According to THRFeed.com, the Palin speech had 37.2 million viewers – only 1,135,000 less than Barack Obama.  It’s unrealistic to think McCain will come even close to Palin but what *does* he need to to hammer home – change.

The Obama camp is trying to paint McCain / Palin as a thrid Bush term, trying to say “just more of the same”.  If that was truly the case, McCain would have never picked Palin. He needs to respect the Bush administration and show the American people just how different he his.  He needs to show that he sticks to what he believes in and does not cave to pressue.  He needs to show he has a solid plan for the future, one that addresses the concerns of the nation… energy, the ecomony and security.

What we need tonight is the John McCain of 2000, the man with spunk and wit.  He’s already show that he is willing to take a chance, let’s see if he can close the deal.

Update: CBS Poll: McCain, Obama Tied

Aside from a quick introduction to the world last week, the voting public still hasn’t seen Sarah Palin in action. All of that will change tonight, in prime time no less.

As I previously noted, the reason the attack dog are out is due to the fact that she was a great choice by John McCain. She is someone voters can connect with, she is effective in her position and she has strong family values. Oh, and also, Palin has an extensive public record and, no matter what anyone will tell you, she has more with more executive experience than Barack Obama.

So what if Alaska only has 600,000 people, Alaska’s 2008 operating budget is $11.2 billion. Billion. Furthermore, the state employs roughly 15,000 people. Up until 2004, and this is only because I cannot find records after this period, the most management exposure Obama had as of roughly 700 volunteers and the largest budget was 90 million dollars, which happens to be his current campaign.

How is it that Sarah has no experience yet Obama is qualified to be President?

No, what is going on is the press is focusing on the fact that she is a woman and discounting her accomplishments. The press is holding her to an unfair standard and, tonight, she has the change to truly show who she is and set the record straight. If she manages to pull off a flawless performance she could, potentially, win over a large group of voters.

Yesterday I had predicted that John McCain would announce his VP candidate right before / right after Obama’s speech today or that it would “leak” during the day but that did not happen.

Good move on McCain’s part as the announcement will not get lost in the excitement of the DNC convention and McCain look respectful of Obama. Good move.