THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!! FOR McCAIN!!!

B-O-R-I-N-G!

I can not believe Mitt Romney just said:

"It's time for the party of big ideas; not the party of Big Brother"

He's talkin' about US!?!

Jesus.

I think Republicans are really snappy dressers
--Smithers

I have seldom heard a worse speaker than Carly Fiorini. Woo, what a snooze-fest.

Romney is pretty energetic, however.

Drill, Baby, Drill!

Now we're talking!

Looks like they've installed the Republican Party Platform v1.0 in Mitt, lubed his joints, and put in fresh batteries.

Watching the convention floor, I keep waiting for a bingo game to break out. Listening to Mitt Romney accuse the Dems of being Big Brother brings new meaning to the words "tone deaf" (warrantless surveillance anyone?) Their speakers are flat, and the party is in crisis. Every day, every hour even, there's a new screw-up. Compare this to the meticulously managed Democratic convention. any gaffes then? not that I can think of

Y'know, maybe Obama should just take McCain's words and run w/ 'em. If he says that Palin is the best qualified Republican to be VP, then he should use that to tear apart the GOP. Something along the lines of 'Senator McCain says that Gov. Palin is the "best qualified' candidate for Vice President, which only goes to show how little even John McCain thinks of the former Grand Ole Party...." etc. etc. etc.

Romney's East-versus-West, liberal-versus-conservative polemic is pretty jarring coming right after Steele's "one America" speech. It's definitely more effective, though.

Mitt Romney = Max Headroom

If they fact check Romney's speech and give me a dollar for every false hood i could fund my education.

Romney is getting the audience all fired up.

Lots of good but unsubstantial one liners.

Like I said, Mitt put up such pathetic trite or florid platitudes, I think maybe he did it deliberately out of spite for being passed over (and who can blame him?)

if the convention is measured in shockly brazen lies per minute, the Republicans definitely have the best convention. perhaps the best meeting of any kind, ever. this is Olympic caliber dishonesty with stuff like Romney calling the Dems "Big Brother," like Palin planning to claim there is no value in community organizing (guess we know she'll have no urban agenda).

Oh wait. Is that Henry Kissinger? Good lord. And look, one token black guy.

Why am I watching torturing myself with this???

How did his head not explode from the cognitive dissonance when he railed against teenage promiscuity in our schools? I'm beginning to suspect that the entire Republican party is one big performance art piece and the actors are so dedicated and method, that they've fully bought into the act.

Romney just blamed the last 8 years on liberals, and said to fix it, we need to get the liberals out of DC and elect McCain/Palin.

There is not anything about that viewpoint that makes a single solitary bit of sense.

Mind asplode.

Should anyone get ill watching the convention, I highly recommend NOT reading the ABC/Gibson interview with McCain.

Mitt Romney... but all previous speakers and spokespeople as well... It's bizzare how the Republicans are working themselves up into a righteous frenzy, promising to fix what's wrong in Washington. They ignore the fact that they've either been 100% in charge these last 7 years or have blocked Democratic initiatives; they claim for themselves the mantle of energy conservation, renewable energy and reducing dependence on foreign oil and try to blame the Democrats for preventing movement on these issues (when they've either been in charge and done nothing or blocked Democratic initiatives); they claim that policies will accomplish what their own colleagues have admitted they will not accomplish (drill now); they point to increased government spending and say it's all the fault of liberals (when it was their budgets that exploded spending); they argue that Democratic tax proposals (increase rates on the most wealthy) would be a job killer despite all evidence to the contrary (Clinton's policies v. the last 7 years).

Deny reality, blame others for one's own actions, claim that policies you have consistently opposed are now yours - and that those who have always championed them are somehow to blame for the lack of movement...

It falls somewhere between delusion and insanity.

On a more serious tactical note, is bashing the media really smart strategy? How many people are really watching this unfiltered compared to those who will read about it/watch it tomorrow? I'm just not getting it.

I tried to listen serious to Romney for a good couple of minutes, but I couldn't help cracking up.

"We need a change all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big government liberals and elect John McCain!"

And now Huckabee with the awkward, "You want something to change."

Ack! Who wrote this stuff!

I tried to listen serious to Romney for a good couple of minutes, but I couldn't help cracking up.

