Barrow

Another in an increasingly oddly named series of worbticles about Sarah Palin's ability or inability to lead. Today, it's about why the Democrats' rhetoric is misplaced, why Sarah's rhetoric is misplaced, and why I prefer to call her Sarah.

So, I've only read the text of the speech--I didn't listen to Sarah's inflection--but I'll tell you this: I don't think McCain's selection was off the cuff or anything of the sort. Gut feelings vs. safe choices aside, I think that this was thought out by the Mac Camp. Perhaps they even knew about Bristol, although I bet the seventeen-year-old didn't tell her mommy until the nomination was in the bag. That's how teenagers think.

On, on to the economy, stupids. Sarah talks about drilling Alaska. Drill Alaska, she says. That was the whole idea, but she took a long time on it. In fact, despite that CNN labels her speech an Obama-bash, the oil economy is her primary focus. Let's not deny it, this is an ingenious move if this is why Mac chose her (and come on, I'm pretty sure this is). Americans want to be rid of foreign oil dependency. I want to be rid of oil in general, but America's not ready for that, at least on the right.

So, that's a good plan, if you've got one. But, in the end, what this proves is that we can't just throw away Sarah 'cause her daughter's pregnant, and we can't throw away Mac if his plan is to Drill the Heck out of the Great White American North.

Also, she doesn't really look like a VP, but she does look like someone you'd chat with at the PTA or whatnot. Hockey mom image accurate or not, I can't call her Palin anymore, and will reserve that for the Python of the same name.

Live from St. Paul...

It's Wednesday night.

The Worb's coverage of the Republican National Convention has been a bit sparser than the DNC. My apologies - I was actually watching Home Alone tonight with my wife. In the few speeches I've taken in, however, I've noticed somewhat of a theme - national security. That's the watchword for the Republicans this year, and it's a good one. Most of America associates the Democratic Party with the phrase "soft on terror." Nearly every speaker has hit hard on the fact that if nothing else, President Bush has kept us safe, as evidenced by the fact that there have been no terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. (Personally, I don't know that he can claim such to his credit any more than he could claim credit for the attacks themselves, but that's neither here nor there.) Security, security, security. A vote for Obama is a vote for defeat. Vote for Obama and the terrorists win. It's repetitive, sure, but it's also effective. This is the party's strongest weapon, and you'd better believe they'll keep using it.

However, what you won't hear about here is the economy. As much as the Republicans would like to place the blame for the souring economy on the shoulders of the Democrat-led Congress, most of America associates the economic slowdown with the Republican Party. You heard a lot about the economy during the DNC. That's their strong point. So essentially, the election in November looks like it will come down to one issue: which do Americans value more, national security or the economy? If I'm a betting man, I'm picking the economy. After all, that's more or less how it turned out in 1992. Bush was a war hero and had successfully managed the Gulf War. People thought he was a shoo-in in November, until the economy turned south. And that's when the old catch phrase showed up: it's the economy, stupid. (Actually, if you follow that link and look at the three tenets of Clinton's campaign, you'll find that it could be Obama's campaign this year.)

In other news, the speakers at the RNC have been, more or less, stand up comedians. Everyone wants to take a jab at Obama. (Can you blame them? The DNC speakers did the same thing with McCain.) Rudy Giuliani got some nice zingers in tonight, such as, "I'm sorry that Barack Obama feels that [Sarah Palin's] hometown isn't cosmopolitan enough. ... Maybe they cling to religion there." Even Laura Bush got in on the action last night, saying that her husband's accomplishments were "change you can really believe in." Ooh dang! Here's looking forward to more zingers from the main man himself tomorrow night.