Sarah Palin Kills
Sarah Palin gave the best political speech anyone has given in years. She turned the story of her life, which initially I feared was dragging on for too long, into a devastating case against Obama. She was soft where she needed to be soft and sharp where she need to be sharp. She looked poised, strong, graceful, easy in front of an audience of million and ready to wield power. And, yes, she looked pretty. She is, right now, the most important public woman in America.
Her family was gorgeous and adorable. When her daughter kissed her infant son on the head, and later when she cared for her brother by holding him and shielding him from the loud throngs of those cheering for his mother, the hearts of all those whose hearts are not irretrievably hardened by political hatred melted. And the charm goes not just down through her progeny but up through her roots. She may have the least embarrassing parents of any presidential candidate I’ve ever seen.
Her critiques of her opponents were effective and funny. She was able to cut with a smile. It was roses and barbed-wire on that stage. Two men hardened by a long campaign for the presidency received fresh wounds from Palin tonight. We’ll see if she can take it when they come at her. Everything tonight indicates she is tough and agile enough to take the worst. For her sake, she’d better be. That’s exactly what she’s going to get.
Write this down in your diaries, lads and lasses. A woman has been nominated to the vice presidency. By the Republicans. She gave the best speech of the convention. She is so damn strong, smart and loving at the same time. She’s like nothing we’ve had on the American political scene in quite a long time.
Update: She even melted Balk’s ovaries.
Update II: One of the things Palin accomplished tonight was that she made it clear that elections are about chosing sides. As my friend Michael Brendan Dougherty says:
“Sarah Palin achieved tonight what John McCain couldn’t, she turned an “experience vs. change” race into an “us vs. them” race … Has the Palin pick been uplifting for the country? Is it going to bring us together? These questions are besides the point. No candidate is ever going to “going to make us feel different about one another.” But one candidate usually reminds us of how we really do feel about one another. And that candidate usually wins.”