"We need a change all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big government liberals and elect John McCain!"

And now Huckabee with the awkward, "You want something to change."

Ack! Who wrote this stuff!

How did his head not explode from the cognitive dissonance when he railed against teenage promiscuity in our schools?

Better Romney bring up promiscuity than Palin.

What pornography in high schools is Romney referring to? Sex education?

'Scuse me, but do they intend to have any speakers who are actually still in office? Romney out, Steele out, Whitman out, etc.

J.W.: The GOP asserts that the Democrats let them get away with crimes and incompetence. Thus Democrats are to blame. We didn't stop them before they killed again . . .

The difference between Democrats and Republicans: Democrats attack things (poverty, crime, environmental abuse, etc.), Republicans attack people (Democrats, the poor, people that don't look like them, people that don;t pray like them.)

The huckster mentioning FDR? WTF is going on here?

I ain't watching. Has Mitt revealed the whereabouts of the golden tablets yet?

And will Sarah rise from the dead after being crucified by the press and being sealed in her vault the past 3 days?

Romney: "We need change all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big government liberals and elect John McCain!" (Hunh?)

Huckabee: "We want something to change." My dad lifted "...heavy things." "...only soap we had was lava..."

Ack! Who wrote this stuff!

What pornography in high schools is Romney referring to?

Yeah, really. I grew up in the wrong district!

Storm KO'd electricity here. Mercifully spared the carnage.

So far, Huckabee's speech is a C-.

"Did I mention that John McCain was a POW?"

Not that I want to be thought of as a machiato sipping elist--I mean, I love the manger baby Jesus as much as the next guy--but this Republican convention is the dumbest display of cognitive incoherence I have ever witnessed. No question about it, the Republicans are devolving. In a few years, their knuckles will be dragging the ground.

I am floored listening to these people speak. Do they not get who was running this country for the last eight years? Why did those airline worker's take paycuts, Huck? So the CEO's could get multi-million dollar bonuses. Meg Whitman and the rest have been living on some distant planet. Change from them? OMFG!!! Spare me from the absurd levels of hypocriscy! I cannot believe the lies, lies, and more lies. This is a disgrace. A disgrace to America.

Like the rest of the the Republican convention: wandering pointlessness.

"Burned all my notebooks, what good are notebooks?
They won't help me survive
My chest is aching, burns like a furnace
the burning keeps me alive
Try to stay healthy, physical fitness
don't want to catch no disease
Try to be careful, don't take no chances
you better watch what you say"

If we lose this election, it must mean we're the real idiots.

I feel sick.

I actually think Huckabee is doing quite well... his small town populism is fairly charming, and it is what we have to fear from Palin.

Of course, it has absolutely *nothing* to do with the GOP platform, but it's what they are trying to sell tonight.

US Open, Venus vs. Serena, on USA, if you have cable.

The female governor of HI just came on, well - why didn't McCain consider her? Not as pretty?

Romney ridiculed a "liberal" Supreme Court for ruling that "Guantanamo terrorists" have constitutional rights. Forgetting that the whole point of the ruling is that no one has yet demonstrated that they ARE terrorists. And many, many of them are completely innocent -- and should therefore have the right to challenge the government's case against them.

And then he had the gall to say that Republicans will defend American freedoms.

Just staggering.

Looks like Mittens was trying out a speach for 2012. This stuff is painful to watch. Anybody got a copy of the Enquirer yet? Missing my copy.

Freedom is just another word for having a school desk?

It is hard for me to understand what Mike Huckabee was trying to say.

Hah! The HI goverlady just said Palin is "comfortable in her own skin" - the very phrase dopes used to show what they liked about George Bush!

would you say this is a dull convention, or the dullest convention.

I'd say it's the EPIC FAIL convention.

@ Not a Masochist

I switched to "Law and Order" but here's Fred Thompson pretending to defend the Constitution there too!

Think I'll watch "The Da Vinci Code" again. Myths I can really latch onto, you know?

Neither.

It's the DULLARD'S convention.

Rim shot!

Take my wife, please!

Thank you, thank you ladies and germs....

I find it amazing that by building up Palin they are taking down McCain ("She has more experience than the three put together."). You would think at some point McCain would think to himself, under that awkward smile, "Hey! Wait a minute!"

