Flag Pin Politics: Sarah Palin Not Wearing Israeli Flag Pin, It’s A…

Given all the buzz that was generated in some circles earlier in campaign over Obama not wearing an American flag pin, the topic of flag pins is now at least worth a brief mention on this site.  Governor Palin wears a flag pin that on camera looks very similar to the Israeli flag.  You can see her wearing it when McCain announced her as his running mate on August 29, during her convention speech and several other occassions.  However, a close up image shows that it is not an Israeli flag, rather, it is a Blue Star service lapel pin and is worn to designate having a child (or close relative) in combat.

The confusion is understandable though, given the Israeli flag that she keeps in her office and the difficulty in seeing the detail of the flag on television and in photos, it is easy to mistake it for the Israeli flag.  I suggest picking up a slighlty more vibrant version (like this one, which is available for $3.95).

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RNC Live Blog Day 4: John McCain

7:00: We’re going to be light on the liveblog before Cindy McCain speaks, but monitoring it nonetheless.

7:32: Joe Gibbs is going to speak tonight. Because McCain wants to remind everyone of the last time someone in Washington came back when he was supposed to be too old ended up in triumph. Wait, what’s that you say ESPN senior NFL writer Len Pasquarelli?

In that sense, Gibbs failed, and here’s why: Because the same 67 years’ worth of life experience that served him and the Redskins so well at their lowest point this season — and, in the cases of some, the nadir of their professional careers — essentially betrayed him when it came to football.

He was, simply, too old to handle his players, to understand their perspectives, to push their buttons in this era of salary-cap football (remember, Gibbs didn’t have to worry about the salary cap during his first stint). And the wear and tear of a season is hard on any coach, much less one who qualifies for senior citizen discounts at your neighborhood cafeteria.

Asked dozens of times in the last week if he would ever consider hiring himself as the Dolphins’ new head coach, Bill Parcells, who instead accepted the daunting challenge of overseeing the franchise’s renovation, made it clear he would not. His stock reply: “It’s a young man’s game.”

Parcells is nine months younger than Gibbs.

Great call, guys.

7:38: The party of peace? This just seems dysfunctional, as if they’re overcompensating for something.

8:16: Tom Ridge can do something Lindsay Graham: speak without sneering.

8:38: Cindy McCain is speaking, and for a second I thought she was reciting the lyrics to Jackson Browne’s “Stay” when she talked about what she thinks after the events are over and the vans have been packed up. I’m clearly burnt out on speeches, and she’s clearly killing time until the Giants-Redskins game is over, so I’m going to just take it easy for now. Also, I should note that Cindy looks like John got a bit frisky with her backstage. Good for him, I say.

8:59: McCain should thank Joe Gibbs; the disastrous state he left the Redskins offense in is going to allow the football game to end almost exactly on time. Maybe one minute over.

9:03: The convention has taken a page from the Burger King, except instead of crowns some convention goers are wearing cardboard Lincoln top hats. Seward rolls in his grave, his stunning primary defeat finally complete.

9:04: NBC is ready, so the McCain video rolls. It features his mother and obviously his biography. It’s well done, mostly because Roberta has eight timse the charisma of most politicians. And then they immediately suggest that God had future plans for him because he didn’t die in the horrific accident on the aircraft carrier. I can’t really get behind that in a political convention.

9:09: The rebuilt stage that has been touted with much fanfare reminds me of Bush in 2004. Allegedly done to make Bush give a more town hall style, it only pushed the podium twent feet forward. It’s much the same here. It may give the impression McCain is closer to the camera, but otherwise, yawn. And now the disembodied voice of Fred Thompson takes over, describing McCain’s torture. I’m half expecting the Law and Order chime.

9:16: NBC feels compelled to show a protestor trying to show a sign in the hall, and meanwhile McCain is speaking in front of … a green screen, which is actually the grass of some really nice house. Who planned the background, Stephen Colbert? Wow, that’s just awful. Also, he starts of by thanking Bush for actions after 9/11. I’m guessing he’s just getting these out of the way early?

9:19: I’m still stunned at the green screen and the mansion behind him.

9:21: McCain’s convention, live from Dagoba. Maybe he’s trying to come across like Yoda?

9:22: And now the background is all sky blue, which means it looks like McCain is either floating in the sky or in a studio soemwhere. This is just terribly distracting. There’s not been any substance so far, so don’t feel like I’m avoiding it. Oh, and another protestor tries to get involved, quickly drowned out by chants of USA. Just as McCain was about to segue into a discussion on the economy. He’s completely lost control of the crowd. He tries to joke about not being ‘distracted by the ground noise and the static.’

9:25: I think Donald Rumsfeld was in charge of RNC security.

9:30: McCain takes on earmarks. He also looks completely bald against the bright sky blue screen.

9:35: McCain blames both parties for expanding government and helping the oil companies, including hitting Obama for voting for the Energy Bill. He talks about what the party believes, but I think he’s being overly broad. He hits Obama on: taxes, trade, spending, spending cutting jobs, and says his plan will create better health insurance. He skips over it so quickly I can’t even tell what it is. He takes time to insult bureaucrats for deciding health care plans under Obama, though.

9:41: He’s trying to fram Obama as an old-style protectionist.

9:42: He says education is this century’s civil rights. Does he want to overrule San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez? No, he wants vouchers and to fire teachers.

9:44: He wants energy independence! Wonderful, how? New energy at home, but he emphasizes drilling off shore. Also he talks about ‘developing’ clean coal, nuclear, and the usual long list. He again says Obama is against nuclear - which just is not true.

9:48: We’ve reached the foreign policy section of the speech. He talks Al Qaeda, Iran, and Russia re-establishing the “Russian Empire.”

9:49: He’s not afraid of threats! He’s prepared! This is kind of silly, just him saying that he knows a bunch of things that are really vague. I’m just not a fan of this speech.

9:54: He wants to use the best ideas and share credit. This just seems way, way over the top is bipartisan, and not the least bit realistic. If he doesn’t care who gets the credit, why does he care who wins as long as what is done is right?

10:01: He talks at length about his imprisonment and torture, concluding that he will always fight for America. Much better delivered than the frankly underwhelming middle portion of his speech.

10:02: McCain gives a long list of good service possibilities: It’s shocking how many of them apply to community organizing, by the way.

10:03: He ends his speech like Brian Schweitzer ended his, calling on everyone to stand up. Definitely a bit underwhelming. B grade at best, C- at worst, with possible deductions for a terrible background and stage.

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Joe Klein on Community Organizers and Republicans

You can make the case against Obama without demeaning community organizers. Joe Klein is aghast, and so am I, on this point.

