Perhaps this is a dumb question (okay, I know it is a dumb question), but since no one I know gives a rat's ass about Kwame Kilpatrick and I get all my news online - is his name pronounced to rhyme with flame?

His name is pronounced Kwah-mee. And with any luck, he'll be pleading guilty in a few minutes.

Signed,
Reluctant Detroiter

It's pronounced Quah - mee.

Since when does growing food translate into a better political background? Certainly a necessary role in society, but the skillset doesnt necessarily translate. Motivation, delegation, people skills -- all not that necessary to an average joe farmer. (Not like those are skills lawyers have either, but I'm just saying...)

Does Palin realize that she's a marketing pawn for the Republican Party? Watching her speech last night reminded me of watching Jerry Springer's guests talk smack on stage about someone else just to fire up the crowd. Unfortunately no punches were thrown.

The Palin speech was a huge steaming load of BS.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check

Executive experience? Yeah, McCain's got a lot of that. Change Washington? YOUR party's been in control for the last 8 years.

I thought Palin's speech was far more engaging and effective than Biden's convention speech for sure, and in its own way better than either Clinton speech or even Obama's address. There is a directness, freshness and energy there. Palin has a natural gift for communication.

Hint to Harry Reid: Calling the speech "shrill" reveals you to be a thin skinned sexist ass.

Hint to Team Obama: Calling the speech "snide" instead of simply praising the newcomer for a job well done shows how worried you really are. And with good reason. This fresh newcomer just blew a 5'X6' hole in the hull of the SS Obama.

Credit where credit is due. Home run. A+

--Registered Democrat and former Hillary supporter

Could somebody tell me where I've heard Palin's accent before. I feel its been in the movies, but I can't quite place it. Something like Francis McDermott crossed with ...

For those voters still on the fence who felt sorry for her over the last few days, she really gave them no reason to continue to sympathize. She wants to play rough. I think this was a mistake. She should have used that speech to talk up her resume and McCain. She shouldn't have said a single condescending thing about Obama. If she hadn't, they could have continued to beat back negative revelations and gain more sympathy. Now she's fair game. Obama himself didn't say a single negative thing about her. Now she is on record saying some really snide things. Get ready for the commercials about the biotch who supported the bridge to no where, pressured public officials, signed up more pork than any other state, etc. She's an easier target after last night.

I thought Pain's speech was an embarassment. I'm voting Obama in 08.

--Founder of the Republican Party, former Reagan supporter and all-around idiot

You may not agree with her on substance, but as a matter of style, PALIN ROCKED.

Elie, yes, I definitely hear the Northern Midwest accent in her speech, like Frances McDormand in Fargo ("so, I suppose that's your friend over there in the woodchipper, eh?"). But I was shocked last night to realize that she had a hint of Elle Woods in her cadences too - that sort of perky, "you might think I'm a bimbo but I'm really not" energy.

Obama didn't say anything negative about her because she hadn't been picked at the time of his speech. His campaign has been in full on smear mode since Friday.

The Democrats are terrified of this woman.

Joe Biden was on every news show this AM hyping up expectations for her debate and talking about how great she was last night.

He knows that she's going to destroy him in the debate if expectations for her are low.

This whole Palin saga was like what Bush did to Kerry in 04 - he painted him as a windsurfing, flip-flopper and when the real Kerry showed up, Bush looked terrible. Same thing here - airhead beauty queen is, in reality, a political barracuda who's a natural.

I'm excited to watch little Triggy grow up on TV over the next 16 years.

Let's not ignore a fine example of the usual hypocrisy common in party conventions:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cvn_measure_of_a_nation_palin_family_politics

Talk about sexist:

1. Harry Reid calling Palin "shrill" is an insult reserved for women.

2. To everyone last night on the tee vee who commented that Palin had the help of a speechwriter: So did everyone else, Clinton's and Biden included.

This speech was a home run. An A+. Pitch perfect.

Palin is the GOP equivalent of the VP nominee that Obama would have made if he hand not lost his nerve and sold out the last vestige of a "change" campaign by naming a 35 year semi-corrupt political hack as his running mate.

Obama has done squat to change things in his short tenure in DC. Palin has done much to change things in her short tenure outside the beltway.

Last, trying to wound Palin by any means possible no matter how transparently petty shows just how desperate Team Obama really is. And with good reason. The SS Obama now has a 5’X6’ hole in its hull and is taking on water.

For the first time in this election cycle, the GOP is fired up (and I mean really fired up)....and every time we hear the left-wing media shills refer to her as a "cheerleader" or "stewardess" it galvanizes the party even more and pushes small-town moms further into the GOP column (note to big-city liberals in DC, NY and Chicago....you make up only a very small portion of the electorate). Please keep it up Campbell Brown, Maureen Dowd and Bill Maher! Please.

McCain pulled of what was virtually impossible.... finding someone who appeals to independents and Reagan Democrats, yet doesn't turn off social conservatives.

Once again it's on.

7 = Campbell Brown. Reid is a sexist b/c he used the word "shrill," but McCain wasn't when he called Hillary a bitch? nice troll, but try again.

11: it was impossible to agree or disagree on substance, b/c there was none.

agree w/ 9; it's on like donkey kong.

bottom line: it was a prepared speech delivered well in front of an enthusiastic crowd. it doesn't get any easier than that...if she stumbled there, they'd be handing out life jackets on the SS McCain.

I can't people the rank sexism of the Democratic Party.

Obama defends himself and he is eloquent. He attacks McCain and he is "inspiring".

A WOMAN defends herself and her family and is "shrill". A woman points out that Obama has done NOTHING and is labeled as "bitter and angry".

I, for one, am GLAD that someone finally pointed out that Obama has NO CLOTHES!

I hate you, Democratic Party. I used to support you, but NO MORE.

And you won't scare me with your "what about Roe v. Wade" ?? I know what it takes to get a constitutional amendment and I know what it takes to completely overturn a Supreme Court case, and I know fear mongering when I see it.

say what you want, but I am a Republican who was on the fence. after the smear of Palin and her response last night, I am back in the fold and am sending money to mccain today. i suspect i am not alone.

Dear 19:

"Bottom line: it was a prepared speech delivered well in front of an enthusiastic crowd. it doesn't get any easier than that…”

That's it?

Then why was the speech better than Hillary Clinton's, Joe Biden's, and every other convention speaker this year?

Easy to stand up in front of a national audience at a political convention for the first time while 90% of the media has predicted you will fall on your ass, and the speech has been built up as do or die for you?

Bullshit.

Your blinders are part of the reason that, once again, the Democrats are going to blow a perfect chance to take back the WH, just like they screwed it up in 2000 and 2004.

>>"--Registered Democrat and former Hillary supporter"

BWAHAHAHA!

wow, i must have missed all these smears by the Obama campaign. where are they?

is her daughter not actually pregnant? i think i remember Obama saying something about how it's not relevant. how dare he...what a slimeball.

did her husband not have a DUI? i haven't seen any mention of that by the Obama campaign.

were Palin and her husband not supporters of a party that advocated Alaskan secession? according to the party itself, they were.

does she not see Iraq as a holy war?

has anything the Obama campaign said about Palin been untrue?

after all the name-calling about how Democrats are thin-skinned crybabies, it sure is odd to see who's whining now...and the campaign hasn't said anything. there are hateful, extremist bloggers on both sides; i'd say they can be safely ignored.

Anyone who actually watched Palin's speech will agree that she knocked it out of the park and delivered an incredible speech.

You're an iditot if you think otherwise. You may not agree with what she said, but it was a brilliant performance, especially because she is a relative newcomer thrust into the spotlight in front of tens of millions and among all of the media attacks on her and her family.

19:

McCain never called Hillary a bitch. A contributor at a fundraiser (a woman) asked McCain on camera “How do you plan to beat the bitch?” and McCain was uncomfortable. The video made it to You Tube and went viral.

It was Obama who (by allusion to the Jay-Z song got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one) called Hillary a “bitch”.

And yes, calling a woman "shrill" is sexist. Refereing to the fact that the speech was "prepared" when all the male speakers speeches were as well is also sexist.

And 23: We will see which ticket wins and who laughs last (and best).

Ellie/8: I am having trouble identifying her voice as well. It is exactly the same as a certain cartoon or sitcom character, but I can't quite place it.

I love all of the Republicans who are wet over a "speech" today. That's fucky cosmically funny. Great speech, Palin. Great speech. The Republicans are saved by a speech. You people are non-stop funny without trying.

Obama also likes to call women "sweetie", and the surrogates have called Plain a 'stewardess" and questioned if she can be VP and take care of her kids properly.

No, not sexist. Not much.