Rove lives by the philosophy, "Repeat it enough times and they will believe it." I want to read his bio just to find out how he came to hate Americans so much that he considers them imbeciles.

Underestimate Palin all you want. Don't underestimate Rove.

Our one saving grace is that McCain has turned his back on the media when they were once friends. Hell hath no fury like a love scorned.

Did anybody notice McCain's choice for vice president strapped to Romney's back? AND Huckabee's? Something tells me she'll be transferred to Guilianni soon.

All I can say is these people live in alternate realities.

There is no sense of reality whatsoever.

All I can think of when I see Mitt is Ridge Forrester driving down the road with his dog strapped to the roof of his car. It's difficult to take him seriously.

David Brooks on PBS along with Mark Shields both agree that Romney's speech was his first campaign speech for the 2012 election. He was staking out a very, VERY conservative position. If McCain loses, get ready to hear a lot more of this from Romney.

It's good to remember that the Republican Party has had sooooo little to cheer about the last eight years that they are desperate to find something, someone, anyone to rally around.
Palin might sound good tonight, but she won't be able to hold her own against Biden and serious questions from the MSM.
Check the polls----this is all smoke and mirrors.

Sarah Palin has "a great personal story". Right. Grew up, played sports, took advantage of her beauty to win some awards (vanity, vanity, all is vanity...), eloped (real commitment to traditional family values!), got a job, ran for office,...

Absolutely stunningly... normal.

Sarah Palin "will not try to reinvent herself during this campaign." Unlike McCain.

But then, none of this is surprising from a hall full of people who, by an overwhelming majority, would say that, yes, a child was born to a virgin, that a dead man was raised from the dead, that a loving God would tell a righteous man to kill his own son and then, at the last moment, say; "Ha! Just kidding!" Evidence, logic, and attention to detail matter little to these people.

And then let's not forget that the crowd roared and roared with approval when Huckabee said that Palin won more votes to become mayor of Wassila than Biden got in the primaries. That it's a boneheaded and patently ridiculous assertion doesn't matter at all: it's what they want to believe and it made them feel good, so they applauded.

The GOP is spiraling downwards into oblivion and irrelevance.

She says, "they [Obama, Biden] have no executive experience, zero!" and now the crowd is chanting, oblivious to the irony of that and the other experience of Sarah Palin, that John McCain doesn't either - ?

MsMuddler @ 9:40

you left out the really salient part!

We got computers, we're tappin' phone lines
you know that that ain't allowed

or perhaps a portion written just for John and Sarah:

you make me shiver, i feel so tender
we make a pretty good team

(eewwww!)

While watching Romney at first I was irritated by him. Then as time passed and his speech wore on it occurred to me how stale the ideas were. Surly they know this... Right? I mean they cannot believe these old tired lines about Washington Liberals having caused all of America's problems... right? After the past eight years? Its like a scene from a Kurt Vonagat (sp?) novel, where you expect something huge to happen... and nothing.

Its the end of an era.

Ken Lay had lots of executive experience too.

250 Delewares fit into Alaska

WFT? How disjointed is this speech by the Hawaii Gov? I need to turn this off at least until the main event starts...

Wassilia has a population of approx. 7,000.

Biden received 79,754 votes in the primaries.

http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/D.phtml

What time is Sarah on? Is it after David Letterman or Craig Kilburn? She's obviously not ready for prime-time.

I had to walk away from Linda Lingle's speech.

It was just too embarassing.

POW POW POW POW POW

Honest to god, these people have made that the most disgusting term.

This is how they honor men in service?

Oy.

Show me Trig Palin’s birth certificate, and no, I do NOT think that Steve Schmidt is using this as a smokescreen to hide Sarah Palin’s other manifold incompetence.

I also think this issue has legs, definite political legs, until we see a PDF of a birth certificate online somewhere.

Read my whole post.

The McCain campaign did not have to "out" Bristol Palin's pregnancy. they could have found some other way to prove that Sarah Palin was the mother. The child's birth certificate would show the mother was 44 years old, not 17. McCain panicked, went with the first excuse he could think of and threw 17 yr old Bristol Palin to the wolves. These people are disgusting.

Mitt Romney:

-father was the CEO of a major corporation and governor of the state of Michigan.

