Still some interesting things happening

Obviously the presidency has been decided. Like our current government I plan on watching the next group and tracking them to see what they are up to. Always a good idea.

But some interesting elections are still on going. Four senate races are still close. Reps lead in all four. The closest one is in MN between Norm Coleman and Al Franken. Are you serious? I guess the same people that elected Jessie "the Body" Ventura as governor would only be living up to their reputation if they put 'Stu Smalley' in office. I'm still pulling for Norm.

Probably the most interesting race is in Alaska. Stevens, having recently been found guilty of uh, graciously accepting all kinds of... gifts that people just left at his house, is WINNING! And most likely will win. So what happens then? Well, that would mean another election in Alaska.

Can you see it coming?

Yup.

Good money says that the election would be between the Dem candidate that Stevens just beat and our former VP candidate Gov. Palin. She has already indicated a strong desire to stay in national politics and in Washington. Taking Stevens disgraced seat and doing some 'mavericky reforming' would be a good start.

The people that say politics is boring aren't paying attention.

Palin v. Biden

Yesterday afternoon I picked up the boys and took them to baseball practice. We were early, so we practiced pop flies. Both of them were really doing better when we finished. Then they had their regular practice and I watched a little bit as I practiced my kidstuf script. It’s only four pages this week, so it isn’t bad at all and my friend Rich is in the skit with me as Chef Bean. It should be great, the kids will love it. In fact the whole show this month is not only very interesting, but don’t right hilarious. I highly advise attending if you can (5pm Sunday night). Brandi had a singing practice that started during kidstuf rehearsal and didn’t finish until later, so I took the boys home and put them to bed at about 8:30. SO, all of that to say that I didn’t get to watch the debate as it happened. My good friend J, was texting me with updates, and from his messages, I was not very encouraged.

However, I did catch most of the debate on CNN’s re-run last night and I have to say I thought it was pretty good. I actually thought Joe Biden was “Good Joe” last night. He didn’t stick his foot in his mouth as he is very prone to doing. His answers were pretty clear and he spoke from experience. Unfortunately Palin didn’t really hammer him on the plethora of mistakes that he has made and continues to make, but that’s okay she didn’t need to. I thought Palin was good, not great, she did duck some questions, something that B and I both noticed. But she was VERY charming. In fact I think by the end of the debate Biden was ready to ask for her number. She showed a lot of confidence, humor and poise. She almost carried some things a little too far. I’m not sure how people are going to take the winking at the camera and the little shake on the “drill, baby, drill” (see video below), but all in all I was definitely pleased. At the end of the debate B asked why they have debates. I said it’s a chance for somebody to really mess up, or somebody to really say something unique, profound or even funny. Really it’s suppose to be about presenting the different positions of the parties, but unfortunately they don’t historically hold much sway in that fashion. You can definitely lose ground in a debate, but you can rarely pull out an election victory from a debate. Other than Palin’s charm, I don’t think much will be remembered from this debate (she’s the only candidate that I have ever seen give a wink to the camera and even a ‘shout out’ to her brother’s third grade class).



***Update : I just watched the clip again. I forgot this is where she called him Senator Obiden. I like it. :)

***Also, as I was watching last night I already started laughing, knowing that the SNL skit this week should be pretty funny.

Hockey Moms for Truth

This was kind of funny.

What IS the difference between icing and off sides?

Hmmm... imagine this.

You are thrust onto the national stage and immediately ridiculed and beat up. Your family and family issues are dragged through the mud, all the way back to the DUI that your husband got 22 years ago. Reporters and editors have been saying everything from you being a bad mom to you being inexperienced and unprepared for the job you've been nominated to.

Then you get out on stage in front of a rowdy and excited crowd for a long speech that will be beamed into the homes of millions of anxious Americans.

Your first test.

Your first real moments in the spot light.

You start delivering the speech and it is being well received, people are cheering... and cheering... and cheering... and the whole time your speech scolls by on the teleprompter and you have no "back up" button, no way for it to come back... what would you do?

Well, if you are Sarah Palin and the next Vice President of the United States you go from memory, smile, and deliver that speech like NO ONE ELSE could have.

Are you impressed now?

She CRUSHED it!!!!!

Wow, earlier in the evening I was thinking, man, probably not a good idea to put Sarah Palin up after Romney, Huckabee, and Giuliani. They were all good and Giuliani especially did a GREAT job, but for the life of me I can't remember hardly a single thing that he said.

Sarah Palin commanded that stage and that audience from the very moment she walked out. She was smooth, she was comfortable, she was funny, she smacked Obama dead in the face at times, and she did it all with a smile! It was classic! And the convention itself was a complete turn around last night. It was ELECTRIC! You couldn't have coached someone for years to do what she did tonight. She rocked on presentation and substance and she connected with the audience like she was sitting down having coffee with them.

