For me, Saturday means college football. And today the Florida Gators open their season hosting the Rainbow Warriors (I do not care what June Jones said) of Hawaii at 12:30. LSU moved up its game in Baton Rouge with Appalachian State to 11 this morning because of Gustav's approach.

What game, if any, will you be focused on?

This is an Open Thread.

Ras poll:

Sarah Palin made a good first impression. She was unknown nationally before being introduced as the GOP Vice-Presidential pick but is now viewed favorably by 53% of voters nationwide. Her counterpart, Joe Biden, is viewed favorably by 48%. While Palin has made a good first impression, the more significant numbers will come a week from now after the nation has a chance to learn more about her.

Inside the numbers:

Palin earns positive reviews from 78% of Republicans, 26% of Democrats and 63% of unaffiliated voters. . . . Among all voters, 29% have a Very Favorable opinion of Palin while 9% hold a Very Unfavorable view.

If I were the Obama campaign, I would ignore Palin as much as possible. Attacking her will not do you any good. That is why the new ad is smart.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Here is the video of Obama's new ad. Here is this description:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama begins airing an ad Saturday that responds to rival John McCain's selection of a running mate, carefully avoiding any direct criticism of Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor whom McCain chose for the GOP ticket.

. . . "Well, he's made his choice," the ad states. "But, for the rest of us there's still no change. McCain doesn't get it, calling this broken economy 'strong.' Wants to keep spending ten-billion-a-month in Iraq. And votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time." . . . "So, while this may be his running mate..." as an image of McCain and Palin appears on the screen. The image then shifts to a shot of McCain with Bush. "America knows this is John McCain's agenda. And we can't afford four more years of the same."

It seems the Obama campaign has much more sense than his supporters.

By Big Tent Democrat

And I believe it is a bad idea (remember McCain is much much more experienced than Obama), then this is the way to do it - hoist them with their own petard:

Republican strategist Karl Rove said on Face The Nation Sunday that he expects presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama to choose a running mate based on political calculations, not the person's readiness for the job. . . . Rove singled out Virginia governor Tim Kaine, also a Face The Nation guest, as an example of such a pick.

"With all due respect again to Governor Kaine, he's been a governor for three years, he's been able but undistinguished," Rove said. "I don't think people could really name a big, important thing that he's done. He was mayor of the 105th largest city in America. . . So if he were to pick Governor Kaine, it would be an intensely political choice where he said, `You know what? I'm really not, first and foremost, concerned with, is this person capable of being president of the United States."

BTW, how about Rove's argument? You think the Left blogs would have been saying "you know, Rove has a point" if Obama had selected Kaine? Me neither.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Readers can't get enough of discussing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. I'm already Palin'd out but the LA Times tells you all you need to know:

Palin's evangelical faith shapes her social views; she opposes abortion and believes creationism should be taught in public schools.

My theory on why he picked her: Money. His campaign sorely lags behind Obama's in fundraising. He needed to excite the evangelical radical right wing of his party to get them to pony up big dollars and this will do it. James Dobson is already on board.

So if McCain becomes unable to serve as President and she takes over, who do you think we'll get on the Supreme Court?

Health is a function of wealth, and it always will be in the absence of universal health care. Setting aside the differing approaches taken by Barack Obama and John McCain to health care access, the broader problem of inequality extends far beyond American borders.

A report commissioned by the World Health Organization "finds a majority of people in the world do not enjoy good health because of a toxic combination of poor social policies, unfair economics and bad politics." The chairman of the commission that produced the report, Sir Michael Marmot, says:

"Between countries, we have life expectancy differences of more than 40 years. A woman in Botswana can expect to live 43 years, in Japan 86 years... That is unnecessary. There is no good biological reason why that is the case," he said. "It arises because of the social conditions in which people are born, they grow, they live, they work and they age. And, because of the set of economic arrangements, the values of society that are responsible for those conditions."

Health problems are compounded for girls and women in countries that limit their educational opportunities. [More ...]

Hurricane Gustav is dominating the news. Bob Dylan is headlining Jazz Aspen tomorrow night. And I'm not going to pass up a chance to highlight the plight of the wrongfully convicted. So here's Bob Dylan singing "Hurricane" about Ruben "Hurricane" Carter.

Gov. Palin is yesterday's news. Big Tent Democrat may decide to write more about it, and you can continue the disussion on his threads. I've had enough. Time to change the conversation to other things. This is an open thread for other topics.

The Democratic National Convention in Denver was a success. How so? Some numbers:

• The Denver Host Committee, which lagged behind its fundraising goal until the end, ended up raising $10 million more than its $40.6 million goal.

• At the Republican convention in New York in 2004, there were 1,800 arrests. Total arrests in Denver: 154.

• The Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau secured 190,000 hotel rooms. 170,000 were put reserved by the DNC.

[More...]

Gustav is now a Hurricane. Is anyone reading in harm's way?

Do you think it will have an effect on the Republican convention?

Go, Diana! Here's the statement Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette released today about John McCain's nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate (no link, received by e-mail from her office):

"The selection of Governor Palin is an insult to women. She has obviously been chosen to appeal to female voters, but she lacks both the experience and policy positions to serve as Vice-President of the United States."

"The announcement of Governor Palin's selection on John McCain's 72nd Birthday highlights the fact t hat the Vice-President must be qualified to step into the Presidency from Day One. Sarah Palin is a 2-year governor with zero foreign policy experience whose former position was mayor of a town of 9,000."

More...

A thought experiment.

Among the people whose names were bandied about as potential VP picks included Charlie Crist, elected the Governor of Florida in 2006, after 4 years as Florida's Attorney General, Tim Kaine, elected the Governor of Virginia in 2006, after 4 years as Lieutenant Governor, and Bobby Jindal, elected Governor of Louisiana after serving 3 years in Congress.

More . . .

The right wing spin machine is agog over Gov. Sarah Palin's crusading role in ethics reform.

The Washington Post reports on a conversation its reporter had today with the fired Alaska Safety Commissioner I referenced earlier:

The July firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan by Gov. Sarah Palin, who was announced as John McCain's running mate on Friday, has unearthed a stream of soap-opera-like details about Palin, her husband, her family and top state appointees. The controversy has also cut against Palin's reputation for holding an ethical line and standing up to colleagues in the Republican Party over matters of principle.

More....

The more I'm learning about Gov. Sarah Palin, and now having heard the McCain's weak justification for it, the more I'm convinced McCain just conceded the election.

McCain's political director just told Campbell Brown on CNN that Palin is qualified to be commander in chief because she was the commander of the Alaska National Guard and has a son who will be going to Iraq.

Gov. Palin is completely unqualified to stand in for a President should that need arise.

Nothing shows McCain's poor judgment as much as this choice. He picked a VP candidate he had met one time before their meeting this weekend. So much for his claim that he prides himself on having strong personal relationships with the people he surrounds himself with.

Campbell says stay tuned, we'll have more on this candidate who is "poised to become a Republican superstar." Hardly, I think she will crash and burn faster than any national candidate in recent memory.

Her complete lack of national experience matters a great deal. I can just see the next 3 am telephone call ad. America won't be laughing. If she had any good sense, she would have turned McCain's offer down and refused to be used as a pawn to grab evangelical and suburban women voters.

There are many reasons why the presidential choice in November matters. Here's one:

As of Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, at least 4,151 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

You're on your own. Play nice and please think before you post.

This is an Open Thread.