-used his family fortune to become an influential (and even wealthier) venture capitalist

-former governor of Massachusetts and presidential candidate

(achem)

-victim of oppression by eastern elites!

Apparently they really do think they can just say anything and no one will know the difference...

What are they shouting in the background?

Giuliani:

"left-wing media"

"He has passed every test". Um, I'm afraid not. Consistency? (switching positions on multiple issues) Integrity? (suggesting that Obama is treasonous)

McCain has proven that, for him, "America comes first!" So what are you suggesting about Obama and Biden? Why not just come out and say it?

They laugh at "community organizer". Spiteful and extremely revealing. And then they chant "Freedom!"

Guiliani misrepresents Obama's "present" votes in the Illinois legislature. Deliberately misleading and therefore despicable.

Another weak speech from Rudi - it's painfully obvious that all these guys think THEY should be speaking tomorrow, not McCain.

I think the cognitive dissonance is coming from the fact that the Rovians are trying to make this work on other people. Doesn't take on people who aren't Bushies. On the whole, this is a relief.

I'm from a small town too. I remember the arrogance of a few, where having just a wee bit more than the others was enough to make them think they were above it all. The Republican's game bolsters little people with big egos. Before the Sixties, these pigs could look down on black folks, but now they're losing ground, they must open wide and swallow the whole enchilada.

They simply don't need truth. They need ego masturbation.

How does 9u11iani get away with this On The Job training shit?

This is surreal. Honestly.

Giuliani -
"No time for on-the-job training"

He just blew the GOP's explanation for Palin's eligibility out of the water.

Is this the same crowd that cheered when the Romans fed liberals to the lions?

I like Giuliani, but this speech is absolutely awful.

And then they chant "Freedom!"

I think they are chanting "Zero", which is about the amount of substance in these speeches.

Just wonderful, Rudy Giuliani giving a job recommendation for the VP. Makes alot of sense esp after the bang up recommendation he gave for the head of Homeland Security.

I was wondering for a minute why they hadn't tapped the governor of Hawaii -- similar story, more time in office (6 years as opposed to 18 months) -- so I looked her up on Wikipedia and saw the problem:

Too Jewish.

This is mean-spirited. Wow...people in twinsets and pearls laughing at community organizing. Out of touch...you can say that again. Send jobs elsewhere...who's done that??? The irony is astounding.

The R Gov of Hawaii (is that a state? isn't it too exotic?) spoke just now. It sounded like she was given a time period to fill and didn't have much to say about Palin because she s-p-a-c-e-d her sentences out a lot.

They must have the audience miked. The cheers are so fake they sound like a laugh track.

9ui11ani is whooping up the crowd now, making up stuff about Obama.

Oh, oh, Rudy brought up flip flop. Time to get out Steve's list.

I must say Rudy is being overly RUDE in his speech. I didn't hear anything this bad last week.

Drill baby drill, Drill baby drill! Oooh, that's a good one. Now they're CHANTING it! OMG! ROLFMAO!

OMG, Islamic Terrorism!

These people are severely delusional. I am having fun mocking them.

What are the orange towels for?

Christ, this is the KKKonvention.

I'm sick. Giuilani is urging them on cheering Drill Baby Drill. How infantile is this crowd? I'm afraid this is a high school pep rally not a presidential nomination.

Giuliani:

"He will lower taxes so our economy can grow." They still believe this simplistic shit. [It's a 'maybe' issue -- it depends...]

Democrats will "send jobs elsewhere"? DEMOCRATS will do this? When Obama has explicitly said he will eliminate tax breaks for corps that send jobs overseas? WTF?!?!

Rudy finally said 9-11. I think he spoke for a good 8 minutes before doing so. It's a RECORD!

"Drill, baby, drill"???

Right now, watching these people; listening to the unbelievable exclusion of the vast majority of Americans, Islamic terrorists...I am deeply ashamed of America.

The Republican's are the worst thing to happen to our country.

It's already a done deal---even Romney knows that Gramps McFlippie-Dippie has lost the election, and he's posturing to be "Mr. Feakishly-Uber-Conservative" for the 2012 run.

I wonder how many times Rudi the Ghoul will invoke 9/11?

