I thought she did an awesome job last night. My husband and I were laughing and cheering her on all throughout the speech. I'm sure our neighbors thing we're crazy. I can't wait to see her pulverize Biden in the Veep debate.

I stayed up to watch her speech myself last night, Robert, though I couldn't get the wife to go past her bedtime.

Rudy was a great lead-in, though I thought his timing was a bit off. Liked it, though I've seen him give better speeches (but I LOVED it when he slammed Obama for his Jerusalem flip-flop!).

Palin - loved it! A little shaky at the beginning, but when she hit her stride talking about family, I was on my feet cheering. She may not be the second coming of Ronald Reagan (of blessed memory), but she's got a winning smile and a down to earth manner that can't be faked. I still think the race is Obama's to lose, but I feel a lot better about McCain's chances that I did before.

I love your assessment of Sarah's speech, and agree completely. She's authentic and may she never lose the sense of who she is and why she's sacrificing herself on the battlefield of the American political system. I think she sees it as serving her country, even as her son Track is doing; it's just in a different way. May the Almighty ever keep and protect her.

Robert,
You wonderfully captured the feelings of many as they watched this woman who is clearly, in Chris Wallace's words, a rising star; and the future of the Republican party.
She delivered in a very natural cadence that, unless you are hopelessly a fan of MSNBC, could only be seen as natural and from the heart.
Robert, you also bring up another good point that has bothered me.....some peoples obsession with degrees and the status of college or university attended. The snobs just hate it that she has a mere bachelors...and from the University of Idaho, no less. Heck....they don't even have a good football team. ;)
Let's not forget that some of the most powerful and most successful people in America have nothing better than high school degrees....and some even dropped out.
Now I hope John McCain can seal the deal and win the White House so America can prosper and stay strong for many years to come.

I like McCain, but something about Palin bothers me. Actually it is more than one thing, but let's stick with just one.

This may be chauvinistic, but it bothers me that she has five young kids and is looking at a job that will prevent her from being around.

Jack,
What about Biden?
His wife and a child are tragically killed, something none of us should ever know from, and Ted Kennedy among others persuaded him to serve in the US Senate.
I dont recall anyone, Republican or Democrat, asking Joe Biden how he was going to raise his young kids....owing to the fact he now found himself a single father. In fact, Biden was sworn in at the hospital bedside of his injured son.

This issue concerning Palin is bull-loney, and a double standard used to attack a woman many liberals are scared witless about.

The man who cuts my hair is originally from Alaska... and I think we're both pretty psyched about Palin.

She's the first public figure in my recent memory, who, when faced with a personal scandal, stood up and faced forward, without claiming victim status, without dangling slithering excuses as decoys, without either ducking or accepting the blame or the shame.

She's Ronald Reagan - with even better hair.
She's Dolly Parton + Maggie Thatcher.
She's 9-to-5 + 24.
She's created a new demographic - "the Jamie Lynn Spears vote."

I too am basking in her successful national debut. She's the most brilliant selection McCain could have made.

In the past week the GOP gunned its engines, threatening to leave Her Hillaryness and the Ivy League feminist establishment in the dust for the a generation. (Imagine Sarah Palin presiding over a Senate where Barry Jr., Ms. Rodham Clinton, and Joltless Joe will have schlepped back to their day jobs....)

It all depends on how the GOP, at the national and local level, translates Sarah Palin into a party and a national leader - How many more Sarah Palins are waiting in the wings? etc. - and it depends on her. Just how sound are her political instincts? Just how will she respond to crisis, bitter partisanship? etc. etc.

I think whenever we hear anyone questioning Sarah Palin's try for office when she has so many young kids, you have to CONSIDER THE SOURCE of that question.

Is the person asking a mother herself, (and more than just one kid please), if so, I'm willing to engage politely in the discussion. Even as a man, I have rejected a number of jobs over the years that would leave my wife alone too much of the time to raise my children.

But if the person asking is someone who has beaten us over the head for years with equal rights arguments, equal pay arguments, etc. Then you really HAVE to slam them.

You wanna know why so many companies still pay women less? Because they 1) worry that they'll ditch at any time to go have kids and 2) realize that the ones who already have kids are so desperate to pay for their expenses you can low-ball them.

You wanna know how to stop all that and REALLY get equality for women in the workplace? Hire people like Sarah Palin. In this case, vote for her. If she doesn't cut the mustard, you can fire/not vote for her in 4 years.

And to all the people who said that this world would be a better place if women/moms ran it... well, here's your chance! A woman who not only has 5 kids, but 2-3 of them still at home with her, including an infant! Put your money where your mouth is people.

