Soccer Dad

Lipstick

What's the difference between a Soccer Dad Hockey Mom and a pit bull?
Lipstick.

From Gov. Palin's acceptance speech.

My wife and I loved the speech. Every time Gov. Palin stuck a verbal knife into a target we went back to the the lipstick line. She's tough.

In the National Journal poll, I argued that she should stick to presenting Sen. McCain as a reformer. (The other choices were to present McCain as a conservative, to show that she's ready for the job or to show that Obama is too liberal.)

I did not think that she could credibly present herself ready for the job, so I wrote:

Any argument that she's experienced will sound forced. She doesn't need to show that Sen. Obama is too liberal. She needs to make the argument that those who want to see positive change will see it if they elect the Republican ticket.

I was wrong. But she used her experience to demonstrate how to govern. Don't be afraid to veto. She used her experience presiding over a state

Here are some of her best lines:

... I've learned quickly these last few days that, if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

(AUDIENCE BOOS)

PALIN: But -- now, here's a little newsflash. Here's a little newsflash for those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.

---

I guess -- I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.

---

But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the State Senate.

(APPLAUSE)

PALIN: This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use the word "victory," except when he's talking about his own campaign.

(APPLAUSE)

But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot...

---

Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election: In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

PALIN: They are the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners or on self-designed presidential seals.

And those lines were all delivered with a smile. Lipstick. The folks at Contentions were enthusiastic.

Brilliant. Don't make her the victim. Make her the champ.

While Joe Klein complained about the treatment the press has been getting from the McCain campaign, Gov Palin has been effective in her criticism precisely because she doesn't come across as being wronged, she comes across as being right.

via Linkviewer, here's a nice photoshop showing how Gov. Palin must have been perceived.

More from Jay Nordlinger.

I didn't see Giuliani's speech but John Podhoretz wrote:

As a former political speechwriter, I think anyone interested in the tricks of the trade should strongly consider studying this speech to see how to construct a verbal argument.

Reading the speech, you see exactly what he means. As a former Giuliani supporter I note Linda Chavez's comment with some regret.

John Podhoretz characterized the McCain campaign as having a light touch.

Lipstick.