My emphasis is in bold:

This morning, I received a press release from a group called Catholic Democrats about the work–the mission, the witness–that Obama performed after he got out of college. Here’s the first paragraph:

Catholic Democrats is expressing surprise and shock that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech tonight mocked her opponent’s work in the 1980s for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. She belittled Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer in Catholic parishes on the South Side of Chicago, work he undertook instead of pursuing a lucrative career on Wall Street. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Palin said, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.” Community organizing is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching to end poverty and promote social justice.

So here is what Giuliani and Palin didn’t know: Obama was working for a group of churches that were concerned about their parishioners, many of whom had been laid off when the steel mills closed on the south side of Chicago. They hired Obama to help those stunned people recover and get the services they needed–job training, help with housing and so forth–from the local government. It was, dare I say it, the Lord’s work–the sort of mission Jesus preached (as opposed to the war in Iraq, which Palin described as a “task from God.”) This is what Palin and Giuliani were mocking. They were making fun of a young man’s decision “to serve a cause greater than himself,” in the words of John McCain. They were, therefore, mocking one of their candidate’s favorite messages. Obama served the poor for three years, then went to law school. To describe this service–the first thing he did out of college, the sort of service every college-educated American should perform, in some form or other–as anything other than noble is cheap and tawdry and cynical in the extreme. Perhaps La Pasionaria of the Northern Slope didn’t know this when she read the words they gave her. But Giuliani–a profoundly lapsed Catholic, who must have met more than a few religious folk toiling in the inner–should have known. (”I don’t even know what that is,” he sneered.”) What a shameful performance.

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300,000 Luft Balloons…

Following McCain’s speech this evening, 300,000 balloons will drop from the ceiling.  Yes, 300,000 balloons.  I wonder if the same pundits that criticized Obama’s fireworks display will also find the dropping of 300,000 ballons excessive as well.  For those environmentally interested folks, the ballons are biodegradable.

The convention used an army of high school students to blow up the balloon.  I guess, you blow up balloons not with the air compressors you want, but with the high school students you have.

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What are the Lasting Effects of One Good Convention Speech?

One of the important questions from 2004 is how much a good speech at a convention lasts. This is the chart comparing Google searches for both John Kerry and Barack Obama in 2004. Note that Obama fell off dramatically as the convention faded.

Now, Sarah Palin is different: she was more of a phenomenon before her speech, and she’ll be on the ticket after. Those are important differences. But I think the relelvant analysis here is how far not Palin will go, but how far her speech will: That’s a significant difference. The speech will resonate for a time in the general public conscience, and be forgotten when the next big thing happens. The media tends to cover things like there never will be a next big thing, but it’s inevitable, especially with 4 big debate looming.

I think the bigger comparison is the content. See James Fallows:

To return to the main theme: both Reagan in 1964 and Obama in 2004 were effective because, apart from their personal skills, they added something to their party’s constituency that had not been there before. Reagan began recruiting the “Reagan Democrats,” starting with white Southerners. Obama tried to recruit people tired of divisive partisanship.

Sarah Palin, at least tonight, did not seem interested in bringing anyone new into the fold. A speech that was great in the convention hall. We’ll see how it affects the electoral lineup.

What Obama did in essence was to redefine what Democrats did in such a way that could appeal to independents and some Republicans. Reagan did something similar. Palin made some passing references to reform and fighting corruption, but the speech was not about that. That’s not to say that it was not good. I just think more is needed. Could McCain spell out the rest tonight? It’s certainly possible, but if that happens, the spotlight is again off of Palin. Which was the entire point of this post…

The better lasting effect, of course, is a bit further in the future.

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RNC Live Blog - Day 3: Including Gov. Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney

And we’re off…

[All times are Central]

7:56: Michael Steele takes the stage (no, he’s not the guy that Pierce Brosnon played, he’s the former Lt. Governor of Maryland).  He announces that they are not gathering tonight as Republicans, but as Americans.  It’s statements like this that really frustrate me about politics.  This is a party convention, for the purpose of selecting a party nominee.  This is not an event that’s intended to be inclusive of all Americans, rather, it’s for the Republicans, just like the Democratic Convention was for the Democrats.  Just saying…

8:00: Talks about the importance of putting country first.  Then, he talks about education vouchers.  Huh?  Now, he talks about less taxes and less dependency on foreign oil by promoting oil and gas production at home.  He says what is likely the awkward line of the line, not so much for the statement itself but the tone: “Let me make this clear, drill baby, drill.”  The crowd begins to chant “drill baby, drill.”

8:03: He concludes by saying that in order to put country first, then McCain and Palin need to be elected.  Hmm, it was my understanding that tonight wasn’t about Republicans.  I guess that’s not the case anymore?

8:06: Mitt Romney takes the stage.

8:07: He says that in order to bring change to Washington, Washington is going to have to stop looking to northeast elites like the New York Times editorial board and TV anchors, and instead, needs to look west to McCain and Palin.

8:08: Romney says that Washington is currently liberal and in order to bring a real change, it is necessary to elect a conservative.

8:11: Mentions the need to fight pornography in schools.  I’m not currently aware that this is a major problem.  Oh well.

8:13: Mitt Romney’s suggestion for energy conservation: a cute joke about keeping Al Gore’s private jet on the ground.

8:16: Says, “Just like you, there was never a day when I was not proud to be an American.”  Also says that he believes by the providence of god that the GOP will succeed in the November and that McCain will be elected.

8:19: Refrain from the song currently playing, “If you’re going to hell, keep on going.”  I’m honestly confused.  Why exactly would one want to rush to hell?

8:26: Mike Huckabee takes the stage.

8:27: Thanks the “elite media” for unifying the Republican Party.  Then proceeds to attack the press coverage the past few days.

8:30: So far, Huckabee’s speech is pretty good.  It’s empathic about economic issues and ties it into his personal background (which was impoverished).

8:34: Huckabee says that Palin received more votes runing for the Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden received during this run for president.  This is patently false (I just fact checked it myself).

9:01: Okay, it’s Rudy time…

9:03: Tells undecided votes to imagine that they are hiring someone to do a very important job.  They have two applications to choose from, no names or party affiliations.  Both applicants are patriotic with intersting backgrounds.  On the one hand, you have one man that dedicated himself to service of the United States and has passed very test that life through at him.  “On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education, who worked as a community organizer.” (The crowd erupts in laughter at that point).  Then proceeds to hit Obama on voting present 136 times while he was a state senator.  Follows up by attacking his lack of experience.  Says that this is no time for on the job training. I’m confused as to how the GOP is willing to make this argument given Sarah Palin’s lack of experience.

9:15:  Says that McCain will keep us on offense against terorism.

9:16: Says that Democrats don’t like to say the word “Islamic terrorism” because they are afraid - afraid of insulting someone.  Adds that when you say it, you are only insulting the terrorists.  Look, we’re fair, we’re nonpartisan.  This is just an incredibly dumb statement that really has no bearing on the election and has an incredibly weak factual foundation.

