Michelle Malkin’s got the latest developments on both.  Gustav’s on track to hit New Orleans and surrounding areas on the Gulf Coast in the next two days.  New Orleans is a ghost town.  Looks like several of the activities scheduled for tomorrow have been canceled, per McCain.  Cheney and Bush won’t be there, either.

Mega-prayers are going out to the Gulf Coast area. 

ST reader Mwalimu Daudi  has done an great job in finding out about what certain popular far leftie blogs are having to say about Sarah Palin.  In one post, MD pointed to the following links:

—- TNR: Sarah Palin named two of her children after witches.   Andrew Sullivan, surprisingly (not), echoed a similar theme here.  The real facts are here.

—- Certain far left blogs are asserting that Palin posed for nude pictures.  The real facts are that the pictures in question are not of Palin, but instead are of a young Julia Louis-Dreyfus

In another post, MD pointed to these links:

—– Featured post at the Daily Kos: Palin’s faked “pregnancy”?  Covering for teen daughter? UPDATE #2!   That story was debunked by Ed Morrissey yesterday.

—– This leftie feminist blogger pointed out what she was seeing written by far lefties on other boards and blogs about Palin:

 Go read the Washington Post blog or anywhere online where the Palin pick is being discussed, and you’ll see the trademark Obama misogyny already out in full force. She’s been on the ticket for two seconds and already the Obamabots are saying she “looks like a porn star,” they’re making rude remarks about her childbearing, they’re ridiculing her intelligence.

What’s the latest and greatest from the world of far leftists?  In addition to accusing Sarah Palin of not giving her infant son Trig proper pre-natal care in one post, Hannity and Colmes leftie Alan Colmes posted on his blog yesterday in another post titled “Conservative Family Values” that Sarah Palin’s first son Track might have been born out of wedlock (emphasis added by him):

In her speech in Dayton today, Gov. Sarah Palin announced that she and her husband are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary, which means they were married on August 29, 1988. 

On April 20, 1989 – less than eight months after they eloped – their first son, Track, was born. 

I think I can guess the real reason why they eloped, and it wasn’t to save money on an expensive wedding.

Here’s the screencap of that post in case Colmes decides to delete it.  I hope Hannity rips him to shreds on the show tomorrow night.

I must say that the “concern” being expressed by popular far left jerk bloggers for values voters is so touching, about as touching as it would be to walk barefoot on broken glass.

These people just don’t get it, and never will.  Let’s assume for purposes of discussion that Sarah and Todd Palin weren’t married at the time they conceived Track.  If Alan Colmes’ timeline is correct, it could mean that the baby was conceived out of wedlock and that they did the right thing and got married. Or perhaps Track was a premature baby and there was no conception outside of marriage. In any event, by accounts they have lived a good life, have stayed together and are raising all five children in a loving, stable home, instilling in them the Christian values that are the centerpiece of their lives. 

What this is all about to the far left more than anything else is the attempt at tearing down and destroying by any means necessary the compelling story of a down home All American Christian woman who grew up and made something of her life and who now stands in line to become the next vice president of the United States.  There’s not much to “pick at” in Sarah Palin’s distinguished record, so what do they do?  They attempt to degrade her and diminish her accomplishments on the basis of her sex … and her faith.   So much for “tolerance” and ”respect” for differing views … especially those coming from a conservative Christian woman.

It’s well known that far leftists hate Christians anyway because they represent a moral standard the far left will never ever meet, and amongst political junkies, it’s well known that they also hate strong conservative women (Michelle Malkin can tell you a few stories about that). But we’ve never had a strong conservative woman on a national ticket, so now the country - and the world - will get to see exactly the type of people the far left are.    Whether the mediots document it or not, conservative bloggers will.  Yours truly, along with others, will be on the front lines in exposing them in all their bitter, clingy ugliness.

Update: ST reader Sev hits a home run:

The leftoids would respect her and think she was just great if she’d never married, her 5 kids were by different fathers, none of which were still around, and she was living on public assistance in low income housing. Then she’d be the bees knees.

Yep.

Related: Liberal Left Males Continue To Sink Into Taliban-Like Muck

Cross-posted to Right Wing News, where I am helping guestblog for John Hawkins on Sundays.

One of my all-time favorite pundits weighs in on Sarah Palin:

First, Governor Palin is not merely, as Jay describes her, “all-American”, but hyper-American. What other country in the developed world produces beauty queens who hunt caribou and serve up a terrific moose stew? As an immigrant, I’m not saying I came to the United States purely to meet chicks like that, but it was certainly high on my list of priorities. And for the gun-totin’ Miss Wasilla then to go on to become Governor while having five kids makes it an even more uniquely American story. Next to her resume, a guy who’s done nothing but serve in the phony-baloney job of “community organizer” and write multiple autobiographies looks like just another creepily self-absorbed lifelong member of the full-time political class that infests every advanced democracy.

