"One minute, Palin would be her perky self; the next she would fall into a strange blue funk."

The latest book-of-the-moment, Game Change, which claims Sarah Palin went into a "tailspin" following her infamous interview with Katie Couric.

And speaking of lives going into a tailspin...

Camille Paglia on the election

Paglia explains what really happened a couple weeks ago.

She professes her admiration for Sarah Palin:

I like Sarah Palin, and I've heartily enjoyed her arrival on the national stage. As a career classroom teacher, I can see how smart she is -- and quite frankly, I think the people who don't see it are the stupid ones, wrapped in the fuzzy mummy-gauze of their own worn-out partisan dogma. So she doesn't speak the King's English -- big whoop! There is a powerful clarity of consciousness in her eyes. She uses language with the jumps, breaks and rippling momentum of a be-bop saxophonist. I stand on what I said (as a staunch pro-choice advocate) in my last two columns -- that Palin as a pro-life wife, mother and ambitious professional represents the next big shift in feminism. Pro-life women will save feminism by expanding it, particularly into the more traditional Third World.

As for the Democrats who sneered and howled that Palin was unprepared to be a vice-presidential nominee -- what navel-gazing hypocrisy! What protests were raised in the party or mainstream media when John Edwards, with vastly less political experience than Palin, got John Kerry's nod for veep four years ago? And Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, for whom I lobbied to be Obama's pick and who was on everyone's short list for months, has a record indistinguishable from Palin's. Whatever knowledge deficit Palin has about the federal bureaucracy or international affairs (outside the normal purview of governors) will hopefully be remedied during the next eight years of the Obama presidencies.

Barack Obama will be America's 44th president

When you look at it like this, Obama's election is particularly striking. Yesterday was a historic day, indeed.


ADDED: The photo-spread.

Election Day 2008

I'm glad we've finally arrived to this day, mostly so we don't have to see any campaign commercials anymore. If you're interested in that type of thing, Ann Althouse and Andrew Sullivan are live-blogging the results.

My home state of Ohio has gone to Obama. The significance of this can not be minimized in any way, and Mark Daniels explains why.

Election Eve

The day is nearly here. It's the day that all Americans, but especially two Senators, have been waiting for. We've been hearing about it ever since the end of November 2006. And now, the next time the sun rises, it will shine on Election Day. America will either have her first biracial president, or her first female vice president.

If you haven't voted yet, there is much to consider. I want to point you to just a few links that I believe will help you in your thinking.

• What is the Christian's responsibility when it comes to voting? - Mark Daniels
• On Christians and Voting - Clark Bunch
• Against Obama advocacy - Steven Greydanus
• To My Fellow Believers on This Election Eve - Dan Edelen
• From Reagan to Obama, a brief political history - Donald Miller
• Piper, Politics & Abortion - Justin Taylor
• Voting for a Story - Andy Rudd
• Pro-Life for Obama - Daniel Rudd
• My closing argument for Life on Election Eve - Denny Burk
• Eve - LaShawn Barber
• The Comprehensive Argument against Barack Obama - Ed Morrissey
• 11 Fictional Presidents You'd likely vote for over Obama & McCain - Geeks of Doom

"Everywhere I go... I still see optimism and hope and strength."

Did you watch Obama's 30-minute infomercial? I must confess, I didn't - a bit early for my tastes, especially since I live in the Central time zone now. I may try to watch it all some time, but I seriously doubt it. I've already voted, so it doesn't really matter.

If you missed it but want to see it, it's on Youtube.

Sarah Palin took on the old boys' club in Alaska

She did it with her family right behind her.

The big thing you have to remember about Palin is that she's a woman of her word.

Oh, yes. And, she's an expert on energy.

Also, if you're even slightly thinking about voting for Palin's opponents, and you consider yourself to be a Christian, be assured of this: a vote for Obama damns you to hell.

General Colin Powell names his pick to be the next U.S. president

If you've paid attention to politics, Powell's endorsement really shouldn't come as a complete surprise. Yes, he's a Republican and a military man, just like John McCain. But, he's pro-choice and a self-described "fiscal conservative with a social conscience." He sees a vote for McCain as a backward step, and a vote for Obama as a leap into the future.

I've never had the opportunity to see in person - let alone meet - the former secretary of state, but my wife has. During his book tour of 1995, Powell made a stop at the most essential bookstore in Dayton, Ohio - Books & Co. I knew he was coming to town and would begin signing books at 5:00 PM, but I couldn't go to meet him because I was scheduled to work from 4:00 PM to midnight that evening. My wife was able to leave her work early enough to join the line, meet the general, and get a book signed.