9:19: Criticized Obama for not taking public finacing.  Then says that Obama was against wire tapping before he voted against it.  *sigh* At the risk of sounding like some Obama apologist, which I definitely am not (see my scathing critique of Obama over his FISA vote), but Giuliani’s line here about wire tapping is yet again completely misleading.  The issue wasn’t about wiretapping, it was about immunity for telecom companies.  Look, either Giuliani doesn’t understand this or he’s intentionally deceiving listeners.  And since it’s Giuliani, and he’s a tough New Yorker and feels the need to use a little New Yawk speak, I’ll break this down: Either, Giuliani is dumb and doesn’t understand what the FISA issue was or he’s flat out lying.

9:30: Sarah Palin takes the stage…

9:35: Mentions her son’s upcoming departure for Iraq on 9/11.

9:40: She’s still giving shout outs to family members.

9:42: “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a bull? Lipstick.”

9:43: Just noticed that Pali is wearing a flag pin on her collar, but not an American flag pin … and Israeli flag pin.  Interesting…

9:57: Attacks Obama for being worried that someone won’t read “terrorists who are plotting catostrophic attacks on America” their rights.

9:58: Says that Obama supports plan to raise taxes across the board.  And will increase the tax burden on Americans by hundreds of billions of dollars.

10:04: Says that the presidency is not a venue for personal discovery.  I’m still not sure how she is able to sincerely criticize Obama on the experience issue given her own shortcomings in the department.  It’s truly confusing for me.

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RNC Live Blog - Official Day 2: President Bush via satellite, Fred Thompson, Joe Lieberman

7:13 CT: Norm Coleman discusses St. Paul, and in the process, hits Obama for being indecisive. I hope they can do better than that.He also talks about what is in John McCain’s soul. I think Bush ruined that phrase with Putin.

7:31: Cindy McCain walks to her seat to applause.

7:34: Michele Bachmann takes the stage, and a mass of people on the floor turn and walk out. Not the most flattering camera shot.

7:59: Christian music singer Rachel Lampa plays two songs. Which is immediately followed by ACDC’s Thunderstruck over the loudspeakers. You can’t make this up. Apparently Trevor Hoffman is in the building? Wait, no, it’s an introduction to more Hurrican relief by a former supervisor of Arizona public schools.

8:07: HW Bush in the house. Programming note: updates are more sparse than during the DNC because I have work for law school.

8:10: The stage is horribly distracting. It looks very pognant when no one is one it, but it’s so grand that it distracts when anyone is actually speaking. It’s just a very odd effect.

8:30: The lighting makes it appear that everyone has some sort of tanning addiction. If I’m Steve Schmidt, I’m really unhappy with Rick Davis right now, circumstances be damned.

9:45: Laura Bush is out to introduce President Bush, who will speak from the White House. Let’s hope for his sake that he doesn’t get put o the screen in a manner like something out of 1984. Laura actually talks about policy achievements of the Bush administration - on education, judges, faith based indcentives, and AIDS in Africa. She says that is “Change You Can Really Believe In” and that Bush has “kept the American people safe.” I’m sure Obama will be glad to be seen to be the opposite of Bush, but the crowd on hand loves this too.

9:54: Bush talks about Gustav recovery first. The picture of him on the screen looks really odd. He says McCain is ready to lead, and talks about McCain in the Navy and in Congress as a leader during tough calls. It’s stunning to consider how little respect Bush is getting compared to Bill Clinton in 2000. Bush says the “angry left” will never break McCain, and segues into a discussion of life. He says McCain will stand up to the “high tax crowd” in Congress, and jokes about McCain telling him he’s wrong. He talks about McCain being right on the surge. Bush has also stolen Giuliani’s “stay on the offense” phrasing. He touts Palin’s jdgment and principles, but doesn’t say anything specific about them. He thanks Laura for being an amazing first lady, and that’s it. Laura speaks again - and she’s now spoken more, and more politically, than the President. Laura talks about Cindy McCain. Laura thanks people for her and the President’s time in the White House, and that’s it. You know what’s next, of course: a video tribute to Ronald Reagan.

I’m stunned how much disrespect the RNC gave Bush. No wonder he’s reportedly furious. A 5 minute speech outside of prime time for a two term sitting President? Shocking.

9:09: Fred Thompson takes the stage. None of the broadcast channels are covering his speech, just the cable networks. He compliements Palin, in such a way that you can interpret as a big shot at Hillary Clinton. That may be reading into it. He takes on the media for attacking her, apparently because she’s a reformer. He talks about the McCain sons who are serving in Iraq, and segues into a lengthy discussion of McCain as a POW in Vietnam.

9:25: Thompson discusses McCain’s political career, including voting against troops in Beirut and earmarks. Thompson segues into a series of backhanded insults to Barack Obama, including referencing Senate big talkers, and teleprompter speeches to appealing to people abroad, while talking affirmatively about Mccain. Thompson says the tax increases will be on businesses, and trickle down to hurt people. He didn’t use the term trickle down, though.

9:37: Joe Lieberman is up next with what is sure to be a very polarizing speech.

9:40: Lieberman drops a long series of welcomes that will just anger the left, and says that it shouldn’t take a hurrican to bring America together, even quoting Washington. He restates in several different ways that country comes before party. He says that only McCain has brought the country together before. Cites Ethics bills, 9/11 Commission, and National Security reforms, and cites the Gang of 14. Says McCain is his own man, in an attempt to hit back at the Bush-ties. He says Obama’s eloquence is no substitute for a record. He then goes on a pro-Bill Clinton rant, citing welfare reform, a balanced budget, and free trade. This is turning into bizarro land, especially since Bill gave a strong pro-Obama speech last week.

Lieberman talks about Palin, including reaching across party lines. Umm, the only party she reached out to was the Alaskan Independence Party. There’s no Democratic Party to speak of in the state.

He says McCain-Palin ticket is the ticket for change.

He wants to speak directly to independents and democrats. He says this is no ordinary election, because these are not ordinary times, and McCain is no ordinary candidate. He says McCain will always be straight with people. That’s the best he has? I found it really underwhelming compared to the likes of Zell Miller, or even what Hillary Clinton gave Obama last week. Perhaps I’m in the minority though. The crowd seemed restrained.

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GOP Convention on Hold

The political speeches of the GOP Convention scheduled for tomorrow were postponed; only some technical meetings will be held. Gustav has put the entire week in flux. We’ll cover the political evens, whenever they occur.

