Palin the Impaled
ST. PAUL, Minn. — If conventions are supposed to be about message discipline and stagecraft, Republicans have been improv street theater to the Democrats’ Broadway. Every day has brought a brand new buzz — and that was before the convention got started. Republicans euphoric about vice presidential pick Sarah Palin hardly got to enjoy a news cycle before Hurricane Gustav stole headlines and resurrected the ghosts of Katrina. Then came the news that Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant.
McCain Comes Through
Partisan Democrats and many members of the media consider John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate a terrible mistake. But McCain need not worry about their criticism. His unexpected selection satisfied the people he needed to please. Republican conservatives assembling in St. Paul for the party’s national convention were “ecstatic” over the choice. Nor did the announcement Monday that Palin’s 17-year-old unmarried daughter was pregnant — but would raise the child and marry the father — perceptibly diminish the enthusiasm for her in St. Paul by Republicans, who regarded the news as irrelevant to the vice presidential selection.