Home run in the Twin Cities

Well shoot. If only the Twins had a hitter with Sarah Palin's caliber and panache, maybe they wouldn't be looking up at my Red Sox in the wild card standings. I've criticized Palin and damned her with faint praise. It's only fair that I praise here when praise is due. And my oh my, is it due.

I just finished watching Palin's speech to the Republican National Convention (courtesy of YouTube). By her upbeat, folksy demeanor and her relaxed manner you'd have thought she was addressing the local Rotary Club or something. That was an impressive speech, with a capital "I". Yes it's just one speech, but to come into a pressurized situation like a national nominating convention after days of relentless, personal attacks on her family and questions about her readiness to serve as VP and to just pull it off like she was talking at a PTA meeting takes serious talent, skill, and nerves. It's the most impressive such speech I've seen since Obama's speech to the '04 DNC, but I've got to think it ranks higher than that (very impressive) speech because of the circumstances.

Obama came into the situation in 2004 as a clear rising star in the Democratic party. He had a growing reputation to maintain, but his responsibility in the speech was basically to not mess anything up. He was well on his way to trouncing Alan Keyes in the general election and he'd gotten nothing but favorable coverage on the national stage. Contrast that situation with Sarah Palin's. She was a dark horse VP pick and an unknown on the national stage. She started out with well over half the media establishment either skeptical of, or outright hostile to, her. She faced constant questions about her experience, and what answers her resume offered to her critics were mocked as woefully inadequate. Indiscretions by members of her cabinet and members of her family have been front and center in the media's coverage of her. Her lifestyle, so alien to reporters on the coasts, had been the butt of many jokes. She had to walk into the situation and make herself known, answer critics, reassure nervous voters, and play the traditional VP role of attack dog all at once. That would have been a challenge for Abe Lincoln or William Jennings Bryan. She totally pulled it off like Bob Cousy shooting free throws in "Blue Chips".

Even taking into account troubling foreign policy lines (like continuing McCain's pathological hatred of all things Russian), the speech was an absolute masterpiece. Her digs at Obama and the Left were zingers, and she pulled them off perfectly. Her descriptions of her family members were 100% heartfelt and completely endearing, especially the "Aw, shucks"-iness in her voice when she said that after two decades of marriage and five kids her husband "is still my guy." Even if you're as amazing and talented a panderer as Bill Clinton (and America hasn't seen a panderer of his caliber in over 60 years), you can't fake that. Her descriptions of her experience were pugnacious without seeming overbearing. And her demeanor throughout the whole speech was positive and almost bubbly. Even when she was hitting back against Obama and the Left she seemed more bemused than angry. That's something innate, something you can't teach. It's like John Wayne's screen presence, Randy Moss's leaping ability and body control, or Michael Jordan's steely determination. It's just there. You either have it, or you don't. And Sarah Palin clearly has it.

This speech doesn't all of a sudden make her qualified, or make McCain any less odious a candidate. It does show that Palin has the stones to roll with the punches of a bruising campaign, though. It shows that she's a special political talent. A star has officially been born.