# The RNC Sarah Palin Speech Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 4, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931 "2008-09-04T02:23:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/21 "2008-09-04T05:06:26Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Huh…I thought she did a pretty good job. > > Most of it was bullshit sure but its a convention and that’s what the speech makers do mostly. Giuliani did a good job getting the crowd warmed up (mostly bullshit again but again that is what the crowd there wants). I think he would have gone further in the primaries if he delivered speeches like that then. > > For Palin’s part she needed to assuage the faithful that she is their girl. Given all the muck flinging about on her lately and I think she pulled that off. She was never going to convince me of anything because I cannot bring myself to vote for her potential boss no matter how charming she might be. Not to mention I have been reading up on her enough to know by now that I am exceedingly opposed to a majority of what she is about. > > But trying to be honest about it she delivered the speech well and did what was expected. I gotta hand it to her too. She must have brass balls for being shoved into such a spotlight and pulling it off with nary a hitch. Even having speechified in the past running for Governor of Alaska is scant preparation to stand behind that podium. I couldn’t do as well (which is not saying much really but still, can’t be easy under that pressure so gotta hand it to her on that). Don’t you think she needed to do more than please the base, though? She was put on this ticket to try to attract Hillary voters. Do you think she made any kind of a case to non-conservative women tonight? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/22 "2008-09-04T05:08:00Z")
I’ve read that she’s “impressed” independents. Of course, the source is a blogger biased in her favor. And for all we know, “impressed” means “we expected her to be a lot worse.” We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/23 "2008-09-04T05:09:06Z")
C’mon, credit where credit is due - she knocked it out of the park. She delivered that speech very well. It had humor, some self-effacing, it had red meat, it had well parsed praises of McCain, it made her appealing to more than her RR core. I’m surprised that she did so well but she did. Sadly, my expectation that she’d be a shrill speaker woodenly delivering were not met and my prediction that she will cause the collapse of McCain’s hopes may have been premature. Friday’s numbers will, I suspect, show a decent McCain bounce now. Hell, if all I had to judge her by was this speech, _I’d_ like her. I didn’t hear any of the pundit pontifications - did they point out at least that she never really told Congress no thank you to funds for the Bridge to no where - not until they had already said no way any way? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/24 "2008-09-04T05:12:23Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Unimpressive. A hanging curveball over the center of the plate. A big fat greasy cheeseburger in the middle of the average delegate’s Chinet plate. > > And for the record, I thought Obama’s speech was more or less the same. Obama’s speech did not have the derisive, nasty tone that Palin’s did. Obama did not take a cheap shot at McCain’s wife or insult a whole profession. Obama’s speech might have been liberal in its ideology, but it was not mean spirited like this was. Obama never takes cheap shots. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/25 "2008-09-04T05:14:47Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Don’t you think she needed to do more than please the base, though? She was put on this ticket to try to attract Hillary voters. Do you think she made any kind of a case to non-conservative women tonight? I think she at least put down a good foundation to build from. Do she have a chance of winning them all, no. Does she need to, no. I think she came across as confident, cool and composed under fire. She’s shown she can deliver a speech. It’s yet to be seen how she handles herself in the debates or umpteen hundred interviews. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/26 "2008-09-04T05:14:59Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > C’mon, credit where credit is due - she knocked it out of the park. She delivered that speech very well. It had humor, some self-effacing, it had red meat, it had well parsed praises of McCain, it made her appealing to more than her RR core. > > I’m surprised that she did so well but she did. Sadly, my expectation that she’d be a shrill speaker woodenly delivering were not met and my prediction that she will cause the collapse of McCain’s hopes may have been premature. Friday’s numbers will, I suspect, show a decent McCain bounce now. Hell, if all I had to judge her by was this speech, _I’d_ like her. > > I didn’t hear any of the pundit pontifications - did they point out at least that she never really told Congress no thank you to funds for the Bridge to no where - not until they had already said no way any way? What did she say that had any appeal to non-right wingers? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/27 "2008-09-04T05:16:56Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Is this a whoosh? She’s _smart and informed_? Because she read a speech by McCain’s speechwriters – who started writing the speech before she was even chosen (they allegedly had to tear it up because it “sounded too masculine”)? This is a woman who, when lacking words on a prompter, admitted she didn’t know what the VP does and also that she hasn’t been paying attention to the war? > > This is what Republicans think is “informed.” George Bush’s fans no longer surprise me. > > And she’s a “quality mother figure” because … she shows off her four-month-old special needs baby in a crowded convention hall? Because her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant? Because her son trashed a school bus and was bundled off into the army? Because she (according to the _National Enquirer_, anyway – and hey, they were right about John Edwards!) had an affair with her husband’s business partner? Because if my or your daughter were raped, she’d be happy forcing our kids to have the rapist’s baby? > > Yep. That’s a quality, a1 mom right there. Your spurious unproven allegations aside, she’s also one damn fine good looking grandmother. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/28 "2008-09-04T05:17:17Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > I think she at least put down a good foundation to build from. > > Do she have a chance of winning them all, no. Does she need to, no. What do you think she said that would appeal to them? > [@](#): > > I think she came across as confident, cool and composed under fire. What fire was she under? She was talking to the friendliest crowd she’s ever seen in her life. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/29 "2008-09-04T05:17:32Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Don’t you think she needed to do more than please the base, though? She was put on this ticket to try to attract Hillary voters. Do you think she made any kind of a case to non-conservative women tonight? This baffles me, I confess. I cannot see many Hillary supporters being attracted by Mrs. Palin. What do the 2 women have in common beyond their gender? I was initially a Hillary supporter and was put off by the campaign she ran. But with all her manifold faults, she is 100 times the woman Mrs. Palin is. By American standards I am certainly a “non-conservative” woman and I wouldn’t support Mrs. Palin if I was paid large sums of money to do so. I thought Mrs. Palin came across as mean and sarcastic. I was prepared to like her, had she come out as warm and sympathetic, since I have some compassion for what she and her family have had to deal with lately. But she came out like Sarah Barracuda, all right, and my sympathy vanished. Preaching to the choir, and awfully over-confident in that “wink, wink, we all know what we think, don’t we” way. She was quick with the quips and the knife and as smooth as vaseline. It must have been jolly for John to sit there and know how much of a second banana he’s going to be. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/30 "2008-09-04T05:19:05Z")
“I noticed Giuliani, too, sneering at the phrase “community organizer,” so it seems like this is becoming some sort of meme among the right-wingers. Is it because “community” sounds too close to “communism” for their comfort? I really don’t get it.” It’s probably because ‘community organizer’ is about the most meaningless job title ever. What exactly does a ‘community organizer’ do? What was Obama’s job description when he held this position? Please be specific… ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/31 "2008-09-04T05:19:31Z")
As a woman (regardless that I’m a Democrat) I wanted to be shown that she’s capable of knocking my socks off. I wanted to be shown, immediately upon introduction—just by her demeanor—that she’s capable of taking it all over in case the shit goes down and McCain croaks. What I saw was (aside from the feelgood heartland family glurge) very little more than that she’s capable of reading from an assholer’s jokebook. I’m sure Iran would find her _tres_ amusing. Seriously: I thought it was embarrassing. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/32 "2008-09-04T05:21:36Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Obama’s speech did not have the derisive, nasty tone that Palin’s did. Obama did not take a cheap shot at McCain’s wife or insult a whole profession. Obama’s speech might have been liberal in its ideology, but it was not mean spirited like this was. Obama never takes cheap shots. Well fuck. I thought her speech was very good. Good Thing people aren’t biased. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/33 "2008-09-04T05:23:21Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Obama never takes cheap shots. Well I remember he started off the cheap shots in the the primary debates with Hillary, accusing her of working for Walmart while he Obama was serving the poor people of Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/34 "2008-09-04T05:23:23Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > What do you think she said that would appeal to them? > > What fire was she under? She was talking to the friendliest crowd she’s ever seen in her life. Her message tonight was clearly written for the party and delegates. The message of that speech is not going to win any Hil supporters, but her poise under the shitstorm of mud slinging she’s been under for the last few days might get some of them to start paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/35 "2008-09-04T05:24:40Z")
