Look Out Mitt and Mike: Palin Can Do This
Before tonight's proceedings in St. Paul, the venerable National Journal released its latest poll of Republican "insiders," in which several dozen party establishment figures were asked - with a guarantee of anonymity - to handicap the 2012 G.O.P. presidential field (contingent on a John McCain defeat this fall). Their consensus: Mitt Romney is the runaway front-runner, favored by 55 percent, with "nobody" finishing a distant second, at 15 percent. For a party that is fond of anointing

Michael Reagan says “Governor Palin Would Have Made My Father Ronald Reagan Proud Tonight”
“The last great speech I heard was delivered by my father. There seems to be a new Reagan - and she’s a she,” adds Michael Reagan.

At Convention Forum, Talk of the 'Thugs' and 'Criminals' Running Russia
Last night, I wrote about Senator Joe Lieberman’s appearance at a panel discussion on John McCain’s foreign policy. Lieberman’s appearance made the news, but some of the most notable comments actually came from Robert “Bud” McFarlane, the former national security adviser to Ronald Reagan and current member of the McCain campaign’s national security advisory board. (He also pleaded guilty to charges of misleading Congress in connection with the Iran-Contra affair, but that’s another story.) In

Spotlighting the Soldier's SACRIFICE - FilmStew.com
Fed up with the media's glorification of Britney, Paris and Lindsay, a former cab driver takes it upon himself to document the stories of America's walking wounded. By FilmStew Staff, FilmStew.com Before he was promoted to a managerial position with Regency Cab Inc. in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Samuel Bland was a driver for the company and in that capacity, often picked up soldiers returning or recuperating from the Iraq War. During those many rides originating at Ronald Reagan Airport or the Walter Reed Ar

Meghan McCain Defends Bristol Palin On Her Blog
Sen. John McCain’s daughter Meghan McCain is speaking out in support of Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old pregnant daughter of Republican VP Candidate Sarah Palin. Megan wrote the following on her blog McCainBlogette.com: “The first political convention I ever attended was when my mom was pregnant with me in 1984 and the Republican Party nominated Ronald Reagan for a second term as President. I have been on political stages and in campaigns since before I could walk or talk. If there is one thing I have l

Books of The Times: Connecting Reagan the Actor to Reagan the Politician
Marc Eliot’s book is predicated on the idea that Ronald Reagan is best understood as “a serial populist” and that his career in government had its roots in his long acting career.

'S.N.L.' Hasn't Decided Whom to Cast as Palin
Whether the Sarah Palin VP-pick ultimately pays off for John McCain remains to be seen. But for one group of Americans, Gov. Palin's sudden arrival on the national scene promises to be an instant boon: comics! Judging from what's already made its way to YouTube  (haven't you seen this, this or this?), the moose-hunting hockey mom is in for a ribbing. So who will Saturday Night Live pick to play the small screen version of Sarah Barracuda? We checked in this afternoon with Mr. Michaels' office in New Yor

The Dangerous Maverick [John McCain]
John McCain and his running mate are both indeed political outsiders by character. Their record of going against the Republican establishment—McCain in Washington, DC and Sarah Palin in Alaska—is undeniable and the designation of "maverick" has been succesfully affixed by sheer brazen repetition at this week's party convention. The Obama campaign's response—even after Palin's better-than-expected performance last night in St. Paul—has been merely to repeat that the supposedly independent-minded hero

Is Palin a Tax-Slashing Conservative - Or a Big-Spending Socialist?
Ad libbing as he warmed up the Republican convention crowd for their vice presidential nominee, Rudolph Giuliani quipped: “She got an 80 percent approval rating. You don’t get those kinds of numbers in New York!” Of course, getting those numbers would be just as easy for a New York mayor or any other mayor or governor if they were able – like the charming hockey mom -- to send $1200 to every man, woman and child in their jurisdiction thanks to a windfall profits tax on the oil industry. Bu

Just How New Is This 'War on the Media' Tack?
There were "boos" directed at the press stand last night, and a few more attacks before it was time to file. The media were sitting right there, in plain view, half of them in a section to the immediate right of the stage and all the rest on the left. Arranged by affiliation, they sat quietly in their assigned seats, typing on their laptops with their little hands. The New York Times reporters sat in one row, The Washington Post in another, and so forth; instead of individual desks, each of these was equipp

Palin Speech Gets 37.2 Million Viewers, Nearly Tops Obama
According to James Hibberd of the The Hollywood Reporter, Sarah Palin's speech last night was viewed by 37.2 million viewers across a range of broadcast and cable networks. That number, according to Nielsen data, nearly topped Barack Obama's speech last Thursday at the Democratic convention, which was viewed by some 38.4 million viewers.  More from the article:  Palin pulled in 37.2 million viewers across broadcast and cable networks, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's 55% higher than Day 3 o

The Rudy-and-Sarah Act Goes Down a Storm, But Now the Show's Over
ST. PAUL--For much of Wednesday night, the delegates on the floor of the Republican National Convention had to make the most of the tiny rations of red meat offered to them by the speakers on stage. They happily chanted “drill baby drill” with former Senate candidate Michael Steele, but few jumped out of their seats. They applauded approvingly at Mike Huckabee’s zinger that Sarah Palin “got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, than Joe Biden got running for president of the United State

Rudy on Why Size Doesn't Matter; Rudy on Why Size Matters
In two separate speeches yesterday, Rudy Giuliani lauded the virtues of Sarah Palin’s small-town executive experience. During an address to the New York delegation at the Marriott hotel in Minneapolis, he said “Sorry Senator [Obama], if the city is not big enough for you--they are probably that group of people who cling to religion and guns.” And during his keynote address to introduce Sarah Palin at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul later that evening, he said “I’m sorry Barack Obama doesn’

