Joe Lieberman

Forgive me, my devoted Cake Eater readers, I stayed home tonight.  I wanted to actually watch the speeches, rather than having to listen to crappy sound at the highest ring of the X.  Although, I suppose I could have gone into the ladies room and listened, because they pipe sound into the bathrooms, lest some rabid hockey fan miss a power play whilst doing their business, but, that would have been uncomfortable, I'm sure you'd agree.  

I'm not really sure anyone is interested, but here are my observations...

• Fred killed. What a speech! God, if I'd actually received the "embargoed until delivery" copy of the speech before he'd given it, I totally would have violated the rule, and gotten myself in big trouble. There was no better person to defend Sarah Palin. At the press conference this morning, it would have been obvious to a blind man on a galloping horse that he was exercised about the media's---and the Obama camp---treatment of her. He stood up for the lady, and got a few smacks upside the Democrats' big, fat, collective head in the meanwhile. But it was his actor skills that really got across the message of just what John McCain suffered while he was a resident of the Hanoi Hilton. You could have heard a pin drop as he described McCain's injuries and the treatment he endured. I'm not really sure that anyone else could have done as well. "Now, being a POW certainly doesn't qualify anyone to be President. But it does reveal character. This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders." Amen, brother! Unfortunately, it appears that none of the major networks actually carried his speech. Fuckers.

• I thought Lieberman was quite effective, but he'll pay a price for his effectiveness. Saying, "Sen. Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who can do great things for our country in the years ahead. But eloquence is no substitute for a record — not in these tough times." is not going to endear him to his former masters. But more to the point, I suspect that Al Gore's former VP pick doesn't give a rat's ass.
• If it was up to me, I would have switched Lieberman and Thompson's speeches, and ended the night on the high Fred gave the audience. I'm not saying that Lieberman wasn't good---he was. I am, however, saying is that you deliver the fish course before you serve the red meat.
• Normy Boy delivered a very nice welcome to the delegates. St. Paul really was in dire straits when he was elected mayor, way back in the day. He wasn't kidding when he said it was the only place in America that a McDonald's closed because it wasn't making enough money. The arena where this convention is being held was, pretty much, Norm's idea. He got it financed, partially with government bonding, if I remember correctly, but the important thing is that the place is paid off, and it's not even ten years old. You can thank the State of Hockey for that, and Norm was the one who realized that bringing the NHL back to the State of Hockey could help St. Paul in ways that no other business could. St. Paul thrives because of what Norm did for that city. Al Franken can suck it as far as I'm concerned. Writing for Saturday Night Live and then bloviating in an extremely uneducated way on a bankrupt Air America does not compare to bringing a city back from the brink.
• Sadly, I missed Michelle Bachmann's speech. Oh, boo hoo. I'm so disappointed.

And there you have it. I'll be heading back over to St. Paul in the morning for another RedState/Google event with a mystery speaker. I have NO idea who this person might be, but they warned us to make sure that we all wore our badges, to make sure we could get through all the extra security. Hmmmm. Check back tomorrow to find out who it is.