As Gustav barrels towards Louisiana… I was thinking it’s time to look back on what has happened in the political world over the last few days. Not the best segue, I know, but I’m trying.

Obama’s speech: I’m getting mixed reviews on this. In one way, many dems are happy that he finally took time to explicitly spell out the differences between his party and the Republican party. However, others say all he did was a great job of polarizing the middle of the roaders by attacking John McCain’s bravery when it comes to fighting al-Qaeda and taking a strong liberal stance on a variety of other issues.

Palin as V.P.: The evangelicals are finally happy with a candidate! Apparently, as soon as McCain announced Palin would be his running mate, there were hugs and tears at churches across the country. As a pro-life, middle class mom with a son in the military–she appeals to those conservatives who feel like a line-up of senators might produce more posturing than action in the White House.

Gustav and the RNC: Certainly, a man gunning for the country’s top post cannot carry on with festivities as a hurricane possibly more dangerous than Katrina heads toward the coast. Word has it McCain may give his acceptance speech Thursday night at the site of where the storm hits.

Feel free to share your thoughts on what has happened over the last few days as we wait with baited breath for what’s going to happen next.