Originally Posted by O'Sullivan Bere

My impressions are the following.

The good:

She humanised herself with her family. That pleases the base and others who like that.

She tried to wedge Obama against 'small town America'. That's smart tactics because it's worked before.

She avoided her own social issue positions, so she avoided controversy. That was smart to make a good impression.

She showed she was feisty and people will see strength in that.

She did the best she could by painting her background and record as a silver lining and/or positive, which was wise use and characterisation of it.

The neutral:

She never explained her social platform issues and that made her appear as an empty suit, but a less controversial one to the non-base voters. All this will catch up though for better or worse depending on each voters' views.

The bad:

She overdid it at times with the attacks and it came off more smartass than tough and an unlikeable aspect along with her likeable sides.

She went after Obama's wife, which opens up her husband for attacks. That he was an AIP member is going to come back on her. They will also delicately but firmly infer or refer her daughter's pregnancy as being evidence that her support of 'abstinence only' doesn't work. She opened the door to making these things fair game by attacking Michelle where she can't credibly rebut it with the 'this is my family and they're off limits' and claim they are irrelevant.

She touched upon issues of reform and cited some examples from AK, but she shockingly IMO repeated the lie that she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere and earmarking when she supported the Bridge to Nowhere federal funding and huge piles of earmarks right down to her mayor days.

This last point really is a problem. Personally it infuriates me because I hate bold faced provable lies and the Dems will surely use her comments to nail her as a fraud and insincere. Once you get caught red handed in a lie on a main point of 'why me's, you're in trouble and rightly so. When I was initially impressed by her first speech when chosen in Ohio, I was infuriated to learn she was hoodwinking me. I already don't find her credible given that and what I've learnt generally on her real record on earmarks, which is as stinky as Stevens until it became national news. Worse, it dovetails beautifully into the GOP are greedy and wasteful spending pigs backlash. I'm stunned they think they'll pull that lie off, especially citing that bridge once again.

By being too 'barracuda' (her nickname) she lost the usual chivalrous shield of being a woman insofar as being challenged hard. She'll have it from general sexist comments, but not on the courtesies that come with being a woman from aggressive reply and landing political punches.

Originally Posted by goober

OK, I guess I'll have to educate the ignorant

Palin bridge to nowhere line angers many Alaskans | Reuters

Palin backed 'bridge to nowhere' in 2006 - USATODAY.com

Originally Posted by htperr6565

why did you leave out all the other sources?

Palin for ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ before she was against it - BostonHerald.com

Digg - Palin - She DID support the bridge to nowhere

and these are second hand citations of 'small town' alaska newspaper.

sheesh. another emotion stirring fist pumping demagogue that thinks they can fast one the american people, all while claiming to be their last hope.

Originally Posted by Jason Marcel

Yeah, that's hypocritical.

What really bugged me was the feeling that I got, like if a guest comes to your house but then insults you. There were some really smug moments there that work best by politicians who we already know. We don't know this individual yet, and she came out and actually sounded like she's been in Washington for quite some time.

On You Tube right now there are people sounding off, including an Americorps guy whose giving a big FUCK YOU to Palin for what he feels is someone coming out of nowhere and demeaning the community work that him and his family do. And I kind of felt the same way at points, since my retired father and mom have turned into "community organizers", my dad helping people with their finances and getting their books in order and trying to help them save their homes, and my mom working with people who need help reading and writing.

I come from a background like that, and I don't think she did herself any favors by being the new kid on the block who comes into your house and tells you what for.

It's belittling to regular people, actually.

Originally Posted by Imperator

when you start employing that yardstick vis a vis ALL females in the gov. or have professions etc. maybe I'll take notice,,,fair game? Well that’s just more lib tolerance isn’t it though?

Maybe her daughter should have had an abortion, then you could catch her Oprah and give her a “you go girl”....

Originally Posted by Regina

Why bring Oprah into this? Is it that you're running out of excuses for her? Yea, I can see where you stand

Anyway, I could care less if she'd abort it or not,; just dont tell me that abstinence programs alone are working when clearly it didnt work for your child.

Originally Posted by Jason Marcel

You can look back on a hate speech if you want.

