As the Republican Convention wrapped up, the arena was rocking to Heart’s 1977 hit “Barracuda,” an homage to Sarah Palin’s nickname from her high school basketball days.
The next day Heart’s Nancy Wilson weighed in. She wasn’t happy.
Sarah Palin’s views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women… ‘Barracuda’ was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The ‘barracuda’ represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there’s irony in Republican strategists’ choice to make use of it there.”
Oh well, here’s Heart back in 1977. (The Wilson sisters were much thinner back then, but who wasn’t.)
Here’s the Sarah Palin bio video from last night’s convention. She’s smart, she’s attractive, she’s successful, she’s a maverick . . . and she’s packing.
That’s the definition of a “hockey mom,” said Sarah Palin last night during her acceptance speech. And she’s a hockey mom. Here’s the text.
Sound Bite: “I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.”
Sound Bite: “We need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We’ve got lots of both.”
Sound Bite: [on Obama] “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.”
Sound Bite: “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.”
Sound Bite: “The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, and raise payroll taxes, and raise investment income taxes, and raise the death tax, and raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Democrat, uh, Independent, uh, Republican, uh, U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman says he’s supporting John McCain because “country matters more than party.” He also gave Barack Obama the brush-off, saying “he has not reached across party lines to accomplish anything significant.”
Sound Bite: “Senator Barack Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who I think can do great things for our country in the years ahead, but, my friends, eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times for America.”
Looks like the Democratic Convention is providing a bit of a bounce for Barack Obama. The Gallup Daily Tracking Poll shows that Obama has taken a 6 point lead over John McCain — 48% to 42%. (This latest poll was taken BEFORE the Biden and Obama acceptance speeches and the Sarah Palin V.P. announcement.)
LATER: Bigger Bounce
The updated Gallup Daily Tracking Poll (Aug. 30 through Sept. 1) — taken after the Barack Obama acceptance speech and Sarah Palin V.P. announcement — has Obama moving to 50% and McCain stable at 42%
The Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul — home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and the National Lacrosse League’s Minnesota Swarm — is transformed for the Republican National Convention. (Weezer and Rascal Flatts are scheduled for October.)
Filmmaker Michael Moore chortles over the possibility of a major hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast during the Republican convention. He’s supposed to be a funny guy so maybe he’s kidding.
Sound Bite: “I was just thinking this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven . . . that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for day one of the Republican Convention, up in the Twin Cities – at the top of the Mississippi River.”
In his state of the union on the mount, er, acceptance speech, Barack Obama promised to “cut taxes for 95 percent of all working families” and also to provide Americans with a basketful of government goodies. All this will be paid for, of course, by increasing taxes on those nasty “rich” folks and evil oil companies. Forget the setting and hoopla and confetti. Read the speech. It’s the same old liberal Democratic wine in an attractive new bottle.
The candidate also went after his opponent. He’s a good guy and all but “John McCain doesn’t get it.” Oh, and in case you forgot, McCain equals Bush.
Sound Bite: “So I’ve got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.”
Here’s the biopic that introduced the candidate last night:
You can’t shed the “celebrity” and “rock star” image if you release videos that resemble, uh, rock star videos. Here’s a short teaser from the Obama camp that shows the technicians and roadies setting up for the concert, er, acceptance speech.
Delaware attorney general Beau Biden got good reviews last night for his introduction of dad Joe Biden. (The younger Biden’s remarks follow a video bio of the candidate.)
