memeorandum: DON'T PATRONIZE SARAH PALIN. (Christopher Hitchens/Slate)

10:50 PM ET, September 8, 2008

Top Items:

McCain Gains Momentum in New Poll — Both Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain solidified support among party loyalists during the conventions, but it was the Republican nominee who entered the presidential campaign's final stretch with newfound momentum, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, Scared Monkeys, Tom Watson, This ain't Hell … and JammieWearingFool

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:

Why Palin Scares Me — Before I get to that, let me explain what I'm not scared of, which is that Palin has somehow altered the demographics of the race. I have a hard time believing that female Hillary supporters, or Rust Belt men, are suddenly racing to support McCain because of Palin.

Discussion: JustOneMinute and Commentary

John McCain / Telegraph:

Sarah Palin dolls go on sale as John McCain's running mate's popularity soars — Two new action dolls have gone on sale of Sarah Palin, the Alaska Governor who John McCain has chosen to be his Republican presidential running mate. — The dolls are the latest in a line of American political candidates …

Discussion: Wake up America

CBS News:

Read The Complete Poll — Fifty-three percent of registered voters - including 85 percent of McCain supporters - are glad Palin was selected as McCain's running mate. Obama supporters are less enthusiastic about Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden: Just 65 percent of Obama backers …

Discussion: The Swamp and The Strata-Sphere

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Huge: 20-point shift towards McCain among white women since last month in new ABC poll — He's still down one overall among registereds and up two among likelies, but Gallup pegged white independents last week as the only demographic group where there's still a major gender gap and thus room for movement.

Discussion: GINA COBB

Byron York / The Corner:

She's An Extremist. Yeah, That's It. An Extremist. — It's no secret the Obama campaign has been trying to figure out how to counter the new popularity of Sarah Palin. Today's approach: she's an extremist. Campaigning in Wisconsin today, Joe Biden said that Palin holds “some fairly extreme views.”

Discussion: Confederate Yankee

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
Dead Heat: John McCain, Barack Obama Even in Post-Convention Poll

Discussion: Boston Globe, Top of the Ticket, The New Republic and TalkLeft

Associated Press:
McCain leads Obama in 2 polls, race even in 3 more

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Brendan Farrington / Associated Press:
A Hillary vs. Sarah smackdown? Don't bet on it

Discussion: Don Surber

Tammy Bruce / San Francisco Chronicle:
A feminist's argument for McCain's VP

Discussion: protein wisdom, Donklephant and Gateway Pundit

Howard Wolfson / The New Republic:
No “Cat Fights”

Discussion: Washington Wire, Boston Globe, Spin Cycle, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, MyDD and TalkLeft

Marc Ambinder:

Obama Upconverts His Musings On Palin — In Flint, Michigan today, Barack Obama hinted that, far from being off-limits, Gov. Sarah Palin is coming into focus as a target for the Democrats. — According to CBS News's Maria Gavrilovic, here's what Obama said:

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hot Air, The Colorado Independent, Ben Smith's Blogs, Liberal Values, The Anonymous Liberal, Stop The ACLU and TIME.com

SCF / Senate Conservatives Fund:

Alaska Democrats pull web page crediting Palin for killing Bridge to Nowhere — We linked last week to a web page sponsored by the Alaska Democratic Party, which attacks Sen. Ted Stevens and credits Governor Sarah Palin for killing the Bridge to Nowhere. Our post is here.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Townhall.com and Political Machine

Think Progress:

Lies To Nowhere: The McCain Campaign's Inaccuracies On Palin's Bridge To Nowhere Support — From the day he named Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) to be his vice presidential running mate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been citing Palin's opposition to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere as the prime example …

Discussion: The Crypt's Blogs, Salon, Emptywheel and D-Day

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Claiming the ‘Maverick’ Brand — The Ad: Announcer: The original mavericks. He fights pork barrel spending. She stopped the Bridge to Nowhere. He took on the drug industry. She took on big oil. He battled Republicans and reformed Washington. She battled Republicans and reformed Alaska.

