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Alaska Governor Sarah Palin tore through the Republican National Convention like a lead sled in the Iditarod dogsled race, while Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who chose to forgo a scheduled convention speech by staying away to deal with Hurricane Gustav, catapulted to the top tier as a GOP presidential candidate in 2012 or 2016. Indian American Republicans who attended the convention Sept. 1-4 unanimously raved to India-West about Senator John McCain’s vice presidential choice and Palin’s stiletto-like jibes at Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama in her acceptance speech. “She sent a vibrant message to Middle America that she connects...

The standard explanation of John McCain's post-convention, post-Sarah Palin bounce is that the maverick lurched to the right with his selection of the Alaska governor and brought the base back home. But a closer look at Gallup's latest poll results tells a different story. While Sen. McCain's support among Republicans inched up to 90% from 89% preconvention, his support among independents jumped to 52% from 40% at the end of August. Neither Mr. McCain nor Barack Obama had previously clocked majority support among independents in this election cycle, according to Lydia Saad of Gallup. Among what Ms. Saad calls "pure...

For Freeper poll watchers, this is an interesting article about party identification. This is really the reason that Rasmussen has not shown the same gap for McCain that Gallup has recently, as Rasmussen is weighting his poll according to a full 90 days prior survey of what he believes the makeup by party will be come election day. I guess that we will all find out on November 4th, but I personally don't think that this is a traditional situation where the increase in Republican party identification or leaning will decrease to levels that Rasmussen is currently weighting his polls...

Top Obama fundraiser Jodie Evans stated she used C-SPAN credentials without the cable news outlet's knowledge at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul last week.Also, her Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin bragged to the press at the Democratic National Convention that she had convention press credentials under the name of a Christian radio netweork.Evans, who has been a part of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign finance operations since the beginning of his run for the White House in February 2007, charged the stage when Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was making her acceptance speech. She claimed to...

We've been through Obamamania. Now a new phenomenon is sweeping America – Palinmania. Even before Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska had appeared on the stage to introduce Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, the chant went up around the hall: "We want Sarah!" A tear rolled down the cheek of a middle-aged woman volunteer who moments earlier had been barking orders to keep the exits clear. A mother clutched the hand of her 11-year-old daughter, whose face was made up like a clown with stars and the letters P-A-L-I-N painted across her face. Outside, queues which began six hours...

If TV ratings for political convention speeches is any indicator, voter turnout in November should be sky-high. The GOP presidential nominee John McCain had a viewership last Thursday night of 39 million, edging Democratic counterpart Obama (38.4 million), and McCain’s suddenly famous running mate, Sarah Palin (37.2 million). McCain, not known for his dynamic speech giving, may owe a debt to an old Washington institution, the Washington Redskins. The “skins were playing the Super Bowl champs New York Giants last Thursday in the NFL season opener, which gave McCain a perfect lead-in to boost his audience. The football telecast averaged...

Oh no! The polls! They suddenly don't look good for Barack Obama! But does it really matter at this point? Should the campaign—and its supporters—start to panic? We checked in with two Democratic strategists who have different opinions on the situation. Here's the case for pessimism. The jobless rate is up, home sales are down, and the Democrats have an appealing, history-making nominee. So that rash of McCain red, spreading like measles over the RealClearPolitics.com polling chart, is nothing to worry about—a temporary Republican sugar high, right? Not so fast. Yes, this year's trends should favor the Democrats, with a...

“What is wrong with these people?” was the nigh-upon-universal reaction among conservatives at the GOP convention last week. Liberal reporters inquired of conservative journalists, Republican delegates, right-leaning janitors, free-market short-order cooks, even the guys walking around in elephant suits: Will Sarah Palin drop out? What about the Eagleton Option? For those who don’t know, the Eagleton Option refers to Thomas Eagleton, George McGovern’s first VP pick in 1972, who was forced to withdraw because of allegations of mental illness. A hybrid of myth and deceit peddled by the chattering bandersnatches of the Democratic Party’s backup offices at MSNBC and other...

In an interview published Sunday with the German mag Der Spiegel, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he didn't miss going to the GOP national convention because it lacked "bipartisanship." He compared the "hard core" who run the national party to California's GOP leaders: "I have almost no contact with them – none. Because they're just so out there." That should help round up those GOP votes for his budget proposal …

YESTERDAY'S Gallup poll had John McCain ahead of Barack Obama by an astonishing 10 points among likely voters. A Washington Post poll had that lead at only two points, but clearly showed a McCain surge - especially among women. This wasn't what Democrats were expecting when they left Denver - yet they have nobody to blame but themselves. Obama's toughest challenge has always been to connect with working-class swing voters. So attacking the poster child for small-town values, Sarah Palin, was a bad strategy. No, Obama didn't engage in the mass sneering at Palin - but he did fall into...

