1. Writers of the AP said that Palin “lacked the soaring oratory skills of Obama.” Hmm, not so sure about that — a close call.
2. People say that Palin didn’t offer specifics on economics or foreign policy. I’m not sure that this was the place for specifics; I think it was a time for philosophical thrusts. Palin talked about how higher taxes don’t help people such as her sister and brother-in-law, who have just opened a gas station. She talked about the importance of victory in Iraq.
That was enough — more than enough (certainly for now). And it certainly provided a contrast with the Democratic speakers in Denver.
3. We’ve heard a lot about how Palin had the assistance of a speechwriter. You don’t hear this after Democratic speeches, do you? I’m reminded of an experience in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, earlier this year. I attended the annual Middle East conference of the World Economic Forum. President Bush spoke — following our host, Mubarak, and then King Abdullah of Jordan. Later, I heard journalists say,
“That stupid Bush — he has speechwriters! And he pretended to know something about history! And, unlike Mubarak and Abdullah, he read his speech. Ha, ha, ha!” (The other two men used a TelePrompTer, and these journalists seemed unaware of it.)
Well, you’ll say, this is par for the course: These Arab scribes probably think that Queen Elizabeth strangled Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed to death with her bare hands. But this is what you must know — they were Western journalists, out of Germany.