Ellie/8: I am having trouble identifying her voice as well. It is exactly the same as a certain cartoon or sitcom character, but I can't quite place it.

I can't believe people thought that was a good speech. I'm so freaking tired of the faux-folksy bs that passes as leadership. "I don't need no higher education to lead the free world! I eat moose burgers! Aw shucks, folks, don't listen to them thar big city slickers, they don't know what real 'murcins want!" STFU already, you ridiculous slime.

she really reminded me of GW Bush's nasty tone. cynical and dripping with shoot 'em up good ole boy sarcasm. she is going to get CRUSHED in the debates. the ability to deliver a speech says NOTHING about her actual ability to lead. she was a sportscaster for crying out loud - of COURSE she was going to be able to give a good speech.

How is Bill Maher an Obama surrgate? You can't be that thick? Everyone who criticizes this woman or makes a joke on late night teevee is running there jokes by the Axelrod? Give me a break. As someone upthread said, Obama has said nothing. There are no smears, just revelations of true events. The only smear-ish thing has been internet speculation that Trig might be Palin's daughter's baby. No one in the MSM brought that up until the McCain campaign saw fit to counter an internet rumour with a national release that Palin's daughter is pregnant (they introduced the Palin's daughter is pregant story).

Her accent reminds me of the women in Drop Dead Gorgeous. She'd fit well with their trailer park chic. Who ever thought that they'd live to see a woman cradling her retarded son while standing next to her pregnant teenager daughter on a political stage?

Dear 24:

Palin's husband had a DUI 24 years ago, round about the time that Obama was stuffing as much coke up his nose as possible.

And since when does do DEMOCRATS believe that being a single mother DQ's the GRANDMOTHER from national politics?

Sometimes you just know you have won by the lame issues that your opponent starts to argue.

This is one of those times.

and speaking of fear mongering...how many times did she talk about mccain being a POW, mention 9/11, and say the country is not safe. wake up people...this is same shit, different faces!!!

I am turning gay and voting Obama after watching Palin's speech.

-lifelong registered shit-kicking GOP member

I believe she said that her son is deploying to Iraq on 9/11/08.

Obama whore Olbermann (who was all tensed up and beady-eyed over the sensational speech Palin gave) called this "disingenuous".

Palin mentioned the POW thing once. She also mentioned McCain's sheer guts.

34 - i'm DYING laughing!

PWT for VP!!!!!

Let's get something straight. There are two potential measures of success for a convention speech:

A. Politically effective in swaying the majority of undecided viewers to vote for you.
B. Intellectually effective in correctly and rationally dealing with substantive and political issues.

The difference is that whereas (B) will win you a judged debate, (A) will win you an election.

I am a very strong Obama supporter, and I have to admit, if we are judging Palin's speech on the (A) standard, she succeeded marvelously. I'm frightened by this woman. She is electric, likeable and identifiable. She will motivate the base AND appeal to independents.

This is all well and good, and if you are a repub, you're thrilled. But let's not get it twisted. If we were to judge her on the (B) standard, her speech was a failure. It was filled with half-truths, mercilessly played up ad hominem arguments (which at best are tangentially related to the real issues) and rehashed to the most trite (and almost irrelevant) conservative arguments about the media, elite, etc., which while they might be valid, are more divisive and distracting than anything else.

Obviously a convention speaker cares 1000 times more about being successful under standard (A). This is the point of a convention speech. But if we consider ourselves intelligent people at all, let's recognize that based on her speech last night, we can not call her better qualified to be VP. If anything, it underscored that at this time, the republicans have very few solid substantive arguments on the issues. You might be right that your candidate did well last night to win over the masses, but you should question why exactly she is winning YOU over. She's filled with BS.

Are you talking about whether she will WIN or whether she is RIGHT, and do you care? You should.

Dear 37:

What do you mean “turning” gay?

22: it WAS prepared (yes, like all the rest of them). did my post sugges totherwise? i, too, find it ironic that the GOP is all giggly over a speech, when they've spent the last six months arguing how speeches don't matter.

she did a fantastic job with that speech. happy? but in the end, it's just a speech, just like all the rest.

i could argue that your sexism is coming out in how you get all hot and bothered when Palin is the subject of the same sort of negative comments routinely directed at Obama and Biden. why is it OK to attacka man, but not a woman? she can certainly dish it out; why can't she take it?

35: and Obama's drug use was a big focus of the republicans in attacking him. if stuff like that isn't a big deal on one side, it can't be a big deal on the other.