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Counter-Intuitive Thought of the Day: Palin May Help With Male Voters

I spend a good portion of my day reading my RSS feed. One of the things I try to do is connect dots others may not have seen. For instance, Matt Yglesias today:

There really are self-identified Democrats who seem resistant to Barack Obama. But there’s very little evidence that their resistance is driven by their ovaries. It’s actually a disproportionately male group. Instead, Obama-skeptical Democrats are older, hawkish, and perhaps not buying Obama as an economic populist. Is going with a young, transparently underqualifed woman with orthodox economic views really such a great way to reach these people? In fact, it’s a terrible way. And the other three Palin virtues, from a news cycle POV, all depend on the fact that it would be crazy to pick Sarah Palin.

And Nate Silver finds Rasmussen data that men like Palin better than women:

What’s interesting, however, is that while there is a gender gap in these numbers, it’s not the one many observers were anticipating. Rather, along a variety of metrics, men like the Palin choice better than women:

These numbers pretty much speak for themselves, but men have a favorable imperssion of Palin by a 35-point margin, whereas women have a favorable impression of her by an 18-point margin. Conversely, by a 23-point margin, women do not think Palin is ready to be President, whereas Palin lost this question among men by a considerably smaller 6-point magrin.

I still think her resume is dangerously thin to be a VP; and that apparently her best debate characteristic is that Biden may go too far in debating her is worrisome. (notice Hillary did not have that problem in 1999 against Lazio, or this cycle against any of the men; she could hold her own.)

But that said, it’s possible this pick may appeal to a key swing demographic … just not the one the media is talking about.

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McCain-Palin VP Liveblog

8:22 CT: The Palin rumors seem to have been dismissed, for now. It’s known that Lieberman is in Dayton, but people are still skeptical that it will be him, for good reason: aside from foreign policy, there’s not a lot of common ground with McCain. Mitt Romney has also been eliminated. Some other possibles are Tom Ridge, Charlie Crist, and Bobby Jindal. Also Rob Portman

8:38: It’s come to the point where Jeb Bush is reminisced about. Politico is reporting that it is not going to be Lieberman either, or at least unlikely.

8:49: The McCain campaign apparently wants to build suspense. I’m surprised they don’t want discussion of the person on the morning news.

9:02: It’s back to Palin apparently? John Harwood of CNBC and the Chicago Tribune is reporting that it is Palin.

9:15: Chuck Todd wants to avoid a Gephardt embarassment.

9:26: Politico is reporting it’s Palin as well. Bold choice. Notably, Jonathan Martin still couches his language with a bit of uncertainty. But there hasn’t been any denials so far on Palin that I’ve seen.

9:34: Palin has praised (parts of?) Obama’s energy plan.

9:37: NBC news is also now confirming. Mike Murphy likes it.

9:47: Andrea Tantaros at Fox News likes the pick. Oddly she talks about violence against women’s issues as compared to Biden, who wrote the Violence Against Women Act. She makes the point that Alaska is far from Washington and could take the Change mantle from Obama.

9:50: They’re pretty shamelessly going after former Hillary supporters. Bill Sammon is worried about Biden’s foreign policy experience in a debate. He compares Palin to George W. Bush in 2000, in expectations working against Biden. Tantaros says that Obama innoculates Palin against experience attacks. Well, sure, but it goes both ways.

9:57: These folks are happy.

10:00: You’re going to see this a bunch.

10:01: Chuck Todd says that it appeals to the social conservatives like Mike Huckabee, and the economic conservatives like Mitt Romney.

10:04: I think liberal blogger Matt Yglesias best describes what will be the Democratic view of Palin, and I also what I think is a fair summation of the ethics investigation into Palin:

All things considerd, if you’re going to get involved in an abuse of power scandal, one that involves an attempt to fire a state trooper who “had been involved in a divorce and child custody battle with Palin’s sister, Molly McCann” and who “was briefly suspended for ten days for threatening to kill McCann’s (and Palin’s) father, tasering his 11-year-old stepson, and violating game laws” doesn’t seem like the worst possible way to go. Certainly by the standards of Alaska GOP corruption it’s kind of small potatoes.

But of course the weird thing about the Alaska Republican Party is that while they send these endlessly re-elected legislators to DC to push for hard-right legislation, pork, and various forms of sleaze they’re running a government based on a weird form of socialism in one giant swathe of sub-arctic wasteland. Normal governors don’t get involved in controversies about state-owned dairy farms and the like (I believe it was Mikhail Gorbachev who moved to privatize the agricultural sector) and there’s no other state whose oil tax revenues are big enough to just cut the entire population welfare checks. It’s a bit hard to know how you shift from that into non-fantasyland world of federal policymaking.

10:09: Ambinder lists the pros and cons of Palin. Also, Kailey Bay Hutchison avoided answering the question of whether Palin is ready to be commander-in-chief on MSNBC with Andrea Mitchell. She also seems to intimate that the Vice President does not have to be ready to be C-in-C, since “the President is the President.” She concludes by saying flat out that we have to trust McCain. Note to the McCain campaign: Hutchison is not a good surrogate for you.

10:17: Obama campaign is highlighting her job as a mayor two years ago, “where her signature achievement was to raise taxes.”

10:19: Joe Klein:

Well, who knows, really? But it does reinforce McCain’s independent trope. She is a reformer, way outside the Washington establishment, a terrific speaker, apparently, a great life story, a pro-lifer who chose to have a Down syndrome child…and she is a she. Is she ready for prime time? Would she be ready to take over if John McCain were incapacitated? In a weird, clever, way, Palin’s inexperience serves to illuminate Obama’s…and so Democrats, especially Joe Biden, would probably be wise to tread carefully here. The Republicans can easily make the argument that they got their ticket order rightside up–experience over a compelling new face–and the Democrats got their order upside down. They can make that argument…we’ll see how it flies. I do think that it’s safe to say, without qualification, that McCain will win Alaska now–then again, Alaska is the only one of the 50 states that Obama hasn’t campaigned in.

10:20: I’m taking a few minutes of a break.

10:22: Kelly O’Donnell on MSNBC: Everything I know about Palin, I learned from Wikipedia.

10:25: One last thing before I take a 20 minute or so break. As far as liberal reaction, Daily Kos points out that Palin has been favorable to creationists. Mydd, which towards the end of the primary became home to a lot of Clinton fans, is very negative based on the experience, but are a lot more skeptical on what her appeal will be.

10:52: Interestingly, Powerline is not a fan of Palin, because of her lack of foreign policy experience. See here and here.

11:01: Are Republicans serious that a Presidential candidate needs experience, but a Vice Presidential candidate does not?

11:11: iPol thinks Palin is the new Dan Quayle. I’d point out that at a minimum, Quayle actually became VP in 1988. Almost every single Republican or conservative that knows Sarah Palin likes Sarah Palin. Of course, when you have a large budget like Alaska does, likeability is basically defined by being not corrupt, which she has really done in her career.

