Aside from the slightly distracting accent (the spelling is no accident in the headline to this blog entry), Sarah Palin did exactly what the Republican party needed her to do last night. She reinvigorated the base, gave them the youthful vigor they needed and showed herself as a tough yet still incredibly feminine woman—no easy feat. There were a few too many snarky, sarcastic comments for my taste, but she delivered what she needed to deliver. A friend of mine who is at the convention right now says the attitude there before and after Palin’s speech is like night and day. She described the first two days of the convention as funeralesque and now she says there is almost a visible excitement in the air. Let’s see if it holds for McCain’s speech tonight!

For those of you who are anxious to hear from Palin after the recent news about her and her family, then stay glued to the RNC. She is the main speaker tonight and certainly has her work cut out for her. On CNN today, Sen. Hutchison told the media and the public to give Palin a chance and called her Sen. McCain’s ’soulmate’ when it comes to being a reformer and a maverick.  I thought this was pretty gracious, considering she was passed up for the job. Perhaps Hutchison is already grooming herself for an executive position at the Capitol in good ole’ Austin?

By the way, Sen. John Cornyn is having a small fundraiser/watch party at the Tavern tonight if you want to catch the speech in a social setting. The tavern is on Lamar and 12th street and the party is expected to kick off around 7pm tonight.

As Gustav moves toward the red states, word has it that changing the date of the Republican National Convention is up for consideration. Already, Perry has announced he will not be attending and Crist from Florida may also be a no show. The list of Republican governors not planning to attend anymore also includes Louisiana governor Jindal and Mississippi’s Barbour.

McCain plans to celebrate his 72nd birthday on August 29th by announcing who his VP will be. Names that are up in the air include Mitt Romney and Minn. Gov. Tom Pawlenty. However, McCain hasn’t ruled out Gore’s old running mate, Sen. Joe Lieberman. So, look out for the shindig folks..it’ll be happening at a rally in Ohio!

Word has it Kinky is looking to make another run for Governor in 2010.. if he can make enough money to support his campaign. Hutchison has been all over the airwaves as well..not talking about her possibility of going for gov, but talking about everything else under the sun. This could be a lead-up to an announcement soon. We’ll see!

Apparently, all the “liberal media and bloggers” have jumped on the rasmussen reports of Cornyn and Noriega in a tight race for Senate. So, the Cornyn camp is now appealing to voters to buck up and pitch in some cash to help him debunk the “myths.”

Here’s a snippet from the e-mail I received:

Please contribute $10, $25 or $50 to help debunk the myths our opponent and his liberal allies are trying to tell about Senator Cornyn.

The facts are clear, the extreme left is energized and unscrupulous, and our opponent is shamelessly aligned with them and will say and do anything it takes to gain much needed relevance and resources.

Your contribution of $10, $25 or $50 will go a long way towards setting the record straight. It will also send a loud and clear message to national Democrats that Texans won’t fall for their dirty tricks, deceit and deviousness.

***If you would rather receive some cash than give it out, see a Cornyn post below that offers $250 bucks for knocking on a few doors.

Just to be fair, I thought I would post a press release from the Republican Party of Texas. Is there actually a Republican in the house today? I even have long-time GOP friends who were coveting debate tickets. 

Austin- Today the Republican Party of Texas issued a challenge to both Senator Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama in advance of the potentially tie breaking debate.  Texas taxpayers across the state are asking how both candidates plan to pay for all of the new spending programs they have proposed.  

“Senators Clinton and Obama have both proposed billions of dollars in new government spending in their quest for the Democrat nomination.  Today we challenge them to answer to the taxpayers of this state where is that money going to come from?” questioned Hans Klingler Texas GOP Spokesman.

Senator Clinton has proposed $888.6 billion dollars in new spending proposals since announcing her candidacy, including one billion dollars for intercity rail services over five years and seven billion dollars in new monies for state grants for controversial family leave programs. (Source: Hillaryclinton.com 10/07/07, 11/26/07)  Senator Obama has proposed 874 billion dollars in new spending programs since announcing his candidacy including but not limited to a 265 billion dollar nationalized health care scheme. (Source: NYT Article 5/30/07)

“Senators Obama and Clinton should be ready to tell even this liberal audience of supporters, but more importantly hard working taxpayers across Texas, how much all this spending is going to cost and how onerous it will be to the continued and sustained economic development of this state.  Simply put level with Texans this evening,” Klingler concluded.

With their nominations hanging in the balance, Senators Clinton and Obama will face off in a nationally televised debate this evening on CNN from the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas.