Bobby Jindal was on Hannity and Colmes tonight...wow, he's impressive every time I see him. Makes me wonder a little how McCain would have done with him as the VP choice...

I'll have a longer post later tonight, but here are some quick thoughts:

• Barack Obama: Congrats to the new President. I hope he governs from the center - I guess we'll see. At any rate, we can all be even more proud today of our country. Obama's first primary victory was in Iowa, which is mostly white. Last night, he won Virginia, which was the cradle of the old confederacy. It's an amazing thought.
• John McCain: Maybe one of the best concession speeches I've ever heard. It was gracious, warm, and truly heartfelt. And anyone could see that John McCain's deep love for America is no act. He is a true hero, a true patriot, and will be a great asset in the Senate.
• California's gay marriage ban: Fascinating that the state that voted for Obama by double-digits also voted to ban gay marriage. It shows that the country truly is center-right. I was very happy to see this pass, especially after the vicious anti-Mormon ads the other side ran the day before the election.
  
• Norm Coleman/Al Franken: I sometimes will listen to liberal talk radio, to get the perspective of the other side. I hated listening to Franken - he was obnoxious, totally intolerant of dissenters, and full of himself. Hopefully he'll lose to Coleman. And lest we need any more evidence of the importance of each vote, Coleman currently leads by about 600 votes.
• Gordon Smith/Jeff Merkley: Another one too close to call...but here's hoping Senator Smith can pull it out.
  

More later...

The convention crowd will go nuts, but the real test of the speech will be 3 or 4 days after the convention, in the polls. It will be interesting to see where it shakes out. Obama right now has about a 6 point lead in the RCP average. I think the magic number is about 3 percent. If in 3 or 4 days, Obama is still up by more than 3 points, he's going to feel pretty good. If less than 3 points, then I think McCain will feel like the convention did its job.

Then it's off to the debates...

When it comes to the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate, I'm with David Frum...I think it's an irresponsible choice that could (will?) come back to haunt McCain.

Of course, there are scurrilous charges that have no merit. Of course, there is media bias. But here are some details that are coming out that are issue-based, and much more troubling to me:

• She favored many earmarks as Mayor that John McCain specifically criticized (reformer? or opportunist?)
• She favored the "Bridge to Nowhere" before she opposed it
• She said in an address to her church that the Natural Gas Pipeline was a "task from God" and that people should "pray for it" (yes, it's the Huffington Post...but they have video)

My take:

I think it's clear she was a rash choice. I'm not at all comfortable with her as VP. I would strongly have preferred someone like Romney, Pawlenty, Cantor, even Mike Huckabee to her. I think (and I get no pleasure from saying this) that this choice will hand the election to Obama.

I picked up a copy of Townhall Magazine at Barnes & Noble (surprised and impressed that they dare to carry it here in the People's Republic of Portland).  I really like it!  It looks cool.  Right now I'm reading an article about the courts...about how Scalia and others are stopping activist judges.  Well done, Townhall!

1. She would seem to be a solid conservative, so that's a good thing.  Definitely better than Lieber-ridge.
2. I saw her speech today...I know some conservatives were thrilled, but I think to be honest that they're looking through Conservative-colored glasses.  She did okay, she got through it, but if I were an independent voter I'd think she seemed a little unsettled and nervous.  Hopefully as time goes on she'll get a little more polished.  As for right now, she doesn't look completely ready.
3. Does anyone really know her?  McCain did not give off a vibe of knowing her very well personally.  Several analysts on TV, when asked if they'd actually ever even met her, had to say no (which tended to pour cold water on their resounding endorsements).

I hope this doesn't sound like I don't like her...from what I know, she seems great.  But I think she's a HUGE risk...and it could blow up.  So I guess I'm both excited and worried.

Michael Medved recently suggested Barack Obama was advocating a government program in relation to tire inflation. Here's the truth:

He was asked by someone in a question-and-answer "what can we do as citizens" about energy costs. So he talked about inflating your tire properly as one thing a citizen can do. His reasonable response has been completely distorted.

By the way, I'm a McCain supporter. I just like the idea of the truth being told.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Hugh Hewitt today wrote about Secretary of State Rice's comments on the Georgia affair:

This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten its neighbors, occupy a capitol, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed.

My take:
I agree with Hugh... Rice's statement is the right one. I also agree with Frank Gaffney when he said on the show today that Russia wouldn't have done this unless they thought all they would get from Washington is idle words.

I think kicking them out of the G8 is the right step, and it should be done now.

• McCain's ad touting his ability to work with Democrats, and their praise of him (distancing himself from hard-line conservatives)
• Pawlenty's comments about "Sam's Club Republicans"...seems to me to be an appeal to Reagan Democrats
• McCain likes him...a lot.

So, if it is Pawlenty, what do you all think?  I'm kind of lukewarm...don't hate him, but could be better.

Yes, yes, I know they hate each other's guts.  But this is politics. 

It's not unheard of for two people who aren't best friends to form alliances.  And think of it:

• No one is stronger on the economy than Romney.  He speaks with knowledge and experience...and he's actually done it in the real world, met payroll, created jobs.  He would be a great asset to the ticket on the economy.  And the economy is sure to be a hot topic.
• Conversely, no one is stronger on the war in Iraq than McCain.  His foresight on the surge when no one was supporting it gives him tremendous leverage.  And his personal narrative makes him a very, very powerful opponent.
• Romney is strong with the conservative base - if McCain picked Romney as a running mate, it just might help him heal some wounds with the very important conservative activists he would need to win in November.
• McCain has tremendous crossover appeal - more than any candidate in either party.  Romney would need some of those Democrats and independents to win in Novemember.

So you see, much as they might hate it, they need each other.

Mac and Mitt...the odd couple that just might work.

Here is John McCain weaseling around a direct question about open-borders advocate Juan Hernandez working on his campaign: