Sarah Palin's Republican National Convention Speech Nothing New

It was the second-most highly anticipated speech of the year: Alaska Governor and vice presidential presumptive nominee Sarah Palin delivered her acceptance speech in front of a crowd of cheering Republicans Wednesday, September 3, at the Republican National Convention. By the time she took the stage (10 p.m. EST), the crowd had already been primed by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

All Sarah Palin had to do was stand there and let the crowd cheer. But she did not. Armed with a speech that Tucker Eskew helped her prepare, she began. And one of the first things noticeable about the speech was how different it was from the one she gave in Dayton when Senator John McCain announced her as his choice for a running mate.

No, you could tell she did not write this speech. The basics were still there. She spoke about her family and what she had done as the mayor of Wasilla and the governor of Alaska. But when she started attacking Senator Barack Obama, that was new. That was Tucker Eskew, smear artist political consultant hired to shepherd Palin through her initiation onto the national scene.

But it was great political theater. Following Rudy Giuliani's zingers, Palin threw haymakers, mocking Obama's political experience and making light of his efforts as a community organizer in Chicago. She brought up the controversial line Senator Obama uttered in Pennsylvania about people being "bitter" and holding onto their guns and religion in hard times, stating that Republicans did not talk about people one way in Scranton (Pennsylvania) and another way in San Francisco. The crowd roared.

And, of course, Sarah Palin talked up the heroism of Senator John McCain, her running mate. She said that, of all the candidates in the race, Senator McCain was the only one who had fought for the American people. The emphasis was strong on the "fought for." And the crowd was ecstatic.