for me this was the moment to sit up. Guiliani said that Obama said that Wasilla was not "cosmopitan" enough. He later corrected himself in an interview on CNN. So did he make a mistake or say it deliberately? The latter I think. This was the "we are white God Fearing Americans - they are something else"moment. Even Schneider on CNN described this guys speech as ugly.
I am surprised nobody picked up on this except Andrew Sullivan. I have to say at this point that I am a white guy, mid-50s business owner. But this moment just struck me as blatant racism.
Other thoughts. My wife liked Palin until she got to the nasty sarcastic part - then she(wife) went to bed! The positives from last night are that Palin has clearly identified herself as a right wing partisan. Her gender will have no impact on the election - she will turn off as many women as she appeals to. She may be only 44 but she thinks likes she's 65. Teen pregnancy was "cool" among kids in 1958 - it is not today. She is also now fair game She cannot follow up last night with any phony sexist claims if asked real questions. Her expectations for the debates are also raised and I bet she comes to that with a script too.
Only Huckabee"got it" on the night. He knows vitriol won't sell this year.
All told they have raised expectations for McCain and diminished them for Obama. Great.