AT THE TRUTH ABOUT CARS, A REVIEW of the 2009 Honda Accord NX. About 15 years ago, Bill Stuntz told me that what was amazing wasn't how good the $50,000 cars were, but how good the $20,000 cars were. Adjust for inflation and he's even more right today.
UNVEILED: The movie poster for Oliver Stone's W. That's probably as much of the move as I'll wind up seeing.
Nearly one in five U.S. adults (46 million people) has arthritis and an estimated 67 million people will be affected by 2030. Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, currently affects more than 27 million people in the U.S. . . . Add in rheumatoid arthritis, decaying spinal disks, and other joint problems and your odds of eventually living in pain from skeletal pains become quite high. If you aren't living in pain now you probably will eventually - barring big advances in biomedical science and biotechnology.
Ugh. Aging is a disease, and romanticizing it in terms of the great wheel of life or something is just a species of denial.
MORE ON CHRYSLER'S PLUG-IN HYBRID PLANS: "Press didn't elaborate on a timeline for releasing the plug-ins -- which further makes us wonder how real they are -- but Reuters says Envi should have its first product in showrooms within three to five years. According to Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa, the first vehicles out of Envi will have an electric-only range of 40 miles. Considering the Chevrolet Volt is on track to hit dealerships by the end of 2010 and just about everyone else is working on plug-ins and EVs, Chrysler may once again be so late to the party that the hosts already have passed out. Of course, that might be when the party's just getting good."
OPRAH'S DECISION TO BAN SARAH PALIN is getting her roasted in the comments on her website: Just keep scrolling. (Via Jessica's Well). Click "read more" for a few representative examples, or follow the link to read 'em all.
How can any of you people who posted here today be shocked and saddened by oprah's reaction to sarah palin. The writing was on the wall when she supported obama over hillary clinton. hillary who went to china and spoke on womens rights, who has campaigned tirelessly for women and children. she picked an african american over a women. Oprah seems to forget that women are her base, we have given her everything she has. Where would oprah be without the women of this country and the world, who would buy her magazines, watch her shows, her tv specials. You may not agree with sarah palin's politics (i do not) but the woman has a remarkable story and it deserves air time. Oprah your statement released this morning is pathetic, you are the Oprah show...as you have said many times. You campaigned for Obama, you cried your eyelashes off at his nomination speech and you did the happy dance when he sealed the primary's after defeating hillary clinton. For years you have had women on your show speaking about how the have been affected by sexism, abuse, and other realated issues, but you have let your race and your hope for an african american president override your judgement. I'm disappointed in you and in your show. This women (sarah palin) has endured more in the last week then any women has publicly had to endure. The media questioned is she a fit mother, can she be VP and a mother at the same time, maybe she should be home with her children. let me be clear...I do not support sarah palins politics but the treatment of her over the last week has spurred an anger in me that I didn't even know existed. Oprah you ought to be ashamed and embarrassed.
---
I am no longer going to watch the Oprah show or read her magazines or have anything to do with Oprah.
Oprah, you have completely turned your back on your (largely female) audience if you do not have the female vice presidential candidate on your show before the election.
---
I've watched your show religiously and loved how you were a champion/advocate for women.
You have disappointed this viewer/fan. You chose your race over your gender. You made women
second class citizens again.
Are you afraid that Sarah Palin's appearance on your show will influence viewers away from Obama?
I won't vote Republican, just think you of all people would be fair. And I agree, you campaigning for Obama IS using your show, your celebrity status as a platform for him.
---
I always thought you represented ALL women, not just liberal democrats. You have clearly shown the rest of the women in this country that you don't care about us, we do not matter. Only the elitist and liberals count now. It is we the middle americans, and southern women that had afoorded you the billions you now have by our support of you. With your Sarah Palin decision we will no longer support you. When Governor Palin becomes the VP in November, she will be too busy helping to make changes in Washington on your show, oh yeah she will also be to busy raising her family.
---
I am so disappointed in Oprah I could just cry. Where's my hero who has been my defender? Where's the person I've looked up to for so many years?
This isn't right, Oprah. You can't let yourself be made to look like a hypocrite. No, not you.
Do these reflect a lot of viewers' opinions? Watch her ratings.
OBAMA REACHES TO HILLARY TO COMBAT PALIN, but Jules Crittenden comments: "Obama may want to do the math on that 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' thing and make sure he’s figured it right."
MORE ON Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. I guess I'm glad to see the franchise do well, but honestly I haven't had much interest after the first three films.
MOVING TOWARD OFFSHORE WIND POWER: "The Interior Department, the agency that handles oil-and-gas leases in U.S. waters, is preparing to lease swaths of the outer continental shelf to companies that want to erect massive wind turbines. With the public-comment period for the proposal scheduled to end Monday, competition is heating up to develop wind projects on the shelf, the same underwater formation largely covered by an oil-drilling ban that has become a contentious issue in the presidential race. The federal program signals the start of a broad push to develop offshore wind energy in the U.S. The country often is dubbed by renewable-energy experts as 'the Saudi Arabia of wind' because of its vast, windy expanses, particularly in the Western plains. Now, rising interest in renewable energy is spurring exploration of the ocean."