40: Every speech Obama gives is under your category A.

thinking about all this "executive experience"...the town in which i grew up has about 50,000 residents. "mayor" is a part-time job. just sayin'.

This is just great....seeing the liberal media and left-wingers absolutely melt down over the Palin selection. Their collective freak-out speaks volumes.

This guy Obama is all smoke and mirrors and finally someone is calling him on it.

43 - absolutely incorrect. He succeeds on both A & B (though admittedly he spends a lot more time on A). I don't see Obama obscuring the issues with ad hominem appeals/attachs. I don't see him throwing out half-truths. I do see him recognizing the the policies of the last 8 years have failed miserably. Behind his "change" platform is a real difference in ideology.

40

21...me too. writing the check now.

45 - i don't think liberal media and left-wingers are having a "melt down"...this choice just gives everyone a LOT to talk about. you have to admit that.

30 - Bobby's World perhaps?

46: Obama spews out nothing but rhetoric. "We need change", "We need healthcare for everyone", "We need to be energy independent", "We need good schools".

No sh*t, Obama.

I think just about every person in the U.S. agrees on the statements all of this rhetoric, the disagreement is *how* do we accomplish this.

Obama doesn't give many solutions, just useless rhetoric. And when he does give solutions, it's to raise taxes and increase government programs/oversight, which is the one wrong answer to the problem.

The U.S. government (with the exception of the military) is the most inefficent, inept entity in the country and they are the last entity that should be handling anything.

HTH.

Ummm....I'd just like to mention that you should look at the polls. Obama went from a virtual tie to +6% in the Gallup poll post-convention. Then, once Palin got the nomination, he went up another 2%. Two polls taken yesterday gave him Iowa by 15% and Minnesota by 12%. He also just went up in Ohio.

McCain has looked like a petulant child all week, cancelling interviews, running a completely negative campaign, and looking more like an eccentric than a maverick with his ridiculous VP choice.

To quote James Carville, City Hall in Wasilla looks like a "South Louisiana bait shop."

I was born and raised in Alaska and Palin's accent completely baffles me.

There is no real Alaskan accent - there are a lot of people there that grew up elsewhere and then moved there, but the Alaska-born, outside the Native populations, basically end up speaking with a flat Western accent similar to the Pacific Northwest.

I want to know where she picked it up. Idaho? They don't really talk like that in Idaho either. To me she sounds like a cross between Fargo and a preachy PTA mother. A mixture of ignorant and condescending.

50: the adminstration of the last 8 years (with whom John McCain voted over 90% of the time) has increased the growth rate of the federal government by a higher percentage than any administration since the 1930s. Your solution is not McSame.

HTH.

For the record, I'd like to say that I was born in and grew up in a small town in the midwest. To be sure, there are some good things about small towns, but it's not all that great. Dead-ends. Alcoholism. Closed-mindedness and anti-intellectualism.

I'm tired to no end of hearing people act like small towns are the best, and small town values are what we should all aspire to.

53: McCain is not Bush, despite the Obama rhetoric. If you knew anything about McCain, you would know this. Instead you are a sheep that blindly follows rhetoric and not substance.

HTH.

50: Yea, and we're sure hearing a lot of substantive policy from the McCain camp. Go to Obama's website, there is plenty of information on his methods (not all of which I agree on). I think you understand that and are just saying that this is not what most people are hearing in his speeches and deciding on. Agreed. But at least the content of his speeches ("change", etc.) is shorthand for the real substantive policy choices he will make. This is a real difference between his speeches and what we got from Palin last night - divisive politics aimed not at the real issues but at the personal shortcomings of her opponent and an effort to appeal to a 50 year old culture war.
Granted, you're clearly intelligent enough to have made a choice that you think conservative government is best. I just give everyone else the opportunity to make the same decision, knowing they are making that decision as opposed to whether they like someone who shoots guns as opposed to plays tennis.
As a tangent (in defense of liberalism), with regard to your last sentence, I don't dispute the US government is not the most efficient actor. However, it has different incentives than a private actor and thus necessarily must act to ensure a fair and efficient market. --> not that this is an argument we'll resolve via blog comments.

