According to the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin "thinks creationism should be taught alongside evolution
in the state's public classrooms."
"The teaching of creationism, which relies on the biblical account of
the creation of life, has been ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court as an
unconstitutional injection of religion into public education."
Palin later backtracked, saying it should be taught "only if it came up" in the classroom.
Nothing undersocres the riskiness of Sen. John McCain's pick of a running mate than this fact: "In an interview with Roll Call two weeks ago, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said she had met presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain only once or twice."
According to Politico, McCain "spoke with just once on the phone" with Palin "about the position before offering it in person earlier this week."
Dan Gerstein sums up McCain's gamble: "He's betting his presidency on a naked political play for holdout Hillary supporters and other female swing voters - and hoping that a large share of these predominantly pro-choice women will ignore or overlook Palin's staunch pro-life, anti-stem cell views."
In case you were wondering, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin owns three homes -- one is her family's main residence and the other two are for recreation, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
Republican officials are still "considering delaying the start of the GOP convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul because of Tropical Storm Gustav, which is on track to hit the Gulf Coast, and possibly New Orleans, as a full-force hurricane early next week," the Washington Post reports.
"The threat is serious enough that White House officials are also debating whether President Bush should cancel his scheduled convention appearance on Monday, the first day of the convention... Senior Republicans said images of political celebration in the Twin Cities while thousands of Americans flee a hurricane could be dubious."
According to the AP, there is a "better than even" chance the storm will hit New Orleans.
Meanwhile, Sen. Barack Obama issued this statement on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina: "Today is a day to celebrate [New Orleans'] resilience and pledge to help them finish the job. It is also a day to remember the disastrously inadequate response from the federal government..."
Update: Republican officials are tracking the hurricane, but the Chicago Tribune notes plans are proceeding that the GOP convention will open on Monday as scheduled.
Nielsen just released the ratings for the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention last night and found an estimated 38 million viewers watched on television, setting a new record for convention viewership.
Other interesting notes:
Thursday night generated substantially higher ratings and total viewers (13.4 rating, 38.4 million total viewers) than any other night this week; Barack Obama's speech also generated 3.3 million more viewers than John Kerry's four years ago.
Obama continues to attract high ratings among African Americans (a 21.0 rating for African Americans vs. a 12.4 rating among whites.) Obama's speech was the 5th highest rated non-sports program among African American viewers since 1997.
Older viewers continue to dominate viewing. People age 55+ watched at five times the rate as teenagers (ratings of 23.7 and 4.5 respectively.)
Obama spokesman Bill Burton released this statement on Sen. John McCain's pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate:
"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same."
Update: Ben Smith notes Obama distanced himself from his campaign's "hair trigger response" and offered a kinder statement.
"As for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day? I'm used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration."
-- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), quoted just last month by Politico.
A Republican source confirms to the Chicago Tribune that Sen. John McCain "has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Campaign officials, however, remain mum this morning."
"Palin is the first woman governor of Alaska, elected in 2006. She was also the youngest ever elected at the age of 42. She is the mother of five children, the youngest of whom was born in April and has Down Syndrome. She ran on a clean government platform in '06 to defeat the incumbent Republican Governor Frank Murkowski." The positives: She's an exciting pick that stops people talking about Obama's historic speech last night. She may appeal to women voters still unsure about Obama.
The negatives: She's completely unknown and has even less experience than Obama. Just a year and a half ago she was mayor of a town with just over 5,000 people. By picking her, McCain undercuts his argument that Obama's not ready. Another wildcard is the ongoing ethics investigation against her administration.
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner conducted a focus group in the swing state of Nevada with undecided voters or weak supporters of either candidate who watched Sen. Barack Obama's speech last night.
Key findings:
After viewing the speech, more than 1-in-4 of these swing voters moved from undecided to supporting Barack Obama or from supporting John McCain to undecided.
Obama achieved gains on every personal attribute tested in this exercise, with the most dramatic movement coming on some of the most important measures in our polling - 'on your side,' 'has what it takes to be President,' and 'will keep America strong.'
In a head-to-head match-up with John McCain on which candidate would better handle a series of issues, Obama again gained ground on every measure, with the most significant movement coming on 'national security,' 'strengthening America's relationships with other countries,' and 'sharing my values.'
Sen. Barack Obama gave the greatest political speech I've ever heard. He was better than Reagan and better than Kennedy. For someone who loves politics and public service, it was an honor to be able to witness it.