11:16: Everyone in the McCain campaign is holding something that looks a whole lot like glowsticks.

11:16: McCain is in the hall.

11:22: He thanks the runners up, and introduces her as a reformer and someone with executive experience. He touts her as a former union member and someone who is married to a union member, who really touts how she grew up.He touts her reformist credentials.

11:28: She comes out accompanied by her family. The contrast in age to McCain is stark. This is also not quite the spectacle of an introduction that Obama-Biden was.

11:30: She speaks. First giving thanks to McCain, and introducing her family. Nate Silver is struck by how McCain has changed his message back from Country First back to Washington reformer. Her husband Todd is a world champion snow mobile racer. Her oldest son enlisted in the Army and is about to ship off to Iraq soon. She talks about taking on corruption, including “the good ol’ boy network.” Talks about bipartisanship, including her stand against the infamous Bridge to Nowhere.

11:36: McCain looks relatively awkward next to her for some reason.

11:39: Palin gets to the Country First argument, and now being a “time for resolve,” and referencing his time as a POW. She cites John Glenn’s glowing review of McCain that must have been from a long time ago.

11:43: Talks about it being 88 years after women gained the right to vote, specifically mentioning Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton. Apparently Carolyn Mosely-Braun and others don’t count? Nah, it’s actually just a direct political appeal to Hillary voters.  She’s likeable in this setting, but remember: on a Friday of a holiday weekend, and a lot of people will not be paying attention. Her speech next week is far, far more important.

11:46: This has been a long week, for obvious reasons. I’m going to let this sink in and come back with a longer take tomorrow or Sunday. Enjoy the holiday weekend, folks. Take a two day break for politics, and if you’re in Ohio, keep Stephanie Tubbs-Jones in your thoughts tomorrow.

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Sarah Palin? Nope. Or Maybe After All?

Things could change in the next few hours, but signs at the moment point to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain’s VP. That could still change, though, and we are following it.

Update: ABC News knocked it down. Nothing to look at here.

Update II: Now it’s being reported it is her after all.

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Obama Convention Speech

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DNC Convention Speeches Day 4: Al Gore and Barack Obama

4:45 CT (ish): David Plouffe talks about the voter registration drive.

5:12: Jennifer Hudson does the national Anthem: That girl can sing!

5:31: Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter is speaking, and he sounds like he has a hairball in his throat. He’s talking mostly about western values.

5:36: DemConWatch: “You’ll notice there are 3 podiums at Invesco - two on the sides and the main one in the center. Word is that only Gore and Obama will speak from the center podium.”

5:45: Howard Dean is introduced by a Howard Dean video, which had to be authorized by … Howard Dean. Lovely. Angelo notes that it’s similar to the guy from ALong Came Polly that paid for the camera crew for his E True Hollywood story. Dean talks his 50 state strategy, and talks in more generics about no being able to afford 4 more years of the same. He tries to bring out the red meat, but is stunningly bad at riling up the crowd. I think it’s because he frames things very poorly. He line that McCain is not a maverick, but instead a yes man would be good if it was a climax, not said as a throwaway line.

5:58: John Lewis is out next, introducing the tribute to MLK. Also, both Lewis and Dean used the main podium; so much for only Gore and Obama using it. Lewis discusses being at MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech. He’s a civil rights legend, and he discusses the paththe movement has taken, and what it means to nominate Obama and what is done.

6:08: Bernice King says that Obama was nominated not because of the color of his skin, but because of the content of his character. She introduces Martin Luther King III. He talks about how proud his father would be, but that there is more work to do.

6:14: A DNC video. The musical accompaniment? Fake Empire, by The National. Good song, but I don’t think it’s really the message Democrats want to send.

6:33: will.i.am and John Legend perform that silly Obama “Yes we can” song.

6:40: James Dobson prayed for rain tonight. Skies are clear in Denver, but Hurrican Gustav looks threatening next week during the Republican Convention. Way to go.

6:46: Sheryl Crow time. At least for the people there. Airborne Toxic Event on here.

6:57: Obama’s campaign just sent out a text to all those who signed up reminding them that his speech is tonight.

7:03: Mark Udall, Senate candidate and son of Mo Udall, talks about western politics.

7:07: Veep runner up Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is next. He attacks McCain a bit and alks about when he lived in Honduras a bit. The theme is putting into action what you believe in. It’s not like McCain has a storyline here that would dwarf working on the streets of Chicago. On the plus side, he’s showing far more energy than he did for his SOTU response. He finishes by getting the crowd to yell the mountain to move aside.

7:14: Bill Richardson time. He’s a governor, by the way. He’s pushes back against the celebrity mantra. He gets the crowd riled up. I missed a bunch ordering dinner.

7:30: Stevie Wonder is out as Al Gore’s opening act. He jokes about McCain recycling the policies of Bush, and talks about how differences between presidential candidates matter, citing 2000. He then talks at length about the climate crisis and how American innovation can solve it and how special interests and oil companies are preventing that. He’s being very blunt in his criticisms of Bush and in the stakes for this election. He gives America a history lesson on Lincoln, and condemns the Mexican War in the process.

8:05: Michael McDonald time. I still can’t believe he’s there.

8:15: Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of Ike, addresses the crowd.

8:16: A tribute to retired generals includes what I think is the only appearance by Wesley Clark this convention. Scott Gration discusses his history with Obama, and why he is qualified to be C-in-C, mainly focusing on judgment, integrity, and patriotism.

8:23: Joe Biden is back for more. Of course, one address would not be enough for him. The one person he says hello to? Harry Reid. Go figure. He jokes about playing for the Denver Broncos. He goes through a list of people Democrats want to help. Biden introduces a number of ordinary people who are going to speak. And the only person he says goodbye to? Harry Reid. How odd.

8:28: A truck driver from Michigan is first.

8:30: An insurance agent from Ohio talks about the emails about him are lies. I can’t imagine anyone who took the time to watch C-span coverage of the convention is that misinformed. It’s the least informed people who are susceptible to that.

8:33: A pet store owner from Florida is very unhappy about the Bush years.

8:34: A woman from New Mexico discusses education.

8:37: Pam from North Carolina is next. Her husband lost a job and needed surgery; then she did. :She should immediately be put in a commercial. She also was a Republican.

8:40: A lifelong Republican from Indiana is next. His name is actually Barney Smith. He lost his job when it was replaced overseas. Saying that Barney Smith should go before Smith Barney erupts the crowd, and they chant his name! Whoever wrote these deserves a raise.

8:49: Obama’s prepared remarks.

8:51: The music plus the ridiculous spotlights make this seem like a disco hall.

8:56: Dick Durbin is here to introduce Obama. He starts by referring to Obama’s 2004 keynote. Durbin talks about people needing change, and how people are now familiar with Obama.

