Since Friday morning, I’ve been hearing anecdotal evidence that Sarah Palin was helping John McCain’s campaign. Now I have a way of measuring it. Here’s what a Zogby International poll found:

The interactive online Zogby survey shows that both Obama and McCain have solidified the support among their own parties; Obama won 86% support of Democrats and McCain 89% of Republicans in a two-way head-to-head poll question not including the running mates. When Biden and Palin are added to the mix, Obama’s Democratic support remains at 86%, while McCain’s increases to 92%.

This is proof that conservatives love the pick, as well they should. Having 92% of the conservatives supporting McCain is nothing short of spectacular. That’s approaching Bush-Cheney 04 levels.

I’ve been suspicious of Zogby International’s polling so I sought other forms of confirmation. It didn’t take long to find it. Consider this David Brody post for CBN:

For the most part, social conservatives and the Evangelical base are now about to come fully on board. Obama’s enthusiasm gap has narrowed considerably. Anytime you have motivated Evangelicals behind you it means your candidate is in a good spot. Watch for pro-family organizations and the McCain team to now start working together to get out the vote. This CAN NOT be emphasized enough.

Working at CBN gives Mr. Brody a pretty good grasp of what evangelical Christians are thinking. Couple McCain’s pick with his performance at Saddleback and there’s tons of reasons why evangelical Christians are jumping on board.

That isn’t the only proof of evangelicals coming on board. Here’s an exchange between James Dobson and Alan Colmes: (continue reading post »)

Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden issued the following statement on Sarah Palin:

“We send our congratulations to Governor Sarah Palin and her family on her designation as the Republican nominee for Vice President. It is yet another encouraging sign that old barriers are falling in our politics. While we obviously have differences over how best to lead this country forward Governor Palin is an admirable person and will add a compelling new voice to this campaign.”

That’s quite a turnaround since this statement by Obama spokesman Bill Burton:

“Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain’s commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush’s failed economic policies; that’s not the change we need, it’s just more of the same,” said Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman.

This shows the difficult position Gov. Palin puts Democrats in. If they attack her, they’ll alienate more women than they’ve already alienated. If they don’t attack Gov. Palin, Hillary’s supporters will ask why Gov. Palin gets the kid glove treatment but Hillary got attacked. (continue reading post »)

Did everyone watch Sen. McCain’s introduction of Gov. Sarah Palin like I did? That’s an electrifying pick. That’s why the Obama campaign is already criticizing her:

“Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain’s commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush’s failed economic policies, that’s not the change we need, it’s just more of the same,” said Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman.

Mr. Burton’s omission that Sarah Palin’s current occupation is that of governor is intentional. Their entire tack is to characterize Gov. Palin as either incompetent or a small town hick or a pro life fanatic or a tool of Big Oil or a George Bush lackey. Based on her initial performance, I can’t picture any of those labels will stick.

Here’s what’s impressive about Gov. Palin:

1) Gov. Palin gotten an extensive list of real reforms enacted.
2) Gov. Palin got a firsthand understanding of energy policy, having dealt with that as governor.
3) Gov. Palin a tax cutter. Gov. Palin said that, as mayor of Wasilla, she worked hard to cut property taxes. As governor, she significantly increased the check Alaskans get when the state got more money from the oil companies.
4) Gov. Palin fought against and defeated politics as usual Gov. Frank Murkowski.

She’s also an articulate speaker and advocate, she’s a fighter with an extensive record of accomplishments, unlike a certain messianic candidate. Most importantly, she scares Democrats. (continue reading post »)

As a political junkie, the Democrats’ convention has been B-O-R-I-N-G thus far. I can’t even watch it. That’s why I’m glad I read this article by The Hill’s Bob Cusack. Here’s his list negatives thus far:

The lingering tension between Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and the Clintons has hung in the air throughout the early part of the Denver gathering. But that hasn’t been the only thing getting in the way of the Democrats’ message and quest for unity.