The talking heads are driving me crazy. They are trying to play it off by saying that someone else wrote it. DUH!!! There isn't a single person who has talked in the last two weeks that actually wrote there own stuff. Virtually every person on MSNBC (except for Pat Buchanan) acts like someone peed in their coffee and they have to smile and drink it. I thought Andrea Mitchell was going to vomit. You couldn't have taken a fish hook and yanked the corners of her mouth up. It was CLASSIC!!!

I loved it. McCain did good and he looks golden on this decision. Some were wondering if she would really be able to hit back at the media and I think she showed that she could go toe to toe with these guys and knock them on their CANS!!! Even Keith Olbermann just said "she can throw punches with the best of them." LOL!!! I love it!!! I even caught MSNBC showing one of the woman delegates weeping with joy (don't worry they turned away as fast as they could).

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!

Palin/McCain! Baby!

Ooops... I mean... McCain/Palin :)

Don't bring your bias to the Newt, he'll SMACK you down!!

I love this video. Watch the whole thing or just skip ahead to about minute 2:00. The MSNBC hack tries to belittle Gov. Palin and gets the full on smack down from Newt who lists off Palin's accomplishments without skipping a beat and then turns the tables and asks for ONE thing Obama has done.

Needless to say that's where the hack cuts off the interview.

Go Newt!!

This is what media bias looks like

If there was any doubt in your mind before that there is a HUGE left wing bias in the media, that doubt should be long gone by now. The response from the media to Sarah Palin should tell you two things. Number one, they are so far in the tank for Obama that they can't think straight (then again, maybe that's how they got there in the first place). Second, Sarah Palin scares them because she is a woman who is feminine but tough. She's pretty, she's smart, she's a leader, and she's conservative. She has energized not only the conservative base, but women and independents who were on the fence. Palin has brought energy to the Republican side that just wasn't there before.

This interview by Campbell Brown is one pathetic example of what I am talking about. I have not seen ANYONE question Obama's experience like this, and he's the one on the TOP of the Dem ticket.

Fey/Palin ?

I'm sorry I have to ask, does Sarah Palin look like Tina Fey?

Watching the speech

Just a side note, whoever is controlling the audio for the event is either an Obama supporter or needs to find a different line of work. Constant feedback from the podium mic, you could over hear talking between McCain and Palin before she spoke, and instead of gently bringing down the music they just cut it off cold.

- Palin is talking now.

- I hope they get some good speech writers for her. This one seems very informational and not real smooth.

- She's very personable. Nice looking family. She needs to not clap in front of the mic... of course if you had some competent audio people, that might not be a problem.

- Instead of a soccer mom, she was a hockey mom... she's from Alaska, what can you say.

- Sounds like she's done more in two years as governor of Alaska than Obama has done in the IL house or in the US Senate. She even killed the "bridge to nowhere" project. Not a polished speaker, but the substance is good. She needs a little coaching. "A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not why the ship was built". Nice quote. This lady seems like a younger, female McCain. Shake things up. Rock the boat. Hopefully more conservative.

- Quite the rowdy crowd.

- She's got a little bit of an accent. I don't know, I'm not really up on my Alaskan accents. It sounds a little Minnesota-ish.

- Just gave credit for Hillary's '18 million cracks' to every woman in America.

- She needs to work on presentation before the debates.

I don't know. The substance was great, the presentation was a little off. Needs more practice. Kind of funny these are just huge contrasts. With Obama/Biden you have expert presentation with moronic ideas. With McCain/Palin you have mediocre presentation with proven ideas.

This is going to be interesting.

I think this is going to prove either genius or idiocy.

Here comes the VP and...

well, she's pretty. Never thought I would say that about McCain's VP choice, but... she is.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

I have to say I really don't know much about the governor. I've heard some things about her over the last year, mostly positive, with a definite conservative slant to her. She's young, she's attractive (former runner up for Ms. Alaska). She's the mother of five children, three girls and two boys. The oldest boy goes off to Iraq in September and the youngest was just born in April.

Wow.

I'm really not sure how this is going to go over. It was pretty widely hoped by the pundits that he would choose someone who was "safe". Palin doesn't really qualify on that one. It will be very interesting to see if this is seen as a stunt, an act of desperation, or recognizing a competent, qualified, and talented woman.

Man, this election is tiring.

But fun. :)

She might now have to wait

Strong indications now that Palin might now have to wait for the VP slot. She might get it now.

McCain goes on in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Will the secret stay hidden for that long?

A thought while I wait

Waiting for two things. The first is for my wife to call and say that our niece has been born. Her sister and husband have been at the hospital since yesterday afternoon. Very exciting. I'm betting on around 8 am.

The second thing is McCain's VP choice. But as I sit here and read all of the latest 'guesses' or 'near leaks', BTW it doesn't look like Romney or Pawlenty, I am seeing stuff about Sarah Palin, another young conservative governor who has been very popular. I am very hopeful for the future of the Reps, but more importantly the future of conservatism. There are some very good, very principled leaders out there. Maybe in 2012 or 2016 I could imagine a Jindal/Palin ticket. Wouldn't that be something?