Read the rest of Mark Steyn’s excellent post here.

Update: Yesterday I wrote about how the state of the conservative union, in contrast with how it was in January, was currently very good. I just had no idea how good:

Sen. John McCain has taken in $7 million in contributions since announcing Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, a top campaign aide said today.

The money bounce may owe to Palin’s appeal with conservative donors, many of whom said privately they had planned on sitting out the campaign this year. The money comes in just under the wire — after McCain accepts the GOP nomination Thursday, he will accept public funds and no longer be permitted to raise private money for the campaign.

Feeling like helpin’ ‘em out? Click here.

Update 2 - 11:42 PM: According to Barack Obama, visiting a few foreign countries equates to “foreign policy experience” - so by that example, I present to you proof that Sarah Palin has visited the Alaska National Guard in Kuwait (photos and video) and wounded troops in Germany (photo), something Barry Oh! was sheduled to do but didn’t when he went to Germany.

Thank you. No applause necessary, just throw money

You go girl (Via MM):

(adding the actual video link here so it will show up when this post is emailed)

After you get done watching that, make sure to check out this side by side comparison of the experience of Democrat presidential nominee Sen. Obama versus the experience of Republican VP nominee Gov. Palin. It’s missing a few things but overall it’s pretty darn effective at getting the point across Please make sure to email it to any friend and/or family member you think would be receptive to learning more about Palin.

Related: And guess who is making a subtle little sexist attack against Gov. Palin? The same hypocrite who thinks John McCain is lying about his cross in the sand story. Patterico has the details. It’s tame in comparison to some of the other blatantly sexist attacks I’ve seen made on her from far lefties the last couple of days, but that doesn’t make it right to say. So much for “women’s rights” and “free choice” to choose what they want to do with their lives.

It’s been a long time since I linked to Senator Zell Miller (D-GA)’s barnburner of a speech at the 2004 RNC.  Here it is again.

Enjoy

Via CNN (h/t: ST reader MD):

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Officials with the McCain campaign and the Republican National convention are considering changing the event’s agenda as Hurricane Gustav bears down on the Gulf Coast.

Sen. John McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, plans to meet with officials in charge of the party’s convention planning in Minneapolis-St. Paul on Sunday to review the latest news on Hurricane Gustav and what their options might be and then consult with the presumptive presidential nominee to determine what changes may need to be made.

“I wouldn’t call it a nightmare, but it is a very perplexing challenge,” said a GOP official planning the event.

A senior McCain source said Saturday that officials are considering turning the convention into a service event, a massive telethon to raise money for the Red Cross and other agencies to help with the hurricane.

“He wants to do something service-oriented if and when the storm hits and it’s as bad as its expected to be now,” the McCain source said.

They are also hoping to get McCain himself to a storm-affected area as soon as possible.

McCain had suggested to a Fox News interviewer that the convention could be suspended if it seemed that a festive gathering was inappropriate in light of the destruction the storm may bring. Watch as the Gulf Coast prepares for Gustav »

President Bush, who is scheduled to address the convention Monday night, is making contingency plans in case the storm keeps him in Washington.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said there are “no schedule changes yet, but we’re making contingency plans” because of the hurricane. She said it is a “serious and scary situation,” so the White House is “closely monitoring” the storm.

A Republican official involved in convention planning said that various options are being explored, including having the president speak to Republican delegates via satellite and updating them on the storm rather than traveling to Minnesota.

As I noted in the comments when MD posted the link, I think this is a great idea.  It would still allow the convention to take place (perhaps postponed for a couple of days), emphasize on national TV that the GOP really does care about suffering fellow citizens, pump up John McCain’s “country first” creds, and drive the far left insane.  It’s a win win.

Meanwhile, take a look at who’s making sick cracks about the possiblity of the hurricane hitting NO during the GOP convention.  First up, former DNC Chair under Bill Clinton - Dan Fowler:

According to the video embedded right, Fowler, on a plane from Denver to Charlotte following the recently concluded Democratic National Convention, was joking with Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) about the timing of Hurricane Gustav potentially hitting New Orleans when the Republicans start their convention.

At least that’s what it appears he’s talking about:

“Plus they think the hurricane’s going to hit (starts laughing) New Orleans about the time they start. The timing, at least it appears now, that it’ll be there Monday. That just demonstrates God’s on our side .”

Next up? Far left darling Michael Moore:

His latest outrage occurred on MSNBC’s August 29 “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” and when he commented about the coincidental timing of an unfortunate disaster – the potential for Hurricane Gustav to make landfall at the beginning of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. 

