Meanwhile, the Nats plumb new depths, as The Standard points out:

The party that purports to be going to raise educational standards can't even get the grammar right!

It's "Fewer bureaucrats", not "Less bureaucrats", John and your media team.

Anyone here for a potatoe?

I was baffled at this blog I came across that had alot of facts in regards to Sarah Palin. I was looking for a blog or information that was unbiased about Sarah Palin because I had never heard of her before so I really didn't have an opinion one way or the other. The politics of the world does affect what I do because business is affected by the tides of politics.

I'm not a republican, a democrat, or an independent so I'm detached all the way through. Here is the blog:

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/#comments

I also liked that he wasn't on the attack against Obama.  Everyone in the media was talking about how sarcastic and caustic Palin's speech was . . . but aren't these the same people who tell us every election cycle that the job of the Vice President is "attack dog".  Didn't Obama himself attack McCain in his acceptance speech far more than McCain did likewise tonight?  I think I'm right about this. I'm up for a good correcting.

The whole of the convention went well.  I will highlight things I wish were better:

Just making my way back to the RNC from the what has been a crazy night on the outside full of concussion grenades, tear gas and other oppressive tactics... Whew. I saw Sharif get hauled away, along with many other members of the press and legal observers. Some minors have been taken as well. Check back in the morning for updates.

Good line. It, like a few others, came as he described his imprisonment in North Vietnam. Frankly, I didn't think there was any way he could tell that story in a way that didn't sound maudlin, boastful, or self-serving. I was surprised, impressed, and moved.

McCain's public speaking has always been awkward and contrived to the point of making me uncomfortable. I squirm. I almost feel sorry for him. Tonight was the best delivery I've seen from him, which made it better than I expected, but still not very good. I doubt he wrote the speech himself, but few political speakers can afford to write their own stuff. Pity the unheralded speechwriters. It must be painful to write a good speech and have to watch McCain deliver it.

Anyway, after years of knowing about it, months of being reminded of it, and three days of hearing it recited in detail and splashed on a giant screen, I feel confident enough to say, yes, John McCain is a war hero.

That said, what really annoyed me about the GOP's adulation for the war hero and his Republican supporters was the inescapable implication that there are no Democratic war heroes. At one point last night, the family of a soldier killed in Iraq was introduced and cheered as though such a thing were unique. It seemed so unfair to single out that one family when others have given just as much. Democrats have died, too. And Independents. And plenty of kids too young to know the difference.

The Republicans don't have a corner on war heroes in this country, or on "Country First" and patriotism. It's tasteless and offensive for them to keep acting like they do.

There are a couple more. Frog has a quick post and a link to the main party site and full size images. I am totally thrilled with these billboards. Bring 'em on, I say!

McCain's strength, the thing that's always made me like the guy, is his authenticity. It showed tonight.

When he started talking about the problems in Washington being the fault of Republicans as well as Democrats, I thought the audience in the hall was going to start booing him. The silence was deafening. I remarked to my wife: "He's losing them." On balance however, I think it was a good judgment call. He may have pissed off his immediate audience for a few minutes, but they aren't going to get him elected and he knows it. If he's going to win he has to do more than energize the base.

So his admissions of fallibility, and of Republican accountability in particular which while compared to what we've become used to from the Republicans sounded like great criticism, were actually very mild to anyone outside the hall. And notably absent of course were any details (Dick Cheney, Halliburton, Alberto Gonzalesz, Brownie, Abramoff, etc).

But it was still pretty ho hum stuff, and about what I'd expected. Sure enough, he played the kindly uncle, just as I predicted, measured in his criticisms, steadfast in his assurances he would keep us all safe.

The last 10 minutes were enough to move anyone. He wasn't faking it. It was as genuine a moment as I've ever seen in him. And his rousing call to fight was well, rousing. And heartfelt. Well done.

Sadly there was precious little substance to the rest of it.

Vague promises, no specifics, except, ironically, a call for a program which the Clinton administration had in place in the 90s to help workers displaced by the loss of timber jobs retrain. It's nice to see McCain thinks it's a good idea after 8 years of nothing.

