Thursday, September 04, 2008

Electrifying

bill rappleye

Lighting up the Xcel

I was at Hillary’s speech in Denver, which was the best speech there.  I heard the longest ovation at the Pepsi Center as the crowd welcomed Bill Clinton.  Barack’s extravaganza at Invesco field was untoppable.  But for raw enthusiasm, Gov. Sarah Palin’s speech in St. Paul last night was far and away the most exciting of this convention season.  You’ve heard the phrase red meat, as in throwing out tasty phrases that the crowd eats up.  She delivered a banquet to this Republican crowd, hungry for a charismatic leader who sems like them.  Bragging about her family, proud of her small town, challenging the establishment press; there was much that this roaring crowd swallowed down whole.  And when she combined a swat at Michelle Obama with her own lifelong pride in America, the chants of U-S-A seemed like they’d been unwillingly stifled for ages.  Sarah Palin let this gang loose, and they felt their own power, and are ready to follow her and her running mate into battle: anywhere, anytime.