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  • Sarah Palin: The Right (Wo)Man for the Job

    Friday August 29, 2008 11:09 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    By Bragg

    Today John McCain has made a bold and excellent choice in selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

    She is an extraordinary person, first and foremost. A star athlete, avid outdoorswoman, and a former beauty queen, to boot, Palin, 44, is also the mother of five children, the oldest of whom is headed to Iraq next month with the Army, and the youngest of whom was born with Down Syndrome.

    As governor of Alaska, she has quickly earned a reputation as a tough, no-nonsense chief executive committed to reform, and one who is known in particular for her efforts in fighting corruption.

    Her conservative bona fides — fiscal and social — are unassailable, which will thrill a Republican base still somewhat suspicious of John McCain. She adds youth and energy to the ticket which are needed, and despite her substantial political differences with Hillary Clinton, still has a chance to attract disenchanted Hillary supporters.

    Democrats and the liberal media will question her experience. This, however, may not be an issue they focus on too much given that the man at the TOP of the Democratic ticket, Barack Obama, is really no more experienced than she.

    (And by virtue of even having even one day of executive experience, she has more than Obama, Biden and McCain combined).

    McCain needed a game-changer, and Obama's failure to make a bold choice for his vice presidential nominee (and his failure to choose Hillary or another female) left the door open for McCain's veep pick to be that game-changer.

    The GOP is genuinely excited about McCain-Palin, and for many it marks perhaps the first sincere enthusiasm they've felt in many months.

    This was the best choice McCain could have made.

    * Click here to see photos of Sarah Palin and John McCain at their Dayton, Ohio rally

    * Here are 21 photos of Sarah Palin's life and career

    Tags: sarah palin, bragg van antwerp, vice presidents

  • Grading the Democratic convention

    Friday August 29, 2008 10:02 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    By Meg

    Gold Star: Hillary


    I think she knew this would be the speech of her career and, in my opinion, she hit it out of the park. Tough, resolved and rallying, Hillary was able to remain gracious to her supporters while pulling the political equivalent of Shatner telling the Trekkies to get a life. Phenomenal job,

    Hillary.

    Demerit: The Strange Chemistry between Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann


    Someone find Dan Patrick, please. As the overall political “commentary” on MSNBC grows more and more impossible to watch, no two pundits make stranger bedfellows than Matthews and Olbermann. Perhaps the powers that be at MSNBC thought that Olbermann’s dry bemusement would be a sobering match for Matthews’ unbridled hysteria, but I beg to differ. It may have been the Colorado wind but every time I tuned in Matthews’ hair had gotten more out of control and Olbermann’s left eyebrow had risen higher. I miss Tim Russert.

    Gold Star: MSNBC’s Election Theme Music


    It makes me feel like chanting “USA! USA!” even more than the theme music to HBO’s “John Adams” miniseries did.

    Gold Star: Michelle Obama


    Can we elect her? (Seriously, can we?)

    Demerit: CNN’s Interview of Ann Price Mills


    After Hillary’s speech on Day 2 of the Convention, CNN interviewed delegate and Hillary supporter Ann Price Mills for her reaction, an interview that evolved quickly from interesting to unintentionally hilarious to oh-no-I-think-she’s-off-her-meds.

    A good reporter would have ended the interview as soon as Mills made it clear that she was leaving the land of lucidity but, God bless CNN, they kept the camera on her for almost four minutes. Journalism at its best.

    Gold Star: The Look on Anderson Cooper’s Face after CNN’s Interview of Ann Price Mills.

    Gold Star: Obama’s Acceptance Speech


    Finally, we see some fight from the guy. I knew it had to be in there. He’s from Chicago, for goodness sake. Here’s hoping he continues to act like it.

    Demerit: The Music Following Obama’s Acceptance Speech


    We get it: He’s one of Us. But country music? Really? Bring back Bruce Springsteen. Stat. Bruuuuce!

    Tags: meg boyle

  • Source: Sarah Palin is John McCain's VP pick

    Friday August 29, 2008 6:08 AM By Jamshid Mousavinezhad

    From our highly respected sister blog, The Swamp, by Jill Zuckman:

    A Republican source confirms that John McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Campaign officials, however, remain mum this morning.

    McCain is expected to announce his choice at a rally in Dayton later.

    Palin is the first woman governor of Alaska, elected in 2006. She was also the youngest ever elected at the age of 42. She is the mother of five children, the youngest of whom was born in April and has Down's Syndrome. She ran on a clean government platform in '06 to defeat the incumbent Republican Governor Frank Murkowski.

