The Blog @ Spolitics

America, Meet Sarah Palin

For most Americans, this was their first look at the “hocky mom,” Governor, and apsiring Vice President. She looked confident and comfortable and did a good job commanding the stage.

It was a good start for the ticket. But even as she was speaking, the trial-by-fire was already being stoked. It won’t be long before we get a better look at what Sarah Palin is made of. The McCain camp better hope their vetter did his job.

McCain Picks Palin to Be His VP

Perhaps more than any other recent candidate, McCain needs a VP who voters believe is ready to lead our nation on a moments notice should she, God forbid, be called upon to do so. Given that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is a national unknown and doesn’t have a very deep resume, she’s going to have a lot of convincing to do on that front. And the clip below is not going to help. The moment you’re looking for comes at 2:50. Expect it to be part of an Obama/Biden ad coming to a television near you. If they were smart, they’d get it out ASAP so it’s one of the first things people see of her.

Update: I should ad, the contention here isn’t that what she said is all that bad. She’s obviously being a little tongue-in-cheek and saying she wants to make sure she’d be an active VP who can help affect policy. She even hints at having an effect on an energy policy that would help Alaska (could she convince McCain to drill in ANWR?). The point is, lift the moment where she says she doesn’t know what a VP does and stick it in a campaign ad and it’s going to hurt. There’s a lot to like about Palin and the McCain camp has to get busy building that narrative before team Obama defines her. Luckily for Palin, their first attempt was a pathetic shot to try and paint her as more of the same.

Update: As predicted, Palin is being criticized for this comment. However I didn’t expect this particular line of spin — that she “dissed” the VP slot. We’ve seen what the Democrats have done with McCain’s comments on the economy, so it should be expected that they’d lift this comment and use it against her. But to say she dissed the office… that’s not an attack that will resonate. Our VP position is infamous for being a figurehead position and many others have said they don’t want to spend their time attending the funerals of foreign leaders. The fact that Palin said she wanted to make sure she could be productive in the role is a good thing…even if she said it in a — as team Obama might say — inartful way.

Obama’s Rorschach Speech

At first, I believed Obama’s speech was an attempt to woo the center — he did after all talk about cutting government waste. But Obama devotee, Andrew Sullivan, heard a powerful case for liberalism which leads me to believe the speech was hollow enough to allow people to hear what they wanted to hear. (Sullivan also believes Obama “destroyed” the Republicans.) Sullivan has a round-up of reactions.

I also thought the speech was a bit meandering — a mishmash of tried-and-true applause lines. That sentiment was echoed by Ross Douthat.

Earlier today I wrote that Time was artificially raising the stakes for Obama and predicted they would later claim her rose to the challenge. Here’s what Time’s Mark Halperin wrote:

…once again proved that he can, in the face of daunting expectations, deliver a simply breathtaking speech at an absolutely pivotal moment. Masterful performance to match a brilliantly written speech. Conversational at times, lofty at others - and studiously serious throughout, in an apparent attempt to demonstrate that he possesses the demeanor of a plausible president. Superhumanly poised, he exhibited no jitters, never rushed, and married his own cadence to the rhythms of the audience’s reaction.

Well, if this was a Rorschach speech, the above speaks volumes about Time’s objectivity.

Update: Halperin and Sullivan were not Obama’s only chearleaders.