...we're looking at a shark.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been under intense scrutiny over the last week - some fair, some not-so-fair. She has had no interviews with the press and the McCain camp has done little to try and clarify her image. The media has been harder on her than the Dems have, but that's another blog.
The biggest worry has been her lack of experience on the national stage and if that dearth would hinder her in a debate with Joe Biden. Last night at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, that worry was bagged and thrown out with the garbage.
Governor Palin not only met expectations, but surpassed them - proving she can speak almost as well as Biden can and like him, will embrace the traditional roll of the 'Pitt Bull' of the campaign.
She went after Obama left, right and sideways, attacking him on his experience, his record, and in a lot of cases, she down-right lied about his positions. But whatever was said about him got the crowd on their feet. She also touted her position as a wife and mother, and showed her toughness going after the environmentalists and oil companies in Alaska. She also talked about being a hunter. I am quite shocked she didn't tell the story about the time she killed a rabid moose with her loose-leaf notebook as a 5th grader.
Under all of it was her sarcastic mockery of Barack Obama which made it perfectly clear that not only is she up for a fight but the gloves are coming off and she's going to go for the balls and twist.
Joe Biden now has a new problem. His first problem was if he went after her in the debates the Reps would cry sexism. Now, the question is simply "can he handle himself at all?"
I think he can, but this is going to not only be an interesting fight, it's going to be a lot of fun.
Now, John McCain has a new, more immediate problem. McCain is not a great speaker. He's not even an average speaker. One might argue that 'poor' is being generous. He is not great behind a podium, but he is great one on one. Obama set the bar extremely high a week ago in Denver. He had a lot to show; however, everyone knows how great a speaker Obama is and how great a speaker McCain isn't. All McCain had to to was talk straight and he would do well.
As a Presidential candidate, you never want to be upstaged by your running mate. This was part of the reason, if not most, why Obama didn't chose Hillary. Now Palin has proven herself to be an outstanding speaker, though not quite the Obama level (but then again, who is?) and McCain has to do spectacularly well, or she, Gov. Palin, will have upstaged him. That will leave him in a very bad lie going into the final chapter of this excruciatingly long campaign.
Prediction: McCain will do better than expected, but will fall flat. He will give the people what they want to hear, but by the time he gets there, they will have stopped listening. The campaign will get a bounce out of the convention, bringing the polls back to an even number and that's not where the Republicans want or need to be. They need to be ahead - far - because they are going to lose ground in the next two months. If, however, McCain upstages Palin, all bets are off and the Dems are going to be sweating.....but don't count on it.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been under intense scrutiny over the last week - some fair, some not-so-fair. She has had no interviews with the press and the McCain camp has done little to try and clarify her image. The media has been harder on her than the Dems have, but that's another blog.
The biggest worry has been her lack of experience on the national stage and if that dearth would hinder her in a debate with Joe Biden. Last night at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, that worry was bagged and thrown out with the garbage.
Governor Palin not only met expectations, but surpassed them - proving she can speak almost as well as Biden can and like him, will embrace the traditional roll of the 'Pitt Bull' of the campaign.
She went after Obama left, right and sideways, attacking him on his experience, his record, and in a lot of cases, she down-right lied about his positions. But whatever was said about him got the crowd on their feet. She also touted her position as a wife and mother, and showed her toughness going after the environmentalists and oil companies in Alaska. She also talked about being a hunter. I am quite shocked she didn't tell the story about the time she killed a rabid moose with her loose-leaf notebook as a 5th grader.
Under all of it was her sarcastic mockery of Barack Obama which made it perfectly clear that not only is she up for a fight but the gloves are coming off and she's going to go for the balls and twist.
Joe Biden now has a new problem. His first problem was if he went after her in the debates the Reps would cry sexism. Now, the question is simply "can he handle himself at all?"
I think he can, but this is going to not only be an interesting fight, it's going to be a lot of fun.
Now, John McCain has a new, more immediate problem. McCain is not a great speaker. He's not even an average speaker. One might argue that 'poor' is being generous. He is not great behind a podium, but he is great one on one. Obama set the bar extremely high a week ago in Denver. He had a lot to show; however, everyone knows how great a speaker Obama is and how great a speaker McCain isn't. All McCain had to to was talk straight and he would do well.
As a Presidential candidate, you never want to be upstaged by your running mate. This was part of the reason, if not most, why Obama didn't chose Hillary. Now Palin has proven herself to be an outstanding speaker, though not quite the Obama level (but then again, who is?) and McCain has to do spectacularly well, or she, Gov. Palin, will have upstaged him. That will leave him in a very bad lie going into the final chapter of this excruciatingly long campaign.
Prediction: McCain will do better than expected, but will fall flat. He will give the people what they want to hear, but by the time he gets there, they will have stopped listening. The campaign will get a bounce out of the convention, bringing the polls back to an even number and that's not where the Republicans want or need to be. They need to be ahead - far - because they are going to lose ground in the next two months. If, however, McCain upstages Palin, all bets are off and the Dems are going to be sweating.....but don't count on it.
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