Two thoughts. First, nobody tell Ted Kennedy! Second, this is probably also a stealth way to advance oil drilling -- once there are lots of offshore wind turbines, who'll complain about a few oil rigs mixed in among them? Seems like a good idea, though.
UPDATE: Reader James Egan emails: "Why not put the wind turbines ON TOP of the off shore oil rigs : )" Good idea!
PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING MEMORY: "Scientists have for the first time recorded individual brain cells in the act of summoning a spontaneous memory, revealing not only where a remembered experience is registered but also, in part, how the brain is able to recreate it."
My question is, why is there so much room? I was listening to Santana's Moonflower in the car a while ago, which I've barely listened to since college, and not only did I realize that all the licks were stored in my brain, I actually found myself noticing when skips that were present on my original vinyl version didn't appear in the new one. What a waste of brain cells! And yet, I often have trouble remembering more mundane things, and always have. Seems like the storage part is easier than the retrieval part. (In high-school, we used to joke about Write-Only Memory). This might prove a major handicap if people live longer, requiring some sort of memory training. Or we could do what the Google generation does, and not try to remember anything, since you can just look it up . . . .
ANN ALTHOUSE: "The artistic qualities of this McCain ad completely distracted me from whatever words were spoken or shown." That's not a problem that Republican candidates usually face.
The American Academy of Actuaries is considering new standards that would require local governments to provide two estimates of returns on investments made on behalf of public employee pension funds, The Washington Post reported Friday.
Most municipalities estimate returns on investments at 8 percent, about twice the amount federal regulations permit for private firms, the Post reported.
But, the estimate may be too high. The number of public pension budgets considered underfunded jumped fivefold to 40 percent in 2006, compared with 2000, the Government Accountability Office reported.
Pension fund managers are reportedly unhappy, but this seems like a good move to me. Much more on the story here. The goal of politicians, of course, is to promise as much as possible to government workers so as to get their support, while putting as little as possible away to fulfill those promises, so as to have as much money available to do other things they want to do. Seems like they've been getting their way too much. And the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac examples should illustrate what happens when future risk involving public money isn't properly accounted for.
MORE PROBLEMS for Charles Rangel. Perfectly timed for an anti-Congress campaign by the G.O.P., too, unless I miss my guess.
Plus, a fake Sarah Palin bikini photo. Nice photoshop work, though. And I have to say that the photoshopped Sarah Palin looks better than the original model . . . .
UPDATE: Ed Morrissey notes another Palin smear that's exploded and comments: "Just spitballing here, but what stereotypes of naughty women have the media and the lunatics missed? So far, they’ve made her out to be a slut, a b***h, a beauty-queen airhead, and an unfit mother. She’s obviously not frigid, so that smear won’t work. How many other demeaning gender-based slurs can they throw her way?"
ANN AND NANCY WILSON OF HEART are unhappy with the RNC's use of their Barracuda. But despite the obvious tie-in with Sarah Palin's basketball nickname of "Sarah Barracuda," it's a bad campaign song anyway since, if you listen to the lyrics, it's about a manipulative phony who'll say whatever people want to hear: "Smiles like the sun, kisses for everyone, and tales, it never fails . . . . And if the real thing don't do the trick, you better make up something quick." At least, it's a bad campaign song if it's supposed to be about Sarah Palin.
UPDATE: Reader Gerry Daly says I'm wrong: "The song was in response to ugly, unfounded sexual rumors being spread about the Wilson sisters. In that regard, it is extremely fitting for Palin. Honestly, can you think of a more fitting rejoinder to her foes in politics and the media than 'And if the real thing don't do the trick, you better make up something quick'?" Good point.
VIDEO: Sally Quinn's apology.
(Via Michael Silence, who originally blogged it live.). She's showing her age with that "George Romney" slip, though.
"COUNTRY FIRST:" A fascist idea? Wasn't that a line from Mussolini? "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." (Translated from the original Italian . . . . "Non chiedere cosa il tuo paese può fare per voi, chiedete cosa potete fare per il tuo paese.")
MICHAEL PETRELIS has the full text of the National Enquirer's Sarah Palin article. Not exactly John Edwards level stuff, but you can read it for yourself. Deceiver notes another difference. Stay tuned.
BARACK OBAMA: The new Ronald Reagan? "Obama's path to high office bears an uncanny resemblance to Reagan's in at least this regard: like Reagan, Obama understands that inexperience can be an asset, not a liability." Though Reagan did have that background as Governor. I wish people would get things settled on whether inexperience is good or bad, though. Seems to depend on which candidate they're talking about.
A BIGGER TV AUDIENCE FOR JOHN MCCAIN than for Barack Obama? "That means McCain's speech is now the most-watched in convention history -- 41% higher than President Bush's acceptance speech four years ago, and 1% higher than Obama's address last week." Go figure.
DANIEL DREZNER on blowback for Russia over Georgia. But, of course, you need to know that Drezner is a stooge of "the elite NATO foreign policy criminals like Albright, Kissinger, and Soros."