    McCain reportedly considered Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, among others.

    Palin is a social conservative who is strongly opposed to abortion and same sex marriage. In addition, she is pro-gun and wildly popular in Alaska.

    Wow. Analysts and political insiders are in shock over this decision.

    The kind of thing a maverick would do. ... or the kind of thing someone who's desperate would do. ...

    UPDATE, 10:38 a.m.: AP has just moved this: "McCain source: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is his pick for VP."

    There are few things that totally catch journalists and Washington insiders by surprise; this one has people reeling.

    It's an unorthodox pick to say the least, if nothing else because the central attack of the McCain camp has been their claim that Sen. Barack Obama is "dangerously unprepared."

    Especially given that McCain turns 72 today, this VP pick was going to undergo more scrutiny than usual no matter who he picked.

    McCain's decision to run with the little-known Palin, though, is going to bring a level of attention to the VP pick we haven't seen in 20 years.

    Since George H.W. Bush chose Dan Quayle.

    * Click here to see photos of Sarah Palin

    Tags: vice presidents

  • At Invesco: Al Gore and the wave

    Thursday August 28, 2008 5:46 PM By Emily Ngo

    (AP)

    By Dan

    The former vice president enters and exits to "Let the Sunshine In." I guess we're no longer a hippie-phobic party. Maybe the ghosts of '68 have finally been excised. He gives a very decent speech comparing Obama to Lincoln and McCain's policies to President Bush.

    Talking about how they share the GOP's corporate fealty to carbon industries like oil and gas, Gore quipped:

    "I believe in recycling but this is ridiculous!"

    After Gore left the stage, a full stadium wave started in the section to my left. It took three times to get it going but it finally made it around the stadium before Michael McDonald settled everyone back down again with a rendition of "America, the Beautiful," not entirely unlike the Family Guy episode that parodies him.

    Another Obama video entertains us in the meantime. I feel like I've seen 100 of these over the last three days. This one was cut off in the middle and nobody seemed to notice.

    I suppose everyone's too busy trying to figure out which celebrities are in the skyboxes behind their seats. A bevy of beautiful black women (and Star Jones) are in the sky box behind me. Every once in a while Louis Gosset Jr. or Forrest Whittaker stands up and everyone turns around to snap a picture.

    Susan Eisenhower is up now, "not as a Republican or a Democrat, but as an American." That's been a theme for the night.

    Tags: conventions, dan goldman

  • Stevie wonders, Who'll win election?

    Thursday August 28, 2008 4:41 PM By Emily Ngo

    By Dan

    The BlackBerry's dying as Stevie Wonder takes the stage.

    Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine reminded the crowd how lucky we are that he was passed over for veep. He quoted the Gospel of Matthew about mustard seeds and mountains. And he touched on his work in Honduras during law school, before leading the crowd in a chant of "Move Mountain."

    Gov. Bill Richardson took the stage next and reminded us that he really wants to be Secretary of State. He delivered a good line about McCain paying "hundreds of dollars for his shoes but we're the ones who will pay for his flip-flops" on any number of issues, including what is and is not torture.

    Richardson went on to remind the crowd about what's at stake in this election for union members and the Constitution, civil liberties, the war on terrorism and securing loose nukes.

    He ended by asking, "Is anyone going to miss Dick Cheney?" To which the entire stadium responded in unison, "NO!"

    The stadium is filling up quickly as we wait for the nights all-stars to come and speak.

    More after the parties end tonight!

    Tags: conventions, dan goldman

  • Live from Denver: Text 62262 to DNC NOW! Your message might end up on the big Obamatron

    Thursday August 28, 2008 3:51 PM By Rolando Pujol

    Update @ 5:37 MDT

    Colorado state chair Ray Rivera is instructing everyone to text DNC plus a message of support to 62262. Some of the messages will appear on the big screen.

    John Legend and Will.i.am just led the stadium in an inspiring live version of his Internet sensation "Yes, we can". This followed on some amazing speeches by MLK's children Bernice and MLK III. They reminded us that Freedom Riders and their father would be proud of a party that nominated Barack Obama and proud of the nation that would elect him.

    But they all paled in comparison to Rep. John Lewis, who reminded the crowd that he was there 45 years ago at the march on Washington. And that in order to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States, "We're going to have to march like we've never marched before."

    Sheryl Crowe is setting up to play now (change can do us good!). And we're expecting Stevie Wonder before Al Gore and tonight's other speakers get underway.

    — Dan



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