Palin Makes Good First Impression: Is Viewed More Favorably than Biden (Rassmussen)
Gov. Palin talkin’ energy - UPDATED
Found this over at Dirty Harry’s Place.
If you like, you can also listen to a 1/2-hour interview podcasted 
by IBD, and it’s interesting and heartening. She’s very well spoken.
UPDATE: And reading this piece, I find that I am more and more pleased that she is not another Ivy League lawyer who planned and plotted a political career, but rather a concerned and active, intelligent woman who simply followed her own interests and concerns, and walked through the doors and opportunities as they were placed before her. That’s refreshing - it is also so very “can-do American.”
We forget, sometimes, that Harry Truman was just a haberdasher, and not an elitist, too. (end update)
I saw some negative comments from people, today, suggesting - on the basis of what, besides simple mean-spiritedness, I cannot tell - that Sarah Palin is “Dan Quayle with a vagina.” That sentiment seems to have started here.
I found her pretty impressive in that clip. Smart, articulate, forthright and authentic.
Bookworm has McCain’s response to the Obama camp’s initial, and rather ungenerous response to his veep pick. I had always thought that a gracious acknowledgment was simply the way it was done.
Anyway, it seems like they’re wasting no time taking Palin out of context. That’s how it goes, I guess. Unsurprisingly, they’re also saying really gross things about little Trig, and about her children. Classy, classy bunch.
You read the crap they’re coming up with and you realize, they’re terrified.
But you know, in the past few weeks we’ve seen several right-wing blogs defend the Obama team against excessive nonsense (the birth certificate carrying-on, for example) - I do hope we’ll manage to see one or two blogs from the other side actually give Palin a hearing - in context - before jumping aboard.
Has Biden Been Drinking?
ALLAH POSTS three interviews with Sarah Palin.
For the antidote of that "hopiness & changiness" malady, click the picture:
BRUCE REED says Democrats shouldn't be too quick to trash Sarah Palin, and that's good advice. And as for comparisons to Quayle, could somebody remind me again how many terms Lloyd Bentsen served as Vice President?
POLITICO: Five questions for Sarah Palin. I notice that several of them have already been answered by bloggers.
Here's an answer to the travel question: "But if it turns out she has rarely traveled abroad — or has never been to any foreign country other than Canada — this will be seized upon instantly." No worries.
Here's an answer to the finances question. From first thing this morning.
And here's something on evolution.
Bloggers: Doing the MSM's work ahead of time.
JERRY POURNELLE ON SARAH PALIN:
Were matters left to her, she would leave a great number of issues to the states -- as would I. I'd rather see her President than McCain, but we live with the choices we have.
Mr. Heinlein once speculated that we ought to reserve high political office for women with children because they tend to see things a bit more realistically. While I didn't necessarily agree with him, I never won the argument with him. On the other hand, Robert used to take positions for the sheer fun of it. (Actually I think he'd have preferred that anyone elected be a woman with children who could solve quadratic equations in her head, but he never went quite that far in public statements. Ginny never had children, but she could certainly do the math....)
We do live in interesting times.
Indeed.
Overheard In An Iowa Cornfield
Friday morning as I was browsing the booths at the dog show;
"Did you hear what McCain did?"
Meanwhile, down at the Hillary Clinton Forum...
The choice of Sarah Palin (whose name is well known to anyone who surfs the American political rightosphere) and a new American Championship title for my 10 month puppy, Minuteman Dead Cat Bounce - it's been a good weekend so far!
More - The Obama campaign is caught launching a Palin smear site.
An Alaskan Democrat - My plea is "Don't underestimate her."
(h/t Larry T.)
Just in - ZOGBY:
McCain/Palin 47%
Obama/Biden 45%...
Maria Bartiromo interviewed Sarah Palin on CNBC last week before her selection was announced. The nearly twelve-minute interview is to be aired today. The interview focuses on energy exploration in Alaska and shows Governor Palin getting in a jab or two against Obama and Biden. It's an impressive performance on an issue with respect to which Governor Palin has something important to offer Senator McCain.
Via NRO's Planet Gore.
To comment on this post, go here.
THE STEYN .. The hostess with the moosest: “Over in the Frumistan province of the NR caliphate, our pal David is not happy about the Palin pick. I am - for several reasons.” Shaidle weighs in … Rachel Lucas writes: I can’t help myself. I don’t even have time today to jack with the internet but it is beyond my control; I’m simply delirious about Palin and all the very bad things she’s going to do for the Obama campaign, and just HOLY SHIT.
“What other country in the developed world produces beauty queens who hunt caribou and serve up a terrific moose stew? As an immigrant, I’m not saying I came to the United States purely to meet chicks like that, but it was certainly high on my list of priorities.”
~ Mark Steyn ~
Telethon Convention & More
The GOP Plan to turn the convention into a telethon/public service event is brilliant and I whole-heartedly support it. I hope it’s exactly what they do. Of course it will be spun as “cynical opportunism and desperation” by the press and the Dems. But that should never stop you from doing the right thing.
And really, it doesn’t matter…no matter what happens, everything is Bush’s fault, or McCain’s fault, or, - “tee-hee God’s apparently loving the Dems so much he will destroy lives and homes for them” - so we may as well just carry on and carry forth. It’s a great idea.
