Sarah Palin's speech may have been appalling to those of us on the other side but it achieved its purpose, firing up the Republican base that doubted McCain and now will probably turn out in the same numbers it did for George W. Bush.

Here are several phrases which resonated with some voters who Democrats must win over to take back the White House. They must be addressed by our candidates, in addition to her claim that because she ran a state government, she is more experienced than either Democrat:

1. "In small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco."

2. "We've all heard (Obama's) dramatic speeches before devoted followers. And there is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate."

3. "The Democratic nominee supports plans to raise income taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

Failing to dispute these statements will increase the number of people who think like this man, whose comments I read on another website this morning: "We don't want to be told we are racists, sexists or be apologizing for the success of this country. We don't want to be told that the baby-boomers just have to get out of the way so the millenials can rob our Social Security and buy more I-Pods."

Despite the increased turnout among the young and educated, Senators Obama and Biden must reach blue-collar voters and older voters to win in November.

Palin praised Harry S Truman, a Democrat, and alluded to JFKennedy when she referred to McCain as a "Profile in Courage." She has some nerve, but she can't point to the current Republican president because his record over the past eight years has been horrible. She attacked Obama and gave untruths about his platform and experience (he plans to tax the wealthy and did author many pieces of legislation, some of them bipartisan)while also giving absolutely no idea of how the GOP plans to extricate this country from its massive debts to China, India, et al. Just cut taxes! Did she ever balance her family budget? Just how can we keep fighting this war while paying LESS in taxes? It seems that she just offers more of the same, which fits in perfectly with McSame. However, her good speaking skills using a speech prepared for her will not get her through a campaign where she will have to debate Biden and do at least one press conference. Her hypocrisy on right-to-life issues, such as cutting funds for housing for unwed teen mothers, dovetails perfectly with the GOP's philosophy of "you're on your own" once the baby is born. Charm that conceals ruthlessness, her "lipstick on a pitbull" persona, will only take a candidate so far. And the "liberal media" mantra is absolutely laughable. The media have given Dubya a pass for the past eight years when the country could have done with a little more scrutiny! Finally they have awakened to the fact that we could be saddled with four to eight more years of two incompetents in the White House, aka Big Brother watching us.

Joan, I've read lots of Sarah Palin/Republican Convention reviews today and have to compliment you for your well written article. Thank you. You got the tone right, as well as the pertinent facts.

Some of us find Gov. Palin seriously threatening. I know I do. She reminds me of my "can-do" sister, also a Republican, former cheerleader, member of the Chamber of Commerce, etc. Women like this tend to be achievers with families who set high goals for themselves, and then get more accomplished than most people would imagine possible, all while looking good.

Bottom line: the Democrats have their work cut out for them.

She's cute! Hillary, not so much... Have you seen her pageant photos? Wow! Now that's a politician I could stand seeing for the next several years.

...it's a battle where for Republicans "winning is survival, and defeat means death."

There was enough hate-mongering, reality-bashing crap in that speech, you don't need to take quotes out of context to make your point. When she said the bit about "winning means survival, defeat means death" it was very clear that she was talking about McCain's wartime service, not about the implications of the political campaign for Rebublicans. It was (yet another) reference to McC's time in Vietnam.

You may not have heard about it, but McCain apparently spent some time as a prisoner of war. His campaign always tries to play it down by mentioning it no more than 25 times per hour speech.

I think that Ms. Walsh nailed it regarding Sarah Palin. Excellent analysis. McCain's choice, if it does nothing else, places on the stage a formidable competitor for the hearts and minds of the Republican base.

"She was for the infamous Alaska "Bridge to Nowhere" before she was against it. She was a supporter of disgraced Sen. Ted Stevens before she was an opponent. She has railed against pork but brought home the bacon for Wasilla and the state of Alaska."

The difference between this and kerry,edwards, biden, obama is that they started out on the correct side and then flipflopped to the wrong side (Iraq war, oil drilling, the surge).

In her case she started out on the wrong side and then made the right choice.

I know it's hard for liberals to know what the right choice is most of the time but it isn't that hard.

It is obvious now why Palin was picked as the GOP VP candidate - she’s the “Queen of Snark.” Two thoughts kept going through my head: 1) McCain must be proud of his daughter Sarah, and 2) what a terrible example Sarah Palin sets for young people especially girls. This woman is what we look for in a leader of America?

Watching the delegates exuberantly affirm Palin’s (and Guilliani’s, and Huckabee’s) performance was shocking. Other than the dozen or so African-Americans in the audience, it was like observing an Aryan political rally. If nothing else, last night’s demonstration amplified just how divisive the Republican Party and in particular conservative voters really are.

Respectfully yours,