Yup. She really is. I enjoyed her speech a great deal — in large part because I was so curious about her.
In fact, we all watched — even Adorable Child, who’s observation about Bristol’s maternity status was, “Hunh. She’s not a cookie-cutter kid. They’re a regular family.”
A few quick observations: Sarah Palin comes off as warm and human, and while she seemed to step very carefully through a few parts of her speech, I’d say she did very well overall. She’s certainly much better at it than John McCain.
The speechwriters gave her some zingers, and while several were well-placed, others brought on a bit of cognitive dissonance. She’s going to get chewed up by the pundits for a couple of them.
Like Barack Obama, she’s able to deliver quips to specific groups from a place they’ll understand. (Gotta love the Hockey Moms joke.)
Finally — a quick note about her husband and kids: that is one good looking family. The littlest girl (Piper?) slicking down her baby brother’s hair with her freshly-salivated-upon palm was priceless. We’ll be seeing replays of that for some time, I bet.
All in all, I’d say she pulled this off… and I also think the Democrats are suddenly in a brand new ballgame. I’m not at all convinced that Sarah Palin’s ready for the big leagues, but she’s clearly planning to play.