08 RNC: Live Blogging Nite 2

Hey, remember in the Princess Bride when Princess Buttercup got plucked from obscurity and had that dream where she was elaborately presented to the townspeople and some dirty hag started calling her garbage? Well, tonight's gonna be just like that for Sarah Palin. Only multiply the dirty hag into a hundred "left wing media" bloggers and discard the Giant, the Sicilian, the Spaniard, the Albino, the Five-Fingered Man, the Wheelbarrow, the Holocaust Cloak and Cary Elwes.......and it'll be just like that. Come join in the fun with me and PBS coverage of Nite 2 starting at 8:00PM-ish.
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8:00 Welcome to the live blog. Coverage starts............NOW! (thanks to PBS and MSNBC's live stream, when PBS takes the camera off the stage, I can still follow on the internet). Tonight we hope for fewer PR videos, less biography, and more substance on economic issues. We expect lots of bashing of Obama and the maniacally evil liberal media. And I'm still waiting on that live elephant.

8:02 Hilarious! Speaking of the evil liberal media. The internet feed just focused on a shot of a sleeping delegate.

8:03 Pundits Shields and Brooks are as concerned as I am with yesterday's lack of substance. They also address the concern that Palin and Co. need to get a message across to important moderate Republicans and Independents without alienating those same voters by the socially conservative positions to which the media reports and intense Christian right enthusiasm have wedded her.

8:07 On the internet feed, a woman of Asian descent who claims she is a Democrat (turn coat!) reads the teleprompter...poorly. I see why PBS is ignoring it. She's talking about a $5,000.00 tax credit for small business to purchase health insurance.

8:11 Michael Williams (chair of the Texas railroad commission) takes the stage and PBS thinks he's important enough to show us. He is also a person of minority descent, in this instance a Black man. He is also a Democrat (turn coat). He slams Barak Obama.

8:12 He just slammed teaching unions.

8:13 He supports fetuses. And lower taxes. My question is WHY THE HECK DOES THIS GUY IDENTIFY HIMSELF AS A DEMOCRAT?

8:15 Now on stage, a person of Hispanic descent. I think he may actually be a Republican. Way not to be a turn coat!! Oh, here is his name. He is Luis Fortuno, the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. Um, dude, didn't they tell you. You are from Puerto Rico. You don't get vote for president. They really should have explained this to you, before you came such a long way.

8:18 Jim Lehrer explains that Luis Fortuno is the non-voting delegate to Congress for Puerto Rico. So he's just like Elanor Holmes Norton only his Puerto Rico can't even vote for President. At least D.C. gets 3 electoral votes.

8:21 Meg Whitman, former president and CEO of ebay and big McCain supporter. She talks about succeeding in business as a woman.

8:25 She talks about energy independence, and lowering taxes. People! My roads have lots of pot-holes. The bridge near where you are speaking FELL INTO THE RIVER. This country needs money for infrastructure. Lowering taxes will not leave enough money over to fix the breaking bridges. Just a concern, I'd like to raise.

8:33 First Repub PR video of the night. PBS isn't showing it and I can't guess the narrator, so, well, the thrill is gone for me.

8:34 Hold on, this narrator sounds like a character actor I remember from an episode of Angel. Victor Raider-Wexler. That's my guess.

8:40 On the stage, Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlitt-Packard speaks on stage. Wow, so far tonight, the GOP is doing a good job of limiting number of old white guys on stage.

8:46 She keeps talking about 2013. She is really looking forward to that year. Me, I'm just working my way to 2009. On year at a time, Lady!

8:48 She says McCain will veto bills laden with pork. I really don't see how he is going to do that alone. My understanding is that EVERY bill that goes to the president is full of earmarks. To keep that promise he'll have to veto everything. To really limit pork he needs a set of allies INSIDE Congress. Seeing as how there is an election coming up in which other people are also running for office, you think some Congressman or Senator would get up there and say: "I will support McCain in Congress and work with him to limit pork/earmark spending." No one has done that. Instead, they try to harp on McCain's bi-partisanship. I'm just saying, they could make the argument more persuasively while helping out some Rep's reelection bid.

8:53 Sigh! Now Gwen Ifel's on the floor talking to some delegates who actually say that Palin's quality as a "good mother" is a factor to be considered in supporting her nomination. Argh! Comments like that explicitly invite the questions by the "evil liberal media" regarding her ability to juggle family and work. BECAUSE OF THOSE COMMENTS IT IS A LEGITIMATE QUESTION. If you don't make those comments, and you shouldn't, it's not a legitimate question.

8:56 On stage now: former Lt. Gov. of Maryland, Michael Steele. By the way, he's Black.

8:58 Is it wrong of me to be pointing out people's skin color and ethnic descents?

8:59 A camera shot of the floor shows people passing out "Palin" signs. T minus 1.5 hours until the Queen appears! Oh, the anticipation!

9:00 I would make tonight's drinking game "every time someone says 'Country First'" but seeing how that is the actual campaign slogan, it seems to easy.