Obama did not only what he had to do -- address specific policy details and answer Republican critics -- but he did it in a way that was inspiring. His call for change will resonate across the country even louder than before.
It's hard to see how Republicans will follow this in Minneapolis next week. Frankly, it's hard to see how Sen. John McCain will be able to win this election in a way that any American can be proud of.
Other reactions:
Andrew Sullivan: "Look: I'm biased at this point. I'm one of those people, deeply
distressed at what has happened to America, deeply ashamed of my own
misjudgments, who has shifted out of my ideological comfort zone
because this man seems different to me, and this moment in history
seems different to me... I've said it before - months and months ago. I should say it again
tonight. This is a remarkable man at a vital moment. America would be
crazy to throw this opportunity away. America must not throw this
opportunity away."
Pat Buchanan:
"It was a genuinely outstanding speech. It was magnificent. It is the
finest - and I saw Cuomo's speech, I saw Kennedy in '80, I even saw
Douglas MacArthur, I saw Martin Luther King - this is the greatest
convention speech, and probably the most important because unlike Cuomo
and the others this is an acceptance speech. . This came out of the
heart of America and he went right at the heart of America..."
David Gergen: "In many ways it was less a speech than a symphony...It was a masterpiece."
Bill Kristol:
"Barack Obama faced very high expectations tonight and honestly I think
he met them and I honestly think he exceeded them...He eloquently
explained America's promise. He explained why the Bush Cheney
administration had fallen short of that...I thought it was an awfully
impressive performance."
Ezra Klein: "This has been the most aggressive speech of the week. And the most
substantive I've seen Obama give. It's not a thematic address: It's not
about hope or values or the universality of the American experience of
the illusory obstacles that divide us. It's concrete. It's about the
failure of the Republican Party, and the promises of the Democratic
Party."
Ben Smith: "The expectations were high for Obama's rhetorical talent, and he met
them, and the crowd at Mile High --now full almost to the brim, at a
reported 84,000 -- is standing and cheering, waving the American flags
they've been handed."
Josh Marshall: "I thought this was a very strong speech. About exactly what was needed."
Brian Rogers, McCain campaign spokesman: "When the
temple comes down, the fireworks end, and the words are over, the facts
remain: Senator Obama still has no record of bipartisanship, still
opposes offshore drilling, still voted to raise taxes on those making
just $42,000 per year, and still voted against funds for American
troops in harm's way. The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready
to be president."
Nielsen just released its ratings for the third day of the Democratic National Convention. The key takeaways are:
Bill Clinton and Sen. Joe Biden drew more viewers (24 million) than Michelle Obama (22.3 million) -- but fewer than Sen. Hillary Clinton (26 million).
Older viewers (age 55+) continued to dominate the TV audience Wednesday night, with 18.1% of all Americans in that age group -- 12.5 million people -- tuning in to the convention coverage.
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign hit back at speculation that Sen. John McCain would leak the name of his running mate tonight to distract from Obama's acceptance speech.
Obama communications chief
Dan Pfeiffer told Politico: "Tonight would be political malpractice. It's one more piece of evidence that the
McCain campaign is a war room masquerading as a presidential campaign."
However Pfeiffer did say that, "If they do it, I will pay all of McCain's mortgages next month."
"The next
president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring
the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American --
even illegal aliens -- as uninsured... So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."
-- John Goodman, a health care adviser to Sen. John McCain, quoted by the Dallas Morning News.
According to the Dayton Daily News, Sen. John McCain is still giving away tickets to his Friday rally where he will unveil his running mate. He's having trouble filling a 10,000 seat arena.
The contrast with Sen. Barack Obama giving a speech before 75,000 people tonight is striking and speaks to the excitement factor between the candidates. Obama tickets have been sold out for weeks.
Connecticut delegates "are demanding that party leaders punish Sen.
Joe Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-Independent, because of his support
of Sen. John McCain," according to The Hill.
"For many
of them, Lieberman's plan to speak at next week's Republican convention
in St. Paul, Minn., is the latest offense from the man who represented
their state as a Democrat in Washington for 18 years."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, however, is being practical, He realizes that if Lieberman were to caucus with Republicans the Democrats would lose control of the U.S. Senate until at least January.
Reports suggest Sen. John McCain has made his running mate pick and will unveil his decision at an event in Ohio on Friday. The New York Times reports it's mainly three men who are under consideration: Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Joe Lieberman.