40/46

40/46 - How can you not consider Obama to be obscuring the issues and throwing out half-truths when his entire campaign is based on this ridiculous storyline that McCain equals a third Bush term? That's all the Obama campaign does and its even what their response to Palin's speech last night was focused on. NEWS FLASH: Bush and McCain are two very different people, as even your own former VP candidate acknowledges. Useless Dem shills like 53 and company won't change things with their ever-creative "McSame," "McBush" lines and constant repetition of this 90% crap that ignores the fact that most Senate votes are unanimous.

As for Palin, 17 makes an excellent point about the speechwriter comments from the press. It's pretty insulting that all the media outlets are discussing who wrote her speech (as if she wasn't actively involved herself) while acting as if Obama's been penning every word himself for the past several years. Truly pathetic.

"liberal media" = anyone who reports unfavorable facts about Republicans.

50/53: I would have considered voting for McCain two years ago, even. You are fooling yourself if you don't think that he went away after 2000, licking his wounds, and resolved that he would never again take a beating from his own party like he did then. He is not the same man this election cycle. You are the sheep if you still believe in the maverick. He has bought into everything Bush. Evangelicals, toture, irresponsible fiscal policy. He's even running with Bush's team now. Please respond to this.

57 - not my favorite tactic, but at least a tactic to underscore a POLICY difference.

I'm not saying the campaign is golden, but at least what we're appealing to is what matters (or should) .

40/46

Palin thinks that global warming was NOT caused by humans. Isn't that enough right there to disqualify her? I mean, no one is asking her to be an Al Gore tree-hugger but at least acknowledge and respect the fact that there are scientists have done research and have proven that humans have had a negative impact on the world's climate. Of course, why should we expect her to respect scientists? After all, she thinks that creationism should be taught in public schools.

Palin was awesome. Not only is she extremely likable, but she made Obama and Biden look like complete idiots. I was on the fence before, but now I wish she was on the top of the ticket.

Palin doesn't think Polar Bears should be listed as an endangered species. Nuff said.

I can see why the R base is fired up; but I can't see why anyone in the middle would be swayed. She was supposed to introduce herself, and we learned two things (1) she's just a small town girl (living in a lonely world?), and (2) she's anti-Obama. But we already knew that.

What did she add?

I think the larger problem is that the McCain camp doesn't have a theme any more. It used to be experience, but picking Palin very clearly took that off the table (is she seriously saying that being mayor of a hamlet makes you more qualified to be president than being a senator? Seriously?). So now it's "McCain, Palin, and the Rs will bring change, and clean up Washington." But I'm not sure they can lay problems in Washington at the feet of Barack Obama and the Dems. So the R convention has turned into a celebration of how John McCain will save us from the Rs. And to prove it, he picked the most staunchly conservative runningmate he could find.

I just don't see this playing to swing voters. And judging from some recent live-mic comments, Rs don't either.

62 - keep telling yourself that and eventually you will believe it.

19, 42-

Some blogs and websites are reporting that her teleprompter broke halfway through the speech. If true, so much for "it doesn't get any easier than that."

59: I don't think he is a Maverick. Actually, right now and for the past 9 months he is pandering to the far right. McCain is and has been a moderate, but moderate Republicans do not get elected in this day and age. You have to look at his record and what he stands for. In the 2000 elections he was polar opposite of Bush. Bush was elected because of the neo conservatives (e.g. social conservatives).

I don't think McCain is that great, but he is the best (only) choice we have right now.

Once McCain is in office and the rhetoric dies down, we will see his moderate, rational policies. Sericusly, stope listening to all of the rhetoric like the rest of the sheep and actually look at issues, the candidates proposed solutions, and their track record.

This is the exact opposite with Obama, who has been pandering to moderate democrats and independents, when his record clearly shows he is a far left liberal. If he makes it to the Oval Office, then we will see his true colors as well.

HTH.

- 50/53

You people are clueless. Obama hasn't been discussing issues? Try the constant harping on the deeply misguided McCain tax policy, which works AGAINST THE BEST INTEREST OF MIDDLE AMERICANS. Obama's tax policy restores fiscal policy to something other than Bush's ineffectual voodoo economics.

What about Iraq? Yeah, Obama hasn't been discussing that at all.

I think this is great for the Dems. The debate for the next two weeks is going to be who is more qualified: Obama or Palin. Obama, you must concede, will win, if only because he's been in the public eye for longer and people are already relatviely comfortable with him as a voice on the teevee. You know who won't be involved much in this debate? John McCain. So after a few weeks, we'll know that Obama is more experienced than Palin, and McCain will have done nothing to shift the tide in his favor. Square one, less time to fix it.