I admire you all for tuning in. Can't stand the thought of it myself. Unfortunately, when Palin gets up there, she will look and sound strong and confident. She's too stupid to know she should feel humbled to be considered for VP; she doesn't even know what that is. They are counting on getting the bumpkin villagers to light their torches all over the US tonight. If they succeed, well, there's always Canada.

And then let's not forget that the crowd roared and roared with approval when Huckabee said that Palin won more votes to become mayor of Wassila than Biden got in the primaries. That it's a boneheaded and patently ridiculous assertion doesn't matter at all: it's what they want to believe and it made them feel good, so they applauded.
*******************
OMFG!! These repigs are IDIOTS! They applaud for that!? It is apples and oranges. One is a city of 9K, the other is the entire country, and its a primary race for the POTUS, not the mayor of Podunk, USA. It is a local race vs. a country wide race where there are many more contenders. Its the primaries, for Gods sake! You MIGHT be able to be elected president of a PTA, or even the mayor of a town with only 9,000 ppl (Atlanta, for example, has 4 MILLION ppl), but THAT is supposedly evidence to these Repig morons that the COUNTRY wants Palen to lead more than a Senator who has been on office for decades?! Total bullshit. Total Repiglican oratory crap. Eat it Repiglicans. Eat it and love it, you idiots.

Democrats chanting "USA" and Republicans chanting "ZERO!"

Hrm.

It's all about getting the stupid vote to go to the polls. They already have the capital gains folks.

Ah, I see the other problem for Lingle -- she's pro-choice. Dead in the water as far as the fundies are concerned.

Isn't this all just a little biography-heavy?

Someone needs to tell these people they're choosing a Presidential ticket, not pitching a direct-to-DVD movie...

Out of curiosity, Beep, when do they release the lions?

let me be the first to say simply,
Rudy is an ass.

Why no media are doing compare and contrasts on the tone Obama/Biden/Clinton/Clinton took versus this truly breathtaking display of mean-spiritedness baffles me.

If the American public cant see these for the outright lies they are, or would vote for these freaks who disparage community service and lionize hypocrisy, there really is nothing to recommend democracy.

i thought it might be a fun trainwreck sort of thing, but really, its just disgusting.

uggghhhh this is making me sick.

Drill baby drill? Seriously?

The war on terror is more important than anything else? More important than the economy? Healthcare? Education?

I just can't understand why people believe this stuff.

I also liked when he said "Obama has never led anything at all." Please.

Thank heavens the last night of their convention hadn't been on 9/11. Shameless whores.

UN. Boooo!

Executive experience! Cheer!

There seems to be some disconnect from reality. If there are things wrong with Washington it is because of too much Republican Rule. Here are the Rules:

Republicans Ran Washington for 12 years and George Bush for 8 years.

They Screwed Up.

People are losing their homes.
People are losing their jobs.
A Recession looms.
Our Army is stuck in Iraq, Lives have been lost and Trillions spent.
Gas Prices and Food Prices are skyrocketing.

And They are the ones that Screwed Up

Not sure, MsJ, but Rudy is doing one hell of a warm-up act.

Then again, this could be a Jonestown re-enactment.

The most sickening thing is watching Il Douche Giuliani extolling Republican "virtue" while the Palin dauighters are passing the infant Trig around among the Orcs in the front rows. "Children aren't supposed to be used in campaigns," McCain says. And there's the daughter of the unindicted co-conspirator in the assassination of Don Bolles - Cindy McCain - holding the baby with that Barbie-grin of hers.

They really do live in BizarroWorld.

Hey! Anybody heard that the economy is having trouble? Maybe somebody should be tell Rudi that. After all, he's from New York!

Giuliani is actually pretty funny at times.

I'm with Frak...I can't stand this any longer. I think Project Runway is on or something. My quotient of lies has been far surpassed tonight.

"Obama has never led anything at all"

Except the polls for President you m#^$_#%-f#&%+kers!

(sorry, it was that or throw something through the screen)

Imagine, the rest of the world believes half of Americans believe this nonsense.

The GOP is a disgrace to our great country.

I thought Fiorina would be the hardest to listen to, for all her sexism charges against the media. But Rudy Giuliani takes the slimeball schtick to a whole new low. Knocking Obama for community "organizing"? Seriously? Even Romney was better than this.