The video introducing Obama starts. It’s a good biographical story.

9:12: Here he is.

9:14: Long applause. This is going to go long, I think. He thanks HRC again right off the top, and President Clinton right after. He also thanks Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden.

9:57: Liveblogging this seemed a bit unnecessary. You’re going to have watch it. Very impressive.

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Clinton To Be DNC Nominee?

If you’re confused by the title, don’t ask me, ask The New York Times.  They are currently running a Google ad with the headline “Clinton To Be DNC Nominee.”  And people wonder why they say print is dead…

Here’s a screenshot of the ad:

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DNC Convention Speeches Day 2 - Including Bill Clinton, Joe Bide, John Kerry and Elijah Cummings

All times are central…

4:00: And so it begins, the first item on the agenda is the nominating speeches and casting of the ballots.  Howard Dean makes some mundane announcements.  I will admit, it’s mildly humorous listening to Dean make these kind announcements, they seem oddly appropriate for him.

4:21: Nancy Pelosi is running the nomination process, while wearing what appears to be half a ball gown.  Two candidates will have their names placed into nomination - Obama and Clinton.

4:24: The woman placing Clinton’s name in nomination is mainly discussing her own biography and is mixing in a lot of Spanish.

4:27: Hillary’s first nominating speech is being delivered by the third youngest delegate at the convention.

5:44: When it becomes Illinois’ turn in the roll call, they yield to New York.  Hillary Clinton enters the convention hall to cheers.  Hillary Clinton takes the mic and announces that in the spirit of unity and makes a motion to suspend the rules to suspend the roll call and also moves to select Barack Obama as the nominee by acclamation.

5:48: Nancy Pelosi calls for vote.  She asks for all those in favor to say “yay.”  Then she calls for those opposed, but doesn’t even give the convention a chance to respond to the “no” before declaring Obama the nominee.  The music starts to play, the song “Love Train.”

5:54: Schumer takes the podium.  He must have ran backstage, he was just on the convention floor a few minutes ago with Hillary Clinton.

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DNC Convention Speeches Day 2 - Including Keynote Mark Warner, Hillary Clinton, and Eleanor Holmes Norton

4:01 CT: We’re here and ready to go.

4:17: Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta calls the meeting to order. And time for prayer, which conveniently recalls most of the Democratic platform. The colors are presented, the pledge of allegiance is stated, and the national anthem is sung. Not to offend little kids, but the National Anthem isn’t one of those things that sounds better when sung by a children’s choir.

4:23: This segues awkwardly into a hip-hop video featuring DC. It’s for Eleanor Holmes Norton, who literally comes out saluting and yelling about being an Obama-Biden Democrat. She wants representation for the 600,000 members of DC. She’s showing more passion than anyone did yesterday. The power segues into being a bit over the top as she’s just yelling at the end.

4:29: Ted Sorensen, speechwriter for JFK is next. The crowd is half empty for him, but he’s half blind, so it all balances out. I’m surprised he’s there speaking, but there’s not much to say about it. He’s just extends the Obama-JFK comparisons.

4:35: Rep. Mike Honda is here. Apparently Rep. Bob Chevrolet got bumped. Either that, or we’re even outsourcing our last names now. Is nothing sacred!? At any rate, Honda likes to consider himself a teacher, and talks about education policy. This is not the red meat that Democrats need. Let’s hope there’s some strong attacks coming later on tonight for the Democrats sake.

4:40: David Gipp from North Fakota speaks next. He’s a Native American, and President of the United Tribes Technical College. He’s also got a shiny vest on with a bolo tie. Mitakuye Oyasin, y’all. Gipp quotes Sitting Bull in calling for everyone to sit together and figure things out.

4:45: Rep. Linda Sanchez is next. Two men in an elevator in DC apparently thought she was a staffer. She talks about programs that help uniions and the lower class. She’s actually a natural public speaker.

4:49: Iowa Gov. Chet Culver is next. He thanks everyone that helped Iowa during the floods. Segues into a discussion of energy, and attacks McCain for voting against tax credits for renewable energy 11 times. Talks about the effects of renewable energy in Iowa. And then into a bunch of stuff about the election being important. Well, it’s a start.

4:53: Gov. David Patterson of New York is out next. He gets a rousing ovation, and chants of his name. “Thank you, my time is up.” :He talks about being blinded as a child, but still graduating from law school, only to be rejected from a job for being blind, but becoming Governor of New York anyway. He even jokes about being lucky enough even though others may have worked harder or been more qualified. He talks about economic indicators: he’s at such a rapid pace in his statistics that I can’t keep up. Re: McCain: “If he is the answer, the question must be ridiculous.” He stumbles a bit towards the end, but still, some good red meat that really sets the tone for tonight.

5:00: Musical interlude.

5:10: The Congressional Black Caucus takes the stage for the tribute to Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who passed away last week. It stays classy. They recall her life and priorities (even if you disagree with them). I really don’t have much to add.

5:22: A video tribute to Democrats who have passed away since the last convention. It doesn’t fit within the screen, at least for me. Awkward.

5:27: Patrick Leahy comes out, and brags about living on a dirt road in a small town. He talks about why rural America will be helped by Obama, especially jobs disappearing and people living in poverty. He criticizes McCain for not offering any new ideas; he touts Obama’s tax cut plan and jobs plan. He insults McCain’s internet ignorance and says that internet in rural areas is key to development. He also talks about crime, and the law he worked on with Biden. Hammers home the “change we need” theme.

5:32: Chris Van Hollen talks about new candidates for the House. He talks about seeing a portrait of JFK in Sri Lanka ten years after JFK died. He talks about the need to restore that through a larger majority in Congress, touting achievements that are apparently not that popular based on Congress’ approval ratings.

5:44: Cecile Richards, daughter of Ann Richards, Keynote speaker in 1988, is next. She is the President of Planned Parenthood. She talks about Obama being a leader in reproductive rights (her framing, not mine). She says that McCain has vowed to appoint justices to overturn Roe v. Wade.

5:48: Dennis Kucinich comes out next. He’s as silly as ever. He goes off on Iraq and defense spending. He sounds like he auto-recorded his speehc. Every word is disconnected from those that come around it. This is the stuff that appeals to the base but is so crazy that no one else takes it seriously at all. Awkward analogy of the night: Kucinich yellign at America to go from down to up. At the very least he woke up the crowd.

5:54: He’s followed up by California State Controller John Chiang. Who promptly drags this back into the biographical. Yawn.

5:58: Video interlude of a regular persion.

6:00: Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle tlks about being inspired by JFK to join the peace corps. More JFK. Yawn. He talks about hard work and playing by the rules. What “rules” are these exactly? Laws? He eventually gets back to talking about JFK.

