Melanie Morgan

The MSM are publishing and airing dozens, hundreds of stories about how un-qualified Sarah Palin is to become one heart-beat away from the Presidency, should John McCain be elected. This is just a smokescreen for their ill-disguised contempt of a proudly conservative woman.

Do you think I am being hyper partisan? Think again.

If the media is really so concerned, why aren't they reporting on the massive failure of leadership by another woman - the most powerful in the world - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi?

As we get closer to the debate on Thursday night, I am constantly being asked how Sarah Palin will perform. My answer is summed up in two words - Joe Biden.

"..When Hillary Clinton told a tall tale about "landing under sniper fire" in Bosnia, she was accused of "inflating her war experience" by rival Democrat Barack Obama's campaign. 

But the campaign has been silent about Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, telling his own questionable story about being "shot at" in Iraq. 

"Let's start telling the truth," Biden said during a presidential primary debate sponsored by YouTube last year. "Number one, you take all the troops out - you better have helicopters ready to take those 3,000 civilians inside the Green Zone, where I have been seven times and shot at. You better make sure you have protection for them, or let them die." 

But when questioned about the episode afterward by the Hill newspaper, Biden backpedaled from his claim of being "shot at" and instead allowed: "I was near where a shot landed." 

Uh-huh. Why isn't Katie Couric pressing Joe Biden on these kind of gaffe's? Brian? Charlie? Anybody?

If McCain's campaign staff will leave Sarah alone, and let her answer questions from her heart and her experience, she'll be just fine. All this whining by the media, including some conservative commentors, is totally unwarranted. Palin has had a steep learning curve, but she's smart, capable and determined.

I think everyone will be quite shocked at how well Governor Palin will do on Thursday. Then watch the freak-out by the Obama camp (that means ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and all the rest of the BS'ers) the following day.

I will be speaking to a group of Palin/McCain supporters in San Rafael, California at 5:30 pm on Thursday night. Then we are going to watch the debates together. If you are around, join us!

Since I will be busy speaking, please click over to www.Smartnow.com and join the live-blog especially for women - if you want to. You can see what the Democrat women are saying, and watch for what the Republican women are writing.

Here is what I predict:

Palin will be confident, secure, sly, prepared, and heartfelt. Sarah Palin will do the country proud.

Quin Hillyer at American Spectator is belching flames over the tactics of GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, and I can't say I blame him.

http://www.spectator.org/blogger.asp?BlogID=15006

The Senate tomorrow will attach the Wall Street bailout to a "must pass" tax extender bill. This is dirty pool. When you are talking about the single most significant growth of government power EVER, you should let it sink or swim on its own. You don't attach it to a goodie basket and dare the other chamber to vote against it. To do so is a cheap, despicable tactic. It is the tactic of people without the courage of their convictions -- the tactic of cowards. Yes, cowards. I am utterly disgusted with McConnell and the entire Senate leadership. This is not the way to handle legislations as serious as this is. If the House GOP had any guts, then if the Senate sends the House the bill in this form -- thus also making a mockery, via legerdemain, of the requirement that such financial bills should start in the House -- MORE of the House GOP than before should vote against it, in protest against this sort of hardball pressure.

I think every conservative in the country should raise holy hell about this. AGAINST this tactic. WHATEVER you think about the underlying bailout, this BS is utterly insulting.

Yippee! The McCain campaign has finally let the clutch out, and Sarah Palin is racing onto the Interstate.

Governor Palin has recieved scathing reviews from MSM, and even some whiny conservatives. But she's finally being allowed to road-test her themes without the talking point filters on, where else,  talk radio.

NRO's Jim Geraghty has the reviews.

Hugh Hewitt Interviews Sarah Palin

The McCain-Palin campaign finally did something its supporters have been calling for for weeks now they unleashed Sarah Palin. She did an interview with Hugh Hewitt this evening. (Check HughHewitt.com http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog); Hugh will replay it twice on his program.

• She mentioned that she and Todd had lost $20,000 in the past few weeks in their 401(k)s. Can you recall the last time a politician gave a specific number to how much an economic crisis had impacted them? She talked about how she and Todd were worried about paying for college for their children.
• She mentioned she and Todd got their first health insurance when they were hired for union jobs.
• She said the only time the criticism had gotten "hurtful" was the commentary about Trig Palin, and the insinuation that carrying him to term was a mistake.
• She said she had spoken to her son in the Army, Track, when he was in Kuwait on his way to Iraq and that "the little stinker" had called his girlfriend before calling his mother in recent days.

The last couple answers were a lot like talking to a neighbor - issues like the financial crisis, the culture of life, and the war in Iraq in strikingly personal, human terms. This is the Sarah Palin who had gotten conservatives fired up like little else a month ago.

The million dollar question is... will we see this Sarah Thursday night?