Oh, Barry, Oh!

I think Glenn Reynolds has a good rundown on Barry cracking that "You can put Lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig." The crowd assumed he was talking about Sarah "Piglette" Palin. I think they were meant to think that. I saw video of "the crack" on one of the Network News shows so even they thought we'd think what they thought the crowd thought. And they were right!

Here's a possible ad: I saw a clip of Barry referring to Gov. Palin as a Caribou hunter or some such -- in humorous manner. He also referred to Sen. Clinton as acting like she's "Annie Oakley" (during the Pa. primary, I believe). There were other "humoress" references to Senator Clinton. End with the Piglette gaffe. He's funny. You laughing?

The post below deals with Juan Cole making a Lipstick allusion. So it is well established "code."

Wan Salon

At RealClearPolitics I read the headline for a Salon piece by Juan Cole: "Palin, Muslim Fundamentalists are one and the Same." And I felt such relief. I was afraid they wouldn't like her.

Following the link, I saw the actual headline: "What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists? Lipstick ." Not a very original line, Juan. I guess female Muslim fundamentalists are not allowed to wear make-up. That would make sense, I suppose, wearing veils in public and all. Surprising what you learn on the web. I think Juan Cole is an expert in this stuff. We need more of them. Will we get more of them if Senator Obama wins? Yes! And they will have real power, too.

Only the "I" can reinvent himself...

...not the you.

"You can't just make stuff up, you can't just reinvent yourself," he said earlier in Flint, Michigan, in response to Palin's boast that she had intervened to kill the federally funded bridge.

Let's see. In a desperate move to create a record, Sen. Obama gets his name attached to legislation so uncontroversial it passes by a unanimous voice vote -- and then paints it as a "Profile in Courage." He may not have invented "reinventing himself," but he sure has reinvented it.

Now we learn from the AFP that Sen Obama claims McCain-Palin are 'lying' about their "maverick claims." Strong words from a mighty orator.

If that wasn't bad enough, he went on to accuse the boastful Sarah Palin (the AFP's description) and audience seducing Sarah Palin (the AP) of being a great Mayor by snagging millions of Federal dollars for projects in her town. I mean, what's she suppose to do? Send the money to Chicago? I guess this is a stab at the Liberal's favorite charge: hypocrisy. How can you be against earmarks if you in some way benefited from them? But she simply played the game by the established rules until the rules can be changed. (I gather Sen. McCain never accepted an earmark, so it would be hard to attack him.)

Apparently Sen. Obama always voted for Alaska's famed "bridge to nowhere" when it came up on the Pork List. So Gov. Palin can brag -- or boast, if you prefer -- that she turned against it before he did. Sen. Obama is right: you can't just make this stuff up.

UPDATE: Anyone who works in a practical way knows that as you work in a practical way you will spot the impracticalities. When you have responsibilities and as you work responsibly, you more clearly see the irresponsible. The key is not to become impractical and irresponsible yourself, but to work with what you got while seeking improvements. In Sen. Obama case, was he ever really successful at improving things in Chicago when he worked with his leftist friends? By his own admission, pretty much not (and then there is that murder rate). During his association with the Chicago "machine" his behavior is best described as "get along by going along."

The Eight Hundred Word Answer is "Yes"

Discussing Gov. Palin's record, the Washington Post writes:

People are still buzzing about Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's acceptance speech. But while her style has been minutely analyzed, very little commentary has focused on one of the few substantive claims she made about her brief tenure as governor of Alaska: that she "fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history . . . a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence." Is Ms. Palin right about the importance of the pipeline and her role in moving it forward?

They beat around the bush a bit, but over all they give a favorable assessment of her performance.

The oil companies flared off gas on the North Slope for thirty years while multiple layers of Government squabbled amongst themselves and with Industry about a pipeline. Meanwhile, environmental groups and their lawsuits raised the hurdles high. Gov. Palin broke the logjam and got it rolling.

Of course the WP has to end a positive assessment with a snark remark: "Perhaps her Democratic opponent for the governorship in 2006, who campaigned on similar ideas, would have achieved these results. Nevertheless, Ms. Palin actually did." Perhaps in four years they can voice a similar lament about the Obama/Biden ticket. "The Democrats campaigned on World Peace and ending poverty. Nevertheless..."

Convention lifts McCain over Obama

More evidence of a McCain Bounce from USATODAY.com

The Republican National Convention has given John McCain and his party a significant boost, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken over the weekend shows, as running mate Sarah Palin helps close an "enthusiasm gap" that has dogged the GOP all year.

McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by 50%-46% among registered voters, the Republican's biggest advantage since January and a turnaround from the USA TODAY poll taken just before the convention opened in St. Paul. Then, he lagged by 7 percentage points.

The convention bounce has helped not only McCain but also attitudes toward Republican congressional candidates and the GOP in general.

Hmm. The bounce moves down ticket. Uh-Oh for the Dems. Among likely voters, McCain leads Obama by 54%-44%.

A Hug for McCain

The normally barely reliable Zogby International has a new poll with McCain/Palin up four points (49.7 percent to 45.9 for Obama/Biden). And there is this interesting tidbit:

McCain's favorability rating increased from 50% favorable last week to 57% favorable now, a significant jump that indicates the GOP convention was a success. Among independent voters, 61% now have a favorable impression of him, compared to just 49% who said the same a week ago.

If "favorablility" is 61 percent among independents it must be 47 percent among Republicans. But hey, they got to vote for him to vote for Gov. Palin. "To get to Palin, you'll have to go through me," says McCain.

It seems the Democrat machine's attacks on Gov. Palin was a double backfire: it drove a hug audience -- excuse me, a huge and sympathetic audience -- for her speech and a subsequent, and surprising, "hug" audience for McCain's. It was called "workmanlike" and "State of the Unionish." But the portions about his military service and his years as a prisoner must have really grabbed people (most of the folks watching the broadcast would have had little idea of what he went through). The entire Republican Party ended the week in a group hug. Hopefully they won't be complaining about each others garlic breath and BO by election day.

I have friend who is very much a Democrat base voter who was telling me a story from his navy days a few months back. He was an enlisted man on an aircraft carrier. I mentioned McCain was in the jet on the deck of the Forrestal that got hit by the rogue missile. He well knew the story of the raging fire and near loss of the ship but not McCain's involvement. He pretty much changed his voting intentions on the spot. Will it hold? Who knows.

It is still the Democrat's election to lose. I can only tell them, "keep up the good work."

The Huff's in a Puff

Labeling the choice of Gov. Palin as VP a distraction, Arianna Huffington writes:

And it's why Democrats need to ignore Palin, and keep the focus on reminding voters about the stark contrast between an Obama and a McCain administration. It's tempting to prime the Palin attack pump. But Obama and the Democrats do so at their own peril.

Now if they can only get Gov. Palin to likewise agree to ignore them, the Dem's might almost be out of Peril.