Sarah Palin will attempt to silence media storm in prime-time speech

[kingcap72]

Palin to try to silence media storm in debut
Reuters
Sarah Palin has dominated the Republican convention for days without making a public appearance but on Wednesday she takes the spotlight with a prime-time speech that will introduce her to American voters.
Since John McCain made the nearly unknown Palin his No. 2, the Alaska governor has been at the center of a media storm fueled by disclosures about her unmarried teenage daughter's pregnancy, a probe into her role in an Alaskan official's firing and questions about the her political record.
McCain, 72, an Arizona senator, and Palin will be nominated by the convention on Wednesday to face Democrat Barack Obama and his vice presidential running mate, Joe Biden, in the November 4 presidential election.
Palin's anti-abortion and pro-gun record have excited conservatives and party activists but the appearance on Wednesday will be her first chance to directly tell American voters her life story and philosophy.
It comes just five days after McCain shocked the U.S. political world by introducing the 44-year-old first-term governor as his running mate at an Ohio rally.
"She made her first impression on Republicans in Ohio on Friday when McCain introduced her," said Fergus Cullen, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. "Now she can make a first impression on the rest of the country."
Palin, the first female Republican vice presidential nominee, has stayed out of the public eye in Minnesota for two days while the revelations about her family and her record in Alaska surfaced.
She has been preparing her address with speechwriter Matt Scully, who drafted her speech in Ohio. "We're just going to rock 'em, sock 'em -- we kind of like it when people underestimate us," a McCain campaign official said of the speech.
Her speech, when she will accept the nomination, may give the public a chance to assess her familiarity with domestic and foreign policy issues. She may address the issue of her 17-year-old daughter's pregnancy and the investigation into whether she abused her power in having a public safety commissioner fired in Alaska.
Palin made her walk-through of the convention hall early on Wednesday, carried live by the morning news programs, shuffling papers at the podium and chatting with aides.
Also scheduled to speak on Wednesday was former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who made a failed run for the Republican president nomination.
Appearing on CBS' "Early Show," Giuliani defended Palin as being ready for the vice presidency and attacked Obama.
"I would say Barack Obama has never governed a city, never governed a state, never governed an agency, never run a military unit, never run anything," Giuliani said.
On Palin's family demands as the mother of five including an infant with Down syndrome and a 17-year-old pregnant daughter, Giuliani said, "Has anybody ever asked Barack Obama can you bring up your two kids and be president of the United States? They're asking can she be vice president and be a mother. Where are the feminists?"
PASSING THE TORCH
The furor over Palin has raised questions about McCain's judgment and the depth of investigation that preceded her selection, and could put a dent in McCain's efforts to build momentum heading out of the convention.
As the convention was under way on Tuesday, a peaceful march on behalf of poor people by more than 1,000 demonstrators led to a brief confrontation of some of them with police. Pepper spray and teargas were used to drive the protesters away from the downtown Xcel Energy Center where the convention was being held.

Much of Monday's convention schedule was delayed by Hurricane Gustav's assault on the Gulf Coast, but the gathering resumed on Tuesday with criticism of Obama and testimonials to the character of McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam.
"I'm here to support John McCain because country matters more than party," said former vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut senator who ran as Democrat Al Gore's No. 2 in 2000.
Lieberman was defeated in a Democratic primary for his U.S. Senate seat in 2006 over his support for the Iraq war, but won election later that year after qualifying for the ballot as an independent.
"John McCain's whole life testifies to a great truth: being a Democrat or a Republican is important. But it is not more important than being an American," Lieberman said.
The convention also marked the passing of leadership in the party from President George W. Bush to McCain. Bush praised McCain, who had been his rival in a bitter presidential nominating battle in 2000.
"He's not afraid to tell you when he disagrees. Believe me, I know," Bush told the convention in a brief speech via satellite from Washington.
Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, whose own presidential bid fell short this year, contrasted Obama's speech to 200,000 cheering Germans in Berlin in July with McCain's global reputation for leadership.
"The respect he (McCain) is given around the world is not because of a teleprompter speech designed to appeal to American critics abroad but because of decades of clearly demonstrated character and statesmanship," Thompson said.
Thompson blasted "Washington pundits and media big shots" who have been critical of Palin. "The selection of Governor Palin has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic. She is a courageous, successful reformer, who is not afraid to take on the establishment," he said.
Palin to try to silence media storm in debut

Palin's speech is the only RNC speech I'll probably watch. I can't wait to hear how she spins the shitstorm going on around her.

[cheetopia]

*salivating*

Bring it on, I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to be like pouring napalm on a raging forest fire. Let the games begin. Who needs the Olympics when you have politics to entertain you?

[Grimmlok]

yeah, we're in a real state of panic over here

[Fluffy]

I wonder how many lies she'll fit into her speech like in her acceptance speech where she said she was 'always against the bridge to nowhere.' When in reality, she was for it before she was against it.

[Grimmlok]

She's a conservative. Every other word is a lie.

[Chalet]

I won't watch but I'm counting on a really ill fitting cheap suit, low heels, frosted pink lipstick and that up-do with the big clip and floofy bangs.

[*DIVA!]

Excuse you, Grimm...but every word out their mouths are lies. I will watch, she'll be an amazing stepford republican female talking chestbot...and will sound like she's familiar with Foreign Affairs. She won't fail now that they have installed her chip. That's why the media couldn't interview her before today!

[WesCAdle]

But will she say "Aye" and "aboot" for about???j/k

[Grimmlok]

She's not canadian.. THIS is a Canadian:

[HWBL]

I heard through the grapevine that a big part of the speech is
(hence the theme of the RNC: Country First) to play on patriotism
and the "proud to be American" crap the Repugs love so much
(like it's so great to be proud to be associated with war criminals
like Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld - or proud to be citizen of a
nation that rewards the rich for being rich and leaves those who
need help most to fend for themselves).
And apparently she's still going to adress, hear this, family values....
(go for the sympathy vote: hard to raise good Christians in a
vile world full of temptations.... yeah, like corruption as it is
promoted by the Repugs, or intolerance like it's practiced by
the zealous "Christians").

[Grimmlok]

family values? are you for real?

[WesCAdle]

Yeah, well when I heard her she was speaking Canadian then - guess they are beefing up her resume by making her multilingual.

[Belinda]

Originally Posted by HWBL

I heard through the grapevine that a big part of the speech is
(hence the theme of the RNC: Country First) to play on patriotism
and the "proud to be American" crap the Repugs love so much
(like it's so great to be proud to be associated with war criminals
like Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld - or proud to be citizen of a
nation that rewards the rich for being rich and leaves those who
need help most to fend for themselves).
And apparently she's still going to adress, hear this, family values....
(go for the sympathy vote: hard to raise good Christians in a
vile world full of temptations.... yeah, like corruption as it is
promoted by the Repugs, or intolerance like it's practiced by
the zealous "Christians").

Thanks for summing it up. Now I won't have to watch it.

[ManxMouse]

Don't expect her to stumble. The RNC crowd will lap up every damned word out of the mouth of their poor, put-upon martyred patriot of a candidate. She'll give a speech where she controls the message of God, country, and values to this salivating mob. With low expectations of the media and the rest of the country, she wins if she manages anything more than not having a Tourettes-like outburst. Then the R's and likely the media as well will get all dribbly over her, and the RNC will be declared a huge success.

Only when it comes time for her to answer tough questions from the public and reporters, and to do the VP debate and respond to substantive policy matters, will we see if she goes down in flames.

[Grimmlok]

what tough questions? there won't be any. They're going to keep her sequestered till electiontime.