StefanClaypool.com

We’ve heard since the beginning of this campaign how the Democrats have been making history. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I was privileged to be a part of a different kind of history. I am proud to be able to say that I was there when Sarah Palin changed the world of American politics.

But first…

It really struck me how the speakers throughout the night established a narrative that built to Palin’s address. First we heard from small businessmen, city council members, state senators, and concerned citizens. Then we were privileged to hear from two successful female business leaders – Meg Whitman of eBay fame, and Carly Fiorina of Hewlett-Packard. The storyline was established: Republicans are the party of average Americans and strong women.

Then the superstars hit. Michael Steele, the former Lieutenant Governor from Maryland and the most prominent African-American in our party gave a speech in which he coined a new catchphrase for proponents of energy independence – “Drill, Baby, Drill.” Mitt Romney brought the crowd to its feet with talk about… business? I actually clapped for Mike Huckabee, who was magnificent. And Rudy… well, he was the Rudy of old tonight.

But none was the star of the evening.

Whether John McCain wins or loses this election, the speech that Sarah Palin gave tonight will be long remembered. In a way that no woman – and yes, I am including Hillary Clinton – no woman has ever done, Sarah Palin has fundamentally changed American politics with her address tonight. As she took the stage, the room was euphoric, but the joy was tempered with caution. After all, our only exposure to Palin had been her well-delivered but not outstanding speech last Friday. Could she stand on stage with the big boys?

The question has been answered.

The answer is a resounding yes.

We all held our breath for a minute, but when she leaned into the mic, cracked the first joke, and smiled that beauty queen smile, we all fell in love with her. She grabbed the bull by the horns and never let go. The crowd loved her. The pundits are raving. The critics are silent.

Tomorrow it’ll start again in earnest, because the liberals of this country now have no reason to doubt that Sarah Palin is an immediate threat to their left-wing vision of the future. The attacks will get slimier. The reporting will get shoddier. They will do all they can to destroy Sarah Palin and everything she stands for.

And the Governor will smile and America will applaud.

I overheard someone at the Convention say something as he pinned a McCain-Palin button to his shirt. He told his friend, “I’m voting for Palin. I guess I’ll take McCain, but I’m voting for Palin.”

I think it’s safe to say that he’s not alone.

All right, we’re still about 3+ hours away from showtime here, but the day so far has been a blast. I attended a brunch earlier sponsored by RedState which featured an appearance by California Congressman Kevin McCarthy, one of the three GOP Young Guns founders (along with Virginia’s Eric Cantor and Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan). McCarthy spoke briefly about the need for Republicans to resist the urge to play defense and instead undertake an offensive strategy to unseat Democratic Congressmen in vulnerable districts.

I then attended a lunch sponsored by Ed Morrissey – he of Hot Air fame. The lunch was held at a restaurant owned by a Kurdish refugee who had fled Saddam’s Iraq in 1991. Last year he returned to his home country to visit relatives now living in peace, free from Hussein’s tyranny. In addition to meeting Ed, I also had a chance to chat with David All of Tech Republican and Mary Katherine Ham, formerly of Townhall.com and currently writing for the Washington Examiner. The lunch was informal, with little in the way of policy and a lot in the way of anecdotes.

I’ll upload photos later, but I’m getting ready to run off to a press conference being held by House Republicans. I’ll report back later.

Good morning, all! Here are some thoughts that I’ve had since we last tangoed.

I can’t emphasize enough how magnificently I thought Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman performed last night. I have great difficulty believing that an undecided voter could hear their testimonies to John McCain’s character and resolve and not think to themselves, “How did I ever consider voting for Barack Obama?” Fred, for those of you who may not know, replaced Governor Schwarzenegger, who is occupied with a vicious budget battle in California. Honestly, Fred did better than Schwarzenegger possibly could have in defining John McCain.

It’s a shame that all of this was overshadowed by more media smears of Governor Palin. According to some reports, certain media outlets didn’t even cover the Thompson and Lieberman speeches, and instead talked smack about Sarah Palin. Liberals are now quietly spreading rumors that McCain is going to kick Palin off the ticket – which absolutely NO ONE is considering. I’ll be in attendance tonight when Palin addresses the Convention, and I sincerely hope that she knocks it out of the park.

But if she does her job tonight, Sarah Palin may well win this election for John McCain.

Links for the morning are in the Twitter feed. I’ll update again later. Until then, adios!

Update: Reports are now swirling that liberal blogs have gotten hold of Sarah Palin’s Social Security number. Why? For no good reason. This constitutes a gross invasion of privacy.