School choice. meh, Republicans have been talking about this issue for a long time and nothing ever changes. They didn't do anything substantive when they had both houses of congress and the White House for 6 years, something tells me they won't be doing much better under a McCain administration.

This is the fundamental problem with McCain. you really WANT to love the guy. And as a friend, I'd have to say I'll bet he's among the best you could hope to have. But as a politician, there are few examples I can think of where a man has so completely sold out principle for political gain.

Whether it's tax cuts for the very wealthy, voting against a bill which would have explicitly made illegal torture by the CIA or his sudden embrace of the religious right, a group he's always held in thinly veiled contempt, the man has literally sold his soul to get where he is. And I believe it weighs on the man.

I feel genuinely sorry for John McCain. He's a great American. He's a fine and decent man. But he deserves better treatment than he's given himself over the last few years.

When he talked about breaking under torture in that cell in Vietnam, and the guilt and shame he felt, I couldn't help but wonder:John, how will you feel about THIS betrayal? No one tortured you this time. This time you did it all by yourself.

John McCain told stories. Can you believe him at this point, after all of those nasty ads?

Why couldn't the RNC use some of that money to fly in the people McCain quoted and let them speak.

You know why.

So not only did her historic speech garner huge numbers (37.2 million viewers according to this story), now she is being compared, by at least one British journalist, to one Margaret Hilda Thatcher (the one on the left by the way).

You rock, no, you rock

Here's British journalist Richard Littlejohn's story:
A pistol-packin' Looby Loo: the Left's worst nightmare

An excerpt:

The way the Left, both here and in America, are contorting themselves is a joy to behold. Sarah Palin is every Guardianista's worst nightmare.

It's reminiscent of how they used to patronise Mrs Thatcher 30 years ago. What did this small-town girl know about anything?

How could any woman expect to run a country and raise a family? What does she know about foreign affairs?

Of course, they weren't saying that a woman couldn't be Prime Minister, you understand. Just not this woman.

Think about it!

btw the POW thing can only last so long... find something new to use.

The future of conservatism is bright.

All those liberal Republicans who were arguing that the GOP needed to “rebrand” itself and move leftward are now crying in their coffee. Arlen Specter is feeling lonely.

Break out the world’s smallest violin. I’m verklempt.

At a Tuesday reception for moderate Republicans, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter hushed the cocktail chatter when he began ticking off a long list of like- minded lawmakers who no longer hold office.

“Today, we’re in a phone booth,” Specter said.

You lose.

Personally, I would wait for November before concluding that Arlen loses. You never know, maybe America won't go for the party that has a VP candidate who said she would chose 'life' even if her daughter was raped.

The candidates were pressed on their stances on abortion and were even asked what they would do if their own daughters were raped and became pregnant.

Palin said she would support abortion only if the mother's life was in danger. When it came to her daughter, she said, "I would choose life."

(Hopefully Sav will not say I am misquoting Palin :)

Somebody's head will roll ...

Media people after that refused to look into the AWOL story, and Bush skated.

The Republicans are experts at media management - they use their noise box - they can throw out an incredible amount of flak. The tube today was full of noise about how Palin was somehow vindicated and now untouchable. But for a brief while, it looked like media was doing its job. Now with the screeching, "the speech", which was an affront to us all and full of lies but supposedly "hit out of the park", media is again intimidated. They are afraid of being called sexist, and Palin, who seems to have a closet full of skeletons, will skate.

It's our own fault. We walk into a trap. We have no one to blame but ourselves - the Republicans, who pummeled Kerry with the Swiftboat campaign, are no one to fool with. These are experts at manipulation, and the media, easily intimidated, are no match. Democrats seem to jump bare-assed into this pool every four years, all concerned about being dignified and above the ordinary knife fights. The only saving grace is that they might take a commanding majority in the senate, and that they might use that majority to stop (gulp) 'President' McCain. But that depends on election integrity. For so long as our ballots are counted in secret, exit polls will continue to go awry, and there will be surprising and unexpected Republican wins, and doe-eyed media analysts who can't for the life of them figure out why exit polls can't get it right.

But allowing Democrats to defend us is like sitting atop a bowl full of Jello. I don't doubt that Harry and Nancy will be back, and the concessions and cave-ins will continue.

