Hearing some of the speech again, the cadences and specific phrasing used by Sarah Palin echo John McCain — as if the words could have been written for McCain. This raises some questions about what is to come down the road. Are the words she is speaking her words and will she be ready to work away from the teleprompter? That remains to be seen.
The fear card
The pieces of the speeches I caught — by the Texas railroad commissioner, by Giuliania and Palin — all played the fear and conspiracy card, painting the world as a far more dangerous place than it is while demonizing the notion of allies and international consensus. That matches the Bush approach and sets up a McCain administration likely to engage in a series of foreign misadventures.
Nice speech, but….
As I said, she gives a nice speech, but it remains to be seen whether she can cut in on the campaign trail. There are nine weeks left, so we will see.
Yglesias: The same man
I was thinking this, so I am glad that Matt Yglesias blogged it:
Sarah Palin: “Wherever he goes and whoever is listening John McCain is always the same man.”
Do we really need to recite the issues on which John McCain has flip-flopped? Estate tax. Top bracket income tax cuts. Torture. Immigration. Climate change. Add more in comments if you like.
How about his POW experience, which he says he never brings up but which has been the sum and subtstance of his campaign?
Sarah Palin’s speech: First impressions
She cuts a strong figure — a very powerful speaker, far better than her running mate, and she does a good job of telling her story and framing the issues to her advantage.
That said, the general contours of the fall campaign were set — at least as far as the vice-presidency is concerned:
- A mom just like any other
- An accidental candidate who came to politics through the PTA
- A budget hawk
- A reformer
- Executive experience (the use of this trope is an interesting one because it relies on the false notion that all gubernatorial and mayoral experience is the same — as if the mayor of Jamesburg should be running for president; it also places her experience higher on the hierarchy of candidates — she is the only one with any kind of executive experience).
- The liberal, left-wing media — watch for the press to be a major theme
In the end, the Democrats better take this woman seriously but also remember that the election must be a choice between John McCain and Barack Obama, between the Bush legacy and a necessary new direction that restores the ability of government to help Americans.
The Democrats need to take this woman seri
Hank Kalet 