Palin hits a home run

Having just turned off Sarah Palin's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, I can make several observations:

1. She was strong and confident, tough but charming. Democrats are going to have their hands full, messing with her.

2. She said it all with her joke about hockey moms--the only difference between a Pit Bull and a Hockey Mom is the lipstick.

3. She demonstrated outstanding grasp of the energy issues, and heavily exploited her experience and knowledge in the oil rich state of Alaska. She was very effective talking about the $40 billion natural gas pipeline she signed the deal to build.

4. She shone brightly compared to the speakers ahead of her--Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliana and even Mike Huckabee. Huck was funny and the most effective of the trio, but didn't light up the crowd like Palin. Romney never caught fire, just like his presidential campaign, and Giuliani may have pushed the bounds of good taste in going after Obama.

Palin really comes across as Every Woman, warts and all. A lot of Americans can relate to that. She will give Obama and Biden fits, trying to figure you how to handle her, without destroying themselves in the process.