Why won't McDying and Palin simply admit that the last 8 years have been a miserable failure and that they, and Republicans in general, are better than that? It would win a lot of points in my book and go a long way toward refuting Obama's argument that they would be a third term of Bush. But they won't do that b/c they are loyal to the debacle that is Bush/Cheney. Some maverick.

70: because that will destroy their base.

I was disgusted by Palin's speech last night. Keep your family, your b.s. PTA shtick, and I don't want to see your daughter lightly combing the hair of your youngest son.

Yes, she's fought pork in Alaska, but that's all I'll give her. And selling your private plane doesn't mean anything unless we know where they re-directed those funds. I doubt they returned them to the taxpayers.

68: Obama wants to let the Bush tax cuts expire. So, he will not *technically* be raising taxes, however, taxes will go up for EVERYONE. Not to mention that he wants to increase payroll taxes, capital gains taxes, and corporate taxes that will put the final nail into the coffin of our failing economy.

Hope this helps.

71: But do you think that the base would ever abandon them? What is their alternative? Ron Paul? I think McCain should have picked Ridge b/c the Republican base was bluffing when they demanded he pick a far right running mate. The election is won and lost in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Minnesota. It is not decided in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas or South Carolina. Am I wrong?

Anyone else think McCain looked exceptionally old last night. The guy can barely move. I am not knocking him b/c I know he's been through hell; rather, I'm just making an observation. He really looks like a guy who might not last 4 years under the stress of being President.

72 = Misguided supply-side proponent. Go back to reading Jack Kemp's biography. Anyone who thinks that slightly higher taxes will bar traders and big business is as delusional as a Tier-II student who wants to work in "international law."

44: You're right. You can only get proper executive experience and be suitable for the role of vice president if you are the mayor of a large city.

Sincerely,
Kwame Kilpatrick

73: They're alternative is to not vote for anyone.

Population of Alaska = 670,000
Population of Brooklyn = 2,400,000

Population of Wasilla, AK = 9,000
Population of Roosevelt Island, NY = 12,000

There's a difference between "small town" and "small town Alaska."

72: do some reading that's not limited to the trasncript of Fred Thompson's speech:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/a_new_stitch_in_a_bad_pattern.html

taxes go down for more people under Obama's plan than under McCain's plan.

neither plan is perfect, but such is the mess in which our current CINC has left us.

72: do some reading that's not limited to the trasncript of Fred Thompson's speech:

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/a_new_stitch_in_a_bad_pattern.html

taxes go down for more people under Obama's plan than under McCain's plan.

neither plan is perfect, but such is the mess in which our current CINC has left us.

79: Exactly.

McCain, like Bush, is delusional enough to think that the upper crust deserve massive tax breaks -- presumably because that leads to greater spending by them, or that they're special.

Obama doesn't. He's going to restore responsible fiscal policy to Washington.

76, Kwame Kilpatrick's corruption isn't at all relevant, but thanks for playing.

let me ask you this: would you respect that resume of "excutive experience" if it were attached to the Democratic VP nominee? i doubt it.

i'd argue that being the CEO of any Fortune 500 company, or the chairman of any AMLAW 100 law firm, presents more difficult choices and leadership challenges than what was basically a part-time mayoral job. puff it up all you want, but that's what it was.

82: your analogy is a good one. Just putting the comparison of fortune 500 company up to mayor of small time shows how silly this whole discussion is. Honestly, running her family probably demanded more time and attention than running the city of Wasdflkjsdf.

The "upper crust" is already under a tremendous tax burden. We should be celebrating these people who keep our economy running. These people are the entrepreurs and innovators that provide jobs for the country and pay our legal bills. They provide the capital for our economy to function. Let's lower their taxes and provide some incentive for them to keep doing what they're doing and not sip pina coladas by the beach.

ATL on Obama's speech: "The Democratic love fest peaked last night. Senator Barack Obama addressed more than 80,000 people in a Denver football stadium. Our favorite line was his take on "it's not me, it's you."

ATL on Palin's speech: Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani were in attack dog mode during the Republican convention last night.

I'm calling Kash out on her sexist partisan bullshit!

61: Straw man.

She thinks that creationism should be debated, if so sought, in public schools.

She thinks that it's not man-made because God causes it.

