As expected, Tina Fey returned to Saturday Night Live this past weekend to perform her impression of Sarah Palin. The skit, which also featured Amy Pohler as Hillary Clinton, didn't cut either woman much slack. But even if Fey doesn't care much for Palin or her politics, the vice presidential nominee's star power is even trickling down to their online videos. It already has more than five million views. SNL creator Lorne Michaels is no doubt glad he convinced Fey to do the impression, despite her reservations.

The website Betty Confidential has released a survey of 500 women voters. Survey says:

The survey showed that 60 percent of women "like" Sarah Palin and 60 percent "admire" her. An overwhelming majority (83 percent) said they will not vote for McCain/Palin just because she's a woman.

Now, I wouldn't expect too many women (or any other specific identity group) to admit they would vote for someone in their same identity group based solely on that commonality. So, I do think the "like" and "admire" numbers are more significant here. The survey also found that 65 percent of women say they have become "more interested" in the campaign since Palin was added to McCain's ticket.

"We were amazed at how many women wanted to weigh in and share their very strong views on her," said Betty Confidential editor-at-large Julie Ryan Evans. "But despite even strong disagreements with her politics, women tend to like and admire Palin as person." 

Also worth noting, the survey results were taken before Palin's very mixed performance yesterday during her interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson. The already difficult argument for conservatives that Palin is prepared to be president should something happen to John McCain probably just got considerably more challenging.

Here's my full write-up from this morning's breakfast chat with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. The two points that stood out to me were Perkins on the actual Palin selection:

While the McCain campaign has argued in favor of Palin's executive experience as a qualification to be vice president, Perkins surprised reporters in the room by acknowledging that he believes her selection was "purely a political pick." "Yeah, I think so," he said.

Also, Perkins' nuanced take on how reporters have been covering Palin so far:

Perkins also said that while he and other evangelical leaders are enthusiastic about Palin's stance on social issues, he encouraged reporters to comb through her legislative record to see if those beliefs translated into conservative policies.

"Look at her record as governor, that's what social conservatives are going to be doing," he said. "I don't think those questions have been answered yet."

Liberal bloggers and the mainstream media have been reporting on Sarah Palin's complicated history on The Bridge to Nowhere pork project. Think Progress says Palin is "lying" about her role, while the media is more accurately pointing out that she supported the project before later opposing it, and refused to send the money back to Washington afterwards.

AMERICAblog's John Aravosis echoes the "she lied" meme and adds:

How many days in a row do McCain and Palin have to lie about her position on earmarks - she was for the Bridge to Nowhere, but every single day on the stump she outright lies and says she was against it - how many days in a row do Palin and McCain have to treat the media and the voters like chumps before someone in the media calls her on this?

I don't know if that rises to the level of a "lie," but Barack Obama has been on the stump saying Palin switched her position for political gain, not principle. The Club for Growth has hit back today, pointing out that Obama voted for the Bridge to Nowhere funding and has yet to formally change his position:

"Barack Obama spent the better portion of yesterday attacking Sarah Palin for supporting the Bridge to Nowhere once upon a time even though she had the courage to get rid of it as governor. Yet, when Barack Obama had a chance to kill Alaska's Bridge to Nowhere and spend the money on Katrina victims, he voted -- drum roll please -- No."

"And over the last three years, Barack Obama hasn't changed his tune one bit. He has not disavowed his 2005 vote in favor of the Bridge to Nowhere. And he continues to vote to save specific, egregious earmarks. In 2007, Obama was given the opportunity to vote for an amendment to transfer money earmarked for bicycle paths to fixing America's bridges. He voted against the amendment. He was given the opportunity to vote for an amendment to eliminate earmarks for a Peace Garden in North Dakota and a baseball field in Montana. Barack Obama voted against teh amendment."

Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor was also at today's Heritage Foundation blogger briefing, where he was scheduled to discuss the conservative blogosphere's role in supporting Republican efforts to end the offshore drilling ban.