More on that problem here, and here. I suspect that we're only beginning to guess at the extent of this situation nationally.
UPDATE: Reader Dave Ivers emails:
I teach Public Budgeting (aimed mostly at sub-state level budgeting) and have for the past 9 years in a Masters of Public Administration. You wouldn't believe (well, maybe you specifically would) how many current or would-be local government employees have no idea how much money from the current budget it takes to fund future retirement benefits. It's going to eat entire local budgets alive. I've been preaching this for the past nine years. Even a couple of my colleagues who should know better don't usually address the problem much.
Roughly speaking, it's not unusual for 2/3 or so of local operating budgets to be devoted to employee compensation, current and future. It's also not uncommon to fund future benefits as meagerly as possible, counting on the growth of future revenues to bail the system out. At least 3 Michigan cities in the past decade have gone bankrupt and bailed out on their pension 'promises'. It's probably going to happen to more.
Getting local politicians *and* local unions to think more than a year or two is all but impossible. Do you realize that practically no local jurisdictions even have a Liabilities Budget?
Sheesh. It's like banging your head against the wall.
Yeah. I think I may be glad that my retirement is all in 403(b) and related funds, not a state retirement system.
JAMES TARANTO: "The most striking thing about this convention is that the vice presidential nominee stole the show."
HEH: "I’m from Alaska, or as Senator Obama calls it the 57th State."
NANOTECHNOLOGY: STUDYING THE IMPACT OF NANOMATERIALS on the environment.
Better actual studies than bogus reports. Some related thoughts on nanotechnology and nanomaterials here.
Of course, McGovern later said he should have kept him anyway. And Ann Althouse comments:
I remember the McGovern campaign. I was a big supporter of McGovern's, and I hated Nixon, as did all of my friends. And the scenario then was completely different from what you are seeing now. We were never excited about Eagleton in the first place. We just wanted McGovern to win. Eagleton didn't infuse new energy into the McGovern campaign or jazz up am important subset of voters. He was just some boring Senator that got slotted in. . . .
The Palin candidacy has virtually nothing in common with the Eagleton scenario, and the people who are saying it does are displaying their desperation. Obviously -- I'm not the first to say this -- if you want McCain to lose and you think she's so terrible, you should be happy to see Palin as the VP nominee. It will help defeat McCain.
Plus, Eugene Volokh on Gloria Steinem on women's political opinions.
SCIENCE, ER, MARCHES ON: "A new study found that trained sexologists could infer a woman's history of vaginal orgasm by observing the way she walks." There could be a lucrative sideline in teaching single men what to look for here . . . . (Via Randall Parker).
Meanwhile, you can reportedly also spot terrorists by their walk. Could you narrow it down to spotting the orgasmic female terrorists? I'm guessing that's a pretty small cohort. . . .
THIS IS WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: A reader emails:
I never really paid attention to your talk about vaccinations until my (vaccinated) boyfriend came down with whooping cough. Whooping cough is one of those diseases making a comeback in the last 5 years because of parents irresponsibly refusing to get their kids vaccinated. What's worse is that the vaccine itself is only effective for 10 years, so most adults are vulnerable to outbreaks. My boyfriend has coughing attacks every day where he vomits and can't breath, and this is going to last for about 2 months. The only reason he hasn't caused an outbreak at our college is because he identified the disease online almost right away (even though doctors didn't believe him) and took precautions.
She sent me her name but I'm leaving it off on general principles here. And yes, as I noted in my column, vaccines aren't perfect, which is why we need the "herd immunity" effect that protects even those whose vaccinations didn't take, or expired.
TODD ZYWICKI says that the McCain/Palin ticket has a Western-Libertarian vibe. "What is the 'western' vibe? This is purely subjective, but to me it is the feeling of no-nonsense, self-reliant, egalitarian, outsiderism, sort of Barry Goldwater-ish. Is it libertarian? Not exactly, but it does have that sort of feeling to it, to me at least."
In the London Times, Gerard Baker agrees and reports this joke:
“What's the difference between Sarah Palin and Barack Obama?”
“One is a well turned-out, good-looking, and let's be honest, pretty sexy piece of eye-candy.
“The other kills her own food.”
But read the whole thing, which has some serious observations as well.
LARRY SOLUM: "Is John McCain eligible to serve as President of the United States? Here are two new papers on the McCain's eligibility under natural born citizen clause." As with questions about Obama's citizenship, I predict this will go nowhere, though it's produced some interesting legal scholarship. Of course, if McCain somehow did get kicked off the ticket, it would just move Sarah Palin to the top. Some Republicans might be okay with that . . . .
MORE PROGRESS ON Neighborhood Electric Vehicles: "At least 40 states have now passed laws to permit NEVs to operate on many state roads with more working on new regulations. Meanwhile, some 40,000 NEVs are operating nationwide, says the Electric-Drive Transportation Association. Kentucky and Massachusetts are considering regulations to permit low-speed vehicles (LSVs) on state roads. LSV is a federal designation that includes NEVs, and also some gas-powered vehicles." Tennessee has already liberalized its laws.
