Wow. Sarah Palin nailed her presentation to the Republican party and the American public. I may not like her politics but I can’t argue with her stage presence. The woman definitely got my attention.
Matt Scully, the man who wrote Palin’s speech, did a great job of capturing Palin’s personality and gave her some great lines to run with. It’ll be interesting to see what she has to say when she’s unscripted. I have a feeling she’ll still be consistently on point and confidently sharp.
I thought she was at times unnecessarily mean-spirited (she lived up to her self-description as a “pit bull with lipstick”). And no, I didn’t buy all her statements about things like that infamous bridge to nowhere and her thanks but no thanks rhetoric. But that kind of stuff will out itself over the next few weeks and it’s kind of standard fare for politicians.
Palin caught me off guard in one respect — because as much as I am firmly entrenched in Obama’s camp, as a woman, I found myself smiling at her seemingly very sincere cockiness. That cockiness was fun to watch — you don’t get to see it in women too often in public and though I do wonder if Americans will find it necessary to bring her down a notch or two as they do with most cocky women, maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll be so satisfied with her, they’ll give her a pass on the lack of humility.
As much as I got a sincere kick out of her balls to the walls personality, I think the historic significance of the moment could have used a soupçon of humility at where she has suddenly found herself — before the American people, at the threshhold of one of the most important times of challenge and potential change our country has every faced. I’m not sure what I think about her yet on a kind of personal level, but I certainly felt the impact of seeing a woman in the position of a party nominee for VP — pretty heady stuff for women who only won the right to vote just 16 years before John McCain was born. And doubly heady stuff given the times we’re in.
All in all, McCain’s pick in Palin has all the appearances of a home run for the GOP. Her no holds barred delivery and self-presentation as a hockey mom with a heart of gold and a backyard filled to the brim with fuel resources is looking to give the Democrats a heck of a run for the money.
I’m a hopeless predictor. I’ve never been right about too much on the national stage, but I will say this: I’ll be surprised if McCain can capture the stage back from the woman he’s put on it front and center. This race may now be between Palin and Obama. It’s sure shaping up that way tonight.