Now THAT'S a nickname!  (Though "Sarah Barracuda" isn't bad, either.)

I've been surprised by the relatively muted response from the mainstream press to the Palin pick.  Quite frankly, I expected more pundits to go full-Olbermann on her.  But the attitude I've gotten from folks I've spoken to here at the RNC--like Susan Page at USA Today and Michael Barone at US News And World Report--is "So far, so good.  Who knows--it might actually work!

"Meanwhile, Palin's having precisely the effect I expected to see from the Loony Left.  Sen. John Kerry blew a gasket on ABC This Week, accusing Gov. Palin of being a member of the Flat Earth Society. (He also got her position on global warming wrong, too); one Democratic activists was quoted as saying McCain isn't the first old man to fall for a showgirl; and Andrew Sullivan erroneously claimed she was a Buchananite because she welcomed Pat to her town when she was mayor.  Other angry Democrats keep falsely accusing Gov. Palin of pushing for the teaching of Creationism in science class, too. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

And Alan "I'm Only On Fox To Make Conservatives Look Smarter" Colmes had a repugnant posting on his web page accusing Gov. Palin of denying her youngest son Trig proper prenatal care.  If you think that's bad, some Daily Kos nuts are claiming that Gov. Palin was never pregnant at all, that Trig is her oldest daughter's illegitimate baby and Palin's "pregnancy" was just a cover-up.  After all, how did Gov. Palin have time to get pregnant when she was so busy planning the "controlled demolition" of the World Trade Center?

Monday morning, from 9am-noon, I will be explaining exactly how choosing Palin can work--how it might be a stroke of political genius, in fact--assuming, that is, that she doesn't turn into Dan Quayle.

But this article comparing Palin vs. Obama on the experience question shows the potential benefits of going with the Governor.

And for those of you still looking for Palin-related bumper stickers, don't miss this one.

(h/t to Ladyblog and, of course, Wayne's World) 

Sarah Palin:

The Experience of Barack Obama,

The Electoral College Votes of Joe Biden

And maybe the best ever. David Brooks (one of my guests this morning from Denver) nails the DNC show hilariously.

Ladies and gentleman, I never expected to be speaking before you today. Like so many of our speakers at this convention, I come from a hard-working, middle-class family. I was leading a miserable little life, but, nevertheless, overcame great odds to live the American Dream. My great-grandfather fought in Patton’s Army, along with Barack Obama’s great-grand uncles’ fourth cousin once removed.

As a child, I was abandoned by my parents and lived with a colony of ants. We didn’t have much in the way of material possession, but we did have each other and the ability to carry far more than our own body weights. When I was young, I was temporarily paralyzed in a horrible anteater accident, but I never gave up my dream: the dream of speaking at a national political convention so my speech could be talked over by Wolf Blitzer and a gang of pundits.

Read the whole thing.

Wednesday night was the Democrats best night of the convention by far...and that's very good news for Republicans.

He closed with the stronger one, namely that the GOP doesn't deserve to be rewarded for the past 8 years.  That argument works because it's fundamentally true in many ways.

But he began with a speech endorsing Barack Obama, and that was, well, embarrassing. 

What made his speech smart was that Joe Biden made a case, an argument, and did so while making a connection to Reagan Democrats. And the strategy of attacking McCain's judgment on foreign policy is smart, too.  Going point by point arguing that Sen. Obama was right and McCain wrong on security issues could help close Obama's "Commander-In-Chief" gap.  But notice that Sen. Biden didn't--and couldn't--mention the biggest foreign policy decision since Obama's been in the US Senate: the surge.

I hope the McCain VP picks up this fight, and takes it apart example by example. The idea that agreeing to a withdrawal date from Iraq WHILE YOU'RE LOSING is the same as winning the war and then picking a date to leave is absurd.

Biden's trying to defend the Defeat Party. He's given McCain the chance to point out he's leading the Victory Party.

From The Chicago Sun-Times:

DENVER — The chief of Illinois’ National Organization for Women chapter today called on Barack Obama’s “political godfather” to resign immediately from the Illinois state Senate for calling an African-American Hillary Clinton delegate an “Uncle Tom.”

And folks, this show is just getting started.

Here's ABC News' report:

A new Gallup poll indicates that less than half of Clinton's supporters say they definitely will vote for Obama -- 47 percent say they're solidly behind him, 23 percent say they back him but may change their minds, and 30 percent say they will not vote or they will vote for someone else, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Meanwhile, some Democrat delegates are chanting about fraud at the convention, and the latest polls show that fewer than half of Clinton supporters are on the Obama bandwagon.

And I haven't even mentioned Bill Clinton's reported grousing about his speech, his night, his treatment, the lack of quality interns, etc., etc.

All this AFTER Michelle Obama's underwhelming performance last night.

Perhaps that's why Craig Crawford says:

And wouldn't you know, it's all about the Clintons

One day down, and the Democrats are losing votes. This may be a first in modern American politics.

The CNN sycophants are in full-on suck up mode, and even FOX is bending over backwards being nice, so it's up to me to give you the Natural Truth: 

Michelle Obama's Monday night speech at the DNC was a bomb.  A flop.  A snoozer.  A yawn.

The same old Democratic boilerplate, without much heart or energy.  Her delivery was only so-so.

Her passion for her family at the close was compelling, and who doesn't admire a woman who clearly loves her family. That's great.

But it doesn't, by itself, get the job done.

I'd rather have the saucy, sassy Michelle O., though that would have been a political mistake. 

I assumed we'd hear the intimate story of Michelle and Barack's life, a love story or a life story.  Instead, it was vague, blah-blah-blah politics.

Chris Wallace on Fox News just said Monday night was a "wasted night."  He's right.

It's only one night, and there's plenty more to come, but it's definitely Mission NOT Accomplished tonight.

The convention hasn't even started yet, and the fun has already begun!

The protesters are in the streets!

The Clinton and Obama campaigns are locked in vicious battle!

Cops are finding "suspicious packages."

Democrats can't seem to rally behind their own candidate!

And I'm here with a front-row seat having a great time.

I'll also be on the Glenn Beck TV show tonight, and various other cable newsers throughout the week.