Since short trips are (1) common; and (2) the setting in which cars get the worst mileage as the engine warms up, widespread adoption of these would make a real difference. On days when I don't go into the office, I could probably do 80% or more of my driving (usually short runs to the grocery store, post office or nearby restaurants) in an NEV. That would drastically cut my gas usage, and I'll bet I'm not that unusual. Er, in that respect, anyway.
MORE THOUGHTS ON POLITICAL TRIBUTE VIDEOS: I agree with Megan McArdle that we ought to do away with them. When did this custom start? The first one I remember is the one with Mike Dukakis and the snowblower but I don't know if it was actually the first.
In this unprecedented critique, Bernard-Henri Lévy, one of the world’s leading intellectuals revisits his political roots, scrutinizes the totalitarianisms of the past as well as those on the horizon, and argues powerfully for a new political and moral vision for our times. Are human rights Western or universal? Does anti-Semitism have a future, and, if so, what will it look like? And how is it that progressives themselves–those who in the past defended individual rights and fought fascism–have now become the breeding ground for new kinds of dangerous attitudes: an unthinking loathing of Israel; an obsessive anti-Americanism; an idea of “tolerance” that, in its justification of Islamic fanaticism, for example, could become the “cemetery of democracies”; and an indifference, masked by relativism, to the greatest human tragedies facing the world today?
JIM LINDGREN -- WHO LOVES HIM SOME NUMBERS -- DOES AN ANALYSIS and concludes that in spite of the press treatment, Obama's speech included more negative attacks than Palin's. But girls are supposed to be nice. His conclusion: "By continuing to spread false memes about the nature of Sarah Palin's speech as if they were true, the press marches forward in the most biased season of political reporting I've seen since at least 1998." Absolutely.
And a reader emails:
My casual discussions with ladies around the hospital where I work indicates that they have never heard of ACORN and have never heard of Bill Ayers. I suspect that they don't know anymore about Tony Rezko either. But everyone seems to know about Bristol Palin's fiance.
Has there ever been a time in the history of our presidential politics where the press has so willfully chosen to do what they can to elect a specific candidate to the presidency?
If the Obama-Biden ticket loses, this will be the final nail in the coffin of the main stream media. The credibility of the MSM will be irreparably damaged, and Americans across the board will come to trust the alternative media for real, working information.
Prediction: PJTV will easily eclipse the viewership of every one of the MSNBC talking heads within the first year of broadcasting.
That would be nice. Meanwhile, David Bernstein looks at a New York Times article and observes: "You would think that the author would at least mention somewhere in this article that the Democrats control both houses of Congress. You would be wrong."
UNLEASHING THE ABZUG BRIGADE? That's a little harsh, Don.
WELL, OBAMA IS OPRAH'S GUY: "Oprah Winfrey may have introduced Democrat Barack Obama to the women of America -- but the talkshow queen is not rushing to embrace the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket! Oprah's staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin, sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT." Oprah already took a ratings hit from women angry over her support of Obama over Hillary. This probably won't help.
QUESTIONS ABOUT flu vaccine for older people: "A growing number of immunologists and epidemiologists say the vaccine probably does not work very well for people over 70, the group that accounts for three-fourths of all flu deaths." But studies are complicated by the fact that healthier older people are more likely to get vaccinated. Assuming this is true, I wonder if the vaccine could be reformulated to be more effective in older recipients, or if older immune systems just don't respond as well.
JOE BIDEN DEMOTES PALIN to Lieutenant Governor of Alaska? What's the matter, Joe, can't imagine that a woman could hold the top job?
ELECTIONS: GOOD FOR TRAFFIC! Over 432,000 pageviews yesterday, and over 9 million pageviews last month. Just a dollar per pageview, that's all I ask . . . . If only!
MICKEY KAUS: "I predicted McCain's would be a good speech. Wrong again. That makes two successful conventions ending with weak final acts." Yeah, McCain's speech, like Obama's, was too long and had the laundry-list/State of the Union aspect that Obama's had. Both were upstaged by others -- McCain by Sarah Palin, Obama by Bill Clinton.
PALIN RIVALED OBAMA IN TV VIEWERS: "Barack Obama apparently isn't the only 'rock star' in presidential politics this year. After days of intense media coverage about Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's qualifications, more than 40 million Americans tuned in Wednesday to see for themselves what they thought of her. . . . Nearly 2 million more women were watching Palin than men, Nielsen said. Viewers were far more interested in Palin than Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. Biden's speech to Democrats last week was seen by an estimated 24 million people." All the media attacks mostly just built up the audience.
DAVID BERNSTEIN ON RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE IN AMERICA: "Even though studies consistently show that conservative evangelical Christians are no more likely to be anti-Semitic than others (the ADL, for example, notes based on years of study that neither religion nor political ideology drive anti-Semitism), many American Jews, especially liberal, secular American Jews, have a disturbing tendency to suspect all evangelical Christians of being hostile to Jews." I wonder why that is?