“I was just thinking, this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven,” Moore said, laughing. “To have it planned at the same time – that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for day one of the Republican Convention, up in the Twin Cities – at the top of the Mississippi River.”

He tried to amend his remarks later, but you and I both know the score when it comes to him and the depths he’ll sink to in order to score political points against Republicans.

Disgusting.

And BTW, thoughts and prayers to all in Gustav’s path.  I hope like heck it fizzles before it has a chance to make landfall in the US, but the odds are strongly against that happening.

Hope everyone’s enjoying their holiday weekend.  I’ll be back later this evening.

I know we’re all excited as heck about the announcement of Gov. Sarah Palin as Mc’s veep choice, but in the interest of fairness - and to help prepare everyone for the inevitable criticisms that will follow - I wanted to present some “pros and con” arguments about her from conservatives we can trust, and get your thoughts.

First up: The Weekly Standard has a 14 point piece up about some of the positives Palin brings to the GOP ticket and to the presidential campaign on the whole.   I linked up earlier to Ed Morrissey’s pro argument.

NRO’s The Corner has had a lively discussion today about Palin, and some of the pro arguments can be found here, here, and here.  Con arguments can be found here, here, and here (that last one is a pro and con).  Mark Halperin has another pro/con piece.

Here are some additional thoughts I had on the positives she brings to the ticket, some of which may or may not have been mentioned in the above links:

On the reform end of things, the pick was a homerun for McCain.  Obama was clinking glasses with Rezko and Daley and Ayers in Chicago while Palin was taking on corrupt politicians in her own party in Alaska.

Another plus for her candidacy is the fact that she’s the governor of the state where ANWR is, and drilling in ANWR is a hot issue right now, as we all know.  She knows her state and understands the sensitivity of the issue and brings insight about it to the table on a national stage at a time when the issue of drilling is at a fever pitch.

Another thing is you can rest assured that the Dems are going to use the “Sen. Ted Stevens is a prime example of corrupt Republicans” argument, and Palin being from Alaska and taking on politicians of Stevens ilk kind of throws a little cold water on that argument.

There are some conservatives out there who have issues with Palin’s experience, saying it effectively negates the arguments McCain has made about Obama’s.  I do think choosing her takes away a little bit from the effectiveness of that argument, but I don’t think it takes the issue off the table completely.  I think if one were to measure Palin’s accomplishments versus Obama’s while serving in government, it’s pretty clear that in the battle of who did the most with their few years serving in government, Palin would win that one hands down.   Think about it.  What exactly has Obama accomplished?  What state has he governed?  How often has he bucked his own party? Has he ever been in command of a state’s National Guard?  What political risk has he taken that would threaten his standing in his own party - like Palin did for suing the administration over the polar bear threatened status distinction?  Has he appointed  Republicans and Independents in his administration? Oh that’s right - he can’t.  He doesn’t have one. 

I should also add that there’s a reason, IMO, that the Obama campaign backtracked on its earlier criticism of her experience.  Simply put, they don’t want to go there.

Regarding the possibility that something might happen to or with McCain during his first term, I have no doubt that McCain is going to surround himself with competent advisors and cabinet members, and Palin has shown the ability to listen and learn and not surround herself with just ”yes” people, so in the unfortunate event that something happens to or with McCain, she’d have that circle and apply what she’s learned as  governor as well as what she could learn as a veep to her presidency.  And assuming McCain would be a one termer (which I suspect will be the case), she would naturally run to take his place after having served four years in the capacity of veep.  

I think the choice is risky for Mc, but one he had to make.  Of the four people we kept hearing he was considering (not including Palin, who was the “dark horse”), Romney was out of the question because he and McCain have an obvious personal dislike for each other - not only that, but the ads the Dems would have run using Romney’s primary campaign words against McCain and vice versa would have been as embarassing as the ads McCain and the GOP are running against Obama using the words of other Democrats - including Biden - against him.  Pawlenty would have been an ok pick but not exceptionally bold, and Lieberman and Ridge’s rigid stances on abortion disqualified them as the base made it clear in no uncertain terms what those picks would do to the party.   Palin greatly excites conservatives and will help shore up the base, including most of the reluctants - even while McCain still gets to wear his “maverick” hat, and she just might bring in more of the womens vote on both sides of the aisle than McCain would have gotten otherwise, and not just because she is a woman, but because she is a damned smart woman - and wise, too.

Conservatives have been writing about Palin for over a year now - she is well-liked and has been talked about as a major rising star within the GOP.  Now she has a chance to show us - and the country - how well that star can shine.