Brains that don't bounce.

[elfs]

40 Million Watched

Andrew Sullivan worries because as many people watched Sarah Palin's speech as watched Obama's. I think that's an unwarranted worry.

I think most of the people who watched Obama's speech were already committed to seeing him elected. Those who oppose him, as we've seen from the likes of Hannity and Limbaugh and so forth, are comfortable not actually listening to what he has to say and so didn't tune in. They've been listening to the dittoheads vet Obama for months on end; they didn't need to know any more. The few who did probably did so for NASCAR reasons: they were waiting to see if someone took a shot at him.

From the surge in donations the day after Palin's speech (Obama saw an uptick of $10 million in donations, averaging $60, from 130,000 new donors, in the 24 hours after her speech), I conclude that many of the people watching Palin were not her supporters. Unlike Obama, her record is only now being analyzed in depth, so lots of folks on both sides are desperate to know who she is, how she thinks (or, at least, how well she reads a speech written by Matthew Scully), and what she'll bring to the White House. (I'm sure there were a few NASCAR-minded, waiting for a wreck.)

Nothing at all to the affair rumors eh?

Todd Palin's former business partner has filed an emergency motion to have his divorce papers sealed. As Andrew puts it, "Oh God."

Team McCain and The Google

What was that mansion on the green screen at the beginning of McCain's speech? It turns out it was supposed to be Walter Reed Medical Center, but the technician in charge apparently found a nifty picture of a place called Walter Reed and ran with it. It turned out to be Walter Reed Middle School in Hollywood, California.

Oops. You'd think the palm trees would have been a clue.