Some Democratic operatives, such as James Carville and Paul Begala, have said the convention speakers have been going soft on Republicans, warning that unless that changes, Obama will not enjoy a significant post-convention bounce in the polls.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who chairs the convention, has engaged in a back-and-forth this week with the archbishop of Washington about the Catholic Church’s position on abortion.

Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) triggered headlines when he publicly criticized Democratic congressional leaders for the way they handled calls for more drilling amid high gas prices.

Speaking at a Virginia delegation breakfast in Denver on Tuesday, Webb said, “One of the great mistakes that we made in terms of political strategy before we broke for this latest recess was not taking on the Republican Party when they started talking about offshore drilling.” He added, “I believe that our leadership made a very bad mistake. I don’t think we should run from that issue.” (continue reading post »)

Yes, you read that right. In this post for the Huffington Post, Clinton attack puppy Paul Begala said everything except that Michelle hit it out of the park. Here’s Mr. Begala’s opening paragraph:

Michelle Obama was spectacular Monday night. Poised, charming, beautiful, and most of all, authentic.

I’d love for Mr. Begala to spin me a tale on what he thought was Michelle’s most authentic moment. Was it when, as Byron York notes, Michelle said this:

“My piece of the American Dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me.” Those forebears, she explained, were “driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work, the same conviction that drives the men and women I’ve met all across this country…That’s why I love this country.”

If so, how does Mr. Begala explain that against what she said in North Carolina: (continue reading post »)

Stories about the Democrats’ discord aren’t exactly scarce. Still, the one that stands out from all others is Gov. Ed Rendell’s criticizing MSNBC for being in the tank for Obama. Here’s how he unloaded:

“Ladies and gentleman, the coverage of Barack Obama was embarrassing,” said Rendell, in the ballroom at Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel. “It was embarrassing.”

Rendell, an ardent Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter during the primaries, now backs Obama in the general election. Brokaw and Rendell began debating campaign coverage, including the on-air comments by Lee Cowan, and when MSNBC came up, Rendell went after the cable network. “MSNBC was the official network of the Obama campaign,” Rendell said, who called their coverage “absolutely embarrassing.”

Ed Rendell is exactly right. MSNBC’s coverage of Sen. Obama wasn’t just biased. Their two most prominent hosts, Chrissie Matthews and Keith Olberman, were slobbering fools for Sen. Obama. (It should be pointed out that being the most prominent hosts on MSNBC means you attract as big an audience as Red Eye gets at 2:00 am CT on FNC.)

As difficult as it is for Obama to spin that story, here’s another story that must rankle Team Barry: (continue reading post »)

In a moment of candor, known in politics as a gaffe, an Obama staffer admitted that Sen. Biden wasn’t Sen. Obama’s first choice. I kinda suspected that but now it’s confirmed:

In selecting Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, Sen. Barack Obama may have selected the safe pick, but according to several campaign insiders, Biden wasn’t necessarily his first or even his personal choice.

“He really wanted [Kansas Gov. Kathleen] Sebelius,” says one Obama insider with knowledge of the Democrat candidate’s vetting process. “And if our European tour had played better here at home, she might have been the pick.”

But, says the insider, the campaign’s internal polling indicated what the public polling indicated, that Obama failed in his European sojourn to build out his foreign policy credentials. “We needed the foreign policy on the bottom of the ticket more than we want to admit,” says the insider.

All the talk about how presidential Sen. Obama looked, during his speech in Berlin, his meeting with President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Brown, meant nothing to heartland voters. Sen. Obama’s lofty rhetoric was squishy more than meaty, more Euopean than substantive. When President Bush made his case for democracies, there was substance there, human rights principles that were inarguable. (continue reading post »)

According to this CNN article, the Biden Bounce is a flop:

The first national poll conducted entirely after Barack Obama publicly named Joe Biden as his running mate suggests that battle for the presidency between the Illinois senator and Republican rival John McCain is all tied up.

