Rate Palin's speech

[MODU]

(This is really the first time I've heard her speak, so I don't have anything to compare it to.)

Not a bad speaker.  Good delivery and looks comfortable in front of a huge crowd.  Good way of confronting the conversation regarding her son Trig (special needs children) and Briston (unwed mothers/teen pregnancies).  Good plug on the Union ties as well.  Great counter on the claim that she has no experience (a Mayor ... "it's like a community organizer except that you have actual responsibilities.")  It will most likely be front page material tomorrow.  Also a good jab at the media, showing she's not intimidated by their coverage.  I'm not sure, but I think the veto lines were more directed towards to Bush than Congress, but I might be wrong.  She also showed a good understanding of global issues (energy security) and the economy.  Great character portrait of McCain at the end, especially telling the story of the other POW.  Not sure, but I think she was getting a bit emotional. 

However, like Rudy's, the speech was too long.

I will have to say, I'm impressed.  She did a very good job and should put aside concerns that she's not ready for the big leage.  I'm not sure how much of the speech she wrote herself (including the zingers), but the speech was good and she delivered it well.  I give her an A- on both presentation and content, though there were a lot of details on "how" than what many others have provided (even in the DNC speeches).

[MODU]

C. A speech utterly devoid of specifics and instead a hatchet job full of half-truths and lies. The Queen will have her day in the son today, but tommorrow we go back to exposing her record for what it truly is.

That would be "sun," not "son."  You get an F.

[MODU]

So, outside of the hacks, we can say that this speech was good, but not great. Like the Olive Garden. Not a great place "to be seen", but the wine and the simple dishes really hit the spot.

HAHAHA . . . I love it!  I'll have to remember that. 

[MODU]

Ho hum, maybe a B-.  After all the hype, I expected a bit more.  If low expectations was all she had to achieve, she did.

FRITZ!!!!!

[MODU]

Oh, by the way, I'm back.    Been trying to get in here for a week now, but had some password problems (old computer died, e-mail has changed...) but Dave finally straightened things out for me.

It's good to have you back.

[MODU]

B. Like all the other Republican's speeches, it was devoid of specific solutions to the problems facing Americans, and instead focused on dishonest attacks against Obama.

I actually thought there was some substance, especially with energy.

There wasn't much substance in the DNC speeches either, so I'm not sure why that is such an issue.

[MODU]

...

Which is why I like JSojourner.

[MODU]

Briston? Its Bristol you fail. F

hahaha . . . yup, I did misspell that.  Must have been typing to fast.  Great catch! 

[MODU]

Regarding women reactions to the speech (from the Washington Post):

"Women React to Palin Speech"

The response to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the convention hall was raucous and supportive -- and it was only slightly less enthusiastic in the living room of one undecided voter in the Midwest.

Linda Beebe, 59, a voter in Michigan, had been leaning toward Sen. Barack Obama before Palin's speech on Wednesday night. Before the Alaska governor had even finished speaking, though, Beebe had changed her mind.

"Could we drop off McCain and just have her?" Beebe said in a telephone interview. "She's talking about the things that concern myself and people I know. I know there's a big world out there, but if we're not healthy at home, how can we help outside home? She sounds pretty good."

Beebe said she did not like the negative attacks on Obama; she also said she did not particularly like McCain. "But I kind of like her," Beebe said. "She sounds like she wants to help Americans bring home the type of lifestyle we've had and help build up America."

But in the home of another independent voter, Laura Bates, 45, of Madison, Conn., the reaction was more muted. "She gives a good speech, and she's talking to the people in her audience -- but she seems antagonistic, and I'm not impressed," said Bates, who supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries. "I'd say it's about 100 percent I'd vote for Obama at this point. She hasn't really said anything constructive ... and she's been a little negative and smug."

Donna Lang, a food services employee in Massachusetts, said before Palin's speech that she would be supporting the Republican ticket -- and did not even need to watch the speech to know it.

After supporting Clinton in the primary, Lang said, she had been undecided until last week.
"Today I'm voting for McCain," Lang said. "I think it's a smart move for him to pick a woman, because all of us who have voted for Hillary Clinton have no one to vote for."
--Kyle Dropp and Anne E. Kornblut

(There are many more reactions on the link above)

[MODU]

Well, Donna Lang is an idiot.  People who vote based on genitalia rather than policy issues will get what they deserve.

Just as those who vote based on race?

(Sorry, but it was begging to be said.)