I like people like my folks who aren't just living the easy life and are actually helping people out in their lives.

You know, those lowly and insignificant "community organizers".

Originally Posted by CorpMediaSux

That's the point actually. She defended the proposal as one that would be good for Alaska. Perhaps she did so for altruistic reasons, maybe she felt (and rightly so) that it would lead to job creation in her state. The point is, either way, she was in favor of the proposal until she became Governor and after Ted Stevens threw his hissyfit on the floor of the senate when his pork wouldn't get passed. She, in fact, did NOT say "thanks, but no thanks" as she implied in her speech. Now you may not care that she's at worst, lying and at best, stretching the truth, but there's no question she's not being upfront about it.

It would be very easy for Obama et al to put out an ad with her current statement on Alaska and her previous one. No sexism, no personal attacks. Just Palin vs. Palin.

Originally Posted by htperr6565

Here is Palin' speech in a nutshell:

"Don't trust obama/biden because i don't want you to, and McCain went to Vietnam, and warfare is the only way to serve the american people"

Originally Posted by Jason Marcel

I don't attack regular folks who keep towns going.

Palin is just another big shot ass hole who could care less about regular people.

Her speech had the polish and the sheen of a warn out Washington insider.

Of course, it was written by McCain's people.

I see two You Tube vids now from Americorps workers who are offended by her belittling speech to regular people.

You know, just because you sound like a small towner, doesn't mean you care about them.

Originally Posted by BurningFlame

Way more bad than good, this spells certain DOOM for the Republicans. Uh oh!





Mark my words, the Republicans are going to regret this gaffe, they are going to regret it with their last dying whimpering breath. Just you watch.

Originally Posted by Regina

....


Obama has said in his speech at the DNC, what his plans are to get us out of this mess. Anyway, isnt McCain and Palin your candidate? You should have an idea of what they plan on doing differently, instead of staying in a country that told us that we've worn out their welcome.

Originally Posted by BurningFlame

You forgot to mention...."And my son is a great American son ready to defend us from the evil and nasty Arabs who tried to destroy this great nation of ours with 9/11. Emphasis on 9-11. Did you hear me say 9-11?"

Originally Posted by QuiteNice

Her speech was written by Matthew Scully who also wrote speeches for George W. Bush for a few years: Matthew Scully - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But she delivered it well!

Originally Posted by Steve

I was going to go ahead a shred your post en masse, but what I put into bold text really struck me.

You need to be educated as to what the age of consent in Alaska is.

Once you do that, you might be in a better position to debate. I, however, refuse to enter into a battle of intelligence with someone who is, clearly, ill-prepared for such a thing...

Originally Posted by andy764383

There is a thread already running for those low class enough to attack a 17 year old girl for political purposes. Please go there.

This thread is about the speech.

Originally Posted by QuiteNice

It is sort of mean-spirited to put down community organizers. Community organizers don't work in the field because they want to be powerful, they do it because they want to help. It's like making fun of someone for doing community service....

Originally Posted by Si modo

If Palin had actually said "F*** YOU" about community organinzers, then she would hav been a jerk. She was comparing her experience as mayor to that of BHO's as community orgainizer. Mayors have more responsibility. But, read the speech and judge for yourself (Post No. 42).

Originally Posted by Jason Marcel

Yup, neo-con Nazis.

They sound curiously the same, like all liberal-fascists do. PARTY PARTY PARTY! COUNTRY FIRST! HAIL THE LEADER!

All the shit Giuliani, Romney and Palin spewed tonight was liberal-fascist hate-mongering. "We're the true and only patriots" kind of theme is familiar with Nazis.

Same with never admitting any mistakes or daring to confront any major issue of the day in a substantive way. Just cultish talking points.

We've heard the same Hanoi Hilton story by about 5 or 6 different people so far, all told precisely the same way, with the same inflections.

It's like ever since 9/11, the neo-cons send out their little Nazi memo, and everyone actually repeats the same thing, without any critical thought.

It's deeply troubling and certainly not patriotic.