No, we didn't ask for your opinion about the debate, Roger...

...but I'm always glad to read it.

Biden & Palin

The Vice Presidential Debate of 2008 has come and gone, and it wasn't as painful as everyone feared it might be. Palin spoke in coherent sentences, and Biden didn't make any ridiculous statements. Okay, Karl Rove and Sean Hannity thought Biden made ridiculous statements, but that's neither here nor there and both candidates had difficulty staying completely factual.

I'd say Biden technically won the debate, but Palin gained some ground that had been lost after her interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric. The polls have shown that Obama has a lead over McCain, so we will have to see if this debate made any kind of difference. Palin showed she has substance, but we have a month to go before we know how that translates into votes.

Go here for a transcript.

Don't Vote!

Seriously. You should make all your decisions based upon what Forrest Whitaker, Jennifer Aniston, and Jonah Hill tell you. I mean, you're reading about them in OK and US Weekly anyways, right?

will Palin step down?

Some conservative people, like Brooks and Frum, think John McCain's choice for the vice presidency doesn't have the chops for the job, even if she does consider herself to be a pitbull.

"Sarah Palin has many virtues," Brooks wrote in a recent column. "If you wanted someone to destroy a corrupt establishment, she'd be your woman. But the constructive act of governance is another matter. She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness."

Maybe the brashness is what McCain likes about her. But brashness isn't always equated with good decision-making skills. And we don't need someone on the job who counts her state's nearness to Russia as something akin to having international experience.

AND: I guess we don't have to watch the debate tonight, because we already have a declared winner.

the similarities between a hockey mom and a pitbull

We all know how they're different, but they are the same in that neither have the ability to answer a question.

I'm no fanboy of Andrew Sullivan, but I think he's right to question this. If she's as unafraid as a pitbull, why isn't she talking to the press more?

If you're going to run a compaign on "straight talk," it needs to be honest talk

Because, you know, character counts.

AND: Will we get some straight talk about this?

one major difference between being a mayor and being a community organizer? the money

I guess Governor Palin is taking some time off so she can learn how to answer the tough questions, and no doubt she'll be asked about this. Of course, she moved on from governing a small town to governing a state, so her past hasn't dictated her future.

UPDATED: Palin has agreed to an interview with ABC's Charles Gibson - they will meet later this week.

Sarah Palin, the Republican choice for Veep

McCain thinks she's good enough, and evangelicals are sure to like her. Palin's own mother-in-law, not so much.

"I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain," Faye Palin said with a laugh. "People will say she hasn't been on the national scene long enough. But I believe she's a quick study."

Not quite a ringing endorsement. It also doesn't help that Palin is like a lot of travelers - she's got some baggage.

RELATED: Andrew is writing about this stuff? When did his blog start looking like Perez Hilton's?

AND: Need proof that feminism is dead? Read this post over at Daily Kos. Yeah, let's all peruse and think about and examine and publicly discuss - on the Internet for the world to read, mind you - the body of a 16-year-old girl. It's not like that kind of thing hasn't already been in our brains.

a truly historic day

It's a day where we remember this speech, given two score and five years ago...


And, it's a day where a man of African descent accepts the nomination of a major political party for the presidency of the United States.

Obama finally makes his choice

The world finally knows who Barack Obama wants to be a mere heartbeat away from the presidency. Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. It seems a bit odd that America's first biracial presidential candidate, a self-proclaimed 'citizen of the world,' would pick the same kind of person that so many others have done: a white guy. Picking a woman would probably have pleased the many Hillary supporters, but then again, they may have been unhappy with anbody whose name wasn't Hillary Clinton.

I guess Obama reallly didn't mind being called "bright" and "clean," huh?

Speaking of interesting choices, Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz (which is still on my bookshelf, unread), will be praying this coming Monday night at the Democratic National Convention. He gave an interview about his agreement to pray here.

McCain, Obama & pop culture

Entertainment Weekly, the go-to mag for all things related to pop culture, interviewed both presidential candidates. John and Barack offered some intriguing revelations. Among them:

• John "kind of like(s)" Dexter, "although it certainly has a macabre side to it." When the star of the show is a serial killer who only kills bad people, it's going to be more than just a little macabre. (I must confess: I like it, too.)
• Barack and Michelle must not have too many date nights that involve dinner and a movie. The last film he saw in the theater was Shrek the Third.
• On their iPods: Frank Sinatra and Sheryl Crow (for Barack); ABBA and Usher (for John)

NOBAYHMA

Evan Bayh says he wasn't asked to join the ticket.