Am I the only one who thinks the flowing background, it looks a little Ben-Hurish?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the irony of Romney blaming "eastern elitists". Wow!

Who is "they"??? He is accusing the Democratic Party of questioning whether Sarah Palin can be a mother and VP after Barack Obama explicitly said that the topic was "off limits." My goodness. I keep waiting for demons to swoop down and carry Giuliani off to the underworld.

...with his.......being a maverick? tee hee?
man rats are so silly.

Then again, this could be a Jonestown re-enactment.

Hey, now, be fair -- the audio tapes that survived from Jonestown make it pretty clear those poor people didn't drink the Kool-Aid willingly. They were pretty much offered the choice of a bullet in the head or a cup of poison.

"In July, McCain stammered when asked about an advisor's statement wondering why insurance plans cover Viagra but not women's contraception. The candidate paused and looked perturbed before saying he couldn't recall his position. When pressed, he replied: "I don't usually duck an issue, but I'll try to get back to you."

LA Times - 9/2/2008"

Yeah next time call John McCain. So he can call his lobbyist.

Is anyone actually watching the convention? If you had to choose, would you say this is a dull convention, or the dullest convention.

It's cheerleading for the choir, and a big petri dish for the talking points that will be pushed for the next 60 days. What scores? What hurts? What gets the big laugh lines on Limbaugh tomorrow?

There's not a single phrase anywhere about domestic policy, foreign policy, policy of any kind.

Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain's presidential bid, insisted that the presidential race will be decided more over personalities than issues during an interview with Post editors this morning.

"This election is not about issues," said Davis. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."

Gaia help me, in spades, it is.

It is also patently obvious that the Republican faithful will knowingly cheer and stand and clap for a blatant, bald-faced lie.

No way I want any of these people near my government.

Karl fucked up: VP should've been Governor Huckabee. Someday, late at night, I'll catch the documentary on the History channel that describes how the VP vetting occurred for the 2008 Republican ticket. And it will be the story of how the powerbrokers took a blatant piss in the face of guys like Huck.

I am seriously dismayed.

They mayor of NEW YORK is claiming that Obama thinks some town in Alaska isn't cosmopolitan enough?

GOP leaders like Romney and Guiliani telling the delegates that they -- all of them -- really want to "shake up Washington"... It's really quite poignant, until you stop and think of the sheer audacity of the fraud being perpetrated.

And so these GOP true believers will vote in the election, believing that McCain and Palin actually want to shake up Washington. But people like Giuliani and their backers won't allow anyone to even put a dent in the power structures at the heart of the GOP.

Poor deluded souls. They really believe it.

Marge Gunderson in the house!

Okay, the irresponsibility and small-mindedness of this group just pushed my stomach over its stomaching abilities. Palin will make this crowd happy: her speech is cleverly written, she can deliver well, and they all want it so badly.

I look forward, however, to the ads that can come out of this convention, the ads that show the Republicans contradicting themselves left and right, the ads that show them lying, the ads that point out their lack of concern with the economy.

Z: If the American public cant see these for the outright lies they are, or would vote for these freaks who disparage community service and lionize hypocrisy, there really is nothing to recommend democracy.

Don't go there.
Just don't go there.

Then again, the most damning statement about democracy that has ever been written is just this:

There is no accounting for other people's taste.

One more thing: I am not watching the speech.
Looking forward to your comments instead to carry me through.

The best thing written about democracy?

My taste matters as much as yours.

This rudy speech is making me throw up a little in my mouth.

Sarah Palin has more executive experience and leadership than all of the Presidents of the United States in U.S. history combined.

Ok I've had enough...the lies...I'm sure the bible has something to say about "broods of vipers" and deceitful tongues...hmmmmm!!! The self-righteousness is overbearing. I'm off to bed!

Gee Brick Head Bill, what was that shit you were saying about no teleprompters?

She reads well, douchebag nozzle.

Snow machines! Fuck yeah!

Hypocrites and Liars on Parade . . .
. . . and all in the name of God

Okay, ten minutes in and I'm REALLY getting annoyed at that uber-puuurkee voice. It'll play well in the heartland, but way too sickeningly sweet.

Her small daughter was as charming as Obama's girls, though. Gotta give her that.

I'm not a connoisseur of American political speech, but...