Discussion: Think Progress, skippy the bush kangaroo, Political Machine, TPM Election Central, The Washington Independent, The Huffington Post and The Jed Report

Associated Press:
Fact Check: Palin and the Bridge to Nowhere

Discussion: The Raw Story, Liberal Values and DownWithTyranny!

Wall Street Journal:
Record Contradicts Palin's ‘Bridge’ Claims

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, MyDD, Real Clear Politics and Taylor Marsh

Little Green Footballs:
Alaska Democratic Party Deletes Page Crediting Sarah Palin …

Discussion: Power Line, Pajamas Media, Gateway Pundit and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Sara Kugler / Associated Press:
McCain, Palin criticize Obama on earmarks

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Marc Ambinder:
Yglesias V. Ambinder

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and Emptywheel

The Huffington Post:

Palin Makes Her First Gaffe — Gov. Sarah Palin made her first potentially major gaffe during her time on the national scene while discussing the developments of the perilous housing market this past weekend. — Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed …

Michelle Malkin:
Huffing HuffPo desperate for a GOP gaffe

Discussion: L.A. Land, The Other McCain, American Power and MarketWatch

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
HOUSING POLICY TRIPS UP PALIN.... I've seen some suggestion …

Discussion: Comments from Left Field

Rasmussen Reports:

FOX/Rasmussen Swing State Polling — Background — Rasmussen Reports conducted five state telephone surveys in partnership with Fox News Channel on September 7, 2008. The surveys were conducted in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. A total of 500 Likely Voters …

Discussion: Fox News, Oliver Willis and American Spectator

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
First Look At The New Electoral Map

Discussion: The Field on the Narcosphere and The Washington Note

FactCheck.org:

Sliming Palin — False Internet claims and rumors fly about McCain's running mate. — We've been flooded for the past few days with queries about dubious Internet postings and mass e-mail messages making claims about McCain's running mate, Gov. Palin. We find that many are completely false, or misleading.

Discussion: Hot Air

CNN:
McCain Palin fires back over book ban rumor

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Talk To Action and Salon

Gallup:

Gallup Daily: McCain's Bounce Gives Him 5-Point Lead — Leads Obama 49%-44% in first results conducted fully after GOP convention — PRINCETON, NJ — John McCain leads Barack Obama, 49% to 44%, in the immediate aftermath of the Republican National Convention, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking results.

Discussion: The New Republic, Reuters, The Anonymous Liberal, The Gun Toting Liberal, Daily Kos, American Spectator, JammieWearingFool and Hot Air

Bart Motes / The Huffington Post:
National Review Says McCain is Still Gonna Lose

Discussion: The Corner

CNN:
CNN Poll: Race dead even

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Comments from Left Field and skippy the bush kangaroo

Christopher Hitchens / Slate:

DON'T PATRONIZE SARAH PALIN. — In The Best Man, the only useful or amusing film—or play—ever to have been set at an American political convention, Gore Vidal presents us with Joe and Mabel Cantwell (Cliff Robertson and Edie Adams in the 1964 movie version), who are a right-wing “family values” couple with a large and grisly brood.

Discussion: Vodkapundit

Adam McKay / The Huffington Post:

We're Gonna Frickin' Lose this Thing — “Stop saying that!” my wife says to me. But this is not a high school football game and I'm not a cheerleader with a bad attitude. This is an election and as things stand now, we're gonna frickin' lose this thing.

Discussion: Moonbattery, BlueOregon, Confederate Yankee, StephenBainbridge.com, Perfunction, Blue Crab Boulevard and Wake up America

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

PRIMAL SCREAM — The TPM email bag this morning is chock of emails saying, in so many words, is it time to panic? I'm actually not taking much summary license here. Most of the emails I'm talking about actually ends with some form of that sentence. Since a lot of you are asking this I thought I should provide some sort of answer.