According to ABC News, Romney was followed to the airport yesterday "by a grey unmarked Chevy SUV with
police lights. Two men wearing suits using ear pieces were in the
driver and passenger seats." Has his Secret Service protection already arrived?
The Minneapolis Star Tribune says Pawlenty will be in Denver today to go on attack against the Democrats. "The high-visibility mission is the latest stop in a whirlwind campaign
swing that for several days recently sent Pawlenty barnstorming for
Republican candidate John McCain across the battleground states of Ohio
and Pennsylvania. It culminates months in which Pawlenty's national
profile has risen amid speculation about his chances of being chosen as
McCain's running mate."
Meanwhile, Lieberman refused to take himself out of consideration despite pressure from conservatives. However, there are also reports that Lieberman advised McCain of the dangers to the Republican party of picking him.
"No, I never thought I would live to see it. I thought it would happen one day, but I
never thought I would live to see it. It will be a great thing to have
lived to see it."
-- Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), quoted by CQ Politics, on an African-American accepting the nomination of a major party for president.
Sen. Barack Obama will give his acceptance speech tonight at Invesco Field -- previously known as Mile High Stadium -- on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech."
Aboard a campaign plane to Denver yesterday, Obama's chief strategist told Politico that Obama "is drawing inspiration for his acceptance speech Thursday night from three past convention speeches: those of Bill Clinton in 1992, Ronald Reagan in 1980 and John F. Kennedy in 1960."
Said David Axelrod: "The speech is substantially written, but as with all Obama speeches he will be refining it and buffing it up right to the end."
"Obama began thinking about the speech before he left for vacation in Hawaii and has been working it intermittently ever since, Axelrod said, sometimes with speechwriters, other times alone in a Chicago hotel room. He writes longhand on a legal pad, types his notes into a computer and circulates drafts among his staff."
The Washington Post sets expectations:
"Succeed here... and Obama's speech will be remembered as one of the
most powerful moments in modern politics, a perfect launch into the
final stage of the general election. Fail, and Obama risks fueling
Republicans' criticism that he is an aloof celebrity, fond of speaking
to big crowds but incapable of forming genuine connections."
The big story of the night was Sen. Barack Obama becoming the first African-American presidential nominee of a major
political party.
As CQ Politics notes, Obama's nomination "was sealed after Sen. Hillary Clinton stepped forward to cast New York's 282 votes midway through the
state-by-state roll call Wednesday afternoon. But in a carefully
orchestrated gesture, she moved that delegates dispense with the rest
of the formalities."
Said Clinton: "Let's declare in one voice, right here and right now, that Barack Obama
is our candidate."
Sign of progress: The new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows a jump in the percentage of black voters who think their children could one day grow up to be president.
Republican strategist Karl Rove "called Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) late last week and urged him to contact Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to withdraw his name from vice presidential consideration," according to Politico.
Lieberman dismissed the request.
Another Politico report says McCain has already made his choice and will inform him or her tomorrow.
If you ever wondered how Bill Clinton was twice elected president, tonight's speech cleared up any questions. He did exactly as I expected and was simply extraordinary. For the time and place, it couldn't have been more appropriate.
Other reactions:
Andrew Sullivan: "Readers know my personal disdain for Bill Clinton. But longtime readers
will also know I have always defended his solid centrist, smart record
in office and defended him against his most over-reaching enemies.
Tonight, I think, was one of the best speeches he has ever given."
Ezra Klein: "The speech he offered could have been a joint release from the Economic
Policy Institute and the Center for American Policy foreign affairs
department. But somehow, when Clinton reads it, policy slips free of
the weighty terms and looping sentences that press it down, and drifts
upward to read easily as part of the human condition, engaged with our
everyday experience. It's a remarkable skill, and one that no other
current politician possesses."
Michael Crowley: "He may nevert be completely absolved by
Obama's core supporters, and his standing will probably never be
restored to the Olympian heights of a couple of years ago. But that was
full-throated, sincere-sounding, and sophisticated case for his wife's
former mortal rival."
Glenn Reynolds: "Bill Clinton just demonstrated that he's still the best the Democrats have."
Mark Halperin: "He himself rose to the occasion with a decisive, hopeful and generous
affirmation that 'Barack Obama is ready to be President of the United
States.' This unambiguous declaration was the most important phrase
uttered since the convention began."
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