Ricci,
First, I have to ask what your friend's political persuasion is and have to respond to this with a line from Zora Neale Hurston.

'All My Skinfolks Ain't My Kinfolks'

Yes and yes. I've had the same sort of "ah-ha" moment you're talking about over and over again.

Although I personally feel as though Palin's nomination is a mockery of the political process (but then again, what's new?), a surprising number of Americans not surrounded by the ever digging, ever researching, ever posting blogosphere seem to have been stunned by her speech. And not in the "stunned to silent disgust" sort of way. People seem to love her as a candidate.

Her nomination should have been a handout to the Obama/Biden ticket. It should have automatically been a "we win" scenario. But it's not. Even those that aren't on the Obamarama train (I'm certainly not - Green Party!) need to wake up and get behind the Obama/Biden ticket and stop the premature celebrations. Otherwise on Nov. 5th we could all be waking up to a very different reality.

She is a staunch Republican. She is a very religious person. She believes that abortion is murder - no ifs, ands of buts.

HOWEVER, she and her husband, and her husband's family (all staunch Republicans) were going to vote for Obama. They felt (this was early on) that McCain and Obama were pretty much the same coin toss, but that Obama had been able to engage youth and really might make it possible for us to do some good over the next 4 to 8 years.

Needless to say, that's no longer accurate for them.

The only way Obama can lose this election is if his supporters get discouraged by the Republicans' illusion of strength. And that's all it is: an illusion, meticulously crafted by the Republican powers that be. Don't be fooled by their temporary buzz of heightened morale. Conventions have that effect on people.

I don't want Palin anywhere near the White House, but I have to concede after last night that she can certainly deliver a speech. I can also recognize that McCain traded the ability to pick on Obama's background, for the solid support of conservatives, and particularly conservative women.

The last few days, I've been asked what I think of Palin, and of course, my response has been that I think she's a totally unqualified Religious Reicher who shouldn't be any closer to Washington than Juneau. The response is 50/50 - literally - half agree, the other half think she's the most wonderful candidate they've ever seen, echoing what your friend told you.

I originally thought McCain was crazy to pick her, but crazy like a fox might be more correct, not that I'd ever support that senile old coot. But this one's going down to the wire, with every state being in play. I work until 2AM Eastern time, and fully expect this election to still be undecided by the time I get off work that night.

Ricci, if the Democrats don't go negative toward the Republicans and start getting personal, we can kiss the election goodbye. The Republicans have made it clear they're going to take the gloves off, lie, make this election about personality, and do everything they can to appeal people's gut reactions and fear. Meantime, the Dems keep prefacing any mild criticism they dare to make with something along the lines of, "McCain/Palin are admirable people, but..." American voters don't hear beyond the but.

I feel myself slipping towards a state of irrelevance in this country's politics.

First, as a gay man, an black man, and an upper-middle class, college-educated, white collar worker, and a non-Christian whose far enough to the left as to be completely out of the mainstream, I am already among the least relevant, least important voters in this election. I'm not one that either party feels the need to win over or pander to; one because they wouldn't dream of it, and the other because they know I have nowhere else to go.

Now it seems that fact-based arguments about political policies and their real-life consequences have no place in our politics.

If that's true, then neither do people such as myself. Unless I can learn to counter unreason with unreason.

And if that's what it takes to win an election, is that what it will take to govern? If so, I fear we are further gone than I feared.

I'm glad to see someone taking this "gimmick" pick seriously. Her choice significantly changes the nature of the race by firing up the right-wing base that was lukewarm toward McCain. Veep choices (like... oh, Biden) usually don't make much difference one way or another in an election, but McCain's choice of Palin looks different to me.

With her help, he's managed to "rebrand" himself yet again (to use a dreadful campaign metaphor that's popular with some Obama supporters who thought the whole "branding" thing was his alone). McCain 3.0 (or is it 4.0) looks a little more like the "maverick" McCain 1.0 of the 2000 campaign, except that this time he gets the fundy-right on his side.

Palin is clearly a savvy politician who will be able to draw more than just the right wing of the party toward McCain. Because she can talk in the libertarian tones that are popular there, she might, for instance, have assured McCain more room for comfort in the Mountain States where the Obama campaign thought they had at least a fighting chance.

And the GOPers have been very good so far at turning the "experience" talking points back on the Obama campaign. It does, in fact, seem to be a debate that the McCain camp wants to encourage because they think they can win it.

I think you're right to be very scared of this pick and not just because it would be frightening to have Palin a heartbeat away, but because she makes it more likely that it will be McCain's cranky heartbeat that actually gets to beat in the Oval.

Nice to see some one finaly woke up that this is not a done deal.Not all Americans are liberal or yellow dog Democrates or for that matter card carring Republicans. Each party now has there base set and the die hards won.Its time to try and court the vast muddy middle of folks like me who tend to be in the center on most issues.Yes and we even go with they make me feel good to when picking our leaders after all who wants to vote for somebody that your afraid of?

Politics is a contact sport with no rules.
Caty

Well I for one am neither a Democrat or a Republican but I do lean right but not far enough to be a fan of Governor Palin.I don't see my vote for Obama up for grabs because McCain chose a lying pitbull in lipstick.Keep plugging away trying to dig up the real Sarah Palin and showing why she's not a real choice.While I've seen some digging on her and her husbands involvement in the Alaska separatist movement I haven't noticed if anyones been doing any digging on her parents.Idaho is a hot bed for hate groups, militia minded people and nutcases so is New Hampshire and Arizona.I'm not real savvy at the digging for facts part but I'm willing to bet there maybe some damning evidence to be found in Idaho and I'm smelling a separatist rat in the Republican Party.

It's more than enfuriating that people are attracted to her candidacy because she delivered a good speech. She didn't write it, of course (these sorts rarely do anyway, I'm not holding it against her), she delivered a good speech. Any actress worth her salt could have done the same.

And while I know this is all theater, it shouldn't be. So the bigger question is, I think, how do we get the electoral process to stop being about theater?

Given that your friend thinks that Nancy Pelosi runs the Senate, my expectation of political sophistication is fairly low.

However, if she agrees with McCain/Palin on the issues, I don't begrudge her support of them. I disagree with their opinions, but given what they are, there's no reason to expect them to support Obama.

If she disagreed with Palin, but was so smitten with her that she was changing her vote, then I'd be worried.