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GETTING REAL ABOUT PALIN — I've noticed some people who should know better claiming that bringing up Gov. Palin's troopergate scandal is tantamount to making a victim of or defending her slimeball ex-brother-in-law who allegedly once used a taser on his stepson. — That's awfully foolish.
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Vice in Go-Go Boots? — The guilty pleasure I miss most when I'm out slogging on the campaign trail is the chance to sprawl on the chaise and watch a vacuously spunky and generically sassy chick flick. — So imagine my delight, my absolute astonishment, when the hokey chick flick came out on the trail …


Sarah Palin's mother-in-law uncertain about how she'll vote — WASILLA, Alaska - Sarah Palin's hometown rallied around her as mayor - now Republicans wonder if the rest of America will warm up to the surprise pick from cold country. — Though her mother-in-law has doubts.

McCain: Palin a “soulmate” — John McCain, in his first television interview since his shocking vice presidential pick, said that he saw in Sarah Palin “a partner and a soul mate.” — “This is a person who will help me reform Washington and change the way they do business,” McCain told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”

Palin: Surge? What Surge? — Among the tiny number of occasions on which Sarah Palin has expressed even an opinion on foreign policy, one of the most recent bears putting out there one more time. It's from a critical moment in the war in Iraq, December 2006, which John McCain has made the centerpiece of his campaign.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post

Palin electrifies conservative base — ST. PAUL - The selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate has electrified conservative activists, providing a boost of energy to the GOP nominee-in-waiting from a key constituency that had been previously had been lukewarm - at best - about him.
Discussion:
Associated Press, cbn.com, Althouse, Yahoo! News, Donklephant, AMERICAblog News and TIME.com

Palin Made an Impression From the Start — Fellow Maverick Survived McCain's Thorough Vetting Process, Aides Say — Their first encounter was last February at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington. Sarah Palin was one of several governors who met privately with Sen. John McCain …
Discussion:
Tom Watson, Newsweek, Wake up America, Hot Air, Blue Hampshire, Achenblog, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Commentary and PoliPundit.com

BIG PICTURE — I've written below how Sarah Palin not only lacks …
Discussion:
The Art of the Possible

Palin: Pioneer, maverick — and now game-changer
Discussion:
Flopping Aces, The Moderate Voice, American Power, New York Times, Gallup, Connecting.the.Dots and DemConWatch


Storm Disrupts Republican Plans for Convention — ST. PAUL — Plans for the Republican National Convention were in flux on Sunday as the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, announced that the thrust of the convention would change “from a party event to a call to the nation for action” …
Discussion:
TIME.com
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EXPLOITATION — With news that Gustav is headed towards Louisiana and that New Orleans is under mandatory evacuation, it is reassuring on some fronts to see the Republican response. So far Bush and Cheney have cancelled their appearances in St. Paul and the RNC is trying to determine …

McCain orders convention changes because of storm
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Washington Wire, Los Angeles Times, Wake up America, MyDD and Reuters

Cindy McCain: Palin knows foreign policy because ‘Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia.’ — Today on ABC's This Week, Cindy McCain tried to rebut the criticism that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) has no national experience by taking a talking point from Fox's Steve Doocy.
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Palin touts stance on ‘Bridge to Nowhere,’ doesn't note flip-flop — When John McCain introduced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday, her reputation as a tough-minded budget-cutter was front and center. — “I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere,” …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Think Progress, TIME.com, The RBC, AMERICAblog News, Hoffmania! and Bob Cesca's Goddamn …

Obama Outwits the Bloviators — STOP the presses! This election isn't about the Clintons after all. It isn't about the Acropolis columns erected at Invesco Field. It isn't about who is Paris Hilton and who is Hanoi Hilton. (Though it may yet be about who is Sarah Palin.)
Discussion:
Hoffmania!
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Sen. Lindsey Graham , Cindy McCain and Sen. John Kerry on ABC's “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” — SPEAKERS: GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C. — CINDY MCCAIN, SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE — SEN. JOHN KERRY, D-MASS. [*] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)


You Stay Classy, Alan Colmes — Alan Colmes of Hannity and Colmes wrote a post so inappropriate and offensive the Kos Kiddies would be envious. He accused Governor Palin of not taking enough care of Trig when he was an unborn baby. A man who has no problem with a woman killing …

Pivot Palin, Pivot! — She's said nice things about Hillary. She's dropped the glass ceiling phrase a few times. Good, fine. But enough is enough. She needs to become more of a Margaret Thatcher type. Let the press bring up her gender. They'll do it anyway.
Discussion:
Hot Air