But Cantor spent a good portion of his time talking about the story for conservatives these days: Sarah Palin.

"All that you did in pushing an alternative VP pick, outside the mainstream, made that happen," Cantor said to the bloggers in attendance.

On Palin's ability to manger her family life with a career, he said, "There is something so ordinary about that, it's extraordinary." Cantor also talked about how Palin helps Republicans with middle class voters. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have made a point of critiquing the Republican speakers for not discussing economic issues in detail during their convention. Cantor countered that Palin's background is so authentically middle class, she doesn't have to make direct economic pitches to emphathize with voters.

"The consensus for some time has been that Democrats own the middle class, and that only they can somehow spell out prescriptions for the middle class to relieve their woes," he said. "Sarah Palin didn't have to speak to the middle class because she is the middle class."

Cantor also said conservative online activists played a key role in helping convention organizers make the most out of their abbreviated schedule after Hurricane Gustav.
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Two online, liberal publications today provide us with examples of items intended to portray Sarah Palin in a negative light. One is substantive, the other reaching. The Huffington Post's Sam Stein offers the "reaching" entry, saying Palin has made a "potentially major gaffe," after stating the following at a campaign event:

Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization."

Stein follows that with anti-Palin quotes from liberal policy tanks and the libertarian Cato Institute, which is incorrectly identified as "conservative."

Compare that to this piece from Ari Melber in the Washington Independent. Melber has tracked down a photo of Palin wearing a t-shirt during her 2006 gubernatorial campaign that appears to endorse the "bridge to nowhere" pork barrel project that Palin has since taken credit for opposing. There's already been evidence that Palin's reformer role in this story has been exaggereated, and Melber does a fine job of adding something to that narrative:



Meanwhile, Christina Bellantoni has an article on an Obama verbal slip in the Washington Times, a paper viewed by some as leaning toward the political right:

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Sen. Barack Obama's foes seized Sunday upon a brief slip of the tongue, when the Democratic presidential nominee was outlining his Christianity but accidentally said, "my Muslim faith."

However, while Bellantoni details how Obama's critics are attempting to use the comment against him, she puts it in its proper context. Comparatively, if this were McCain or Palin making the same utterance, I'd assume Stein would also call it "major," or perhaps "evidence" of their actual inclinations.

Sarah Palin is leading the Google search trends over Barack Obama and John McCain by 3-to-1. So, it's of little surprise that a number of new Palin-themed blogs and websites have begun popping up. Here's a short review of a few of the better ones.

Sarah Palin Facts: A genuine internet phenomenon, driven by Twitter posts and drawing inspriation from the earlier Chuck Norris Facts website. A similar site exists for MSNBC guru Chuck Todd. There are at least 24 "Sarah Palin" themed twitter accounts runnning now.


No Oprah: Let Sarah Speak: Launched after Oprah Winfrey confirmed she would not have Palin on her show until after the election. Winfrey has already endorsed Barack Obama and had him on her show twice, both times before he was officially running.

Sarah Palin Sexism Watch: Launched by a woman in Wisconsin to track what she feels are unfair press accounts and political shots taken at Palin based on her gender.

Palin Drome: A humorous blog that presents itself as being written by Palin, and occasionally, by her son Track.

Also, Adam Brickley, creator and author of the Draft Sarah Palin blog, appeared on the Colbert Report last Friday. You can watch that video here:

It's not surprising that most of Hollywood backs Barack Obama in the general election. John McCain has been welcome for the occasional movie cameo, but at the end of the day, they're going to go with a Democrat. But how are celebrities, especially women, reacting to Sarah Palin's emergence on the national stage?

Lynne Spears, the mother of Britney and 16-year-old mother Jamie Lynn, had a care package sent to Palin daughter Bristol.

Robin Williams on David Letterman doing his best impersinations of reactions to Palin's debut from within the McCain/Bush camps.

