9:02 CDT: [Nate] If Palin actually uses that “Alaska is a BIG state” line, I’m going down to the Beachwood Inn and buying everyone a shot of Crown Royal.
9:02 CDT: [Sean] I felt badly for Pat Buchanan last night. The St. Paul night air was chilly. Rachel Maddow and Michelle Bernard had blankets, but Buchanan had a blanket and was hunched over, exhausted, sleeping on the table while Matthews bandied with Keith two chairs away.
9:01 CDT: [Nate] Pat Buchanan and I are kindred spirits. He thinks Palin will likely be a hit, but worries about her being “overscripted”. That’s exactly what I was trying to say before.
8:57 CDT: [Sean] Holy oversell, Batman! You can fit 250 Delawares inside Alaska! Wow, it’s almost like Palin is 250 times more qualified than Biden, except Biden has zero (chant it with us now: “ZERO! ZERO!”) executive experience. So… does that make Palin infinitely more qualified to be President than Biden? So implies the math.
8:55 CDT: [Sean] Shorter Linda Lingle: Being a mayor is the toughest-est job in the world!
8:54 CDT: [Nate] I think the media bias balloon gets deflated if/when they start going strongly negative on Obama again. That was a lot of the problem that the Clinton campaign had … it’s hard to tell the media they’re not paying fair when you’re not playing nice.
8:50 CDT: [Nate] On Huckabee, I’m a delivery guy too, but I just thought it was too herky-jerky thematically to build to a crescendo in the way Fred Thompson did last night.
8:48 CDT: [Sean] To follow up from earlier, Peggy Noonan told me the “chauvinism” line and attack on the media is a hand Republicans can’t play for very long. Al Giordano worries it might work until the election.
8:46 CDT: [Sean] I think Huckabee’s speech was strong, but I am a sucker for delivery. I think delivery makes people pay attention rather than gloss over. Speaking of which, Captain’s Corner!
8:45 CDT: [Nate] For my money, a lot of B-/C+ speeches so far tonight, but it really doesn’t matter because it’s all about Palin.
8:37 CDT: [Nate] Great one-liner, but Biden got three times as many votes in Florida — a state he wasn’t even competing in — than there are people in Wasilla.
8:34 CDT: [Nate] Sean, I generally agree about Huckabee, but he’s *not* a small-government conservative, and I just think this rings a little hollow.
8:30 CDT: [Sean] Huckabee is by far the best speaker the Republicans have. Empathetic-sounding. Knows how to pivot.
8:22 CDT: [Sean] Interesting that they’re going with “If You’re Going Through Hell” (keep on going) as the music. Not very optimistic. Curiously, also Keith Olbermann’s DailyKos comment tagline.
8:13 CDT: [Nate] I really don’t get the sense that the Republicans understand what the persuadable voters out there are looking to hear this year. The country has shifted to the left on the economy far more than on social issues or even foreign policy. Pretty tone-deaf, especially the hit on unions.
8:09 CDT: [Nate] Romney criticizing eastern elites? Did he get Huckabee’s cue cards or something?
8:07 CDT: [Sean] Mitt’s up. My emotional scars are only just now healing. This is supposed to be a harsh anti-Obama speech, let’s see. Attack the media first, check.