9:01 Heh. Former Lt. Gov. just said "drill baby, drill baby, drill baby now"

9:02 And the crowd is now chanting "drill baby, drill" There's your sound-byte environmentalists! Start filming your 527 ads right now.

9:03 "Do you put your country first?" he asks. "We all put our country first," is what I still want to reflexively answer. Damn you and your accurately put eloquence, Barak Obama.

9:05 Mitt Romney takes the stage. Get ready for some serious Obama bashing.

9:07 Mitt Romney is calling Washington liberal. Sometimes I think that no matter how many conservative policies the Repubs wrangle out of Washington, no matter how many terms the Repubs get controlling Congress and the Presidency, they will inexplicably never be satisfied.

9:10 In case you were wondering, yes, Romney still wears Ronald Reagan hair.

9:11 Huh, so far he's just bashing liberals. You know, like the ones who make up the vast majority of the state he used to govern. When does the Obama bashing start?

9:12 Woah, Romney. The mortgage crisis is partly the fault of fiscal conservatives who de-regulated banks. (the bigger part of the fault is of stupid people who think they can get something for nothing and not have to pay the consequences). You can't blame the mortgage crisis on liberals. That won't wash.

9:13 He just bashed Al Gore's private jet. Legit if he's bashing Al Gore for hypocrisy on environmental issues. No so legit when you consider that Romney probably has at least one jet of his own, highlighting how he's not really one-with-the-common man.

9:15 Romney sooooo wants to run for Pres in 2012. This dude will say anything to get this base excited. And then he has the gall. The GALL. to mention "straight talk."

9:17 I really don't like Romney. He comes off slick and pandering to me.

9:17 Romney is done. And I don't think he named Obama personally once. Just the liberals. Like I said, he's just trying out his rhetoric for the 2012 campaign.

9:19 PBS Panel of Historians!! They talk about running for office when the economy is down. Huh. Beschloss points out that in 1980 when inflation and unemployment were high, the race between Regan and Carter was still tight. It widened when Regan framed the race with "are you better off than four years ago." I love this history stuff!!

9:21 David Brooks agrees with me, that Romney's speech was practice to be the next right wing nominee. 2012, here Romney comes. Their right. What really took the cake was calling the Roberts Supreme Court "liberal."

9:26 Mike Huckabee speaks next. I don't agree with half of what this guy says, but I like him.

9:27 Mike Huckabee thanks the "elite media" for unifying the party. Elite media says "you're welcome, crazy red-necks."

9:28 Mike Huckabee respects Obama and celebrates his achievement and agrees with him that this election is about YOU! See how nice, Huckabee is, while making his point. This is why you can't not like him.

9:30 There he goes. Huckabee bashes Obama for going to Europe and talking to people who can't even vote. Hey! Then why did you bring out the Puerto Rican? Oh, worse, Huckabee says, Obama brought back European ideas!!! European ideas like Enlighenment? John Locke? Adam Smith? We don't want any of that.

9:35 Huckabee claims that Palin got more votes running for Mayor of Wasilla than Biden got running for president. Sadly, I'm pretty sure he's wrong about that.

9:39 Huckabee told a story about desks, that my roommate assures me was very moving.

9:45 The governor of Hawaii is now speaking on stage, she assures us that Queen Sarah Palin will not reinvent herself in this campaign. (like Romney just did?)

9:46 My roommate is shocked that Hawaii has a Republican governor. She thinks Hawaii was on crack that election cycle.

9:52 Oh My. I think they are chanting Queen Sarah's name. No. they are chanting "zero."

9:54 Roommate points out that the 49th state is talking up the 50th state.

9:55 Hawaii lady points out that you can fit a lot of Delawares inside of Alaska. Well, gee, thanks for the geography lesson. We'll just ignore the whole population difference, because WE ARE STUPID.

9:56 Tonight's drinking game: every time someone says the word Maverick.

9:58 Time for the PBS historians, and talk of the gender gap. Dems are killing, KILLING, Repubs in the gender gap.

10:00 On stage now: Rudy Giuliani. He will introduce Palin. He assures us that he is not running for president and he does support John McCain. Thanks Capt. Obvious.

10:03 He says "we the people," not "the left wing" or the "celebrities" get to decide the election. Didn't anyone tell him that most American celebrities and media members are citizens and can vote?

10:05 John McCain is a "true American hero." Think they'll name a GI Joe character after him?

10:05 Alert, alert, alert!!! Giuliani just said McCain was tortured! Oops. He didn't get the GW Bush/Fred Thompson memo not to mention torture (because it might remind the country how WE ARE TORTURING prisoners)

10:08 Giuliani starts the Obama bashing. A Lot. "Barak Obama has never led anything," RIDICULOUSLY claims Giuliani. The evil liberal media will have a field day with all the exaggerations and extrapolations he's making with the Obama biography.

10:13 Heh. There's a shot of Huckabee in the audience. He looks uncomfortable. I'd like to think it's because of the crass arguments Giuliani's making on stage.

10:14 The "drill, baby, drill" chant is back.

10:15 Gotta say, Giuliani is having a lot of fun up there. He might not want to leave the stage.