When Mark Warner spoke here on Labor Day, we'd clap and cheer but all of our clapping and cheering would, actually, break *into* his speech, so that he'd have to go back to pick up his "thought thread". Ie, it was spontaneous.

I didn't watch any of the speeches tonight and didn't even listen to them but I did pass by the TV room (where DH is watching) close enough to hear if not the words, then the tenor and the rhythm.

And, for a moment, thought he lied to me and was watching some old USSR movie...

Soviet political speeches had directions, *written into the text* -- "applause", "long applause" "standing ovation" -- so that the speaker would know when to pause and for how long. The "caller" -- someone sitting in front -- would signal to the public when to clap, when to stand up and when to stop and sit down. But, that kind of orchestrated "applause" always resulted in a tiny delay, before the entire audience caught on.

And that's what I heard tonight: a pause for applause, then nothing for a second, then applause, gathering strength as more people "caught on". I almost cried a few sentimental tears for old times sake...

She snarls when she means to smile. Scary.

Nerves are showing - rhythm is off.

She's for special needs children - even if she voted against helping them financially!

Same as with her "support" for teen mothers: non-existent!

Harry Truman said: "The Republican Party is, was and always will be, by the rich and for the rich." Think that's what she means?

Five minutes in, I have no idea how this is playing to the target, but she sounds to me like a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Pleasant, but no gravitas

Yikes. Sarah Palin needs to teach her youngest daughter about personal hygiene. I just saw Willow (or whatever her name is) lick her hand and then smooth the baby's hair down.

Whoa! Someone getting thrown out by M.I.B.

"Whoa! Someone getting thrown out by M.I.B."

I guess she wasn't a hockey mom.

They're booing. How lovely is that.

The more I listen to the diatribe and vehemence of their hate, the more I think to myself, "the band will strike up Deutschland Uber Alles in 5....4....3..............."

Anyone else feel this is all very choppy? Her speech, the whole evening?

I don't see this swaying anybody who isn't already going to vote for her.

Wow, running long was a major faux-pas!

As with the Obama speech the video is such a great set-up. I also think it threw Palin off by just a little bit. She's semi-effective but also a little, unsettled?

She can't be vice president because she sounds like Lily Tomlin's[sp?] phone operator.

Okay... I lied.
I just stopped doing pushups in the garage and went in to see.

She is no Barack.
Not even close.

I'm happy.
More pushups.
Sets of 50... because I am really really happy.

Does she not realize that her running mate is one of the "good ol' boy network"???

Karl fucked up: VP should've been Governor Huckabee.

Not when Huck is on the record saying it's okay to raise taxes to pay for social programs. Nah. Gah. Happen. Moneycons would never, ever let him through.

She sounds like she's about 25 years old.

Not an American flag in sight!!!!!
Oh, the humanity.

God! This is a like a flashback of the time I saw Night of the Living Dead at the drive-in.

Don't you just love that the fate of the world hangs in the balance?

By the way, I think "Il Duce and the Hockey Mom" would make an awesome sit-com. Kind of like Mr. Belvedere.

Thank you all for watching and reporting on this. I literally don't have the guts.

The delegates want to vote for her, so they've persuaded themselves that she's qualified. But for the large majority of undecideds out there, the logic, I hope, will be the other way around. And they'll see pretty clearly that she's out of her depth. Especially when she has to debate Biden.

. . .

"Thanks but no thanks on that Bridge to Nowhere." An outright lie. And they KNOW she'll be nailed for it.

Breathtaking cynicism.

Good Ol' Boys everywhere just got their boxers in a bunch.

The crowd isn't even fired up.

Probably because she's talking against everything that the Republican base lives off of.

The shots of the crowd are like televised hospice.

She just repeated the lie that she was against the bridge to nowhere.

Unbelievable.

My taste matters as much as yours.

And I Vote!
I see a bumper sticker in my future ...

I think the RNC is betting that a repeat of The Gipper is in the offing: we don't know exactly what he said, but we LOVE him (her)!

Don't laugh: Obama/Biden has its work cut out. The debates loom large and the folks knocking on doors, registering new voters and getting out the vote have an uphill battle.

Hey, DEMS! You want these idealogues to run the thing the rest of the way into the ground?