In a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Sunday night, 47 percent of those questioned are backing Obama with an equal amount supporting the Arizona senator.

“This looks like a step backward for Obama, who had a 51 to 44 percent advantage last month,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “Even last week, just before his choice of Joe Biden as his running mate became known, most polls tended to show Obama with a single-digit advantage over McCain,” adds Holland.

The conventional wisdom is that the first big decision that presidential nominees are judged on is who they pick as their running mate. I pointed out here that picking Biden got one of the worst+/- ratings in recent history: (continue reading post »)

On the day when Barack Obama introduced Sen. Biden as his running mate, the thing that nobody in the Dead Tree Media is talking about is how Obama’s dissing of Hillary will bring more division to the Democratic Party than ever before.

The fact that Hillary wasn’t given a token vetting won’t sit well with the PUMA crowd. That’ll have profound effects on this race going forward. Here’s proof that Sen. McCain plans on aggressively puruing Hillary’s supporters:

Erasing any doubt that McCain has his sights set on Clinton voters, the new ad uses Clinton’s own words to suggest that Obama passed her over because of the tough campaign she waged. The ad is titled “Passed Over.”

“She won millions of votes. But isn’t on his ticket,” an announcer says. “Why? For speaking the truth.”

The ad then shows Clinton criticizing Obama for speaking generalities (”You never hear the specifics); for his connections to Tony Rezko (”We still don’t have a lot of answers.”); and for being too negative. The announcer comes back on. “The truth hurt. And Obama didn’t like it.”

It’s inexplicable why Sen. Obama didn’t even vet Hillary as a goodwill gesture to her supporters. By not vetting her for his veep pick, he’s strengthened their resolve to not vote for him. Sen. Obama already faced an uphill fight winning enough support from Hillary voters before this. Now he’s made it that much more uphill.

If I’m in the PUMA movement, I’ve had enough incentive to not vote for Sen. Obama for months. Why not sit this out, let Obama get defeated, then let Hillary have another shot in 2012? Sen. Obama’s disrespect towards Hillary just steels PUMA’s resolve.

The Lady Logician pointed out that the McCain campaign was airing this advertisement this shortly after Sen. Obama’s veep announcement was an indication that Sen. McCain had put this together long before Sen. Obama’s announcement.

The polling I’ve seen shows that 20+ percent of Hillary’s supporters are steadfast in refusing to support Sen. Obama. If he was blowing Sen. McCain, Sen. Obama might be able to get away with that. With the race being a dead heat thus far, Sen. Obama’s margin of error is practically nonexistent.

Technorati Tags: Hillary, Obama, PUMA, Party Unity, Democrats, John McCain, Republicans, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

The first thing I thought when I read this article was that Republicans couldn’t get this lucky. Having John Kerry, who served in Vietnam, Jimmy Carter and Algore each getting primetime speaking slots, combined with Bill and Hillary speaking, is fantastic for Republicans. We couldn’t have done better if Karl Rove were putting the roster of speakers together. Here’s what’s been announced:

The schedule so far includes dozens of speakers each of the first three nights, from Obama’s family to lawmakers past and present.

Thursday’s lineup is expected to be considerably pared down. So far the only speakers in addition to Obama are expected to be Gore and Gov. Bill Ritter.

Monday’s program will focus on telling Obama’s story. His half-sister will speak, along with his brother-in-law and several political allies from his hometown of Chicago, including Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

The primetime speaker will be Obama’s wife, Michelle.

Former President Carter also is scheduled to speak Monday night, as is Jerry Kellman, a mentor to Obama during his days as a community organizer in Chicago.

Tuesday’s headliner will be Sen. Hillary Clinton, with the keynote speech by former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney also will talk Tuesday, when the focus is on economic issues.

Opening night will talk about the corrupt political process in Chicago? Tuesday night will feature Hillary and Mark Warner, which is fine. Having John Sweeney speak, though, is just another reminder of the Democrats’ corruption machine-style politics. (continue reading post »)