Albert Brooks, a great comedic actor, puts on his concern troll mask:

Do we want a president who cannot communicate to their own child that possibly having a baby a year after you get your driver's license is not the smartest thing to do? Is this the new way for women to break the glass ceiling?

Rod Lurie, creator of the short-lived ABC sitcom, "Commander in Chief," about a female VP who ascends to the chief executive post, says Palin isn't qualified:

"Picking a woman is an absolute strategic idea from McCain's point of view. He's not talking about governing right now. The idea of this woman actually facing down [Vladimir] Putin and negotiating with [Dmitry] Medvedev is idiotic."

And finally, to the pinnacle of political thought. On her MySpace blog, Lindsay Lohan says it should be about the issues, not Bristol Palin's pregnancy:

I get Sarah Palin's views against abortion, but i would much prefer to hear more about what she can do for our country rather than how her daughter is going to have a child no matter what. Maybe focus on delivering some words and policy with stronger impact like Joe Biden.

Sarah Palin's speech last night was watched by 37.2 million viewers, just three percent less than Obama's speech, despite an obvious network bias in favor of Barack Obama. This was the main speech of the RNC, as John McCain's acceptance speech will almost certainly have less viewers, since the NFL will launch its opening night of the season against one of the most important political moments of the campaign. From the Nielsen blog:

• The Sara Palin speech generated 37.2 million viewers, just a 1.1 million viewers short of Barak Obama's record-breaking speech on Day 4 of the Democratic Convention.  The Palin speech was carried on only six networks while the Obama speech was carried on ten (including BET, TV One, Univision and Telemundo).
• Palin attracted a large female audience (19.5 million women, or 4.9 million more than Day 3 of the Democratic Convention).
• Ratings for viewers 55+ (25.2) continue to be about ten times higher than for teens (2.2)
• Day 3 for the GOP attracted more Hispanic viewers (1.4 million) than Day 3 of the Democratic Convention (1.2 million), even though Univision and Telemundo did not carry the speech.

We now know that Sarah Palin's acceptance speech for the Republican vice presidential nomination was a soaring hit for the Republican base. The obvious question is the same as after her first appearance with John McCain last week: How much does that enthusiasm trickle down ballot and how far before its resonance begins to dissipate?

As someone who grew up far away from the Beltway and any sense of entitlement, I found her most compelling line to be the one that lacked a political component: "Our family has the same ups and downs as any other ... the same challenges and the same joys." It was such a good line that the AP mentioned it twice in their analysis piece this morning.

We still won't know for a day or two how the rest of America reacted to the speech, and John McCain's own address tonight could change the dynamic once again, for better or for worse. But here are some more quick takes from those following the election closely, starting with TNR's Michael Crowley:

I completely misjudged how negative she would be. Her lines about Obama were brutally cutting and possibly over the top in places. But she's a far better messenger than an angry white man.

Yossarian makes a point I've been arguing since before the primaries began: Do we really want an "average" person to be our next president? None of the candidates are in fact average, but they are going to great pains to make us believe so:

Obama's team spent much of the time during the convention promoting the idea that he's "average". And Palin spent the first third of her speech emphasizing how she's just a regular busy, working mother like so many other people in this country.

My CQ colleagues and I were trying to tabulate off-hand how many, if any, references to George Bush there have been from the main speakers so far. The Economist's Democracy in America blogs tells us the answer is one: from Mitt Romney.

And finally, Andrew Coyne says Palin is the "best natural speechmaker" since Reagan:

Her critics in the media and in the opposition may regret having piled on quite so enthusiastically, and with so little heed for who they hurt -- or angered. Watching the tumultuous, ecstatic reaction in the hall, I was reminded of the famous words of the Admiral Yamamoto after Pearl Harbour: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant, and fill him with a terrible resolve."

Sarah Palin delivered a dynamic speech tonight that was heavier on attack lines than any speech from either convention so far. The right is swooning, the left is mocking, but both acknowledge her political prowess.

