This is an interesting policy question: Should cities be allowed to insure themselves against claims of police brutality? The City of St. Paul agreed to host the Republican National Convention on the condition that Republican Party arranged "to buy insurance covering up to $10 million in damages and unlimited legal costs for law enforcement officials accused of brutality, violating civil rights and other misconduct." Private donations were used to purchase the insurance.

The plus side of the agreement is obvious: taxpayers won't have to pay damages resulting from police misconduct. But the downside, while less obvious, is troubling: [more...]

Regarding my earlier post on the Palin speech, some interesting focus group findings from Greenberg Quinlan:

Based on focus groups conducted live last night and new polling data from an oversample of married and unmarried women, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research released the following findings about women voters’ reactions to Governor Sarah Palin[:]

[More...]

Richard Wright, author of the powerful novel Native Son, died in 1960. Had he lived, this would have been his 100th birthday.

This great black writer not only helped change the face of American fiction but he also helped pull the curtain down on Jim Crow. We should commemorate Wright because he defied all the odds. One hundred years ago, he was born poor, black, the son of a sharecropper. In his formative years, he was legally denied access to segregated Southern public libraries. Raised in poverty and hunger, and barely educated in rural Arkansas and Mississippi, Wright believed that "books are weapons." His material spat in the face of indifference, forcing readers to acknowledge the racist underside of the American dream.

Happy birthday, Richard Wright.

The comments are overflowing. You can continue ongoing discussions or start new ones here.

This is an Open Thread.

In his first reaction to Sarah Palin's speech last night, Chris Matthews said something interesting, and in my view, correct - there was no Hillary Clinton in Sarah Palin's speech last night.

When backed against the political wall in February by an attacking, hostile and sexist Media and a string of lopsided primary and caucus defeats - Hillary Clinton became a fighter, but not for herself, but for working class voters and women. She championed issues and talked about their concerns. Before our very eyes, Hillary Clinton became a great politician. By contrast, while Palin offered her appealing biography, she did not talk about the issues the working class voters care about. Instead she gave a sort of Republican version of Ann Richards' 1988 Democratic Convention keynote speech. Of course Republicans loved their red meat, but it was a missed opportunity for Palin (and for the McCain campaign that decided what would be in this speech.) More . . .

Joe Biden on Sarah Palin's media coverage:

Asked if some of the criticism aimed at Palin has been sexist, Biden said: "Yes, by you guys in the media. ... When I heard that media response, you know, this coming from some of the right-wing guys, saying that, 'Well, how can you be a mother and a vice president at the same time?' ... I mean, millions of women in America are going through exactly what she (is going) through. And guess what? They can handle it."

Amen.

Biden on Palin's speech: [more ...]

Harry Reid responds to Sarah Palin's speech in which she said Reid can't stand John McCain:

Jim Manley, spokesman for Senator Reid: "Anyone who knows Senator Reid knows he never backs down when he's fighting for what's right and that he always stands up to John McCain when he is wrong. Shrill and sarcastic political attacks may fire up the Republican base, but they don't change the fact that a McCain-Palin administration would mean four more years of failed Bush-Cheney policies."

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Senator Obama issued this response to Gov. Palin's speech:

The speech that Governor Palin gave was well delivered, but it 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. If Governor Palin and John McCain want to define 'change' as voting with George Bush 90% of the time, that's their choice, but we don't think the American people are ready to take a 10% chance on change."

Obama took a few hits tonight from Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee on his experience. I think unless he confronts that argument head-on, the attacks will increase and begin to resonate. He can't do it by relying on Biden, unless it's in the context of combined ticket experience.

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Wow, that didn't take long. The Washington Post reports the National Enquirer is alleging Gov. Sarah Palin had an extra-marital affair with a friend of her husbands. The McCain camp blasts the report.

But for John Edwards' affair turning out to be true, who would even give the National Enquirer a second thought?

Howard Kurtz writes:

The mainstream media might well have ignored the unsubstantiated allegation, as they did for eight months in the Edwards saga. But the McCain's team quick response in defending the Arizona senator's running mate had the effect, intentionally or otherwise, of giving the story more prominence.

Also read the part about how Levi didn't want McCain naming him publically as the father of her daughter's child.[More...]

This AP article examines some of the ways Republican speakers (to put it nicely) "stretched the truth" tonight. An example:

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

More...

Here's to Gov. Palin and her PTA experience. Can someone please tell her she's running for the Vice Presidency of the United States, not Cheerleader in Chief for John McCain.

For her cheap shot at Miranda rights, my gloves are coming off.

Oh, and her praise of the line item veto? Her first use of it cut funding for homes for unwed mothers.

More speech thoughts?

The pre-scripted, ready made for prime time Sarah Palin is beginning her speech.

Live blog in comments.

Updates below.