I’ll have more thoughts tomorrow on the text of the speech but my quick impressions were that it was well written and superbly delivered. Palin managed to juggle all the balls nicely: She was simultaneously folksy and smart, delivering attack lines while remaining charming, funny and poignant. Certainly, if one hadn’t known otherwise, one wouldn’t have suspected this was her first significant speech to a national audience.
This was a fine introduction to the American public and one that will likely help assauge doubts about her readiness. She’s more than passed the “laugh test.” But there’s still two months of campaigning ahead. One speech won’t be enough.
Ultimately, even with a 72-year-old at the head of the ticket, the vice president will be an afterthought for most voters. After tonight, though, it’s looking like, at the very least, she won’t be a drag.
Update (Robert): Like James, I was very impressed with the speech. She seemed a little wobbly in the beginning — only briefly — and there was too much talk about her kids, but this speech did what it needed to do.
Unlike James, I was excited that she was chosen, if for no other reason than to shake up the race, which was not going McCain’s way. Then the revelation about her daughter surfaced. This nauseated me almost as much as Hurricane Gustav, which I had to run from, being in New Orleans and all.
After the speech, I feel much better.
Update (Robert again): Mini roundup here: Volokh (here and here); Pharyngula (here); TigerHawk (here); and, TalkLeft (here).
Over at TalkLeft, it appears that Jeralyn has gone off the rails over Palin (keep scrolling). I usually find Jeralyn to be level headed, but not these days.
On another note, when I hear Geraldine Ferraro’s name I can’t help but think of Dennis Miller’s comment about twenty years ago saying it reminded him of “Flip Wilson’s sports car”.
Update (Alex Knapp) I thought that the speech did what it needed to do–namely, introduce Sarah Palin to the country and assure Republicans that she can string two sentences together. She delivered as well as could be expected, considering it frankly wasn’t that well written. I will say this, though–she was most excited and enjoyable when she talked about her own family and her record. She seemed oddly flat and distant when she made attacks.