Things aren't looking so good right now. I fear for the country - we're rudderless - a minority party in charge, a majority party too weak to do anything about it. We'll continue our drift into right wing paranoia and madness.

Gov. Palin, you've definitely given me the reason to vote FOR McCain rather than just voting AGAINST Obama.

So many things have changed since then, or so you would think.  Is there something to the idea that McCain chose someone based on the fact that that person wouldn't make him look short?  McCain is as tall as I am.  Was there a reason that some of the later republican debates were sit-downs?  Is there a very silly reason that McCain chose Palin?

You know what made me think of this?  That Palin bio video.

I think I will try this live blogging thing.  I don't know if I can do it -- with the pups and all, but I will try.

Update

Cindy McCain.  I would never steal anything from anyone.  I did steal a hatpin when I was eight and got caught.  I would never have stolen drugs from a charity.  But someone who stole drugs from a charity is now lecturing me about politics.  That makes sense.

Holy shit, Cindy is worse than McCain about reading the teleprompter.

If she wags a finger, I destroy the tv. (not really)
ZOMG -- the whole family was disappeared!1!1!1
Shower?

Palin Shoulder Pads.

And that's the last thing I'll say about clothes.

At least she didn't lie again, about the babies and Mother Teresa.

Medical teams = drug stealing.  You know it happens in all families.  Didn't someone in your family steal prescription drugs from a charity?

Cindy McCain save Rwanda!  Did you know that?

Boring. 

I think she is finally done.  The USA grunters are shouting.

OH NOESSS She's still yapping.

It sounds like the stupid rehash of "Johnny Be Good" is playing now.  We'll see if it's the one that Bennett listeners made in the morning.

The new stage looks like, you know, a stage.

The video -- as far as the Vietnamese are concerned, his story is something of a lie.

Fred Thompson sans burps introduces McCain to his biggest town hall meeting.

GREEN BACKGROUND

Town hall meeting?

Oh and Barack Obama's campaign raised about 10 million dollars since Palin's speech according to MSNBC. Meanwhile, the Republicans raised about 1 million dollars. Maybe she needs to do a speech all the time.

Ah, McCain. He will probably sit in front of the White House and say "Get off my lawn, you kids!" We should all hope that he doesn't sit out there in a Speedo. Eergh. Sorry to put that picture in your mind. Well, now that I have scarred you for life, lets mention the fact that the guy owns eight houses. Eight houses, ha ha ha. It may or may not be true that he forgets how many he owns, but doesn't he have any sympathy for those who don't own ANY houses? Really, he thinks that people who make less than FIVE MILLION DOLLARS are middle class. I would think that anybody making 5 mil would be upper class, filthy rich, bourgeois people who are deserving of my foulest looks, but to John McCain, a millionaire might as well be taking his order at McDonalds.  Now that I have gotten the McCain rant out of my system, you would think that I am about to attack Palin. Well, I would, but we already have a rant about that. Thanks, Krissy Poopyhands! Well, my rant is over. (for the moment!)

- Turned on CNN just in time to catch Donna Brazile.  Lucky me.

- Blitzer is trying to make a big deal about the 9/11 video, and is going to let Carville, Begalla, Brazile, and Smith.  Can't imagine what they are going to say.

- Gergen: No liberal establishment.  Is he kidding?

- Castellanos is putting Gergen in his place.  Gergen responded with the same old "who's been running Washington" deal.  Apparently, control of Congress for the majority of the past 54 years doesn't count.

- Kenny Loggins "Danger Zone" is playing right now.  We really need good Conservative musicians.  I'll put up with the Obama pig if it meant David Gilmour would show up.

- Awaiting Senator Lindsey Graham.  That should energize the base.  Sen. Graham-nesty, he of Immigration Amnesty fame, is exactly who I want on the same day as McCain.  Can't wait for Tom Ridge to introduce the nominee.  This is a slap in the face to conservatives.  The RNC has basically said "you guys get day 3, days 1, 2 and 4 are for the moderates and independents."

- He's giving a speech on the Iraq war?  Why not Duncan Hunter?

- Come on Graham, I don't like Obama, but he said that the surge is working earlier today.  Was he pandering?  Maybe, but don't lie, Senator.