JIM TREACHER SPOTS SOME ASTROTURFING. Plus this: "Hey, you know who else was a community organizer? Don Corleone." Ouch.
UPDATE: Reader Thomas Prewitt emails that the astroturf is biblically inaccurate: "Jesus was actually not a community organizer. He was the Messiah, and he left the organizational stuff to the apostles who started the early church. The true organizer of the New Testament was actually Paul. His letters to the different churches mentored those communities. And, he lived a life much more like that of John McCain. Many of his letters were written from prison where he was beaten." Well, that last comparison may be a stretch . . .
EXCLUSIVE PJTV VIDEO of last night's Code Pink protester at the RNC being escorted out. It's free, but you may have to register. Though I understand that some lefty blogs were claiming she was mishandled, the video -- which tracks her for quite a while -- demonstrates otherwise. Plus, some comments by James Lileks on the lameness of the antiwar protests in St. Paul.
AN EMAIL FROM MICHAEL YON IN AFGHANISTAN: "Lots of fighting here. In some areas (for instance where I have been), there is about 80% chance of getting into combat when you step off the FOB. Morale among British soldiers is very high. Even higher, I would say, than I saw in Iraq."
September 04, 2008
MCCAIN'S SPEECH: Not bad. But, like Obama, he was overshadowed -- Obama by Bill Clinton, McCain by Sarah Palin.
UPDATE: Thoughts on the speech from Professor Bainbridge. And more from Megan McArdle. Meanwhile, on TV Karl Rove is saying "It's the best speech he's given on a Teleprompter, but it's not that great. . . . It was a workmanlike speech but it's not what we saw last night."
John Hinderaker on PJTV: "This was not a speech that was pitched to political sophisticates at all. It was aimed at the middle."
HERE'S THE FULL TEXT OF MCCAIN'S SPEECH. And I didn't have to go to The Corner to get it this time! Click "read more" to read it.
**EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY**
REMARKS BY JOHN MCCAIN TO THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION
EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
Contact: Press Office
Thursday, September 4, 2008
703-650-5550
ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain will deliver the following remarks as prepared for delivery to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, today at 10:00 p.m. ET (9:00 p.m. CT):
Thank you all very much. Tonight, I have a privilege given few Americans -- the privilege of accepting our party's nomination for President of the United States. And I accept it with gratitude, humility and confidence.
In my life, no success has come without a good fight, and this nomination wasn't any different. That's a tribute to the candidates who opposed me and their supporters. They're leaders of great ability, who love our country, and wished to lead it to better days. Their support is an honor I won't forget.
I'm grateful to the President for leading us in those dark days following the worst attack on American soil in our history, and keeping us safe from another attack many thought was inevitable; and to the First Lady, Laura Bush, a model of grace and kindness in public and in private. And I'm grateful to the 41st President and his bride of 63 years, and for their outstanding example of honorable service to our country.
As always, I'm indebted to my wife, Cindy, and my seven children. The pleasures of family life can seem like a brief holiday from the crowded calendar of our nation's business. But I have treasured them all the more, and can't imagine a life without the happiness you give me. Cindy said a lot of nice things about me tonight. But, in truth, she's more my inspiration than I am hers. Her concern for those less blessed than we are -- victims of land mines, children born in poverty and with birth defects -- shows the measure of her humanity. I know she will make a great First Lady.
When I was growing up, my father was often at sea, and the job of raising my brother, sister and me would fall to my mother alone. Roberta McCain gave us her love of life, her deep interest in the world, her strength, and her belief we are all meant to use our opportunities to make ourselves useful to our country. I wouldn't be here tonight but for the strength of her character.
My heartfelt thanks to all of you, who helped me win this nomination, and stood by me when the odds were long. I won't let you down. To Americans who have yet to decide who to vote for, thank you for your consideration and the opportunity to win your trust. I intend to earn it.
Finally, a word to Senator Obama and his supporters. We'll go at it over the next two months. That's the nature of these contests, and there are big differences between us. But you have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other. We're dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. No country ever had a greater cause than that. And I wouldn't be an American worthy of the name if I didn't honor Senator Obama and his supporters for their achievement.
But let there be no doubt, my friends, we're going to win this election. And after we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot, make this government start working for you again, and get this country back on the road to prosperity and peace.
These are tough times for many of you. You're worried about keeping your job or finding a new one, and are struggling to put food on the table and stay in your home. All you ever asked of government is to stand on your side, not in your way. And that's just what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future.
And I've found just the right partner to help me shake up Washington, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. She has executive experience and a real record of accomplishment. She's tackled tough problems like energy independence and corruption. She's balanced a budget, cut taxes, and taken on the special interests. She's reached across the aisle and asked Republicans, Democrats and Independents to serve in her administration. She's the mother of five children. She's helped run a small business, worked with her hands and knows what it's like to worry about mortgage payments and health care and the cost of gasoline and groceries.
She knows where she comes from and she knows who she works for. She stands up for what's right, and she doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down. I'm very proud to have introduced our next Vice President to the country. But I can't wait until I introduce her to Washington. And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming.
