Huck: We Need a Leader, Not a Symbol

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin's big introduction to America last night drew 37.2 million viewers, Variety reports. Her huge Nielsen ratings came in just 1.1 million under Barack Obama's for his acceptance speech last week. Palin, who officially became the vice-presidential nominee today, dwarfed the ratings of Joe Biden (24 million). She also topped the Olympics opening ceremony (34 million) and the Oscars (32 million), CBS notes. Of those who watched, 19.5 million were women. More»

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin tonight played up her small-town credentials, cast herself as a political outsider, and took a swipe at her critics in the media during her much-anticipated address to the Republican convention, Politico reports. After formally accepting the nomination to be vice president, she took a not-so-subtle shot at Barack Obama. "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities." More»

(NEWSER) - Rudy Giuliani tonight delivered the most blistering attack yet on Barack Obama's qualifications to be president, belittling him as a "celebrity senator" with no legislative record to speak of, MSNBC reports. "He’s never run a city, he’s never run a state, he’s never run a business, he’s never run a military unit,” Giuliani said. “He’s never had to lead people in crisis." It's not a personal attack, he said, but merely a "statement of fact." More»

Huckabee's happy to chat about the GOP's future but won't be drawn on veep chances

(NEWSER) - Mike Huckabee's as busy as ever two months after dropping out of the GOP race, giving speeches around the country and campaigning for GOP candidates everywhere—including, of course, John McCain, who is said to have the former preacher on the top of his list of potential veeps. So would he accept? "It's impolite to start saying that if the captain of the football team were to invite me to the prom, that I already have a dress picked out," Huckabee told Newsweek. More»

Running mate speculation mounts as he clinches GOP nomination

(NEWSER) - With the GOP nomination in the bag, speculation is shifting to John McCain's possible choices for running mate, the New York Times reports. The 71-year-old McCain would become the oldest person ever elected as a first-term president if he wins this November so there's likely to be even more interest than usual on his choice of vice president. His campaign says there's no short list yet. More»