6:06: Joe Manchin, Gov. of West Virginia is out next. He talks about America needing to bridge partisan divides to get change accomplished on energy, health care, and transportation. West Virginians have apparently earned “a PhD. in life”  and cannot afford any more Republican leadership. Manchin says that only Obama has captured the dreams of Americans; I have no idea what that means in reality.

6:12: Hillary Clinton introduces a bloc of Democratic women in the Senate, starting with Sen. Barbara Mikulski. Mikulski comes out firing, shouting that Democrats getting things done, starting with equal pay for equal work. She’s literally offstage within a minute, and Barbara Boxer is now on stage. She talks about legislative priorities, such as energy and Climate Change, that will get done after the election.

6:16: Mary Landrieu from Louisiana is next, and she talks about Katrina and Rita, and that Obama will run FEMA better.

6:18: Sen. Blanche Lincoln from Arkansas is next. She talks about health care is needed. Clinton talked about how women in the Senate have a lot to say, and yet their speeches are literally all about a minute long.

6:19: Debbie Stabenow from Michigan is next. She talks about the economic plan of Obama, as much as one can talk about a plan in 45 seconds.

6:21: Maria Cantwell from Washington is next. She talks about how energy independence needs to be a top priority .

6:23: Clair McCaskill gets a second chance to make a first impression. So does Amy Klobuchar.

6:26: They all come out to wave; Angelo points out that this is like the first wives club. The picture of Obama with the women of the Senate pops up. They don’t zoom in enough to get a good look at Clinton.

6:28: Ed Rendell is next. Can he stay on message? Rendell talks about Bush and Cheney promising in 2000 to develop alternative energy, and breaking their promises. He cites statistics that compared 2000 to 2008. Rendell says that McCain’s advisors lobbied for energy company, and that McCain’s record does not reflect support of alternative energy. He goes through some parts of McCain’s record of him not supporting energy. This is what this night needs to be for Democrats. Unite through a common opponent. He talks about Obama and Biden’s energy plan. Good speech.

6:36: Rep. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is next. She talks about the imjpact of people who are uninsured and underinsured in regards to health care.

6:40: Re. Xavier Becerra is here to talk about workers. Yes, just workers in general. He makes a very bad pun out of the work conservatism.

6:44: John Sweeney is out next, President of the AFL-CIO. I’m not going to write anything, I’m on break. Back. Long story short: free choice for unionsis good. Accurately representing that he’s only talking about open ballots instead of secret ballots: bad.

6:50: Robin Golden, a president for a local union in Michigan is up next. He’s actually a better speaker than Sweeney. His job and all the jobs in his union are moving to Mexico in two weeks. He just got diagnosed with diabetes too. Let’s hope he got this weekend comped.

6:55: Rahm Emanuel is next. He brags first about the 2006 midterms. He segues into criticizing Bush-McCain economics. Harsh, but nothing particularly notable.

6:59: Obama video asking people to get involved.

7:00: Alejandra Escovedo plays music.

7:06: The announcer is unable to say the word “commemorative.”

7:10: Katherine Marcano, a flood victim from Iowa, speaks next. She speaks with an accent only Tom Tancredo could hate. She talks about her sister who has Cerebral Palsy. She talks about health care, economic opportunity, tax cuts for the middle and lower class, and a credit card bill of rights. (Biden’s record on credit cards notwithstanding?)

7:14: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is next. He goes down the “McCain voted with Bush 95% of the time” road. Yawn. McCain won’t bring change, Obama wil, rinse, repeat.

7:21: Pauline Beck comes out to read a prewritten speech off a sheet of paper. She’s the one Obama worked with for SEIU. There’s no emotion in her voice. Yeesh.

7:24: Anna Burger, President of the SEIU and Change to Win, is out next. She just talks about how unions are good. Umm, sure.

7:28: Janet Napolitano, Gov. of Arizona and owner of perhaps a deeper baritone than Obama, is out next. She compares McCain to Goldwater, Mo Udall, and Bruce Babbitt in losing. She said she agrees that McCain does not understand the economy as well as he should. She criticizes McCain on the economy before mentioning Phil Gramm’s comments.

7:36: Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan leads a town hall about how to transition to clean home grown energy. Jim Rogers who is a CEO of Duek Energy, Jim Bauer a former steelworker who is now a wind power worker, Aimee Christensen who advises on energy, and Jerome Ringle the President of the Apollo Alliance. Google for more info. Rogers says the important thing is to make the investment today to get on the road to a low-carbon road. Granholm touts the 5 million jobs that Obama plans for. Bauer talks about getting a new job. Christensen talks about the new breed of cleaner vehicles made in America. She says that McCain’s drilling solution will only affect prices by 2030, according to the Bush Administration. Apparently the Apollo project references the Apollo program, not the Greek god Apollo. Either that or Granholm has no idea of Greek mythology. Ringle emphasizes how many jobs that new energy can generate, one by one. Literally. Someone needs to get paid to fly to Denber and attend corporate parties comped. That’s a job.

7:50: Jim Whitaker, Mayor of Fairbanks, registered Republican, comes out to endorse Obama. Compliments Obama’s intellect and pragmatism. He talks about expanding energy sources, including natural gas. He emphasizes Obama’s “steely resolve” - even gritting his teeth when he does it.

7:54: Gloria Craven, a recently laid off textile worker, speaks next. She talks about some problems she’s had.

7:57: Nancy Floyd talks about renewable energies.

8:04: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is here. One of her ancestors was a maid to a President. She’s very dry. She turns the phrase “there’s no place like home” into an attack on McCain. Further attacks McCain for “country club economics.” She puts me to sleep talking about Obama’s plan. She sounds like a robot: Robelius or something.

8:10 Federico Pena, former Mayor of Denver, speaks next. He talks about fixing air pollution in Denver, and how America can face this energy crisis. Talks in general about Obama’s energy plan.

8:16: Rep. Nydia Velazquez is introduced to Huey Lewis’ The Power of Love. She talks about the problems of McCain’s small business plan.

8:23: Bob Casey gets the speech his father did not, and mentions his father right at the start. Apparently Pennsylvania is finally ready to fight for good jobs. Says that Obama will lead and heal, and he knows that because his daughters told him. He compliments Obama for both talking about sports and about jobs. He’s very excited about Joe Biden, and says that no one knows Joe better than Pennsylvania, apparently forgetting that Delaware exists. And yet he gives the biggest buildup for mentioning Clinton. How odd, that someone on the ticket gets the biggest build up in his speech. He cites his disagreement with Obama on abortion, but says Obama shows respect to him. He doesn’t mention who believes what on abortion, though. In other words, yes, Casey was very bitter about how his father was dealt with in 1992. Very, very bitter. Says that McCain is not a maverick; going by his record, he is a sidekick. Not a bad line, actually. Good lord, Casey acctually woke up the crowd. But on the other hand, they’re probably chanting to avoid hearing him. Mentions his father again, who said that there’s one question: what do you do when you had the power. Say that Obama and Biden wil luse the power to help people.

