Monday 08SEP08

56 days to go so anyway, Bill Whittle, one of my favorite political commentators has a new piece up at NRO: Many conservatives were arguing that it would be better to sit this one out, and let the country go to hell, so that we could send the Republican party a message and re-emerge from the ashes in 2012 with "the next Reagan." I pointed out that there were two problems with this theory: First, you may not like the fact that Grandma smokes in bed, and you may indeed want to get her attention. But if that message consists of letting her set the bed, the house and the grandchildren on fire, perhaps there was a better way to "send a message." Second, it pained me to point out that there was no "next Reagan." Ronald Reagan was on the political scene for almost two decades before he became President. Who was waiting in the wings to magically fill this role? No one..... .....Sarah Palin has done more than unify and electrify the base. She's done something I would not have thought possible, were it not happening in front of my nose: Sarah Palin has stolen Barack Obama's glamour. She's stolen his excitement, robbed his electricity, burgled his charisma, purloined his star power, and taken his Hope and Change mantra, woven it into a cold-weather fashion accessory, and wrapped it around her neck..... .....A candidate who is young, funny, well-spoken, intelligent, charming, drop-dead gorgeous — and one of ours? Is this actually happening? I have personally seen hundreds of crusty, old-school paleocons who despised McCain now saying "He finally listened to us." By picking Palin — instead of Lieberman, who we all know he wanted — he has told conservatives that he gets it. They're not holding their noses and voting any more. They want yard signs and bumper stickers — they can't wait they are writing checks. I've seen post after post on Hillary forums about how much they love Sarah, how they are energized and lifted out of depression by her (and the sight of an actual Roll Call made some of them weep). They gush about how she reminds them of their hero, how tough and savvy and unafraid she is. And I have seen these women, hard-core, feminist Democrats for 30 years and more, sit in slack-jawed amazement at Palin and at how fiercely Republicans — Republicans! — are defending her, backing her, and cheering her to the rafters. These Clinton supporters say they don't know what to think any more: The Republicans are behaving like Democrats and the Democrats are behaving like Republicans! Emphasis mine, of course. Righteous, Brother. Read the whole thing. Hat tip to Ragin' Dave at Four Right Wing Wackos for the link. Elsewhere, Senator McCain is poised to point out the dog siht on Senator Obama's shoes. It looks like the DNC had a double-siht-load of American flags after their convention that they decided to put out with the trash. McQ of Q and O fame opines that "It is stupid things like this...which can cost you elections" McQ at Q and O also tips us to Charles Martin's most excellent run-down of Sarah Palin Non-Facts or rumors, or whatever. Good reading, that. Also at Q and O: Senator Barack Hussien Obama II is not going to take away your guns: "If you've got a gun in your house, I'm not taking it," Obama said.... But the Illinois senator could still see skeptics in the crowd, particularly on the faces of several men at the back of the room. So he tried again. "Even if I want to take them away, I don't have the votes in Congress," he said. "This can't be the reason not to vote for me. Can everyone hear me in the back? I see a couple of sportsmen back there. I'm not going to take away your guns." Damn wrong, skippy: this can be a reason not to vote for you. To quote McQ: Good grief. "Even if I want to take them away"? Translation: "I'm not a gun grabber, but assuming that I'm lying about that, I've put some thought into it and I've calculated that I can't currently succeed. So you're not going to hold this little matter against me, are you?" more soon