The Pursuit

It is rare that a vice presidential candidate generate so much enthusiasm. But Sarah Palin did so to a packed house at the Home Depot Center’s tennis stadium. What sets her apart from Joe Biddn, and even Obama, is her actions. Instead of being a woman of eloquent words she is one whose actions as governor and life story excite people.

She was introduced by the head of the Los Angeles chapter of NOW. During her speech she mentioned a quote she found on Starbucks cup from Madeline Albeight that said there was a “special place in hell” for women who didn’t support other women.

California may be out of play but half the voting population isn’t. The home-spun style of Sarah Palin can still connect with voters in ways Joe Biden’s 14 debate lies and Obama’s soaring rhetoric do not. But time is running out. It is time to hit hard. And soon. Or the Alaska governor will remain just that.

Waiting in the dark catacombs of the Home Depot Center for Sarah Palin to speak to a small group of state campaign leaders. (of course there are a few elementary age kids here. They must be in charge of outreach to viewers of Sponge Bob).

Thank goodness my iPhone has wifi. Because the wonderful reception AT&T offers provides no service down here. However the people sitting next to my fiancée are chating away on their phones. They have Verizon. The price of big, pretty Internet.

More to come. Check back.

No live blogging tonight (it will return during the next presidential debate). But a full post-wrap after the debate.

While it would be difficult to create any sort of finality to this election given its fluidity, tonight is a must-win for the McCain-Palin team. McCain made a bold pick in Sarah Palin. Now she needs to show he made the right choice. Assuming that Joe Biden doesn’t borrow any one’s speech or give FDR credit for his television appearances, she has a shot. Palin must show her strengths move beyond governing Alaska, and serving as a president-in-waiting. Stay tuned.

7:38 p.m. - Thanks if you’ve been watching. A more detailed wrap up will come later. See you on the second of October!

7:37 p.m. - Ah, it’s over. As unbiased as I can get I think they both did well.

7:32 p.m. - The experience card is dicey. It’s a valid point, but some voters just don’t care.

7:26 p.m. - I object to nuclear waste.

7:24 p.m. - Hmm, alternative energies. So what McCain said 25 minutes But no N word! Let’s say it together, nuuuuuclear.

7:21 p.m. - Putin “feels powerful?”

7:17 p.m. - I’m waiting for Obama to counter that he traveled internationally as a child, therefore he has foreign policy experience.

7:14 p.m. - This is McCain’s best moment. It reminds me of when he tore into George W. Bush on Larry King eight years ago.

7:12 p.m. - “I don’t even have a seal yet.” NICE dig!

7:09 p.m. - If Sarah Palin mispronounced Ahmadinejad someone would be calling for her unprepared.

7:08 p.m. - Fact check is live and working: “Obama…twisted McCain’s words about Afghanistan, saying, ‘When John McCain said we could just ‘muddle through’ in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources.’ Actually, McCain said in 2003 we ‘may’ muddle through, and he recently also called for more troops there.” (FactCheck.org, 08/29/08)

7:04 p.m. - League of Democracies…as long as Sean Connery’s involved.

7:01 p.m. - Videotapes? Osama bin Laden uses VHS?

7:00 p.m. - Where are my notes, damnit!

6:58 p.m. - The more this is about Iraq, Afghanistan, the better McCain can do. He’s able to make it about experience without sounding old.

6:54 p.m. - Internal monologue, internal monologue…

6:52 p.m. - Does anyone say it TAHL-ih-ban?

6:50 p.m. - Wait, how come Obama is listening to the troops on the ground in Afghanistan but not the ones in Iraq? He likes them better?

6:47 p.m. - George Bush reference three

6:44 p.m. - The comment board is on fire! I’m a Republican. The bailout benefits me how? And to say “all Republicans” say absolutely no regulation and only go with capitalism is a bit of a stretch. I think capitalism is like Winston Churchill’s description of democracy - might not be the best, but better than everything else.

6:41 p.m. - McCain should point out that the political risk for opposing the war was not that high. Especially in Chicago.

6:40 p.m. - Wow, what a softball question for McCain. He better knock this out.

6:39 p.m. - The first debate ever to include the word “orgy.”

6:38 p.m. - For someone who is not always on message, McCain is very focused. Maybe he should only campaign in Washington from now on.

6:35 p.m. - Hate federal bailouts? Wait until you get federal health care…

6:33 p.m. - I think McCain is doing well at showing his independence - concern about climate change, working with Bill Clinton (who gave as lukewarm of an endorsement as you can give to Obama on Larry King)

6:31 p.m. - Bush reference two. Maybe McCain should start arguing that Obama is going to start a third Clinton term. Interns beware! This is how ridiculous this “third Bush term is becoming”

6:28 p.m. - Finally, a Republican who wants to end ethanol subsidies. End welfare for farmers! (Let the hate mail begin)

6:27 p.m. - “The financial rescue thing?”

6:25 p.m. - At some point this debate starts to feel like a bad marriage. Circular arguing with no resoltuion.

6:23 p.m. - Thanks to Jason for the first comment! And yes, McCain has mentioned MANY times the Republicans were irresponsible in federal spending.

6:20 p.m. - But oh those five percent, you’re gonna pay.

6:18 p.m. - Closing loopholes to pay for things. The oldest, ineffective trick there is.

6:14 p.m. - Geez, who picked this audience? McCain’s wit is decent. But it’s crickets out there.

6:10 p.m. - Holding people accountable. This should do well with voters. It’s been missing at the federal level for a long, long, time. (If it ever was there)

6:08 p.m. - McCain opens by aiming for the middle. It’s where he needs to go.

6:05 p.m. - The first of many times where everything will be Bush’s fault.

5:59 p.m. - Did someone forget to tell Michael Wareon CNN to put on a jacket?

This site hasn’t been updated in a while. My adjunct professor duties and work with the McCain campaign have kept me quite busy!

I shall return soon. Definitely in time for Friday’s debate. See you soon.

It was an incredible experience attending the Republican National Convention. If you missed it, I blogged about my visit on The Fresno Bee’s Opinion Talk blog.

This blog will be updated frequently as the election heats up. Leave a comment, subscribe to the RSS feed, and share with your friends. I appreciated the comments (most of them, anyway) I got on the Opinion Talk site. I’d love to keep it up here.

More posts soon.

I will be blogging live from the GOP Comvention this week. But it won’t be here. You can find it at: http://fresnobeehive.com/opinion. Check it out and leave a comment.

The Obama campaign sent out an e-mail today announcing the “first edition” of new Obama-Biden car magnets; available now for only a $15 donation.

I know that my first edition Reagan-Bush car magnets are a special part of my car magnet collection. No one can underestimate the value of appreciation in a first edition car magnet in comparison to a second or third edition. This is a deal you should truly jump on.

I already have a first edition McCain magnet; I can’t wait for that first edition McCain-Whoever-he-picks I have on pre-order to be arrive.

That e-mail I was supposed to get from the campaign finally rolled in at 8:58 am. Geez, Barack, way to keep me waiting to find out that Biden was…oh wait, that’s right, you got scooped by CNN.

Barack Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate, ruining the campaign’s plan to announce this via e-mail and text message.

The Obama site was quickly refreshed to reflect the fact that someone who said Obama was ““the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” is now his choice to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

So much for my iPhone giving me first notice. Instead I had to get it from Larry King. Uncool.