I'm not in the habit of breaking promises to my country and neither is Governor Palin. And when we tell you we're going to change Washington, and stop leaving our country's problems for some unluckier generation to fix, you can count on it. We've got a record of doing just that, and the strength, experience, judgment and backbone to keep our word to you.
You know, I've been called a maverick; someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes it's meant as a compliment and sometimes it's not. What it really means is I understand who I work for. I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you.
I've fought corruption, and it didn't matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. They violated their public trust, and had to be held accountable. I've fought big spenders in both parties, who waste your money on things you neither need nor want, while you struggle to buy groceries, fill your gas tank and make your mortgage payment. I've fought to get million dollar checks out of our elections. I've fought lobbyists who stole from Indian tribes. I fought crooked deals in the Pentagon. I fought tobacco companies and trial lawyers, drug companies and union bosses.
I fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq, when it wasn't a popular thing to do. And when the pundits said my campaign was finished, I said I'd rather lose an election than see my country lose a war.
Thanks to the leadership of a brilliant general, David Petreaus, and the brave men and women he has the honor to command, that strategy succeeded and rescued us from a defeat that would have demoralized our military, risked a wider war and threatened the security of all Americans.
I don't mind a good fight. For reasons known only to God, I've had quite a few tough ones in my life. But I learned an important lesson along the way. In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test.
I fight for Americans. I fight for you. I fight for Bill and Sue Nebe from Farmington Hills, Michigan, who lost their real estate investments in the bad housing market. Bill got a temporary job after he was out of work for seven months. Sue works three jobs to help pay the bills.
I fight for Jake and Toni Wimmer of Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Jake works on a loading dock; coaches Little League, and raises money for the mentally and physically disabled. Toni is a schoolteacher, working toward her Master's Degree. They have two sons, the youngest, Luke, has been diagnosed with autism. Their lives should matter to the people they elect to office. They matter to me.
I fight for the family of Matthew Stanley of Wolfboro, New Hampshire, who died serving our country in Iraq. I wear his bracelet and think of him every day. I intend to honor their sacrifice by making sure the country their son loved so well and never returned to, remains safe from its enemies.
I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Senator Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust, when we valued our power over our principles.
We're going to change that. We're going to recover the people's trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics.
We believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential from the boy whose descendents arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers. We're all God's children and we're all Americans.
We believe in low taxes; spending discipline, and open markets. We believe in rewarding hard work and risk takers and letting people keep the fruits of their labor.
We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense justice impartially and don't legislate from the bench. We believe in the values of families, neighborhoods and communities.
We believe in a government that unleashes the creativity and initiative of Americans. Government that doesn't make your choices for you, but works to make sure you have more choices to make for yourself.
I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it.
My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them. My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.
Keeping taxes low helps small businesses grow and create new jobs. Cutting the second highest business tax rate in the world will help American companies compete and keep jobs from moving overseas. Doubling the child tax exemption from $3500 to $7000 will improve the lives of millions of American families. Reducing government spending and getting rid of failed programs will let you keep more of your own money to save, spend and invest as you see fit. Opening new markets and preparing workers to compete in the world economy is essential to our future prosperity.
I know some of you have been left behind in the changing economy and it often seems your government hasn't even noticed. Government assistance for unemployed workers was designed for the economy of the 1950s. That's going to change on my watch. My opponent promises to bring back old jobs by wishing away the global economy. We're going to help workers who've lost a job that won't come back, find a new one that won't go away.
We will prepare them for the jobs of today. We will use our community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their communities. For workers in industries that have been hard hit, we'll help make up part of the difference in wages between their old job and a temporary, lower paid one while they receive retraining that will help them find secure new employment at a decent wage.
Education is the civil rights issue of this century. Equal access to public education has been gained. But what is the value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice, remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.
When a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve a choice in the education of their children. And I intend to give it to them. Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one. Many will choose a charter school. But they will have that choice and their children will have that opportunity.
Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucracies. I want schools to answer to parents and students. And when I'm President, they will.
My fellow Americans, when I'm President, we're going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much. We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we'll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.
Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better than that. We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and to restore the health of our planet. It's an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and we have faced greater challenges. It's time for us to show the world again how Americans lead.
This great national cause will create millions of new jobs, many in industries that will be the engine of our future prosperity; jobs that will be there when your children enter the workforce.
Today, the prospect of a better world remains within our reach. But we must see the threats to peace and liberty in our time clearly and face them, as Americans before us did, with confidence, wisdom and resolve.
We have dealt a serious blow to al Qaeda in recent years. But they are not defeated, and they'll strike us again if they can. Iran remains the chief state sponsor of terrorism and on the path to acquiring nuclear weapons. Russia's leaders, rich with oil wealth and corrupt with power, have rejected democratic ideals and the obligations of a responsible power. They invaded a small, democratic neighbor to gain more control over the world's oil supply, intimidate other neighbors, and further their ambitions of reassembling the Russian empire. And the brave people of Georgia need our solidarity and prayers. As President I will work to establish good relations with Russia so we need not fear a return of the Cold War. But we can't turn a blind eye to aggression and international lawlessness that threatens the peace and stability of the world and the security of the American people.