Very exciting times...Her candidacy truly breaks down barriers...
Just wondering how her high coif compares to the Hollywood starlets?

I'm in my NYC law office today and it's amazing - the liberals in the office (most of the attorneys other than the practicing Catholics and the Orthodox Jews)are walking around saying she was awful. One of them mocked her -"what, she thinks she's qualified because she has a family?"; and I think she was awesome. Did we watch the same speech?

It boggles the mind that a person who will argue with a straight face that Obama is qualified to be President, can then turn around 2 minutes later and say Palin is not qualified to serve.

This issue concerning Palin is bull-loney, and a double standard used to attack a woman many liberals are scared witless about.

Lance,

I am not a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. I cross party lines all the time. It all depends on the issue.

You may think that it is insignificant, I disagree. It is a serious matter that deserves attention.

It is not the only thing that concerns me about her, it is one of many.

I can't criticize Obama's lack of experience and not question hers. Sure, she has some accomplishments next to her name. She has been successful in some areas, but it is not as much as I want.

Mayor of a town of 7000 doesn't impress me one whit. Governor of Alaska starts to get the job done, but it doesn't make me ignore the obvious shortcomings.

Alaska is not exactly a huge state. Population wise it is relatively small.

Foreign policy wise, I don't feel like there is not enough there for me to just sit back and smile.

So I am going to continue to evaluate and analyze her and the others. A good speech is fine, but I want to see more than words.

Jack,
I appreciate your comment.

However, yes, Im sure you knew a "but" was coming ;), that stating that being Gov. of Alaska doesn't count for much is a cannard and false argument.
Just because she doesn't have the classical Washington education or that she isn't widely known (As someone who trades I can assure you she was well known in the trading and business world. Larry Kudlow-CNBC has touted her for months) doesnt mean she is not capable for the job.

Compared to empty suited Obama who feels that mere campaigning and spouting tired liberal ideas makes him qualified.

And, it bears pointing out, whatever you may think about Palin, as Robert as pointed out many, many times the Democrat party, no matter who is running, does not have Jewish interests or Israel's best interest in mind. That alone should make it easier for anyone who cares about those issues to vote McCain 2008.

Recent pictures of McCain crack me up. He's so giddy about the response to her he's getting all red in the face. He smells victory.

I can't believe people think this was a ploy to capture the Hillary vote. Palin's abortion views make her not at all appealing to the Clinton crowd. Most of the people I know who are pro-choice Dems see anti-abortion feminists as traitors.

A politician's family will suffer from lack of attention. So does the family of a man or woman serving in combat. It's about making sacrifices for the community, which is setting a great example for your kids, in my opinion.

A week on and I'm happier with this than ever...back in England the media is just as unhappy, they just don't understand what has happened...its good to be on our side!

On the question of her children-- everyone keeps harping on her having "five children to raise."

Well, two are already raised-- Track is headed to Iraq, Bristol is getting married. Willow's 14, Piper's 7, and Trig will be about the same age as my sister's baby before his mom *could* be VP. My sister's baby is already working on solid food, and my sister works full time-- luckily, she can take the baby with her. No reason that Gov. Palin couldn't continue her habit of bringing Trig to work.

So, if Sarah HAD to take a trip, I'm fairly sure Todd could get the kids off to school and take Trig to a setter before work-- just like many families around the US do right now. Assuming Todd isn't able to go back to being Mr. Mom, from the income of a VP.

Everyone:

Thanks so much for your fine and articulate comments.

Regarding Governor Palin's children. I find it revealing that the very people—liberals and leftists—who agitated for women in the military, are now insisting that Sarah Palin is a bad mother because she's also a working mother.

This is so obviously a partisan attack I believe it will backfire. Badly. In fact, I hope, really hope that the Dems continue this line of attack for they will lose millions of women voters.

Jack: I know that your comment is not a partisan attack. You're coming from an entirely different place.

Yea! What Robert said. I love this woman, Sarah Palin. For the first time in years I'm proud of the Republican party. Let's roll!

However, yes, Im sure you knew a "but" was coming ;), that stating that being Gov. of Alaska doesn't count for much is a cannard and false argument.

Lance,

I didn't say that it didn't count. I said that for me it is not enough. In the grand scheme of things I think that Governors typically make better Presidents/VPs than senators.

But all things being equal, I still can't say that Obama has no experience and not criticize Palin.

According to this site in 2006 Alaska had a population of 670,053.

That is tiny. I am not saying that it is completely insignificant, but it is a far cry from the larger states.

As for who is going to be a bigger friend to Israel/Jewish issues, well I don't really like either party all that much. To me it is bad and worse.

This the second straight election in which I am less than satisfied with the choices we have. But I certainly prefer McCain to Obama.

