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.

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I can almost die happy tonight after the Palin speech.

This is day one of the 2008 Presidential campaign. And I think that I am going to like it.

Do you have proof of this so-called support? I'd like to see it.

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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

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

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“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

I missed where she went after BHO's wife. Please explain where that was.

yes, i can. the right is so delusional as to believe their VP pick is their knock out punch.

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Nice try Booger - she never said she was for the bridge. She said she was insulted by the term "bridge to nowhere". Did you even bother to read the links you provided?

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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

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.

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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.

Not the knock out - that comes later. Tonite was just the first round.

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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

I missed it too...

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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

You are a bed wetting liberal - I hope you are offended. Don't pretend to speak for "regular people".

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I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it.

No, Nobama is our knockout punch. Sarah just pulled his pants down and exposed him for the emasculated puppet he truly is.

Wright
Rezko
Ayers

Just a few of Nobamas albatrosses.

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man, the what has become of the republican base? They get exited over a woman whose battle cry is that she said no to a bridge... a few years after she said maybe... LOL

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Yep, just the first round.

But now the speech is one hour old.

And other than the insults and belittling average people, can anyone remember what she said that had any substance to it?

We're going on day 4 of this thing, and no one can tell me what "change" they will bring.

We still see a completely empty policy on the economy, other than making fun of regular people who are the backbone of this country, working jobs to help others out.