Of course we hated her speech

[onenote]

We weren't supposed to like it. It wasn't intended for us to like it. It was aimed at firing up the repub base and it was an effective speech from that regard. And it was aimed at assuring fence sitters that she could deliver a punch -- that she was as tough as the "boys". And she did that as well. In the long run, the negativity of her speech won't play well, but anyone who thought that she was going to collapse in tears or giggles up there (and there were a couple of folks here who essentially throught that), need to face the fact that if you weren't an unabashed partisan, there were things about her speech -- form more than substance -- that were effective.

Flame away.

(edited to correct typo: weren't, not were).

[Egnever]

1. The pub base is not enough

the rest of the electorate is going to run screaming from her.

[scheming daemons]

2. Which made her nothing more than Buchanan '92.

And we know how that election turned out.

[Marsala]

3. You're absolutely right

Everyone who hated it WANTED to hate it. They (I didn't actually watch it, but still hate it) accentuated every negative, magnifying every detail that might seem bad. When you hate someone, you will be predisposed to dislike anything she does.

[tammywammy]

4. I agree

It was full of zingers and one-liners that will repeat well and fire up the republicans. In that sense it was a good speech, but it did vastly lack on substance.

We shall see what the fallout from her "distortions" of her record and such are in the next day or so.

[TheDonkey]

5. HER SPEECH WAS A TIRADE OF LIES

wow I'm yelling but that is the meme we need to get out. Opportunistic, cheap, pathetic attacks based on lies.

[geek tragedy]

23. Tell that to the eggheads in Chicago who think that

whining about divisiveness is a winning strategy.

[countingbluecars]

6. Her speech sounded

like the same old hate filled, divisive crap spewed daily on conservative radio.

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

7. Let's see her pull that off UNrehearsed

... then we can talk about how 'good' she may be on a national level.

Remember, she was a news anchor for years, she's adept at reading script.
Thinking on her feet? That will be the proof or the undoing.

Since they're already calling criticims of her 'sexist' yet ignoring their own convention buttons of 'The Hottest VP from the Coolest State'... you can see they speak from both sides of their vile mouths.

They say 'Empty Suit' but then show no substance themselves.

They're a Party of disingenous PowerMongers who has replaced the opiate of the masses with Fear and Division.
Does a Good Christian stand for lies and bearing false witness for political gain?
What gains a women a Vice Presidency if she loses her soul? <smile>

[Cant trust em]

8. Since no one knows anything about her, people are looking for some substance

She can't just be an empty shell with some one-liners. That won't convince anyone. I don't think that this is about the top of the ticket anymore. She's going to attract as much attention as McCain.

[mzmolly]

9. The speech was divisive,and she came across as a disingenuous

sarcastic, unlikable, shill. Yes she delivered to the base, but she turned off those just getting to know Sarah Palin.

[FrenchieCat]

10. You are wrong. She was supposed to bring people to the party.....

in order to win. She failed.

[onenote]

14. she wasn't supposed to bring anyone who posts at DU "to the party"

So the fact that we all hated the speech is meaningless. And our judgment as to how it played with undecided/on the fence voters is not and cannot be objective. I hope people reacted the way I did, but until we see some poll numbers over the next few days/weeks, we won't know. What we do know is that she didn't shy away from being an attack dog. Whether that helps or hurts the repubs, only time will tell.

[Awsi Dooger]

27. You have an excellent grasp

I do much better when I argue on sports sites or balanced political forums. Around here while I love the caliber of discussion on most topics, there's not a speck of objectivity during debates or speeches by the other side. I was reloading during Palin's speech and one new thread after another was using the work sucks or similar. It was like a parody. I wanted to bet everything I own that the speech was going to be received very positively. Like I posted during the speech, she was absolutely nailing it.

Meanwhile, there won't be a peep from the crowd who predicted Palin would drop out or be replaced. It's like that never existed. I'm wrong all the time, 44% of the time in Las Vegas to be exact, so I have no trouble conceding I bet on Mark Warner and Rudi Giuliani to win their nomiantions at 10/1 apiece, and later (through mid-February) I expected Hillary to defeat Obama.

