Palin Speech: Straight Money

I'd take her and put her in my piggy bank any day.

Funny thing: I actually didn't see the speech. I was held late at work, and listened while driving home. Nothing I can really add on substance, at least nothing that hasn't already been said. Some style stuff, though: she really is a PTA president when you listen to her voice. She talks with a slow non-professional cadence that reminds me of school assemblies and introductions to summer camp. Some other thoughts/predictions/cautions:

- There will be an overreaction from those on the Right. It'll happen. It shouldn't, but it'll happen. It's been close to a year, now, of conservatives and GOP'ers being bashed over the head with how uncool they are, and how cool Democrats are. This speech last night was a release valve for that frustration.

- Best be careful, MSMers, best be careful. There might be a lot of those in the media who are slightly miffed at the Palin Surprise, but there aren't a lot people outside that clique that feel the same. You risk a lot with the current practice. This election could turn into a populist conflagration in the blink of an an eye, and you'll find yourself fighting against the sans-cullotes you need to keep ratings.

I'd say that no more people were familiar with Biden pre-announcement than were familiar with Palin, and the contrast in treatment will grate. I'm talkin' to you Campbell Brown. I know, you think you're being aggressive and probing. You probably think that there's much we need to learn about this woman, and that means tough questioning. You're probably right. But there's a bunch of people I talk to out in Reals-ville that are asking: "Why didn't you ever grill the Obama camp the same way?" They'd be right as well.

- Obama was smart this morning, just trying to move past Palin back to McCain. He tries to address her, it will only backfire. If I were Obama's staff, I'd be telling him: hit 'em on the economy, hit 'em on Afghanistan, hit 'em on health care. Ignore her, and attack the joint ticket for having no answers to the problems. Of course, this would be a much more effective point for Obama if he had better answers than "tax the rich", "invade Pakistan", and "universal health care", respectively. He should have caved on the oil-drilling issue months ago.

-The next sixty days are gonna be election pr0n for nerds like me. My pot of coffee, bag of razors, and Firefox Refresh button stand at the ready.