Suddenly his endorsement of Obama over Clinton is crystal clear. yeesh.

[Angelo is now taking over for John]

8:32: The plaintiff, Lilly Ledbetter, from the pay equity case against Goodyear is now speaking.  She’s discussing her fight against discrimination over wages in the workplace.  She’s a pretty good speaker.  Given the historical significance of today for women’s issues, it makes sense to have her speaking so close to Clinton’s speech, which is coming up in about an hour.

8:38: Time for a musical interlude! The song, “I’m so excited.”  It’s somewhat humorous that this song is being played on HRC’s night, given that call for excitement is premised on the idea that you shouldn’t think about the future, but instead get all excited about the past.

8:41: Mark Warner’s turn.  He starts by talking about the future and the strengths of America if we all try.  He then transitions into a brief biography on how he got into the cell phone industry when it first started.  He credits the uniqueness of America for his ability to do this.  He ties this to Obama’s story.

8:46: I must admit, so far this speech is a bit underwhelming.

8:47: Warner’s biggest criticism of George W. Bush: He didn’t ask people to do enough after 9/11.  Really?  Is that really the best criticism?  I understand the desire for Democrats not to wade too deep into partisan territory in these speeches, but, aren’t there just a few more serious things worth criticizing Bush over other than he didn’t ask people to do more service?

8:50: Talks about the prospects for America’s future.  On energy: more efficient cars, built in the US.  That’s a job!  He starts to list other things, but this section of the speech starts to loose its tightness.  But don’t worry, good news for his speechwriter, he can always get a job building a turbine or one of these new cars they keep talking about.

8:52: I guess Warner’s Keynote is really only with his his Virginia race in mind.  Otherwise, the tone and structure of the speech simply doesn’t make political sense.

8:53: Notes that this election isn’t about the past, it’s about the future.  Indeed.  All elections are.

8:55: Warner toots his own horn by discussing his success at managing the budget while he was Governor of Virginia.

8:58: Warner discusses a letter that Jefferson sent to Adams, where we wrote: “I like the dreams of the future, better than the history of the past.”  Overall, a somewhat underwhelming speech.

9:00: Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is up.  Unfortunately for him, the speech hasn’t been fed through the teleprompter.  He handles the absence of his speech pretty well.  On a side note, have I ever noted how much I really hate canned speeches?

9:03: He starts off his speech by discussing the economy.  Then transitions that into critiques against McCain.  I don’t mind criticism, but I wish it were slightly more effective and substantial than what I have heard so far today.  For some reason, the attacks on McCain today have had the same quality of a “your mother. no, you’re mother” exchange.

9:07: Either the teleprompter isn’t working properly, or Strickland didn’t really practice this speech, because his execution is really unpleasant.

9:10: Thankfully, Strickland finishes up.  Why is everyone yelling?  Also, it’s worth nothing that both John and I believe that HRC is going to have an Ann Richards moment this evening and will nail her speech.

9:11: Deval Patrick is up now.  He’s giving a brief bio.  I’m just grateful to finally hear an effective speaker.  Patrick is hitting the economic theme and the importance of protecting the economic interests of the regular Americans.

9:16: Patrick is a good speaker, but even his speech seems to be missing something.  I think it’s a problem with tonight’s theme of the convention, it just seems as though all of the speeches are somewhat forced.

9:18: He notes that there will be challenges to changing the status quo.  Calls for

9:20: Brian Schweitzer is up.  The very first thing he talks about is his decision to pick a Republican for Lieutenancy Governor.  Goes on to note some achievements, including economic, of his bipartisan approach.  Smart.  It might have been enhanced if he added a couple examples of Obama undertaking or demonstrating a similar commitment to bipartisan efforts.

9:24: Schweitzer is clearly enjoying himself and is working the crowd very effectively.  HRC must be thanking her lucky stars at the moment.

9:25: His speech transitions to the topic of energy and climate change and the need to change our energy habits for both economic, national security and environmental reasons.

9:28: Schweitzer hits McCain on taking money from oil lobbyists and for advocating policies that would provide additional funds to oil companies.

9:31: Takes a shot at McCain and houses, but it was subtle and funny.  He goes on to give one of the takeaway quotes from the night, “Barack Obama understands that the most important barrel of oil is the one that you don’t use.”

9:32: I just got word that MSNBC isn’t carrying Schweitzer’s speech.  Yet another example of how that network has reallly slid downhill.

9:36: Schweitzer riles up the crowd with an exceptional closer.  Bill Clinton and others are seen hysterically laughing.  Great, great speech.

9:37: Hillary Clinton’s speech is up.  The video introduction stresses her strength.  One thing that’s worth nothing: On the video, the name used for Bill was “Hillary’s Husband.”  A great, subtle piece of humor there.  I’m not going to blog the video, but it is very well put together.

9:41: Chelsea takes the stage to announce Hillary.  Hillary walks out wearing the orange pantsuit (I called this one earlier today).  The applause roars on for almost 3 minutes before she is able to start speaking.

9:46: She gives a strong call for party unity.  Notes that regardless of who they supported, they’re all on the same team and must now fight for the future.

9:47: Reminds supporters that failing to support Obama would mean that they have to suffer through 4 years of “failed Republican policies”.

9:48: Buttresses her call for party unity with a discussion about what presidential elections are all about.  In short: it’s about the policies that will help people.  Then launches into a recitation of personal stories from people she met during the campaign - she tears up a bit during this part.

9:53: Begins to tie her speech into the theme of the evening - renewing the promise of America.  Talks about key issues like health care, energy independence, civil rights (from women’s rights to gay rights), foreign policy, etc… Says that these are the reasons that she ran.  Asks her supporters to ask themselves, if they were in the campaign just for her or if they were in the campaign because they cared about the issues she was fighting for.  Good line.

9:59: Talks about the need to elect Obama to get these key issues addressed.  Reminds everyone that Democrats are able to achieve progress on these issues and gives a shout out to Bill Clinton (his face is priceless).

10:01: Here come the attacks on McCain.  Hits McCain hard on women’s issues (a sign that they feel the need to push back against McCain’s aggressive courtship of frustrated female HIllary supporters).

10:05: Rounds her speech with historical examples of women’s rights.  Also, she quotes Harriet Tubman, telling everyone to “keep going” and says that the only way to keep going is to elect Obama.  Adds that the fate of America’s future, asks voters to keep in mind their children and grandchildren.  Calls for this election to honor the sacrifices of those that came before us.

10:08: Overall, an exceptional speech.  5 stars.

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