I have never experienced four days like this in my life. So much of the Convention had been planned for months and dreamed of for years, but nothing prepares you for the actual experience. Add to that the craziness of the week, and it made for an experience of a lifetime. The last night was very special to me because it featured both of my parents and allowed our entire family to share in the moment. People don't always see or understand the challenges that a political family encounters; there are some difficult times along the way. But on Thursday...

Suddenly, it's Poll City around here today. As The Ticket reported earlier, the new Gallup/USA Today poll found a significant post-convention bounce for the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket, a turnaround of 8 points to give the M-S ticket a 4-point lead over Barack Obama-Joe Biden. A new political button for the Republican presidential ticket of Senator John McCain of Arizona and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska But now this afternoon come two more national polls essentially confirming the same trends with some significant subterranean changes: -- the ABC News/Washington Post national poll of registered voters, which shows Obama's 6-point August...

GOP candidates, convention steer clear of immigration BY REID J. EPSTEIN reid.epstein@newsday.com September 8, 2008 During the Republican presidential primary, immigration was such an important topic that candidates were tripping over each other to be seen as the toughest defender of the nation's borders. The issue became so hot that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the GOP presidential nominee, was forced to disavow his own immigration reform bill because it was seen by many Republicans as too lenient. But a parade of Republicans came to the convention podium in St. Paul last week with barely a mention of immigration. On Wednesday...

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White Women Shift to McCain as Republican Erodes Obama Lead on Change, Enthusiasm John McCain's taken the better boost from the presidential nominating conventions, eroding Barack Obama's advantage on change, improving on enthusiasm, moving away from George W. Bush -- and advancing among white women with help from his surprise vice presidential pick. Some of McCain's biggest gains in this ABC News/Washington Post poll are among white women, a group to which "hockey mom" Sarah Palin has notable appeal: Sixty-seven percent view her favorably and 58 percent say her selection makes them more confident in McCain's decision-making. Among those with...

University of Minnesota staff were key coordinators of the recent violent protests at the Republican National Convention (RNC). The university employees are also members of the local clerical union of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees. The AFSCME is part of the AFL-CIO union. Protests turned violent at the 2008 RNC located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Police have arrested hundreds of demonstrators for violent attacks on police officers and bystanders and other more nuisance crimes. The Saint Paul Police have identified an anarchist group called the RNC Welcoming Committee as being at the center of the violence....

"I know who I am." - Mrs. Rose Castorini in "Moonstruck," explaining to the young jerk of a professor why she wasn't about to take him up on his offer of a warm bed. Before she delivered her maiden speech at a national nominating convention, preparatory to that same convention's nominating her for vice president of the United States, there was the strangest fluttering among the coveys of the always Angry Left. The wildest rumors were being spread about the lady governor from Alaska, and about her family. Just look at her hairdo. She's got to be some kind of...

Upstaging the GOP presidential candidate who can't read a speech, the exuberant Gov. Sarah Palin exposed the nominee as a listless, 72-year-old senior citizen taking a tricky handoff from the nation's most unpopular commander-in-chief and likely its most incompetent. John McCain's GOP convention, lest we forget, was blessed at the outset with Hurricane Gustav offering a handy excuse for President George W. Bush to steer clear of St. Paul. The titular head of the party and his fearsome vice president had formed a Category 5 storm taking dead-aim at the Republican National Convention. The McCain-Palin team took to the attic,...

When NewsBusters posted the screencap shown here as its Weekend Captionfest on Friday, the result was an outpouring of affectionate reader responses. Typical was this one, from "iveseenitall": "The ladies in my house instantly fell for this kid. "Oh" and "Oooh" and "Ah". The giggles, the pointing at the t.v. Love all around that night." The MSM lives in a different house. Check out this candid admission from New York Times media reporter David Carr in his article in today's NYT [emphasis added]: "In the press galleries at the convention, journalists wrinkled their noses in disgust when Piper, Ms. Palin’s...

http://www.pollingreport.com/wh08gen.htm This is a site that accumulates polling results. They are showing a Gallup poll of likely voter, covering a time period of 9/5-7. It shows McCain with a 10 point lead. 54% vs 44%. Can anyone verify this? Have they gotten a hold of the poll early and updated their site before they were supposed to? The only thing I can find on USA-Today is a Gallup poll of registered voters that shows McCain 50% and Obama 44%. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-07-poll_N.htm It doesn't say anything about likely voters. Can anyone confirm this site's data. I'm trying not to get too excited,...