Daily Kos diarist "georgia10":

With her snarky, amateurish, almost Student Council-like speech, Palin proved today that she can attack like a candidate for vice-president.  And she demonstrated that she can support the top of the ticket like a candidate for vice-president.

National Review's Jonathan Adler on Palin's depth:

I have one thought on the substance.  Including an extended discussion of international energy markets was quite shrewd.  It allowed her to play to one of her strengths -- energy policy -- while simultaneously undercutting concerns about her lack of foreign policy experience. She talked about the significance of foreign production and the geostrategic importance of pipelines with a level of sophistication that few would have anticipated, and it worked.  Had she tried to get into the nitty-gritty of Iraq or Iran, on the other hand, it would have seemed quite contrived.

Matthew Yglesias, from outside the convention floor in St. Paul:

Palin is having a hard time holding the attention of the drunk C-Listers with "limited access" credentials hanging out in the basement. No idea whether or not that's a good proxy for the overall effectiveness of her rhetoric. To my ear, Huckabee blows the rest of the GOP away as an orator.

John Hinderaker of the conservative Powerline blog:

Aspects of the delivery could have been better and the conclusion could have been stronger. But she passed the test, and neutral viewers who tuned in to see whether she seems ready for the Vice-Presidency had to be impressed. Palin showed that she will be effective on the campaign trail and will be a thorn in Barack Obama's side from now until November.

The conservative Anchor Rising blog:

Ahem, after listening to her speech, ladies and gentlemen, I'm betting she is plenty tough enough and most surely ready for primetime.

A National Journal Insiders Poll shows respondents favoring Mitt Romney for president in 2012 if John McCain doesn't win this year, with 55 percent of the vote.

However, when they polled conservative bloggers the results were much closer:

A survey of right-of-center bloggers was more divided; Romney won, but with a plurality of less than one-third, barely ahead of Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. The mood toward Romney was summed up by one respondent: "Alas." A blogger who picked Jindal said, "I think the field would be quite wide-open in 2012, but the base will demand a 'fresh face,' someone with a record of accomplishment, and someone who's not identified as an old Washington hand."

Both conservative and liberal bloggers are espousing theories today as to whether the traditional media have been biased against Sarah Palin. Howard Kurtz's column today on being grilled by an "absolutely furious"  Steve Schmidt is the most discussed in the blogosphere.

On the left side of the argument, Josh Marshall says reporters and readers are "getting played" by Schmidt, whom he says is confusing personal rumors in the blogosphere with legitimate inquiries into her political associations and experience:

Schmidt, by the way, is one of the most hard-boiled GOP operatives and Rove proteges around. I guess he and his McCain colleagues missed the whole Rev. Wright episode, Clinton impeachment episode and, what, maybe twenty other episodes over recent years.

Joe Klein thinks John McCain is sincerely agitated at the press, but says Schmidt is provoking a media war for "tactical reasons." I think both of Klein's points are probably right. But I disagree with what appears to be Klein's conclusion that a tactical decision disqualifies the merits of the complaint.

On the right, Jennifer Rubin predicts the attacks on Palin will backfire against both the media and Democrats. I think there's a good chance she's right about that, especially with Republicans and some independent voters.

National Review's excellent reporter Jim Geraghty makes a point being argued by several Republican lawmakers today:

In 72 hours, the media has subjected Bristol Palin to more scrutiny than they've given to Barack Obama in two years. Perhaps that's a mild exaggeration. But pretty darn mild.

And the often sound Stephen Bainbridge concludes:

I think this ends up helping McCain. In particular, it may redress some of the enthusiasm deficit. Lots of Republicans who had no fire in their belly for McCain are now seriously pissed off at the media. If McCain sticks by Palin, I may even open my wallet.

MSNBC and Huffington Post are highlighting this appearance by Sarah Palin at a local Alaskan church in which she implies that God supports the Iraq War about two months ago. But this has to be the headline of the day, in which Palin praises one high-school student's ability to make Christian converts:

"Ben, I don't know you well enough yet, but looking at you, I'm thinking, people are going to interested in Jesus Christ through you because of the way you look - this red-headed Sasquatch for Jesus. You look good!"

