Here’s a collection of the various reactions to the speech. First, let’s start with David Brody’s article for CBN:

So much for being nervous on the national stage. If she was nervous, she sure didn’t show it. She may be new to the national stage but I have a feeling she’s not leaving that stage for a long, long time. And the Republican crowd inside the Xcel Center in St. Paul was in such a frenzy that they didn’t want her leaving that stage tonight.

This speech was part mom, part Pit Bull and part policy wonk. I mean she went after Obama as hard as anyone. She basically ripped him to shreds but she didn’t do it in a way that looked mean or vindictive. That’s hard to do but she pulled it off. Instead, she did it in a way that playfully poked fun at his expense. There was no reason for her to deliver her lines in a mean, terse way. Rather, she let the crowd take care of the wild and raucous reaction. They were eating it up.

As Mr. Brody points out later in his article, “Democratic Party, especially the Obama campaign has a problem on its hands.” I’d modify that statement this way:

The Democratic Party, especially the Obama campaign, has big and growing problem on its hands.

John Fund also praised Gov. Palin’s speech:

Twenty years after Ronald Reagan left office, Republicans who have long missed him may have found a future Margaret Thatcher. If John McCain wins, conservatives may find one of the most enduring accomplishments of his term will have been what he did before it started: helping to fill the Republican Party’s future talent bench with such a fresh and compelling figure.

Sarah Palin is a conviction politician, a naturally compelling speaker and someone who can relate to her audience on very human terms. America has just learned why Mrs. Palin enjoys the highest approval ratings of any governor in America.

This isn’t a happy, cheerful morning for Democrats.

Here’s part of Dan Henninger’s reaction:

Attribute the surge in the GOP base, if you wish, to Rush Limbaugh’s concise Friday afternoon summary: “Sarah Palin: babies, guns, Jesus. Hot damn!” But even that probably won’t get you 270 electoral votes.

The really interesting reaction to Sarah emerged just beyond the base. A lot of us picked up real enthusiasm Friday from people, notably women, who’ve never spent one moment with Politico.com or talk radio.

People who thought that Gov. Palin was picked to go after Hillary’s voters are misunderestimating her. Gov. Palin is a multifaceted, complex person. She doesn’t fit neatly into one box. She’s hard-hitting but she’s also compassionate. Witness her statement about special needs children:

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House.

How many parents of special needs children will hear that and feel like they’d have an advocate in Washington with a McCain ticket?

Here’s how TNR’s John Judis’ reaction to Gov. Palin’s speech:

There is no question that Sarah Palin did well tonight. She spoke well, and the speech she read was very effective. The strongest section was the middle when she was responding to the Obama campaign’s dumb attack on her for being the mayor of a small town. Let me quote it in full:

And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don’t quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren’t listening.

We tend to prefer candidates who don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

I thought that section of her speech combined her biography with her political appeal and turned it into a criticism of the Democrats and Obama’s indifference to the white working class and small town voter. I was less impressed with the rest of the speech. Her recitation of her own accomplishments–and her critique of Obama’s proposals–was less effective and less effectively delivered, but it was good enough not to raise questions about her suitability as vice president.

It’s understatement that TNR isn’t exactly a bastion of conservatism. Nonetheless, John Judis gave Gov. Palin’s speech a pretty strong review. For him to say that she hit Sen. Obama hard in parts is praise indeed for Gov. Palin.

That said, some crusty clueless commentators still can’t see what’s obvious to most Americans. Jonathan Alter fits that description perfectly. In fact, he’s the embodiment of crass cluelessness:

Faced with a shaggy, seat-of-the-pants convention, Republicans are determined to get back on message. So now their new, more disciplined line is about experience. That’s right, after John McCain selected a vice presidential candidate who is clearly unprepared to be president, his aides—and any other Republicans who want a future in the party are singing from the same choir book. In speeches, interviews, a new ad, and even off-the-record sessions with reporters, the line is that Sarah Palin is more prepared than Barack Obama to be president.

I know it’s impossible for Alter to wrap his head around the fact but, yes, Gov. Palin is more qualified than Sen. Obama. To this day, I still haven’t seen supporters tell me what corruption he’s took on and demolished. I haven’t found anyone who’s able to talk about major legislation that Sen. Obama’s gotten past. And I damn sure haven’t found anyone talking about his executive experience. I haven’t heard anyone offering proof of his decisionmaking abilities, either.

If Alter would put his thinking cap on and discard his partisan blinders, he’d notice that those are important qualifications to being a chief executive. Of course, Alter putting his thinking cap on and discarding his partisan blinders is less likely than hearing that Hillary has suddenly and sincerely become a pro life lady. In other words, it ain’t gonna happen.

UPDATE: Mark Halperin’s given Gov. Palin’s speech an A+:

Sarah Palin
Grade: A+

Mother, fighter, small town girl, patriot, reformer, energy expert, hockey mom, McCain attack dog, America’s political sweetheart; she did everything she had to do, and more. The Alaska Governor was poised, stirring, charming, confident, snarky, cozy, well-rehearsed, biting, utterly fearless, unflappable, and self-assured. She read the teleprompter like a champ, with fine, varied pacing and conversational projection. Touched on her family story and then veered into a forceful political presentation, going hard after Barack Obama and selling John McCain with flowing admiration. She rocked the hall (and likely the country) with a tough, conservative message, steely offense, glowing optimism, and boundless charisma. The start of something truly big, or the best night of her candidacy.

— by Mark Halperin

Technorati Tags: Media, David Brody, John Fund, Dan Henninger, John Judis, Jonathan Alter, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. If she stands up as well during debates, assuming the Democrats show up for one, and Im sure Biden would if they let him, Ill think she’ll be able to hold her own just fine.

