCain candidacy with enthusiasm--not feigned enthusiasm, real enthusiasm--for the first time since the senator entered the race. This has solved McCain's worst strategic problem.' This pick makes McCain a stronger candidate because it makes it more likely the people he needs -- that would be us -- are are going to rev it up. Unless and until he does something drastic to undermine confidence, I (and I don't think I'm singular in this) am now over my two biggest worries: (a) that McCain will not listen to conservatives once he's elected, and (b) that he will not go to the mat on his commitment to appoint conservative judges (i.e., judges who would be likely to invalidate McCain's signature issue of campaign finance reform). It also shows that he does care about the future of the party after McCain, which I doubted. Today, I go from from an ambivalent McCain supporter driven more by fear of Obama to someone who can feel good about the prospects of a McCain administration. If there are a few million more like me, maybe the all-important undercard of Senate and House races won't turn out as badly as some experts are predicting. Those are powerful plusses. I'm not worried about her inexperience because she impresses me as a quick study who will surround herself with knowledgeable people of a conservative foreign policy bent. She does not come to us out of the Council on Foreign Relations; she comes as the conservative governor of the state next door to an aggressive Russia which is flying regular missions along Alaska's coastline -- as Jay noted, she took pains to mention she is commander-in-chief of the Alaska National Guard. She's the patriotic mother of a son who voluntarily enlisted and is soon to deploy to Iraq (you think there's anything she's not gonna know about Iraq under those circumstances?). This is the best day we've had in a long time.
Re: Why Sarah Palin is No Dan Quayle
By Peter Robinson
Lots of emails like this: Though I love Quayle -- ditto that 'Palin . . . has thrilled the GOP's conservative base, which can now in good conscience give itself to the McCain candidacy with enthusiasm--not feigned enthusiasm, real enthusiasm--for the first time since the senator entered the race.' It has. I'm writing a check.
Susan B. Anthony List Is Happy
By Kathryn Jean Lopez
'Sarah Palin is the whole package. There couldn't be a better vice presidential pick,' said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. 'Women voters are electrified, and Sarah is someone who is truly in sync with the way real American women think. She is a reform-minded woman who will give all Americans, born and unborn, the authentic leadership they deserve.' 'The majority of American women support commonsense restrictions on abortion. Adding Palin to the GOP ticket will resonate with independent women voters nationwide. By choosing the boldly pro-life Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain has taken his stand as the one true, authentic pro-life ticket.'
Experience & Change...
By Jonah Goldberg
I think Ramesh and Jay make perfectly legitimate points about Palin's downsides. But what I find a bit vexing as I listen to CNN etc on XM (we're now in North Dakota heading for lunch in Bismarck en route to Fargo), is how seriously many commentators are taking the contradictions inherent to McCain's pick while they simply shrugged off the similar contradictions in Obama's pick of Biden. Obama insisted that experience didn't matter, then he picked someone solely on the basis of experience. Moreover Obama insisted for over a year that his opposition to the war proved he was qualified to be president, then he picked someone who voted for the war just like Hillary. I could go on, but I think picking Biden discredits Obama's argument far more than Palin erases McCain's. But even if it's a wash, that doesn't seem to be the way the MSM is responding.
Why Sarah Palin is No Dan Quayle
By Peter Robinson
Several friends have sent me disappointed emails asking if Sarah Palin, previously unknown and light on experience, might not be another Dan Quayle.The answer is no. Look, I'd be happier, too, if she were in her second term as governor, not her first, and if she came from a populous major state, such as, say, Texas, instead of Alaska. But whereas Dan Quayle never actually did anything for Bush, Sarah Palin, we already know, has already accomplished two feats for McCain: She has cut short the attention the press would otherwise have lavished on Obama all weekend, limting Obama's bounce. This has solved McCain's most immediate tactical problem. And has thrilled the GOP's conservative base, which can now in good conscience give itself to the McCain candidacy with enthusiasm--not feigned enthusiasm, real enthusiasm--for the first time since the senator entered the race. This has solved McCain's worst strategic problem. We'll quickly learn how well Gov. Palin stands up to the pressures of a national campaign--her speech at the convention on Wednesday will prove critical. But whereas the very best that could be said of Dan Quayle is that he didn't harm Bush's candidacy all that much, the very least that can be said of Sarah Palin is that she has already advanced McCain's candidacy dramatically. Not a bad start.
Not from America
By Mona Charen
Did not mean to endorse what one letter writer said about Obama not being from America. He obviously is -- from the furthest left part. I just loved the guy's phrase 'more precious than pearls is a woman who likes to fish and hunt.' FWIW, I do neither.
Showtime in Dayton
By Jay Nordlinger
For those of you who missed Palin's speech today, you may find it here. And some quick points -- rather, pointlets: She is leaderly. That's not quite a word, but I have employed it often. (It ought to be a word.) Governor Palin is strong, assured, natural -- and leaderly. I'm not sure she is less presidential -- to say nothing of vice-presidential -- than any of the other three on the national tickets. Like many Americans, she says "Eye-rack" and "Eye-ran" (for two neighboring countries in the Middle East). Some people mock this, but it is very American. And -- speaking of mockery -- she also says "nuke-u-lar": like George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter (who was a nuclear engineer), and Eisenhower. When she said she was "commander of Alaska's National Guard," I somehow sat up straighter! Just about all my e-mailers have said that McCain hit a home run today, and that his election prospects are helped immeasurably. From their mouths to You-Know-Who's ear. Some also say that, for the first time, they're planning to give to McCain -- or have even done so already. When playing veepstakes over the last few months, I have balked at Sarah Palin (for reasons stated earlier in the day). (And those reasons have to do with electoral politics, not substance.) I would be delighted to be proved wrong. And, even on Day One -- before any (real) stumping, before any debating, before much hurly-burly -- she has inspired confidence in me. FWIW, as we say in e-mail-ese. P.S. I still think the "highest, hardest glass ceiling" bit is gross. But for political/polemical/rhetorical purposes -- one of course understands.
Obama Reax to Palin
By Andy McCarthy
The more I think about it, the more stupid that graceless statement by the Obama camp seems. McCain went out of his way last night to congratulate Obama and salute the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Obama, Mr. Post-Partisanship, concluding a week during which his surrogates very publicly thugged it up to try to suppress critics, had a chance to reciprocate and show a little class. Instead, he issues a boorish dig -- which looks even worse now that Palin has made a fabulous first impression, complete with a tip of the hat to Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton. I also loved the 'U - S - A' cheers in Dayton. Spontaneous patriotism is a nice contrast after four days of hearing how much the country sucks.
Re: "Only in America"
By Stephen Spruiell
An e-mail: You are right that Brooks & Dunn appeared with Bush four years ago. However, contrast their classy reaction to the song being used last night with Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen's childish reactions to Republicans using their songs. This is from Kix Brooks today (via cmt.com): "Seems ironic that the same song Bush used at the Republican Convention last election would be used by Obama and the Democrats now. Very flattering to know our song crossed parties and potentially inspires all Americans. |
