Don’t mess with this hockey mom! Sarah Palin took to the floor of the Republican Convention Wednesday night and delivered a slapshot right to the gut of the Obama campaign. Folks, there’s really only one thing to say…game on!
Read more here.
So much for being nervous on the national stage. If she was nervous, she sure didn’t show it. She may be new to the national stage but I have a feeling she’s not leaving that stage for a long, long time. And the Republican crowd inside the Xcel Center in St. Paul was in such a frenzy that they didn’t want her leaving that stage tonight.
This speech was part mom, part Pit Bull and part policy wonk. I mean she went after Obama as hard as anyone. She basically ripped him to shreds but she didn’t do it in a way that looked mean or vindictive. That’s hard to do but she pulled it off. Instead, she did it in a way that playfully poked fun at his expense. There was no reason for her to deliver her lines in a mean, terse way. Rather, she let the crowd take care of the wild and raucous reaction. They were eating it up.
The Democratic Party, especially the Obama campaign has a problem on its hands. Sarah Palin can not be stereotyped as the crazy pro-lifer. They may try that but the problem is that she doesn’t fit neatly into any one box. She can play reformer, independent thinker, energy policy wonk, pro-lifer, attack dog or PTA mom. She’s multi-faceted. She isn’t one dimensional. That’s got to be a concern for the Obama campaign. If I’m Joe Biden, I’m already plotting strategy for that big debate on October 2nd. He’s going to need a lot of time to figure it out.
On policy, I think we clearly saw what Palin is going to bring to the ticket. Energy. Energy. Energy. I don’t mean excitement energy. Yes she brings that in spades but I mean drilling and oil energy. In an election where the economy and gas prices are top priorities, Palin’s expertise in the area of energy independence plays very well into the economic package that the McCain campaign wants to put forward. (yes, drilling in ANWR is a difference McCain and Palin have which will be something to monitor)
Bottom line is this: the GOP has found its attack dog. Her name is Sarah Palin. But they have found something else too. They have discovered a rising star in their own party, somebody who proved Wednesday night that the big bright lights of national politics don’t scare her one bit. If this were the Stanley Cup Finals, she would be skating the cup around the ice tonight in a proud victory lap.