10:16 Giuliani complains that the Dems didn't mention 9/11 in Denver. Well, thank goodness you are here, Rudy to remind us about it.....and brag about yourself at the same time.

10:18 Giuliani asks how many times Obama has changed his position? Should you really start talking about flip-flopping when Ms. Bridge To Nowhere is coming up next? Should you really start talking about flip-flopping when McCain has to explain his position on immigration. When John McCain has to explain how he voted with GW Bush 90% of the time but now wants to reform all those decisions? I just think you might be digging a bit of a hole here, Rudy. Be careful.

10:22 He's not being careful. The evil liberal media is going to slam him on a lot of stuff in this speech, not that he or anyone else in that convention center cares.

10:23 Finally, Giuliani changes tone and compliments McCain and Palin. Oh no. He's back to crassly mocking Obama. Nice shot about "clinging to religion though."

10:24 So Rudy seems to be implying that governing a town of 10,000 people is about the same as governing a town of 3 million? Yeah. Again, I'M NOT THAT STUPID.

10:26 With Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani tonight, how the heck is the McCain-Palin ticket going to transition to a message that resonates with the Independent voters? While he's firing up the crowd, and having a good time, he's providing no sound-bytes that will attract Independent voters.

10:29 Here' she is. Miss Wasilla. Sorry. I mean Queen Palin. Finally. She emerges from GOP seclusion where she has been vigorously practicing how to say Medvedev and Ahmadinajad.

10:30 I say it's pretty near impossible for her to give a bad speech tonight, what with the way this crowd loves her and is already riled up.

10:31 She accepts the nomination for VP? What? No roll call? No floor nomination? No seconding? GOP! Don't skip the fun, wonky nuts and bolts part.

10:32 You know, she's probably wearing the most expensive suit she has ever put on. Look what the lower 48 Dems have done to you Sarah! They put you in elitist designer clothes!

10:34 Oops. She just name checked "Profiles in Courage." Does she know JFK wrote that book?

10:35 She's introducing her kids....grand baby-gate, will she mention it?

10:38 Nope. Thank goodness.

10:39 Still talking about her family. She's on her parents how.

10:41 Huh. She name checks Harry Truman. Let's hope if she becomes president she can show the surprising skill that Harry Truman did. Uh oh. Did I say "hope?"

10:42 She dings Obama for "looking down" on her experience as mayor, and then bashes him for being a community organizer. No actually. She bashes the profession of community organizer. So much for that message of "service" from yesterday. Guess "service" of a small community only counts if you are elected to service.

10:44 She tells the liberal elite media to shove it. Yeah, if she ever lets herself be actually interviewed by any of them, I don't anticipate things will go so well.

10:48 She talks about ethics reform. She talks about spending reform. Also mentions how she got rid of the AK governor's jet and home chef. Which is pretty awesome.

10:50 Uh oh. She brought up the bridge to nowhere. The Dems will be taking that sound-byte, pasting it next to this picture and broadcasting a campaign ad in a TV market near you.

10:53 New drinking game: every time the crowd chants "drill baby, drill"

10:57 Man, these people love her. The same time she dings Obama for having a worshipful following, these delegates are looking at her like she's the second coming.

10:59 Ooh, she's naming states. She does know the names of some of the lower 48 states. See, liberal media. She's completely qualified!

11:00 Her delivery is good, but she's a little too smug when she tells a joke. She'll have to adjust that before less partisan audiences. Other than that, she's doing excellent.

11:03 She rips on community organizers again. Which considering her "folksy" message is a little galling. Those people do thankless work for little pay and no glamor. They also serve communities who need help. Not cool, Lady. Stick to criticizing Obama. Lay off disparaging a profession. Especially a profession that has a history of being on the edge of REFORMING politics and generating REFORMERS.

11:05 She's done. They will take her back into seclusion where she will answer absolutely NO questions from the press.

11:09 The family join her on stage. Her baby is very, very cute.

11:10 John McCain! He comes out on stage (a move he totally stole from Obama who did the same to Biden last week...he's even speaking with a hand-held mike like Obama did).

11:11 John McCain compliments Sarah Palin and her "beautiful family."

11:14 Pundit Brooks is in love with her delivery style. Shields is amazed, as I am, that she brought up the bridge to nowhere. Gwen Ifel seems to worry that McCain can't top Palin's speech tomorrow night.

11:16 Historian Richard Norton-Smith wonders as I do how this night will play for Independents at home. Beschloss thinks this is the first time a Pres nominee and a VP nominee have ever hugged. Beschloss also thinks Palin didn't tell us any new information about herself, which will be a problem in future interviews (if she even ever has any). The other Historian, Panil, thinks she exceeded expectations with her demeanor. The Pollster thinks she played the folksy and populist notes well. She will appeal to Repub and Dem populists.

11:23 The pundits are still talking. But I'm tired. So I will leave the broadcast early. Oh no. They are ending it too. Good night. I'll be back tomorrow night for the last Nite of the DNC. Let's see if John McCain can have the speech of his life.