Ron Paul is in negotiations with the McCain campaign for an agreement that would allow Paul to travel through the convention perimeter in exchange for access to Paul's supporter list. Technically, Paul is already allowed to travel to the convention floor as part of the Texas congressional delegation, but the agreement would allow him to bring some staff, including a bodyguard. Personally, I thought it would only be a distraction to have Paul participate in any formal capacity. But reading Ralph Hallow's story today, and the accompanying video interview with Mr. Paul, is definitely giving me second thoughts.

Is there any way having Ron Paul on the convention floor could turn out to be a smart move by McCain? Doug Mataconis says he'd be shocked if any such agreement was reached:

Ron Paul barely made a dent in the Republican primaries and he's openly attacked the Republican nominee and suggested that it would be best if his supporters voted for a third-party candidate such as Bob Barr or the Constitution Party's Chuck Baldwin,

Of course, Sarah Palin herself once had some nice things to say about Ron Paul in an interview with MTV:

Governor Sarah Palin: He's cool. He's a good guy. He's a good guy. He's so independent. He's independent of like the party machine, I'm like, right on, so am I. The party machinery, on both sides of the party, ya know, Americans are tiring of the incessant partisanship that gets in the way of just doing the right thing for this country.

Forgive my amateur Photoshop skills, but with Cindy McCain and Steve Ducey saying that Sarah Palin understands foreign policy because of Alaska's proximity to Russia, thought I'd dig a little deeper. Turns out they do have some common ground. Though Putin allegedly only tranquilized his prey:

The confirmation from Sarah and Todd Palin that their 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant is sending shock waves through the lefty and righty blogosphere.

But discussions of Palin family pregnancies were already dominating the blogosphere even before the news broke. That's because some progressive bloggers were engaging in a conspiracy theory that Sarah Palin's youngest child, Trig, was in reality the child of Bristol.

Daily Kos diarist Red Pen has tried to put a stop to the baseless rumors, which first began circulating on the Kos site. However, even the usually respectable Andrew Sullivan has lowered himself into this debate, arguing that the press is "doing their job" by following the inuendo.

As to the actual news of Bristol's pregnancy, socially conservative bloggers are turning their ire to the left and the media, rather than against Palin. What I think this demonstrates is that while social conservatives certainly opposed intimate affairs outside of marriage, they value pro-life positions more. Leading conservative Hugh Hewitt writes:

This is hardly a rare story, though it is always a difficult one for families to work through.  In the end it just means that Sarah Palin will not only be the first woman and mother to be vice president, but also the fist grandmother to hold the office as well.

But most liberal bloggers are ignoring this story, or at least, handling it with care. A good example is Washington Monthly's Steve Benen, who does use the story to make an argument about pro-choice policies, but more importantly, declares:

Now, there are different schools of thought on this, but I'm very much inclined to think a politician's kids are entirely off-limits for public scrutiny. Bristol Palin's pregnancy has no political relevance whatsoever.

Sarah Palin's surprising selection as John McCain's running mate has not been lost on the Facebook crowd. Prior to the selection, there was a "Draft Sarah Palin" page, which has just under 1,000 members. As expected, the reaction there today has been enthusiastic, with comments such as "We made it!" and "Sweet Success!" The group also offers helpful links to recent news interviews with Palin and information about her personal biography and career.

Since the news of her selection became official, at least 11 "Sarah Palin for Vice President" Groups have been created. The most popular has just under two hundred members. There are also a few groups popping up focusing on Palin's looks, and at least one group formed by women opposed to her candidacy. That group only has six members so far, and interestingly, focuses on her short time in government as the main reason to oppose her candidacy. Her support for oil drilling and pro-life views are also cited.

There are also five Sarah Palin Twitter accounts, although those appear very recent and none have posted more than a few tweets. The most popular Palin Twitter account has a little more than 100 followers.