[dkf]

17. Yes...a big fail indeed.

This was her opportunity to make everyone like her and want to see more of her. The Repubs screwed up by 1) ditching the Bio and 2) making her drone on too long.

[Cha]

20. She also Energized our Communitiy Organizing Base like

no other..something the gushers don't take into consideration.

It was a hateful speech, full of lies, that showed her true self..what could be better?

[Lex]

11. They've got to more than get their base to vote. They have to capture the middle

somewhat and they aren't going to do it with this ticket.

[Tresalisa]

12. I was out, and have only seen snippets of her speech

tonight on TV. I am watching some of the talking heads on the news channels, and many are saying that it was a terrific speech.

Does it mean she'll be a terrific candidate? I don't know, but I join you in thinking that we underestimate her at our peril.

[goodgd_yall]

13. Well, I do agree some people think she'll melt down to a puddle

and I don't see that at all, even before this speech. From what I've read of her, she's ruthless, just the kind of person the Republican Party loves to employ.

[orwell]

15. Actually...

...I'm reading reactions from religious conservatives who hated it.

This was her chance to introduce herself to the country. While nobody expected her to just "play nice" I thought the nasty condescending tone put many people off. Rudy had already done the heavy lifting. She didn't need to out Rudy him.

The slight against community organizers has a lot of people really pissed off. Remember, a lot of churches perform this role. Why would you want to anger people who are good at motivating large groups of people?

I think this speech really missed a golden opportunity to position her properly for the mass audience. I think the last week of attacks have stung her and it showed in the snarky tone of the speech. She is weak, not strong as she tried to project. Just as John McCain was when he panicked and picked her.

McCain's mother looked appalled.

Also, it's not always a good idea to insult people who buy ink by the barrel.

[onenote]

16. link to some of those negative reactions from religious conservatives?

I'd be interested in reading those.

[orwell]

18. Heres one from Andrew Sullivan

"Every now and then, my lifelong Republican evangelical Christian calls me with his take on politics. He usually fancies himself an independent, but obviously is not, until tonight. His words to me, verbatim: "I'm sick. I'm done with em . They can't think we're that stupid."

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/live-blogging-p.html

[onenote]

19. that's pretty thin

one third hand report?

[orwell]

21. Here's Another

But in the home of another independent voter, Laura Bates, 45, of Madison, Conn., the reaction was more muted. "She gives a good speech, and she's talking to the people in her audience -- but she seems antagonistic, and I'm not impressed," said Bates, who supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries. "I'd say it's about 100 percent I'd vote for Obama at this point. She hasn't really said anything constructive ... and she's been a little negative and smug."

From WaPo

[onenote]

29. Doesn't describe her as a religious conservative

Which is what I thought we were discussing

[orwell]

22. Most of these are pretty negative

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-75801

[onenote]

30. they're not religious conservatives

Which is what I asked for a link to.

[orwell]

28. From Warren Rudman...

“It’s more difficult with someone of her background to go on the attack than it would be for Joe Biden,” said Warren Rudman, a former Republican senator from New Hampshire. “Before she attacks someone, she has to get out there and define herself.”

[Bensthename]

24. BUT IT WAS FULL OF LIES.

Is that how a campaign is ran now to get the middle now?

[cemaphonic]

25. Look at some of the comments on Cnn and other mainstream news sites.

They need to be taken with a grain of salt, of course, and the Internet skews more Dem than the population at large, BUT with that said, I'm seeing a lot of comments from fence-sitters and moderate Republicans that were really turned off by her speech.

[EmilyAnne]

26. But the base is not enough. Bush didn't win on the base alone.

I think Bush's pitiful approval ratings indicate the size of the true base.
Lieberman's performance last night was an attempt to get undecideds, hesitant Dems and the mythical PUMAS.
Sorry, but if there was any chance, Giuliani and Palin screwed it away tonight.