   Not to lessen McCain, because being a squadron commander and dealing with 15 to 20 of the worlds finest pilots (just ask them) is hard enough, but she’s got more civilian executive experience than all three.

   Comment by T A Gray — September 4, 2008 @ 6:42 am

2. I agree with T.A. and would add that I think she’ll be great in a one-on-one with Biden. He won’t be able to over-talk her because of the rules. He’ll have to keep his yap shut while she scorches his butt.

   Comment by Frank — September 4, 2008 @ 9:31 am

3. So does this mean Palin has enough experience to become the vice president and potential president now?

   Comment by Liem — September 4, 2008 @ 12:03 pm

4. In a word, yes.

   Comment by T A Gray — September 4, 2008 @ 6:38 pm

5. Great! So does that mean she knows what a VP does now?

   Comment by Liem — September 4, 2008 @ 7:31 pm

6. Good Lord, Liem, that line is getting old. Try looking up the history of it. I know it was used by two FDR VP candidates, but it goes back further than that.

   Classically, if you don’t have a logical argument, throw in something totally irrelevant (that was a joke to begin with, something libs wouldn’t understand unless it denigrates a conservative).

   Comment by Carlos — September 4, 2008 @ 8:38 pm

7. Now the wimpy liberals know what being “field dressed” feels like. Gut them like the sheep they are, Sarah.

   Comment by Marisol — September 4, 2008 @ 9:54 pm

8. That teleprompter reference is as bogus as the rest of the weekend MSM stories. The wrong speech was originally loaded into it, and it was screwed up throughout her entire speech, which she delivered flawlessly.

   Comment by Doug — September 5, 2008 @ 4:29 am

9. Its called desparation Doug. Because they can’t find anything else, they’ll go after everything from her hubbies DUI 20 YEARS AGO to her daughters, to the way she wears her hair.

   Their mouths are full of sour grapes right now, because the Repubs finally, aren’t being the wimpy ass loosers they are supposed to be, and McCain is being the same guy they liked when he stood up to Bush.

   Comment by T A Gray — September 5, 2008 @ 7:17 am

10. It’s called figuring out who the hell this lady is. After having a VP like Cheney in office, I don’t get why it wouldn’t be reasonable to see what experience she has and research her life experiences.

    It’s due diligence, like what has happened to the relatively unknown Barack Obama and why you all were so happy to find Reverend Wright.

    Comment by Liem — September 5, 2008 @ 10:13 am

11. WE know who she is.

    Its Obama Im worried about, because I WILL NOT live in a Marxist - socialist country, that tries to to tell me where and when and how many times I do every damned thing Im used to doing on my own.

    I swear to God, Liem, I’ll take it to the streets and fight any government, Republican or Democrat that does, and I’ll goddamn guarantee you Ill have plenty of company!

    What do you think of that?

    Comment by T A Gray — September 5, 2008 @ 5:45 pm

12. Exactly. We all know Palin after one speech and a less than 3 weeks.

    And what is Obama going to force you to do?

    Comment by Liem — September 5, 2008 @ 6:45 pm

13. Nationalized health care for starters. Have you EVER known a government program thst didn’t come with a quid pro quo. Here’s your money, but, ah ah ah, cant have it yet! You have be a god boy now and do this. To hell with that crap! Waht ever happened to do it on your own, take risk.

    It comes down to this Liem.

    I want a President, not a nanny. We dont need a Prsident that lectures us on how much air we have in our tires, and where we ought to set the thermostat, or what kind of food we ought to eat like he was trying to in Pennsylvania today whining about people that can’t get to a grocery store, or ever seen a fresh vegetable.

    What kind horeshit is that??

    Even the poorest neighorhoods in this country have automobiles parked outside of the public housing, and public transportation that honor travel vouchers from social services. There’s fresh vegetables and fruit all the over the country! After all we got all these poor down trodden illegal aliens that pick it for us dont we?

    So if somebody prefers a McDonalds over fresh groceries, that is their own choice, we are still allowed to do that.

    Thats how stupid this guy thinks you are Liem. And your following right along, because your all pissed that George Bush took us a war you didnt agree with.

    Your a sucker Liem. And this guy Obama is playing you like a fiddle.

    Comment by T A Gray — September 5, 2008 @ 9:25 pm

14. Oh no, Obama is going to give adults the option of having access to health care so they can focus on their jobs and families instead of hospital bills after they get well again. How horrible of him.

    And then there’s a mandatory participation from children. How dare Obama force parents to give health care to children. If I choose to not want my child get better, that’s my own choice. I don’t need a Obama or some ‘doctor’ telling me what to do.

    With McCain, people without insurance will have the option to live or go into a lifetime of debt paying for their health. But you know what, people should have that right to choose for themselves because this country is all about freedom.

    Comment by Liem — September 6, 2008 @ 9:13 am

15. And after your child dies because you couldn’t get him or her into see the doctor for seven months (emergency time wait in the best of socialist medicine countries) or into the ER for three weeks (better than any socialist medicine country), I guess you’ll have to blame Bush/Cheney/Reagan/ conservatives ’cause they’re the ones who’re holding up the lines, right?

    If you would read actual studies on socialized medicine, Liem, you’d realize that yes, the system here needs adjustment (like, to start with, get the bureaucrats out of it) but it is still sooooo much better than anything Britain, Canada, Sweden, Cuba or anyone else has.

    And cheap medicine? There wouldn’t be any if the companies here didn’t do the R&D (mostly out of their own pockets) for those governments to subsidize. Subsidized, by the way, out of their taxpayers’ pockets.

    Comment by Carlos — September 6, 2008 @ 7:06 pm