GET OFF YOUR ASS NOW! For the next sixty days, if you aren't working for the Obama/Biden ticket in some way, any way, it's another day the fascists got on you.

Volunteer.
Raise funds.
Canvass.
Get voters registered, in person or absentee.
Volunteer for the polls on election day.
Hit up the Obama/Biden website and commit to something, anything, big or small. Don't kid yourself that you can kick back and let someone else take care of business. Sure, you can put it off until tomorrow, after that you are on your own!

Do you really want Governor Palin in charge of ANYTHING?

More lies about how she got elected governor; no mention of Sen. Stevens.

"Put the government back on the side of the people." No specifics, of course.

Talks about using her veto. Doesn't mention her veto of shelters for unmarried mothers.

"State budget in surplus." Not too hard if you're a petro-state when oil is over $100 a barrel.

Repeats false claim about the Bridge to Nowhere; will reporters call her on it?

http://www.samefacts.com/archives/palin_/2008/09/liveblogging_palin.php

She can't be vice president because she sounds like Lily Tomlin's[sp?] phone operator.

I'm old enough to have laughed out loud at that one.

OMG! No she didnt!

By the way, is "pass the down syndrome baby around the room" a new convention game? I've never seen a child used like a political prop like this before. By the end of this their going to have a giant neon sign strapped to this child flashing the words "Not Aborted!" on it.

Peeps, I hate to tell you this, but from a non-liberal-blog-reader perspective she's killing. I'm personally having a hard time listening to it, but the wingnut live-bloggers are orgasming, and this speech is going to get seriously, seriously rave reviews. The chances of her leaving the ticket just dropped to approximately zero.

re: foreign powers that don't have America's interests a heart.... They did well to write some detail into her speech. Iran, Saudi Arabia,... But it's only a speech. Wait til she has to debate Biden.

My mom just sent me a text that said "looks like they're serving lots of alcohol at the RNC."

Thanks to the poster (anonymous) who made the comparison to Soviet speeches. My favorite stage direction from that era is (rough translation) "continuous sustained applause changing to a standing ovation." There is a scary bit in the Gulag Archipelago where Solzhenitsyn describes a meeting where no one dared be the first to STOP applauding. Finally, one brave soul did stop, and everyone sighed with relief. Fellow was arrested the next day.

She may be telling lies or partial truths, but she's doing exactly what she had to do. She sounds confident, in control and is delivering strong barbs with a great and folksy smile. She's good. Watch out. Don't under estimate her...

God help me, I can't stop watching (train wreck, maybe).

She's likable. Cute. Perky. Might play well with some mom's in the midwest. She has that upper midwest twang (which I have to say is getting to me. I didn't realize Francis McDermond from Fargo was on the ticket). Too bad she's as full of shit. But this is their convention so it's to be expected.

She's Ann Coulter without a dick.

Can someone ask her after the speech what she thinks about the effect of the devaluation of the dollar on the price of oil?

These people are hideous. It's like an Amway convention.

60 days folks. This could be our future.

About Palin.

I don't think a women giving a speech in front of a picture of a giant phallic symbol should criticize Obama's Greek columns. Just sayin'

Yes, John Henry, she did. And she supports the rhythm method of birth control ONLY for married couples, too.

She's feeding the beast: making the argument that any increase in any tax will mean death to America. ANY increase in ANY tax. It's kindergarten economics, but it's what they want to believe, and she's giving it to them.

Palin delivered a dreadfully sophomoric speech written by young smart ass Rovian speech writers. I had expected better.

"He's worried about reading them their rights."

Wow.

At least we now know she has as much respect for The Constitution as the current President and Vice President.

The chances of her leaving the ticket just dropped to approximately zero.

Yes that's true. I was wrong. She is in.
But thats the best news imaginable.

She is all about base.
But base isn't enough to win this time around.
She is an alienator and a divider.
That's the wrong tack to take in 2008.

Okay, Ohio guy, I did just visit the Obama/Biden website and give $100. I want to see the post-convention bounce go in the direction it ought....

Yes... the lobbyists all oppose a McCain presidency.

And she was able to say it with conviction. She's definitely ready for the ticket.

Mark:

Now gets onto "energy independence."

Lies about "Obama not having authored a single law." Will the press call her on it?