pH Reading — Saturday, September 6, 2008

By Patrick Henry 

 

A Convention That Sparked the GOP
Time · David Von Drehle
There was a moment on Tuesday night when the Republican Convention looked like it just might slide right off the rails. The President had been banished from his own party. The running mate was caught in a media frenzy. And a Democrat was extolling the Republican nominee for a series of accomplishments that most delegates inside the Xcel Energy Arena deeply despise and resent. Campaign-finance restrictions, the Gang of 12 senatorial compromise on new judges, immigration reform, the acknowledgement of global warming — as Senator Joseph Lieberman ticked through the record of John McCain, it was so quiet you could almost hear the hum of the air-conditioning…

‘A Servant’s Heart’
Wall Street Journal · Peggy Noonan
Sarah Palin killed. And more than killed. Much has been said about her speech, but a few points. “The difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick” is pure American and goes straight into Bartlett’s. This is the authentic sound of the American mama, of every mother you know at school who joins the board, reads the books, heads the committee, and gets the show on the road. These women make large portions of America work…

pH: Peggy Noonan needs to write more and talk less.

The McCain Change
WSJ Editorial Board
John McCain last night savored the triumph of securing the Republican nomination for President, though his misfortune is to win it in a year when the GOP is at its lowest ebb since the Watergate era. By historic standards, he should be a sure loser. Yet Mr. McCain remains a formidable contender — in part because of his opponent’s weaknesses, but also because he can credibly claim to be a reformer who often fought his party’s worst instincts, notably on spending and immigration. His chances of winning now hang on whether he can make the case to voters seeking change that a President McCain can shake up government while a President Obama would merely expand it…

Woman At Work
IBD Editorial Board
That sound you heard Wednesday night was the political glass ceiling being shattered by a working mom. We could be looking at the first female vice president of the United States — and first grandmother…

The Unexamined Life
Townhall · Linda Chavez
The biggest story to emerge from the Republican National Convention was the media’s effort to destroy Gov. Sarah Palin. Members of the Fourth Estate behaved more like a Democratic fifth column this week than they did like honest reporters. Palin’s stunningly effective speech Wednesday night showed they will not easily take her down — but their malicious attacks on Gov. Palin’s family prove that they will stop at nothing to achieve their aim. Since when is the private life of a 17-year-old fair game in a political campaign? Apparently only when that 17-year-old’s mom is a Republican candidate…

Tasting GOP Blood
IBD Editorial Board
Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden says that, if elected, an Obama administration might pursue criminal charges against the Bush White House. This is how he plans to unite the country?…

A Glimpse of the New
New York Times · David Brooks
Political parties usually reform in the wilderness. They suffer some crushing defeat, the old guard is discredited and the pain compels turnover and change. John McCain is trying to reform the Republican Party before a presidential defeat, with the old guard still around, and with a party base that still hasn’t accepted the need to transform. The central drama of this week’s convention was the struggle by reform Republicans to break through the gravitational pull of old habits and create something new…

Democrats in Trouble
RealClearPolitics · Dick Morris and Eileen McGann
The convention floor was abuzz all yesterday with the news of the CBS poll showing a dead tie (42-42) in the presidential race. And the poll, conducted through Wednesday, couldn’t reflect the impact of John McCain’s speech, or the full impact of Sarah Palin’s late Wednesday night. It reflected opinions only after the Democrats’ convention, Barack Obama’s incredible speech, the Palin selection and the early, Gustav-depressed GOP gathering. That augers ill for the Democrats. Tonight’s polling could bring evidence that the Obama candidacy is in big trouble…