Thursday, September 4, 2008

The reviews of Sarah Palin are in...

Today's a great day, conservatives.
Sarah Palin faced down the Angry Left, and her opponents in the news media...
And won. And even her opponents admit it:

From the AP:

"With a forceful speech that served as her introduction to millions of Americans on Wednesday, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin seduced many on television who had spent days doubting her candidacy. "It wasn't just a home run", said CNN's Wolf Blitzer; it may have been a grand slam. "A very auspicious debut," said NBC's Tom Brokaw. It was a "perfect populist pitch," said CBS' Jeff Greenfield. "Terrific," said Mort Kondracke on Fox News Channel. "A star is born," said Chris Wallace on Fox. "A star is born," Blitzer said. "A star is born," said Anderson Cooper on CNN."

From the Indianapolis Star:

"If McCain and his campaign's high command had any doubt about her ability at the convention podium, they needn't have. With her youthful experience as a sportscaster and time spent in the governor's office, her timing was flawless, her appeal to the crowd obvious."

From MSNBC:

"The Alaska governor dominated the night with a combative, folksy, strikingly personal and occasionally sardonic address to the delegates."

From Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO:

"...[Sarah Palin] laid the groundwork for invigorating a movement. Immediately after her speech, National Review Online readers e-mailed me to tell me they had just watched the next Ronald Reagan, the long-awaited successor. What I think we’re seeing is a new generation of conservatism. As Mitt Romney laid out clearly in his speech earlier in the night, there are some real differences between liberals and conservatives, and with a passionate energy this young woman is on the road to leading the Right into the future, with great respect for those who have laid the groundwork before us.

Note that Palin drew approximately 37 million TV viewers last night--almost as many as Obama.

The important thing about this is: political conservatism needs a political champion. Barry Goldwater for years was a good start. But he wasn't always the best campaigner and public advocate for conservatism. Then along came Ronald Reagan, to complete the job. But now Reagan has gone. And conservatism has lacked a truly, truly effective political champion (George W. Bush tried, of course, but he too just isn't the most effective public champion). Now along comes Sarah Palin--who lives conservatism, and with her speech last night indicates that she can explain it and bring it to ordinary Americans, too. Who would have thought that conservatism's latest star might not be a spokesman, but spokeswoman, instead?