- This is a prime time speech?  This is awful.  How did he get elected?

- Good video.  Got it's point across.  Is Palin the most experienced?  No.  Qualified based on political stances?  Yes.  More so then Obama?  Both cases, yes.  I'll be praying McCain doesn't go down (though his mom is in her 90's.  Maybe longevity is in his genes).

- Blitzer: Cindy McCain will go "on and on and on..."  Come on Wolf, it's your job to sit there and enjoy it.

- CNN didn't even give Tom Ridge the time of day.  Thanks.

- I'm having a hard time getting into tonight.  Cindy just isn't drawing me in.

- Note that the biggest applause Mrs. McCain gets is actually for Sarah Palin.  Think the conservatives are trying to tell him something?

- Donna Brazile is about an hour and a half late on criticising Graham.

- David Gergen has the worst combover on TV.

- Another solid video.  Someone screwed up with the lighting.  He better be good.

- The man loves the green screen background.  Colbert must be excited. (later changed to blue)

- No need to show the protester (twice now).

- He kind of mentioned Bush, crediting him for keeping us safe.  He is really staying away from the Bush family name.

- Looks like he is about ready to cry while talking about his family.

- Extending the olive branch and trying to stay above the fray.  A little bit to much , IMO.

- Once again, louder for Palin than for McCain.

- Record of attack, than first for the surge - starting to break out the record and get on a roll.

- Now he's getting going and firing up the crowd.  If he keeps this up, he can call it a success.

- I'm loving this stuff on education and getting bad teachers out of schools.  Echos things I said in class earlier today.

- He's more aggressive than I anticipated, and hitting some good talking points.

- His part on military experience was great.

- "I'll ask democrats and independents to serve with me."  Wonder who he's talking about.

- We heard it a lot, but the POW story is a lot stronger coming from him.

- Another strong shot at Obama with the "anointing" comment.

- Unbelievable conclusion.  He hammered that speech, and needed to.  Could have lived without the Raising McCain song (which is just awful), but he energized that crowd.

- Tell me that Piper isn't one of the cutest kids.  She may become the next JFK Jr.

- Time to see if he gets the "convention bump".

- Wolf: "Have you ever been to Time's Square on New Years Eve?"

Cooper: "I've hosted the CNN New Years Eve show at Time's Square for the last five years."

- Jeffery Toobin has proven himself as a partisan hack over the course of this convention.

- Wolf Blitzer is obsessed with balloons.

I mean here are the Democrats, talking very effectively to Americans about their grasp of how hard the economic times are.  In contrast, the Republicans field a line-up of some of the richest people in the country, including CEOs who have publicly opposed closing loopholes which encourage off-shoring of American jobs.

We just had eight years of giant corporate interests having a virtual cabinet position in the Bush administration. McCain is going to "reform this?" With these people in charge of the show?

-Seems a reasonable question to ask.

2008 ELECTION

UPDATED PROJECTIONS

McCAIN/PALIN TAKES THE LEAD

State-by-state vote percentages and an electoral college map ...

http://ocwaves.wordpress.com/election/2008-mccainpalin/

Look for the next update ... September 19th.

I missed the speech since I was working but the exerps I heard today were AWESOME.  She even managed to fire a few rounds into Camp Obama.  Rush Limbaugh, who doesn't impress easily, said he didn't want her speech to end.  It was that good. 

The media has their panties in a wad because they felt they should have vetted her better.  Yeah that worked out well.  It took Foxnews to expose Obama's dirty little secrets.  Mainstream media did nothing at all.  Now the media is going after Sarah for all their worth but it will backfire in the long run.  Mark my words!  Women are going to forsake Obamania and stand up next to Sarah.  It's the same media that attempted to label Republicans as Racists and Sexists.  I guess they lied and the real racists and sexists are standing up.  Nobody has asked Obama how he can be an effective father for his children while he's in office but somehow that question seems good to ask Sarah?  Give me a break!  The real sexists have stood up in this election and I want you all to look at the spectacle and realize they lie to the public everyday.

Sarah went after everyone that was dogging her in the 4 days prior to her speech.  To me that says she's a good candidate.  She flat out told the media she could care less about them.  She was there to work for the American people.  Putting the drive bys in the light.  It appears the liberals have been busy on the drudge thread talking about her.  Obviously living in their parents house in the basement smoking weed was not enough to keep them from attempting to talk intelligently on her speech.

Rudy:

Palin:

Live blogging will begin shortly, just like yesterday.

"Obama might pursue criminal charges against Bush administration" (also includes link to video)

According to Joe Biden, he and Barack Obama are ready to pursue criminal charges against the Bush Administration.

I doubt they would actually do it.  Watch the video.  Biden says it, then pauses, expecting thunderous applause.  When it doesn't come, he continues by back tracking a bit, saying only if they can find crimes that were commited.  Obama has said similar stuff in the past as well.

My question: Do they want change or revenge?

There is one thing that political pollsters seem to agree on: a remarkable
number of American voters are liars.

That means, according to the pollsters, that voters will say they're going
to vote one way but once they've pulled that metaphorical curtain closed
behind them, they may vote an entirely different ballot.
So far, this election cycle, I've heard this phenomenon discussed
exclusively in terms of what this might mean for Obama's chances.  The
scenario goes as follows: Pollster X approaches Voter Y (either by phone,
or in person; either before Election Day or as part of an exit poll) and
asks who he/she voted for. If Voter Y is part of that 'lying' percentage,
then he/she will say they voted for Obama, when in fact they voted for
McCain (or Minnie Mouse, or Ralph Nader, or None Of The Above). The
reasons given for why voters like Y feel compelled to lie is that they
cannot bring themselves to overcome their gut racism but are either
ashamed to admit this or are afraid of being stigmatized as the
tunnel-vision cretins they are (pollsters don't actually elaborate that
last part in the way I have).

An interesting subplot is that potential voters in both parties had no
qualms about baldly stating that they would never vote for a Mormon, in
such numbers in fact, that they clearly didn't feel ashamed or afraid
regarding this particular prejudice. My personal feeling is that this
outburst of anti-Mormon honesty had more to do with people's distaste for
Mitt Romney than with any actual animus towards the
talking-hat-and-magic-underpants mythology of Mormonism itself. No way to
prove it, of course, at least not until another Mormon (preferably from
the Udall clan) seeks office outside the traditional Utah-Nevada-New
Mexico stronghold.

So here's my question: isn't it possible that the phenomenon of the Lying
American Voter is a two-way street? That come Election Day, there will be
more than a handful of born-again evangelicals who won't be able to bring
themselves to vote for the candidate who is gunning to end the
availability of legal abortions in their state? Even though they've taken
part in prayer meetings and bake sales to achieve exactly that end? But
this might be too easy a mark. Overtly, fervently religious voters have
pretty much discredited themselves with a long line of steady hypocrisies,
and so a little polling booth perjury would come as no great surprise.
So here's another scenario: McCain and Palin seem to be figuring out that
they get good crowd reactions when they rant about cleaning up Washington
and exterminating corruption along the Potomac Tidal Basin. Never mind
that there has yet to be a politician who doesn't promise to do exactly
this same undoable thing, let's assume that the ethically-enlightened
engine really starts to pick up steam.  It doesn't take more than a glance
through recent issues of the Wall Street Journal to figure out that the
people who should feel most threatened by this pork-hating, dust-busting
duo are overwhelmingly Republicans, grown fat at the public trough and not
inclined to join the moral equivalent of Weight Watchers anytime soon.
Faced with the prospect of being flushed from the All-You-Can-Eat buffets
of K Street, terrified at the idea of earning an honest wage, what will
these guys do when that curtain has closed behind them? Can they afford to
risk everything on a gamble that McCain-Palin were, after all, just
kidding? What would be the real harm if they were to help the Democrats
along for the next 4-8 years? Sure, Obama-Biden are big on ethics reform
as well, but given how both the economy and foreign policy are in an
absolutely horrendous clusterfuck shambles thanks to George Bush, won't
they have their hands pretty full for awhile, restoring sane relations
with our allies, putting the unemployed back to work, beginning work on
the massive job of dealing with global warming? Maybe a few more years in
which these Republicans can pig out in the shadows? Maybe?