We face many threats in this dangerous world, but I'm not afraid of them. I'm prepared for them. I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better, and what it should not do. I know how the world works. I know the good and the evil in it. I know how to work with leaders who share our dreams of a freer, safer and more prosperous world, and how to stand up to those who don't. I know how to secure the peace.
When I was five years old, a car pulled up in front of our house. A Navy officer rolled down the window, and shouted at my father that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. I rarely saw my father again for four years. My grandfather came home from that same war exhausted from the burdens he had borne, and died the next day. In Vietnam, where I formed the closest friendships of my life, some of those friends never came home with me. I hate war. It is terrible beyond imagination.
I'm running for President to keep the country I love safe, and prevent other families from risking their loved ones in war as my family has. I will draw on all my experience with the world and its leaders, and all the tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic, military and the power of our ideals -- to build the foundations for a stable and enduring peace.
In America, we change things that need to be changed. Each generation makes its contribution to our greatness. The work that is ours to do is plainly before us. We don't need to search for it.
We need to change the way government does almost everything: from the way we protect our security to the way we compete in the world economy; from the way we respond to disasters to the way we fuel our transportation network; from the way we train our workers to the way we educate our children. All these functions of government were designed before the rise of the global economy, the information technology revolution and the end of the Cold War. We have to catch up to history, and we have to change the way we do business in Washington.
The constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn't a cause, it's a symptom. It's what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not you.
Again and again, I've worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That's how I will govern as President. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.
Instead of rejecting good ideas because we didn't think of them first, let's use the best ideas from both sides. Instead of fighting over who gets the credit, let's try sharing it. This amazing country can do anything we put our minds to. I will ask Democrats and Independents to serve with me. And my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability.
We're going to finally start getting things done for the people who are counting on us, and I won't care who gets the credit.
I've been an imperfect servant of my country for many years. But I have been her servant first, last and always. And I've never lived a day, in good times or bad, that I didn't thank God for the privilege.
Long ago, something unusual happened to me that taught me the most valuable lesson of my life. I was blessed by misfortune. I mean that sincerely. I was blessed because I served in the company of heroes, and I witnessed a thousand acts of courage, compassion and love.
On an October morning, in the Gulf of Tonkin, I prepared for my 23rd mission over North Vietnam. I hadn't any worry I wouldn't come back safe and sound. I thought I was tougher than anyone. I was pretty independent then, too. I liked to bend a few rules, and pick a few fights for the fun of it. But I did it for my own pleasure; my own pride. I didn't think there was a cause more important than me.
Then I found myself falling toward the middle of a small lake in the city of Hanoi, with two broken arms, a broken leg, and an angry crowd waiting to greet me. I was dumped in a dark cell, and left to die. I didn't feel so tough anymore. When they discovered my father was an admiral, they took me to a hospital. They couldn't set my bones properly, so they just slapped a cast on me. When I didn't get better, and was down to about a hundred pounds, they put me in a cell with two other Americans. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even feed myself. They did it for me. I was beginning to learn the limits of my selfish independence. Those men saved my life.
I was in solitary confinement when my captors offered to release me. I knew why. If I went home, they would use it as propaganda to demoralize my fellow prisoners. Our Code said we could only go home in the order of our capture, and there were men who had been shot down before me. I thought about it, though. I wasn't in great shape, and I missed everything about America. But I turned it down.
A lot of prisoners had it worse than I did. I'd been mistreated before, but not as badly as others. I always liked to strut a little after I'd been roughed up to show the other guys I was tough enough to take it. But after I turned down their offer, they worked me over harder than they ever had before. For a long time. And they broke me.
When they brought me back to my cell, I was hurt and ashamed, and I didn't know how I could face my fellow prisoners. The good man in the cell next door, my friend, Bob Craner, saved me. Through taps on a wall he told me I had fought as hard as I could. No man can always stand alone. And then he told me to get back up and fight again for our country and for the men I had the honor to serve with. Because every day they fought for me.
I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's.
I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God.
If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.
I'm going to fight for my cause every day as your President. I'm going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I'm an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight with me.
Fight for what's right for our country.
Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.
Fight for our children's future.
Fight for justice and opportunity for all.
Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.
Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.
Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.
UPDATE: Josh Trevino: "I am considerably less excited about his big speech this evening than I was about Sarah Palin’s. This partly because we know McCain, and there is no anticipation of the new; and it is partly because I am doubtful that he can match Palin in delivery or ease."
“I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated,” Obama said while refusing to retract his initial opposition to the surge. “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.”
Actually, I think it succeeded in ways that John McCain anticipated. And General Petraeus, who was mocked by Obama-supporting MoveOn as "General Betrayus."
WELL, JOHN MCCAIN MAY HAVE A HARD TIME outshining Sarah Palin, but he shouldn't have much trouble outdoing Tom Ridge.
WITH VIOLENCE, AND AN IRRETRIEVABLY CORRUPT POLITICAL LEADERSHIP, I think we should just pull out of Chicago: "Nearly 125 Shot Dead In Chicago Over Summer. Total Is About Double The Death Toll In Iraq."
