Beyond the Pale

Sarah Palin, now the official Republican Vice Presidential nominee, certainly hit it out of the park last night. It was a brilliant speech. For those concerned about whether or not the governor of Alaska would fold under the pressure, she certainly alleviated those fears in quick order. She was an authentic, white, working-class voice, and an effective messenger for Republican ideals. There is no way John McCain will be able to do better tonight.

Too bad there was little substance to anything she said. But then, as McCain recently stated, this election is about personalities not issues. And there is no bigger personality right now than Sarah Palin. Republicans fell all over themselves last night, declaring her a luminous superstar, saying she inspired all who fell beneath her spell, that she quickened the blood and made them feel good about themselves again. This is, ironically, exactly the sort of criticism leveled at Barack Obama’s supposed showmanship and lack of substance. Very interesting.

The speech, written by a veteran Bush scribe, wisely steered her away from her more extremist views — global warming, creationism, pork, etc. All polarizing views except abortion that is. Abortion is front and center once again. Abortion is the new abortion. And it seems to have electrified the base. If there are moderate voices in the party, they are not getting airtime this week.

Still, I am not sure that her snarky sarcasm, bitchy mockery and outright condescension was the right tone. Oh sure, the hall and the base loved her combativeness, but will it appeal to the critical independents and swing voters? She’s shown that so far she is adept at playing the V.P. role — attack dog — but the manner in which she did it may come back to haunt her. What plays one way in the heartland can play very differently in the brainland.

Is it really all that wise to attack community organizers as do-nothings, people whose job is specifically to speak up for underrepresented, the poor, the disenfranchised and those who cannot speak up for themselves. Only a Republican could get away with that. Only a Republican would dare. Only a Republican wouldn’t see anything wrong in it.

In a night in which the millionaire former governor of Massachusetts decried rich, East coast elites, Palin also saw no irony in vilifying “the permanent political establishment in Washington,” despite the fact that her new boss has been a United States Senator for nearly three decades. But then again, she jabbed at Obama’s decided lack of executive experience when the aforementioned McCain also lacks a single day of said executive practice.

It seems that the experience debate is not off the table after all. I’d have thought it an argument neither side wanted to dwell on. But it seems the Republican are more than happy to put their new standard bearer forward as a perfect example of Republicanism for the 21st century. Too bad that, while Palin and her people complain about media bias, her own party’s cheerleaders, including former speechwriter and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan and Republican consultant Mike Murphy were caught on a hot mike yesterday ridiculing McCain’s choice of Palin — going so far as to call it “bullshit” — belittling her lack of experience, and stating emphatically, “It’s over!”

The choice of Gov. Palin is either the most brilliant or most absurd thing John McCain has ever done. She will either conjure magic or be regarded as a colossal misstep. It remains to be seen which way the pendulum will swing. It is far too early to tell. Despite a blistering introduction last night, the real race is just beginning.


P.S. In a tangential aside, I sent NBC’s political director, Chuck Todd, an e-mail last night. He responded, via his Blackberry, within moments, from the convention floor, between commentary spots. Amazing.