Palin's speech: Home run? Base hit?

The text of Sarah Palin's speech to the RNC is online. Here's the video:



I'll update with reactions. What did you think?

UPDATE: Instapundit:

I see a problem for McCain -- whatever he says tonight is likely to come across as an anticlimax, unless he gives a better speech than he's ever given before.

Ed Morrissey:

Her nickname, "Sarah Barracuda", seems a lot more fitting after tonight.
Not only did she defend her small-town upbringing, she attacked Barack Obama on
almost every possible front, and for good measure went after Joe Biden and the
mainstream media as well.

UPDATE II: Michael Crowley:

Several moderate-Democrat friends of mine have been emailing -- few if any would ever vote for McCain -- but all agree that Palin was very strong. The more liberal among them are a little panicked.
I completely misjudged how negative she would be. Her lines about Obama were brutally cutting and possibly over the top in places. But she's a far better messenger than an angry white man.

Heh heh heh heh. Oh, the news of liberal panic always warms my heart. They had five days of slamming her when she was in no position to fire back, and now she's made her big debut and . . . "a little panicked"? Imagine how they'll react if the Republicans get a convention bounce and go 5 points ahead in the tracking poll by next Wednesday.

Myself, personally, I wasn't all that impressed. I like Palin, but I felt she delivered the speech too slowly, and that the delegates -- a bit too eager to show their approval -- interrupted her too often with applause.

UPDATE III: Dr. Melissa Clouthier predicts a new barrage of liberal attacks:

Sarah Palin must be destroyed because her mere existence kills so many leftist sacred cows. As much as I adore this woman already, I shudder for her family for what’s to come in the next couple of months. Uppity women get put in their place by angry liberals. And it’s ugly business.

This is what Rush Limbaugh said yesterday:

It's the same approach that they took to destroy Clarence Thomas, the same approach that they took to destroy Robert Bork . . . . They destroy people who are threats. They destroy people who are threats to their template, to their narrative, to their power. They take no prisoners.

To be in the same league of enemies as Clarence Thomas -- high praise indeed.

UPDATE IV: Team Obama responded by saying that Palin's speech "was written by George Bush's speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the last eight years." To which Jimmie at Sundries Shack says:

That's it? His entire response is, "Yeah, well, someone wrote her speech for her, so nyah"?
How freaking lame! He just unfurled the political equivalent of "Oh yeah? Well your Mommy dresses you funny!" That was a tired taunt when we used it in elementary school.

All modern presidents rely on speechwriters, even the greatest of them, like Ronald Reagan. Otherwise, they'd have to spend all their time drafting new speeches, because they have to give so many of them, and they can't give the same speech over and over again.

UPDATE V: One of Obama's big fundraisers attempted to storm the stage during last night's speech. Founding Bloggers says, "Keep it classy, Democrats."

UPDATE VI: Ezra Klein (!) says, "an auspicious debut."