John McCain Will Sue The National Enquirer
The National Enquirer ran a story alleging that Sarah Palin had an affair with the business partner of her husband’s. McCain’s campaign released the statement: “The smearing of the Palin family must end. The allegations contained on the cover of the National Enquirer insinuating that Governor Palin had an extramarital affair are categorically false. It is a vicious lie.” “The efforts of the media and tabloids to destroy this fine and accomplished public servant are a disgrace. The American p

Another Big Difference Between the Edwards Story and the Palin Story
“The smearing of the Palin family must end. The allegations contained on the cover of the National Enquirer insinuating that Gov. Palin had an extramarital affair are categorically false. It is a vicious lie,” said McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt. “The efforts of the media and tabloids to destroy this fine and accomplished public servant are a disgrace. The American people will reject it…” “Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin look forward to discussing the issues that Americ

Leave Bristol Palin Alone
On Sunday, our tip line got more e-mails on the “OMG, Sarah Palin is actually her infant son’s grandma!” conspiracy theory than anything else in the short history of Deceiver. I don’t know if it was part of a concerted effort or just a coincidence, but a lot of people seemed to think there was something to it. So, since I’m now the “Writes about pregnant women in political stories” guy around here, I looked into it. And it was completely, insultingly ridiculous. &#

Tina Fey, Expert Tie Straightener
Former Life Magazine managing editor Bill Shapiro sent the above cover of the magazine from September 2004 (left) to Jim Romenesko's blog as a nod to Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, whom many have noted resembles Tina Fey. Media Mob was just struck by how similar Ms. Fey's pose is to the most recent cover of Rolling Stone (right), which features the 30 Rock star along with Chris Rock and David Letterman. 0 comments PrintEmail Related    ArticlesIs Palin a Tax-Slashing C

'Celebrity' is to politics as gas is to cars: essential fuel for Lincoln, Reagan, Obama and McCain himself
When John McCain slapped the celebrity label on opponent Barack Obama in a TV campaign ad this summer, he — unintentionally, no doubt — linked the presumptive Democratic nominee to some very presidential company. Ronald Reagan enjoyed a 37-year career as a film and TV actor. Abraham Lincoln projected a more public persona on the campaign trail by handing out photos of himself. Bill Clinton's sax playing on "The Arsenio Hall Show" added a youth-centric sheen to his image during his 1992 presiden

Does Gov. Sarah Palin have to give the speech of her life? Can anyone ever repair divisions in American life?
The more you hear political pundits say something, the less I'm sure it's true. I keep hearing Gov. Sarah Palin's acceptance speech Wednesday night billed as "the speech of of her life." And that suggests she'll have to rise to Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton heights. I doubt that's possible, and I don't think it matters. She'll never win over some people who think she was the wrong running mate for John McCain. Basically she has to wow the GOP base and get enough voters thinking positively abo

At His Farewell Convention, Bush Doesn't Get The Clinton-Reagan Treatment
ST. PAUL--Last night, George W. Bush spoke via satellite to the Republican convention for eight and a half minutes—with his speech timed to finish just before the broadcast networks began their blanket coverage of the ten o'clock prime-time hour. This doesn't compare favorably with the treatment that the other two-term presidents of the television age received at their final conventions. For comparison's sake, eight and a half minutes also happens to be the length of the above video, which was merely t

Ridley Scott 'plans Reagan movie'
Sir Ridley Scott is to make a film about late US president Ronald Reagan's dealings with ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, according to reports. The still untitled project will focus on the 1986 arms control summit that took place in Reykjavik, Iceland. "I want to show who they were and why they did what they did," Sir Ridley told the Hollywood Reporter. No casting has been announced, though the film-maker is quoted as saying that "physical resemblance is secondary". "It's less about visib

Two TV Commenters Caught on Tape Criticizing Sarah Palin
A conservative commentator and a Republican consultant were caught on tape bashing John McCain's vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin, who is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night. "It's over," Wall Street Journal columnist and former Ronald Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan is heard saying off-camera following an interview on MSNBC (Watch above, 38 seconds in). Anchor Chuck Todd then asked if Palin, the 44-year-old first-term governor of Alaska, is most qualified for the

Sarah Palin Gets Reagan-Loving Dobson Hard
Dobson, the right-wing leader who once swore he wouldn't vote for "centrist" John McCain, has been absolutely gushing over Palin's place on the Republican ticket. In fact, Dobson says he hasn't been this excited since the days of Ronald Reagan. CONTINUED » Sep 2, 2008 · Link · Respond Related Posts • 09.02.08: Lindsay Skips Grandfather's Wake (Comments: 0) • 09.02.08: 'Daily News' Really Likes This Johnston (Comments: 2)

Republican celebrities get the party going
The GOP's uninvited guest, Hurricane Gustav, initially cast a pall over festivities at the Republican National Convention this week, but by Wednesday the party was popping. Actor Jon Voight made the rounds; so did singer Pat Boone (easy to spot in white suit and boots). Former Nixon speechwriter turned actor and columnist Ben Stein worked the convention floor between appearances on CNN. Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik, a John McCain fan who donated to the senator at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills in J

Ben Stein Repulsed By Sarah Palin, Thinks Henry Kissinger Should ‘Babysit’ Her
Here’s teevee’s Ben Stein, the funny conservative author and Nixon/Ford speechwriter best known for that game show and yelling at Matthew Broderick in the 1980s. He is not impressed with Sarah Palin. No matter what weird causes Ben Stein supports, he has never been very forgiving of total idiots. Read More: Liveblogging Famous Historical War Leader Sar...Sarah Sinking So Fast Th