I'm fairly certain 90% of the Palin supporters in this thread don't actually believe what they say and are just riling people up for LOLz.

the kind of people who think the recitation of a ghost-written speech can obscure scandals / ridiculous level of inexperience are hopefully not the kind of people who are attorneys or law students.

but, but, but, she has EXECUTIVE experience. great, i guess we should throw those same charges of inexperience at McCain too then.

I think Huckabee actually had the best speech last night. Unlike the other major speakers, his message seemed to be directed more at the undecided voters watching from home than the brash crowd sitting in front of him. Too bad he misquoted Abraham Lincoln, though.

Palin's speech was great to the extent that she demonstrated that she is a likeable person. I think it was clever for McCain to choose her in this capacity, and I honestly don't expect much insightful contribution from her beyond the standard rhetoric during the debates.

It's all up to McCain now. I actually like the guy, and it'll be interesting to see if he can adequately brand himself as a "maverick" without alienating the base in the upcoming debates. Obama, I'm sure, will be ready and eager to exploit this tension. May the best candidate win.

79/81: I hope you realize that in Obamaland your Biglaw salary makes you "upper crust" notwithstanding your years of foregone income and massive pile of student loans. But then again, maybe you're still starry-eyed law students whose hopes and dreams will all be fulfilled through change.

79,80,81: Will Obama or will he not let the Bush tax cuts expire in 2010?

The Bush tax cuts reduced taxes in EVERY SINGLE TAX BRACKET. If not made permanet, taxes will go UP for EVERYONE, rich or middle class or otherwise.

It is that simple.

@82 -- no one said anything about corruption.....I think the general point is that dismissing Palin because she was mayor of a small town and is governor of a small state is way off base. Is a big city mayor more qualified for the vice presidency? Is Kwame Kilpatrick more qualified than any small town mayor? Is a big state governor more qualified, based on the population of the state alone?

Presumably everyone would acknowledge that serving in the Senate (where group decisions are made) is not, by itself, any test of a person's executive skills. Maybe this is why very few members of Congress go on to become president. What voters look for in candidates is judgment and they do that by assessing a number of things....public record, family life, associations, successes, failures, priorities, challenges, etc.

Many people reject Obama because of his poor judgment, which we glean from his experiences....his public and private record, bad associations, dissembling, and radical principles.

The only people that should be voting for Obama and the Democrats are the very rich and the very poor. Hardworking blue collar workers, the middle class, and the nomily rich should vote Republican because anyone who actually works should not be subsidizing handouts for the poor and lazy. The ultra rich can afford to be idealists at the expense of those that work.

HTH.

89: I love this line of attack. It assumes, (1) I've never considered that my taxes will go up, and (2) that the only thing that matters to me about the governance of the USA is how much my taxes are. Naivete and naked self-interest are neocon traits. Not mine.

It was a very well-delivered speech, but keep in mind #74's comment. Is she really qualified enough to become the 45th president if McCain's health takes a turn for the worse in the next 4 years? Looking at McCain last night, this is a very real possibility.

93: Why don't you and every other liberal voluntarily give more of your paycheck to the government to fund your socialist programs instead of taking it away from hardworking people of all income levels who are vehmently opposed to funding socialist programs and handouts for the lazy?

There is nothing stopping you from giving all of your money to the government, so what are you waiting for?

93-
FYI, the world runs on self-interest. Why do you show up for work every day?

I assume that you care deeply about the poor and helpless. This is your own morality. You seek to impose this upon the rest of the country by taxing the rich heavily and spending on federal programs. There are others that do not share your views and for you to force them to share in your views through the power of government is flat out wrong.

It was a very well-delivered speech by Obama last week, but keep in mind that normally the person at the top of the ticket is inaugurated as President following an election. Is he really qualified enough to become the 44th president if the Obama/Biden ticket should prevail?

94-

Is Obama really qualified to become the 45th president on day 1?

Insert retort about not paying for the war with my tax dollars, etc. Taxes suck, but other things suck more, like lagging behind the rest of the modern world in healthcare. I'm a proud America. I'm tired of America slipping off of the stage as the best country in the world. I'm tired of America not being the respected leader of the free world. Our quality of life will improve with new direction.

98--

I'll take a magna cum laude HLS graduate who has served in the U.S. Senate over a journalism major from the University of Idaho any day of the week.

93: Well said! This election is about so much more than the size of our paychecks.

95: Because it is more fun to take it from you and watch you suffer.

