SarahPalin

Sarah Palin made her speech accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for the role of Vice President. Not only was she able to deflect the mounting criticism of her being selected, she was triumphantly good. Watching this woman it is hard to believe that she had only served as Governor of Alaska for less than two years and prior to that for a few years as Mayor of a tiny town in that state.

With the media speculating that the McCain camp has made a dreadful mistake following several revelations regarding Governor Palin's past, some might have thought the 44-year-old, mother of five would adopt a low key, defensive tone, but this was not to be.

Governor Palin provided a suitably dramatic close to the third day of the Republican National Convention by coming out swinging at Barack Obama and the media whilst promoting her own small-town and gubernatorial government experience. She very effectively made the point that she and McCain have executive experience whereas Obama does not.

Sarah Palin was already known to be a tenacious fighter amongst the people of her Alaskan home state, and now the rest of the world has witnessed her feisty resolve live and in action. Her style was devastating, steely and barbed resolve delivered with a charming smile. Her intentions and style were clear, when, in a particularly pointed early barb, attacked Senator Obama's past as a community organizer in Chicago. She made him and this occupation sound silly and unnecessary.

"Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown," she said. "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."

In a classic 'when life hands you lemons' routine, Governor Palin chose to address the media frenzy surrounding her family head on. With her own daughter's pregnancy underscoring the differences in policy preference. But the Palins have insisted that they are proud of Bristol's decision to go through with the pregnancy, rather than have an abortion, as Governor Palin is extremely pro-life. Her recently having a Down’s syndrome baby just a few months ago, which she proudly shared with the world rather than hiding further evidences this.

On the subject of the media coverage of Sarah Palin we should contrast their attempts to make her seem a far right wing, Christian lunatic getting way too close to the nuclear trigger to their cloying, sycophantic, syrupy coverage of Barack Obama. This is bias writ large and it has crossed the Atlantic and is evident in the BBC, who adores the man from Chicago and clearly despise the woman from Alaska.

In her speech, she also addressed several of her other supposed weak points, each time turning them all into positives.

Addressing the negative media hype she has generated, she said:

"I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone. But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion -- I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country."

Although some have pointed to Palin’s Washington DC inexperience as a weakness, she cleverly framed it as a net positive, claiming a history as a reformer.

" I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau, when I stood up to the special interests, and the lobbyists, and the Big Oil companies, and the good-old boys."

But the man with a bull’s eye on his chest was Obama, for whom she reserved her strongest attacks. "It's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs, but not a single major law or reform, not even in the state Senate. This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use the word 'victory' except when he's talking about his own campaign."

After pointing to Obama's soaring oratory and over dramatic setting at the Democratic National Convention, she asked, "What exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer -- the answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.

America needs more energy; our opponent is against producing it. Victory in Iraq is finally in sight, and he wants to forfeit it. Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay; he wants to meet them without preconditions. Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he's worried that someone won't read them their rights."

At the conclusion of her triumphant speech, Senator McCain joined her on stage and asked, "Don't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States?"

The crowd cheered in response, clearly energized by Palin's forceful tone and no-nonsense approach. On a night in which Republicans formally nominated Senator McCain, the party platform suddenly seems more coherent than it has in months.

Within moments of the evening's curtain drop, the Obama campaign issued their statement about Governor Palin's address:

"The speech that Governor Palin gave was well delivered, but it was written by George Bush's speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the last eight years."

Here’s a newsflash for the Obama campaign staff, every one of us knows that all major political speeches in the USA are written by professional speechwriters. We are aware that this was also the case with the speech of Sarah Palin, but she captured our imagination and made the Republican spirit soar. She tailored the speech to fit both her mouth and soul, and that clearly found an echo with her party and possibly America.

It’s amazing to think that but for some twist of fate almost none of us would have ever heard of this woman. After this speech, which she seemed born to deliver, I think its fair to forecast that Sarah Palin might well be a national figure for the rest of her life.