Originally Posted by Alex

I am? wow, that is great news. Wrote a song about it...like it hear it? here it goes:

I'm an elitist factory owner....I'm an elitist factory owner....I'm an elitist factory owner....na na nah nah na na....I'm an elitist factory owner....I'm an elitist factory owner....I'm an elitist factory owner....na na nah nah na na......

Originally Posted by O'Sullivan Bere

The speechwriter made good use of gaffes and/or spins of Obama and his wife in order to attempt to drive a wedge between Obama and 'small town America.' Use of the Michelle flap was conveyed through a well written 'dog whistle' writing manoeuvre.

As Palin read the teleprompter when she went into her 'knowing small town America' she got it in: "They love their country, in good times and bad, and they’re always proud of America." The last part was stressed especially the 'always,' and the delegates cheered tremendously on cue. It would be taken poorly if she mentioned her by name but it proved to be an effective talking point earlier, so it gots tucked in there like that to make the sales pitch to the target audience (small town America) with flatteries whilst reminding them of the flap over Michelle's 'proud' comment to remind and convey to them that Michelle isn't 'proud like them' according to that talking point along with Obama's church and gun remark that she also made mention to the same effect.

Originally Posted by sousoux

See what I mean! The "topic" is who's speech was better not what was in them.

Originally Posted by sousoux

So soaring is completely wrong. By his argument that the effect of the democrats in congress is 4 years old that was when the deficit started to reduce.

In fact he's spewing total rubbish.

Originally Posted by wooyarn

Some of the truth stretching from the RNC

Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention - Yahoo! News

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

Don't they know that things like this are easy to check and the only people they are fooling are their base.

Originally Posted by Frank Peter

Oh i know that. Just my sense of Humor.

Given the fact that there is no reasonable way to defend the BUsh and republican fiancial policy it is clear that you have to take this.

What i really found interesting is how the GOP handle the economy and fiancial issue at the convention. Every speech has only one topic the economy and the financial situation of the US.

I think the american people at the moment are really interested in the bad media topic and have no other problems and with a debt of nearly 10 trillion and a new record deficit and all the other economic issues at the moment.

It is really so good to the republicans understnad the economic challenges ahead and making this their major topic. Mrs palin underlines that in her speech where she clealry benefits from her experiance as a economic giant and all together i think they really can continue the good work of the Bush adminisrtation where at the moment round about every US taxpayer pays 3500 Dollars every year just to pay the rates and given the fact that 40% is Bush made i think four more republican years are really justified.

The republicans in the US showed during the last eight years great fiscal and financial wisdom and you ar ethe party to follow here. Just continue your good work and i know there is a bright future ahead for your country.

But perhabs you better campaign against gay people and arbortion, talking about Obama being Muslem or just namecalling Osama, Nobama...and all that republican base stuff. it´s more your league and you still got the press to blame or Mc cain can simply answer asked about the economy: "i was a pow for more than five years."

Originally Posted by mudwhistle

If the way our press is acting these days isn't any indication to you why you have such a lousy opinion of my country maybe you should pay closer attention to the garbage they're pumping out and question their motives.

You're not going to hear anything good about this country from our press.

Originally Posted by BurningFlame

Listen to members of the Internation Press discuss how their countries view America/The Presidential Race. You're in for quite a lesson.

International Press Closely Watching RNC : NPR

Originally Posted by Regina

I'm not trying to debate. All I'm doing is stating facts and my opinions about Palin speech and her hypocrisy.

Look I dont care what the age limit is in Alaska; a 17 y/o isnt ready for a baby and marriage. If pedophilia was to become law tomorrow, would it make it ok to rape little children? I should hope not. In some countries children can be married off as young as 11, does that make it right?

But anyway, to me, shes being an hypocrite when she says that abstinence programs are working when studies have shown that abstinence alone does not work. I'm not attacking her as a mother, just as a person who is running for a office that suppose to represent me, an American.

A liar because she said that even in the case of incest or rape she opposes abortion. Now I know if the father was a nonwhite, her daughter's butt would of been on the table in a flash. So its all BS when it comes to her opposing abortion for any reason. I'm not calling her a racist, I'm just calling it as I see it.

Now if you want to respond, fine. If not, that's fine too.