96: Why then don't you take money out of your paycheck to pay for the Iraq war -- I do not share the morality of this war, and, using your logic, should not have to pay for it.

100: McCain was a journalism major from Idaho? Or do you have the candidates confused as to who is actually running for president?

90: It's not that simple you TTT attender. Those tax cuts will expire NO MATTER WHAT, no matter who is President. The Democrats will have a clear majority in Congress the next election cycle (if you think otherwise, I have a bridge from nowhere - that I was for before I was against - to sell you) and there's no way, given the soaring national debt, debilitating domestic infrastructure, etc., etc., that they're going to renew the Bush tax cuts.

This is to say nothing of what I believe has been lost in the political debate vis-a-vis taxes. In order to be taxed, no matter the rate, we need a paying job, and in order to have a (well) paying job, we'll need to start improving this god awful economy (note the daily yet increasing posts on ATL about attorneys getting laid off, and about law students not getting offers). If McCain gets elected, I (reasonably) fear that he'll continue many of the failed fiscal policies that got our economy into this mess in the first place, and that I might not have any income to be taxed on to begin with.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Republicans have an economic plan worth its salt. If they do, I haven't heard a thing about it with only one day left in their convention....

100: Not if you were easily dazzled by sardonic jabs at the East Coast elite HLS grad.

89: Obama pledged to put a donut hole in that spending. Until I reach 250k, my taxes will be reasonable, and, beyond that, I would have to be awfully greedy to want more.

99/101: Most Americans agree that they do not want to pay for this war. FYI: Your do-nothing Democrat congress and senate could stop the war tomorrow.

Most americans agree with everything you stated, but Obama will not get you there. McCain might not either, but he at least has a chance to get us there.

103: Exactly. I've yet to see any intelligent answer to the famous quip: "It's the economy, stupid."

On taxes, Obama claims that he will lower taxes for 95% of Americans (I dispute that assertion, but let's go with it). However, 40% of Americans currently pay ZERO income taxes. How do you lower taxes for them?

Obama's tax plan increases refundable credits for, among others, those that don't pay taxes, i.e. he plans to take more from those that already pay a lot and give it to those that that pay nothing in the form of a tax refund. Taking from the rich and giving to the poor was a nice idea in fairy tales like Robin Hood, but it didn't pan out so well in China, Russia, Cuba, or other real world examples.

Whether Democrats or the poor like it or not, it is the rich that keep this country moving, and the idea that if you work hard you can become one of them that keeps this country great. All government does is put up road blocks to the American dream.

And if you believe the American dream is dead, how else could the half-black son of a poor white woman go on to graduate from HLS, make $4 million annually and run for President?

101-

At least national defense is an enumerated power of the federal government. We can debate the merits of the war, but at least we can agree that it's a proper role of government.

I'll gladly put my tax dollars towards the global war on terror ($145 billion for 2008) if you'll cover entitlement spending including social security ($608 billion), medicare ($386 billion), medicaid and SCHIP ($209 billion), and unemployment and welfare ($324 billion). Oh, you can pay for the department of education ($56 billion) and HUD ($35 billion) as well.

103 -

Not to worry, because in Obama's world you don't need to pay taxes to enjoy a tax cut. It is great, you just do nothing, and then once a year Washington gives you money that it took from some poor schmuck out there busting his but.

Sure, those who hate Republicans weren't changed by last night's speech, but reviewing your comments, one thing strikes me... there's fear in your words. She wasn't supposed to be this good. She was supposed to fall apart after the pressure of the past week.

So the GOP speakers are mean? Nasty? Are you listening to yourselves? Did you pay attention last week?

This lady is a player and you don't take her seriously. She'll take your punches and enough cross-over votes to "steal" your election in November. Even the world's biggest liberal, Chris Matthews, said on DNCTV (errr, I mean MSNBC) -- "She'll play well in Scranton, Peioria and Ohio."

Remember the speech last night. It's the beginning of the end for your messiah.

When will disgraced Washington lobbyist Norman Hsu be sentenced?

110 hit the nail on the head.

If the Dems were not shaking in their boots they would not have demeaned themselfves by going after Palin with cheep shots ("shrill", "snide", ect.) and would have contratulated her on a great speech and left it at that.

Iam a registered Democrat, but not voting that was this year for socialist Obama and semi-corrupt political hack Biden.

Palin has got guts and a gift for communication.

100-

Yeah, you're right. Academia teaches you all you need to know about the