But here’s to praying that somehow - by some miracle - Gustav does not cost too many lives.
It’s too long to post here but one to hang on to in the hard drive, a side-by-side comparison of what Obama’s actually done, vs what Palin has done. Pretty interesting. Do read and hang on to.
Another for the hard drive: Flopping Aces has the “Troopergate” facts and timelines. It’s only interesting if you’re into soap operas, and I’m not, but what is noteworthy here is that the authorities have said they didn’t even bother issuing subpoenas, because the Palin’s were so forthcoming. Tells me a) nothing to hide, here and - more importantly - b) Palin is smart enough to know that nothing strengthens a scandal like a real or perceived cover-up. That’s something a lot more “experienced” pols never learn.
Crittenden has more.
I too loved the shoes. They look comfy, too.
More on Obama and abortion
Palin visiting some troops here
For all you emailers yelling at me that Palin “is a moron creationist” - no, she’s not.
And to you really troubled folks writing your long sad fantasy about Palin’s having actually having faked her pregnancy to cover for her daughter. Grow up. Just grow up. And if you need help, get it.
Windfall tax lets Alaska rake in billions from Big Oil (1st media-palin attack?)
Pile this on top of the low blow from TV’s Alan Colmes who claims that Palin didn’t practice proper prenatal care before she had the baby with Down’s Syndrome, blaming the Mother for her disabled child. Well, the lefties don’t know a low road they won’t take. (Colmes’ site has crashed right now, but this is the address if it ever comes back: http://www.alan.com/2008/08/30/did-palin-take-proper-pre-natal-care/) 168 posted on Sunday, August 31, 2008 04:02:41 AM by Arthur Wildfire! March
In the real world, there is no doubt whatsoever that Sarah gave birth to trig: http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html
Zogby Poll: Equilibrium in the POTUS Race! [8/30/08 McCain +2%]
Dimmunists are scared s**tless -- They are desperate
Gonzo’s response to Colmes [unless it’s antoher Gonzo] —
Of course, Alan, had she went to a medical provider who crushed the baby’s head with forceps and vacuumed out the fragments and remaining tissue, she’d be a progressive exercising her reproductive choice, right?
And if during such procedure, the fetus were to emerge live born, Barak Obama would support the right of the physicians to let it die on the table.
But you want to talk about her prenatal care in conformance with the advice of her personal physician.
Just stunning, Alan. Stay classy.
Who does this person resemble most? 
Weasel
Snake
Amoeba
or 
Space Alien
Don Fowler channels Michael Moore(FormerDNC Chairman!)
March 2007-Defenders of Wildlife Asks Judge to Shut Down Palin's Wolf Bounty Program (Wolf killer?)
She sounds like a female version of Teddy Roosevelt.
No wonder McCain picked her.
Palin's Gas Pipeline Isn't Hot Air
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
McCain Gets $7 Million Bounce from Palin Pick
Call off your flying monkeys before Palin starts picking them off with an M-16.
She really knows her sports. Whoa, I am developing a crush on a vice presidential candidate.
Fowler Fouls: Hurricane is God's Favor to Democrats [Dems caught cheering for Gustav]
On a plane from Denver to Charlotte following the Democrats' convention, I found myself seated behind former National Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Don Fowler and Congressman John Spratt of South Carolina. Their conversation was interesting to say the least.
For example, they made fun of Sarah Palin for several minutes, Fowler calling her "Dan Quayle" on steroids and Spratt creatively describing her as "just terrible." They both agreed that, "Other than the simple fact that she's a female," she has nothing to offer.
Then there was this gem of a moment from Fowler:
So you see, it's funny. That New Orleans will get a hurricane
GUSTAV WINDS HAVE HIT 150 MPH, and it has made landfall in Cuba. Brendan Loy has the scoop. Looks like the Cayman Islands -- hit this morning when Gustav was barely over hurricane strength -- dodged a bullet. Cuba isn't so lucky; let's hope others in the path have better luck.
Meanwhile, news on preparations in New Orleans, and video, at the Times-Picayune site.
UPDATE: Actually, Little Cayman was hit harder than initial reports suggested, and -- to a lesser degree -- so was Cayman Brac. British warships are arriving to provide relief.
NAGIN ORDERS MANDATORY EVACUATION: Brendan Loy has more.
UPDATE: Gustav on Twitter. Chuck Simmins notes: "The folks at Twitter are doing a great job following Gustav. Red Cross and Home Depot are using Twitter for providing info."
BRENDAN LOY: "One thing McCain may want to consider is that Gustav, though it’s getting all the attention right now, isn’t the only tropical threat out there. The one on the right is Tropical Storm Hanna, which could be menacing Florida by the end of the week. At present, it is not officially forecasted to become a hurricane, but that could change; some of the models think it could be a Category 2 or 3 hurricane in three days' time! If that happens, a couple days’ delay in the convention could potentially create a new conflict, this time involving the convention coinciding with a landfalling hurricane in the key electoral swing state of Florida."
Some Democrats think it's the hand of God. Of course, by saying that on video they muddy the question of who it's taking out . . . . Especially as this is the main headline on Drudge right now.
PHOTO: Why you should do your disaster preparedness in advance.