Has any person ever received this much attention in politics? I can't think of a single one.

Sadly, my own mother has PDS. I am really uncomfortable even discussing it with her. I can only remind her of the last woman who was attacked unfairly on non-issues and the blow back was and is still pretty bad.

Will YOU follow the Party leader? Will the blogs?

Second, this plays into a theory I've been entertaining for the last couple of days.  It seems to me that this general has been dominated by four big personalities - Obama, Bill and Hillary and now Palin.

In a generic match-up, a Democrat beats a Republican overwhelmingly.  Voters WANT to vote for a Democrat, so much of Obama's rhetoric has been trying to convince them that he is that guy.  However, the sale has not been made, resulting in the decrepancies between generic ballot and actual ballot.

At first, this could be assumed to be because of the lingering tension over the primary.  Hillary voters did not want to go to Obama; they didn't like him and trust him (I'm talking the working class voters her people refer to above).

However, as time went on, that problem lessened or would have lessened.  McCain tried to keep the tension going, but let's be honest, how long would those celebrity ads generate buzz?  McCain himself certainly can't do it.

Enter Palin - the eyes of the world are on her (I believe the numbers for her convention speech were almost the same as Obama's).  She did NOT lay out reasons to vote for a Republican.  Instead her job was to remind those Hillary voters, independent voters and moderate Republican voters why they didn't like Obama in the first place - that he didn't understand or respect him, that he was a lightweight, whatever.  Turn him into a foreign and derisive figure to the people he needs.  Continue to turn "the One" rhetoric against him.  Remember how people said Obama couldn't be mocked?  Palin proved 'em wrong.  And anyone who can be mocked can be diminished.

McCain then comes in and explains to those voters why they can trust him - even if they don't like republicans, they can be assured that he is not the typical republican.  Voters can go for the "reassuring" change represented by McCain rather than the scary "transformational/personality" change of Obama.  (Because, let's face it, his agenda is not revolutionary.  Most of the "change" rhetoric comes not from WHAT he will do but WHO he is and HOW he will do it.)

Thus, they reinforce the negative about Obama from a fairly compelling and sympathetic figure while diminishing the negative about "generic" democrats.

I would agree, then, with BTD that the Obama camp should deny Palin any more attention because, despite what partisans think, she is a fairly good attack dog and certainly more "Stars! They're just like US" than Obama (and that's aside from the benefits she brings from rallying the base).

Frankly, were I in Hillary's shoes, I'd be sorely tempted to quote the Simpsons.  Specifically, when Homer got elected Springfield's Sanitation Commissioner, screwed up, and begged his predecessor to return:

We must be the change we wish to see in the world.

She is no one's servant, and she doesn't owe anyone anything. Not after everything she's done since June 6, 2008. She is the epitome of grace, loyalty and strength. She is the kind of person I aspire to be, and while that will be incredibly hard, I am trying.

But enough about me.

Hillary Clinton has done everything that no one in her position ever did in previous election cycles. In fact, she's done a helluva lot more. I did not like it, but she made my pride for her as a supporter swell when she did that whole 'vote by acclamation' thing at the DNC. She has put out statements consistently after every major speech at the RNC this week, practically screaming her support for Obama and backing him up.

I may not be one, but that woman is an Obama supporter through-and-through. Deal wit' it!

If that were the case the evil spewed by the right wing blogs and rush limbaugh would ultimately tip the scales toward the demos.  

The argument that Palin will be perceived as a victim is flat.  Sarah Palin holds extremist religious views outside the norm of most of america.  Sarah Palin has been sequestered from the media and has not answered one single policy question.  America DESERVES to hear what she thinks of the issues and since she is completely not ready to answer any of them we are to accept that she is capable of on the job training and will be ready to serve day one.

If millions of Americans and millions of democrats think that questioning the credentials and beliefs of the VP of a 72 year old potential president is out of line, than we deserve such a president.

It is the responsibility of the media to question her credentials and inquire about policy and if they cannot do it, than the blogs can speculate as to whether or not muslims will be deported en masse or arrested and told that Miranda is passe.

If America's populace believes it is ok that our second in command may believe that the earth is 5000 years old and that prayer will help bring pipelines, than the other half of america should learn to live with it or get off their ass and vote.  

The race is definitely about 4 more years of the same policies unless McCain passes in office and Sarah Palin assumes the presidency.

They are cheering for Palin.

I even read one blogger who is now saying that he is voting for Palin hoping that McCain will kick the bucket soon after talking office.

Obama, Biden and Clinton may take the high road and think that they can ignore Palin. I say they do so at their peril.

McCain unleashed a monster, it is all about Sarah now she spews her lies, distortions and half-truths.

In this article...Palin refers to Obama as Sambo, and Hilary as B$%#$...a real "class act"

That is all because of pettiness of Mr or Mrs Obama in not selecting Mrs Clinton as VP. If only Obamas showed some magnanimity and selected Mrs Clinton,he would have guaranteed a victory for himself and we would not be in this predicament. Then McCain definitely would not have selected Palin and Obama/Clinton ticket definitely would have trounced McCain/VP who ever it is.

By his pettiness, not only destroyed himself, he also destroyed the future chances of Hillary becoming President and also the future of Democratic party itself.  Now she has to face Vice President Palin in 2012 and it is now any body's guessing game what the future holds for this country's liberal tradition.

I think Obama wasn't last week (they did little to stop the blogs and the entire thing felt like a Tier 1/Tier 2 campaign to me).  But I do think that since her speech they have smartened up and seem to be handling it all much, much better.

The former first lady, who is due to appear at an Obama event in Florida on Monday, hasn't gotten back to them yet. When she does, she's likely to add a few stops of her own -- fundraisers, including at least one in Texas to help her repay more than $20 million in debt incurred during the primary.

Extremely OT, but I recall BTD is in Puerto Rico right?
Well I just want to give a shout-out to him and hope he's way out of the way, wherever he may be, of Hurricane Ike.

If voters merely thought that Palin was competent enough to be VP, with some genuine personal assets, and a pretty good choice for McCain, it would actually do McCain only a little bit of good. I think most voters realize that she is only marginally qualified to be VP, at best, and also realize that her ideology overall is pretty unattractive to them. Her appeal is pretty much inherently self limiting: I mean, she apparently doesn't think that abortion even in the case of rape or incest should be allowed? There would appear to be any number of radical positions she holds that would prevent large segments of the population from ever supporting her.

But, even though her appeal is inherently limited on her own merits, the thing she most definitely going for her is a powerful feeling of sympathy because of the vicious attacks on her. This sympathy factor extends well beyond the set of people who would otherwise be inclined to support her. People from all persuasions detest seeing someone unfairly and viciously attacked, even when they find a lot to disagree with in the person who is being attacked. The sentiment is: I profoundly disagree with you, but I will absolutely defend your right to assert your views without being smeared.

And it's the media and the left wing blogs who are propelling those vicious attacks on Palin.

I don't get what drives them crazy about Palin, when she might otherwise play a relatively minor role in the campaign if they simply left her alone, and gave her her due.