The Palin effect: crowd size  —  17,000+ today for the McCain-Palin rally outside of St. Louis, according to a Secret Service magnetometer count provided by the campaign.  —  As one veteran of Missouri politics said, that's the sort of crowd usually seen in October for a president — not in August for a candidate.

McCain chief hits Obama for playing politics as Gustav looms  —  John McCain's campaign manager today accused Barack Obama of practicing politics as Hurricane Gustav bears down on the Gulf Coast.  —  Rick Davis, in a brief interview following a pep talk he gave to convention volunteers in St. Paul …

Borderline  —  This is amazing: … The more I learn about this choice, the more it reminds me of Bush's choice of Harriet Miers.  I don't think it's at all similar in its political ramifications — Miers' nomination was seen as a betrayal by social conservatives, the very people who are thrilled by Sarah Palin.

Republicans Drop Most Monday Convention Action  —  ST. PAUL — Senator John McCain called a halt on Sunday afternoon to all but the most essential activities for the Republican National Convention on Monday, declaring that it was time for members of his party to “take off our Republican hats …

Oh, That Joe!  (Number 4 in a Series) — Biden on Difference Between Him and Palin: “She's Good Looking”  —  In his introduction of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., just now on the rooftop of the Toldeo Public Library, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., commented on the pulchritude of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin …

Lefty Bloggers Go After Palin's Daughter  —  The lefty blogosphere hasn't stopped perpetuating the rumor Sarah Palin “faked” her last pregnancy and are now humiliating her daughter Bristol on the blatantly incorrect suspicion she is the real mother of baby Trig.

BECAUSE OF THE HYPOCRISY!  [NOW UPDATED WITH EVEN MORE DASTARDLY HYPOCRISYNESS!]  —  Time to keep a running list of Sarah Palin's sins — lovingly gathered, mostly in crazed speculative form — by members of the Church of Diversity and Otherness coddling.  —  1) Alan Colmes: Poor prenatal care …

No Experience Necessary  —  HOW SARAH PALIN MADE THE GOP CHANGE ITS MIND ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS.  —  In a famous example of ideological flexibility, the American Communist Party changed its mind completely about Adolf Hitler in 1939, when he signed a deal with Stalin.

With Palin on the Ticket, Evangelicals Are Energized  —  Outside his evangelical church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sunday, David Chung was mobbed by friends and church members suddenly excited about the Republican ticket.  “I had half a dozen people come up to me,” said Chung, a delegate to the Republican National Convention.