THE STREAMING COVERAGE OF THE RNC will start about 7 at PJTV.
UPDATE: Here's Roger Simon and Jeri Thompson talking about the press, privacy and politicians. It's free to nonsubscribers, but you may have to sign in.
PROGRESS ON THE ZUBRIN PLAN: "A bipartisan group of senators has drafted a new energy bill that includes a mandate that all vehicles sold in the United States would have to be flex-fuel capable by 2020. During the GM BioFuels summit last Friday in Detroit, one of the subjects that came up was the use of flex-fuel vs. dedicated ethanol vehicles. When Brazil first started moving to ethanol in the 1970s, manufacturers built cars that only ran on ethanol. Due some volatility in fuel prices these proved to be unpopular. It was only when everyone started to make flex-fuel vehicles so that drivers could select the fuel that was most affordable that such cars and use ethanol really took off. Now more than 90 percent of new cars in Brazil are FFVs."
"She had a test last Friday and she nailed it," Rove told a crowd gathered for a breakfast panel discussion in St. Paul, Minneapolis. "She had a test last night and she nailed it. But being the newest player on the stage, she will also be the most tested and the most judged on the stage. Everyone is going to ask: 'When is she going to appear on a Sunday talk show program?' 'When is she doing to do an interview?' 'When is she going to give an unscripted speech?' 'When will she do a townhall meeting?' 'When will she answer questions on foreign policy?' 'How will she perform in a debate?'"
"And we're going to hear more questions about her performance than about any of the other candidates," said Rove. "The media is going to wonder, 'How can we make this an easy storyline and the easy storyline is, 'Can she do it?'"
Indeed.
SOME NEW ELECTRIC CAR DESIGNS from Chrysler. They're pretty.
AN UNFAIR HIT ON OBAMA'S RECORD: Alex Knapp is right to point out that Obama actually does have some legislative accomplishments, particularly the Coburn-Obama Transparency Act, which John McCain also cosponsored. Meanwhile, here's a roundup of other critical Palin speech reactions from his co-blogger James Joyner.
KINDA EXPENSIVE: "As much as $25 billion in foreign capital may have left Russia since the Georgia conflict started, they said: while their growth forecasts were little changed at 7.5 percent, the crisis sharply cut the liquidity of the banking system."
PHYLLIS CHESLER agonizes over Obama, McCain and abortion rights. I'd worry about that, except that we're certain to have a two-house Democratic majority anyway, insuring that the legislative stasis on this subject that has prevailed for decades will continue.
OKAY, SURVEYING ALL THE REACTIONS TO PALIN'S SPEECH, I see a problem for McCain -- whatever he says tonight is likely to come across as an anticlimax, unless he gives a better speech than he's ever given before. See for example, this:
From now on, when a Democrat says "But what if McCain drops dead on his first day in office?!?!?!" I'm going to say "dude -- don't tease me like that."
That's kind of a mixed blessing . . . .
UPDATE: Just heard, via Tenn. State Sen. Jamie Woodson (a former student -- yes, I've been teaching that long) and Hallerin Hill that they're changing the stage around for McCain's speech. Is this a subliminal effort to discourage comparisons?
MORE: A strong review from Tom Shales of all people. "If the Republicans win the presidential election in November, it may well be said that they won it last night -- the night that John McCain's brilliantly screwy choice for a running mate changed from laughingstock to national star." I don't remember the 1980s as a time when Reagan was universally loved, though. I seem to recall a fair number of people who thought he was a senile warmonger. Shales' impressions of Giuliani's speech match my own.
TOM MAGUIRE: "Obama was wrong about the surge while McCain was right, but by and large I think the case could be made (but not by me!) that Obama is by far the more thoughtful and reflective of the two candidates and far more disposed to listen to a range of advice. My guess is that he would have a broader and arguably better decision making proess than McCain. It's only at the moment of decision that he worries me - I don't know if he was trapped by lefty advisers, lefty instincts, or lefty pandering but he was wrong, wrong, wrong on the surge."
MICKEY KAUS: "What we're witnessing, I think, is the death of a media paradigm that we lived with comfortably for, oh, the last year or two. And John Edwards is to blame!"
POLITICO:Clinton aides: Palin treatment sexist. " Sarah Palin found some unlikely allies Wednesday as leading academics and even former top aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed the Republican charge that John McCain’s running mate has been subject to a sexist double standard by the news media and Democrats."
ERIC POSNER on the European Court's elevation of E.U. law over international law: "Nothing remarkable here for an American lawyer, who is accustomed to the idea that constitutional rules take precedence over international law. The European Court is a creature of the European treaty system, not the UN; what else is it to do when European law and international law conflict? However, Europeans have long complained of the American practice of declaring that all U.S. treaty obligations are limited by the U.S. Constitution. And it takes a bit of legerdemain to convert regional treaty obligations into a "constitution," but this is an old story. It turns out that Europeans, too, will not allow international law to supersede their fundamental values. Good for them!"