The problem with Sarah Palin is many men will now be thinking, "Where can I find me a woman like that?".

I mean, she's like a shopping list of things a Man would be looking for in a mate. Women like that must be a rare find.

Robert, take a close look at that photograph of her in her office. It's not just the Israeli flag in the window that's interesting. Her lapel pin flag also appears to be an Israeli flag.

I don't know whether that picture was staged for campaign purposes, but if it wasn't, it's a very interesting sign of where her sympathy lies.

It was a speech for couples to watch together. I hope to post more significantly on Palin, but my wife says, "She's my hero." She's got a big family, she's got faith and she's professionally successful. Just like my wife.

I'd just point out that in Sen. Obama doesn't simply believe that there are lives less worth it in the womb, but as Wolf Howling's comparison showed he wouldn't even protect them outside the womb.

jack...the engine of anti-Israel sentiment, and of outright anti-Semitism, is the "progressive" left. This is true both in the U.S. and in Western Europe. Anything that strengthens the Democratic party means more apologists for Palestinian terrorism in positions of power, along with a few obvious anti-Semities.

In the time since I first posted about my misgivings I have run across a ton of information and commentary that makes me even more concerned ahout her.

Here is Ben Stein on her. I think that he brings up some excellent points.

And here is information from Anne Kilkenny about Palin.

Granted Kilkenny has an axe to grind, but if five percent of what she says is true, it is five percent too much.

She is highly inexperienced in crucial areas, unproven in governing a reasonable size population and I find her religious views to be too intrusive.

I want my representatives to make decisions based upon the law, not what they think G-d tells them to do about the law.

Separate means separate.

I like McCain, but he is 72. His father and grandfather didn't live particularly long lives. She is too green to be put in the VP spot.

David,

I love Israel and want very much to protect her, but for now I live in the United States. I want things fixed here first.

And frankly I don't trust either party to act in Israel's interest other than when politically expedient to do so.

Jack-
one thing to consider is that 99% of the Kilkenny link is that it projects a good chunk on what facts there may be; the book thing, for example, makes it sound like the librarian was told to remove X book or she'd be fired, and only massive public outcry stopped her. Looking around and apparently the story is that Palin, right after winning a tough election vs an incumbent, was trying to find out who would be a problem and asked if and how she could gets books removed if someone in the town was pissy about it. (Times covered this, as well)

Haven't done enough research into the rest of it, I just know the same BS has been used against my mom more than once-- same sort of thing, small town politics, except my mom was the 4H leader.

Hugh, the pin isn't an Israeli flag; it's a blue star pin, for the family members of servicemembers.

Fox,

Read Time's article and tell me what you think.

The more I read the more patterns I see and it is not because I want to.

Gina, thanks for clearing that up. I'm not an American, so I wasn't familiar with the pin.

Jack-
I did read Time's article. And I'm familiar with their bias. *smile* So I googled around, even finding a librarian site.

Jew or Christian. When it comes to Palin we agree. She rocks

Except for the fact that she's not Jewish, Sarah Palin would make a terrific rebbitzen, wouldn't she? The big happy family, the full schedule of community activities, the upbeat, take-it-in-her stride attitude to difficulties. Plus, her shaitel macher is great and I'm so relieved not to see another Angry Pantsuit.

Since a career as rebbitzen seems out, perhaps she can make a go of this VP thing.

http://explorations.chasrmartin.com/2008/09/06/palin-rumors/

This might help a little on the patterns.

http://chrisofrights.blogspot.com/2008/09/vetting-sarah-palin.html
has a list, also.

Fox,

Read your stuff and I must say that my response mirrors yours

I did read those links. And I'm familiar with their bias. *smile*
That site in which the rumors are supposedly rebutted did a piss poor job on a number of them which is why I haven't changed my mind.

Example, the stuff about her pastor. I don't accept Obama's comments about his rev and I can't accept hers. Inconsistencies abound.

Let's take a look at a section from Chris of Rights:

As Mayor of Wasilla, she tried to get this list of books banned, and then attempted to fire the librarian for not doing so. FALSE. It's TRUE that she did ask the librarian about censoring some books, and I admit that's not one of Palin's better moments, but it's not the list shown, as some of those weren't even published at the time. I'm unable to find a real list. Some time later she did ask the librarian to resign, along with other holdovers from the previous administration, so it's hard to claim the "censorship question" as the cause here. She later withdrew the request for resignation and no books were ever banned. As I said, this is not one of Palin's better moments, but it's not nearly as bad as the left makes it out to be.

I don't care if it was one book or 70. Book banning is bad. It gives me the heebie-jeebies. It is just one of many things that make me question her values and her judgment.