If you don’t get a look at the news article in the New York Times given in the link posted on the image, this introduction is quoted as a snippet from the news story on September 3, 2008:

Ending Conspicuous Silence, Palin Makes Her Case

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY

"Republican delegates holding up “Palin Power” signs greeted Wednesday’s speech as a Norma Rae moment, but for viewers it came closer to Garbo Speaks.

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska spoke and did it forcefully, confidently and with humor, and that was plenty, because the most damaging part of the last 48 hours was her silence.

Throughout the whirlwind referendum on experience, motherhood and family values, Ms. Palin was cast by her party as a victim of sexism, partisan politics and tabloid exploitation. She used the speech to shrug off the mantle of running mate in distress and recast herself as a tough-talking, liberal-bashing supermom.

She took her story back, talking about her children, her husband, Todd (“he’s still my guy”), as well as her reform efforts in Alaska, energy policy and Russian intentions in the Caucasus. She made many of the same points party elders like Fred D. Thompson and Rudolph W. Giuliani made on her behalf, but in her own disarmingly flat “Fargo” voice. She not only praised John McCain, she also repeatedly mocked Barack Obama’s career ( “This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn’t just need an organizer”) and gleefully attacked the Washington elite.

“Here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion; I’m going to Washington to serve the people of this country.”

Until she spoke up for herself, no defense, no matter how spirited or well-argued, could fully make up for Ms. Palin’s conspicuous absence from the screen. It wasn’t just the endless discussion on cable news programs or the heated debates on “The View” that made her seem in quarantine.

Mr. McCain inadvertently compounded the impression on Wednesday with a tableau he created to signal his loyalty for the news cameras.

The entire Palin family was assembled on the tarmac to greet Mr. McCain. He hugged Governor Palin, shook hands with her husband, then hugged their pregnant 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, before turning to her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, 18, shaking his hand, patting his shoulder and rubbing his arm, then wrapping his arms around the two teenagers as if blessing their union.

All the touching was meant as a kindness — and to reassure voters that the unwed pregnancy doesn’t bother him one bit. But the scene was long and a little too pastorly, more like an absolution than a friendly photo op for the running mates’ families. "

that relationship is a trainwreck in the making. very sad…

i’m getting me a t-shirt that says, "I’m Not Pregnant, I’m Fat"!

Hypocrisy at its best! I hope it backfires at full force! Remind me again, who the hell is Sarah Palin?

Aldamo.. the VP pick for Obama is Joe Biden.

wow obviously none of you have EVER experienced an unexpected pregnancy….

I liked your take on this, especially rule 3B. The entire Republican convention has only 36 African American delegates (about 1.5%,), men far outnumber women, and the median delegate age is 54. More old white guys who think they can spin that the GOP isn’t the "Washington elite".

I wonder why nobody asked Palin–since she made a point of saying she joined the PTA to better her kids’ education–if her commitment to education includes expecting her daughter to finish high school on time, baby or not. And for that matter,if this pregnancy might convince her it’s worth teaching a little more than only abstinence to her younger children.

are you serious?

I am a little curious about the absence of the boy’s (Levi) side of the story. I am sure he is probably thrilled to marry a potential VP’s daughter. But still, I can’t help being curious — Can he be automatically assumed a willing party in this marriage-to-be?

— I think it’s safe to say it’s more than a bit of a "shotgun wedding" for appearance’ sake. I totally agree with what Bill Maher had to say about it last night: had this been a 17-year old pregnant daughter of the Obamas, with an 18-year old black boyfriend, there would have been a huge uproar, rather than the young man being embraced and welcomed into the limelight and onto the stage with the family.

These kids have already made the mistake of making a baby at their age, now they’re being forced to make another by getting married. I’m sure the next step will be Levi being "called to duty" in the middle east…

what a bunch of tools

"condums"????

It is not only sex education but the broader type of education that is in greatest need for American public schools. You know, that old fashioned type that teaches critical thinking as well as how to prepare to take a test…