I missed it because I was at a kickoff event for the new Obama volunteer center we just opened, listening to Congresswoman Jane Harman implore us to work as hard as we can to get Barack, as well as all the down-ticket democrats as we can, elected. They need a veto-proof majority so they can pass legislation that will prevent any future president from the illegal and unconstitutional acts that Bush has committed. So now I’m watching the re-run of Guilliani’s speech, and maaaaan is it full of outright lies. It’s thoroughly disgusting. Seriously – the “present” issue again? He _completely_ misrepresented what it _is_. Lie, lie, lie. I have no doubt Palin’s speech will speak powerfully to her base, but be equally full of lies. I’m not sure my nerves can handle it tonight. LOL And I met the lovely **xanthous** tonight, too. Hi **xanthous**! > [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Well I remember he started off the cheap shots in the the primary debates with Hillary, accusing her of working for Walmart while he Obama was serving the poor people of Chicago. Well I remember it quite differently; that it was _her_ who started the cheap shots and he just used the Walmart thing in response. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/36 "2008-09-04T05:25:53Z")
Combined this with the post above. Nothing to see here. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/37 "2008-09-04T05:27:42Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Don’t you think she needed to do more than please the base, though? She was put on this ticket to try to attract Hillary voters. Do you think she made any kind of a case to non-conservative women tonight? Well, she can’t do all things in one speech. Given the hullabaloo surrounding her she needed to nail in her support and I think she did that. The Reps are moving to a bunker mentality as regards Palin. She’ll become like the PUMAs where no amount of legitimate pointing to the errors or misconceptions will move the faithful. The media, I think, seriously undermined the Dems on this by focusing on the puerile instead of the real issues surrounding her. Now even legitimate pointing to legitimate issues will be poo-pooed as unfair pounding on the poor woman. So, as regards her getting her base motivated she succeeded very well. Add in some pithy cheap shots that plays well to many Americans and I’d say she nailed her speech. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/38 "2008-09-04T05:27:54Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Your spurious unproven allegations aside, she’s also one damn fine good looking grandmother. [This](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26520727/) is the MSNBC article that **choie** was referring to about the speech. As to Palin’s other questions about what the VP does on a day-to-day basis or what’s going on in Iraq, those are well-documented. Though her asking what the VP does on a daily basis isn’t that damning, since I’m sure an overwhelming number of Americans would have that same question. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/39 "2008-09-04T05:28:06Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Well I remember it quite differently; that it was _her_ who started the cheap shots and he just used the Walmart thing in response. What did she say first ? I remember that was when she hit back with Rezko. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931/40 "2008-09-04T05:29:28Z")
**Dio** I think you are looking for substance. A convention speech is not aimed at those looking for substance. To the middle what was important was first what was not said: she did not harp on her RR cred; she did not mention pro-life and Christian values and judges on the court and how bad the gays are. Throw in some personal narrative that may be bull-crap but it was well delivered bull-crap. Oh that “I’ll be an advocate for special needs kids” will play well too even though she is completely full of it. Bottom line is that she did not come across as the RR extremist that she is. She came across as a witty attack dog willing to imply that such is her lot as a hockey mom - a pit bull with lipstick. Good timing, good delivery, and delivering some nasty jibes that still came off less mean-spirited than Rudy’s stuff. I despise her politics, her past record screams hypocrite and power abuser, her judgement is documentably poor, but good delivery can take a true believer far in this world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rnc-sarah-palin-speech-thread/461931.md?page=3)