I was going to so many news sources I can't remember where specifically. When my mom called Friday morning to tell me who McCain had picked, she had never heard of her. I had seen her on Glen Beck while I was going back and forth from MSNBC and CNN. I only watched for maybe a minute and she wasn't saying anything I found very interesting so I moved on.

It was also surreal looking at the front page of the New York Times yesterday with the Bill Kristol headline "A Star is Born?", an effusively optimistic op piece on Palin, with several breaking news headlines on Palin on the other side of the screen.

I flipped on CNN a few minutes ago in time to catch Wolf Blitzer say that McCain had canceled his interview with Larry King because of the way Campbell Brown questioned Tucker Bounds yesterday. Therefore, either McCain is a candy ass who doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to field softballs from Larry King, or he'll do anything to avoid answering any questions about his running mate.

I've been a political animal since I was a kid. My parents, especially my mother, were politically active. (Bob Dole asked my mom to organize Republican women in western Kansas in the mid-60's which she did - Federated Republican Women.) I have always watched both conventions and this year is no exception.

I have to say that, so far, this one appears to be on life support. Arlen Specter was having a difficult time trying to find good things to say about Mrs. Palin, the hall looks half empty and the stage is as bare as Dubya's library. Everyone keeps saying that Mrs. Palin has brought a lot of energy to the party, but if that's true, you have to wonder where it went.

I'll see how long I can take it...

This convention is really uncomfortable. I don't think even the Republicans are having a good time. There is no love lost between a lot of these people. They all have their talking points, but I don't think they're selling it beyond the faithful.

I have no doubt that they'll all go to the polls and vote Republican in November, but I'm getting the sense that the independents won't be going with them. I'm not clear on how independents will vote, but right now I wouldn't bet the farm that it will be with the GOP.

I'm also getting a sense that white men are feeling shafted by McCain going hard Christian right and picking this inexperienced woman as a running mate.

Anybody else? Am I crazy?

Okay, we're not nuts. The Republicans are barely there. Salon?

Howard Fineman reports that there isn't a single Republican banner in the entire arena. The place is half-empty (or half-full if you're a Republican). Junior appears from 1,100 miles away. Dick Cheney's name isn't mentioned. One of the main speakers is not-Republican-in-name Joe Lieberman. Everyone is responding with identical talking points regarding Mrs. Palin. McCain is a P.O.W. who likes Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. The economy isn't mentioned.

I'm not buying it. This convention is creepy.

Thanks for the post. Mrs. Palin procures earmarks for Alaska and doesn't even support transitional housing arrangements for homeless women with children.

I've worked to help raise funds and awareness for local organizations who offer services identical to those Mrs. Palin refused to fund because they're so sorely needed.

The vitriol on this woman can't be harsh enough.

According to Guttmacher Institute statistics, Arizona ranks number 2 in the nation for the number of teen pregnancies. John McCain doesn't care about these types of issues and most likely doesn't even know this about the state he represents.

there might be fewer teen pregnancies and the budget wouldn't need to be increased.

Call Planned Parenthood and tell them you're seven months pregnant and demand an abortion. Then report back with what they tell you.

Ask him about his stand on net neutrality. (Even though he knows nothing about the Internet, he's against it and has described it as "burdensome regulation".)

Ask him about his stand on media consolidation. (He's supported media consolidation, so if you like all of your news sources to be owned by one company, he's your guy.)

Ask him why Phil Gramm is his go-to guy on economic issues. (Even though Mr. Gramm drafted a bill in cooperation with Enron lobbyists, while his wife was on the board of directors for Enron, that allowed for the Enron scandal to happen and allowed energy speculators to cause a jump in oil prices.)

Ask him why Phil Gramm is his economic guru even though his lobbying efforts to ease regulation of the banking industry and predatory lending led directly to the mortgage meltdown.

Ask him ANYTHING about women's issues and he'll have to get back to you.

They're going to clean up Washington? Is McCain going to allow her to go after Phil Gramm?

The Republican message is going a long way to underscore the fact that most of the corruption is in the Republican party.

I can't believe I'm in agreement with Byron York, too.

He probably just wants the hell out of there and doesn't know what he's saying.

Thank you. There is no such thing as abortion on demand. Can we begin busting anyone and everyone perpetuating this fiction?

This is hilarious! I'm betting that the large donors in the Republican party don't know whether to shit or wind their watch right now.

Besides Campaign Finance Reform. Tell me.

He sounded so out of touch I'm wondering why he didn't get the nomination.