Just a quick note heading into Labor Day weekend. McCain’s announcement has caught most everyone by surprise, especially the media. And the more I look over her record, the more she frightens me, particularly if she’s one heart beat away from the presidency.

I’ve created a Facebook group called Citizens Against Sarah Palin. Hopefully it can capture the sentiment of those questioning her candidacy and focus attention on her failings and lack of qualifications. If your on Facebook, check it out.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

The following analysis by Charles Babington came across the AP wire while Obama’s speech (more from me on that tomorrow) was still in progress. Is this guy really watching the same speech? Or is this a partisan hack job courtesy of AP Washington Bureau Chief Ron Fournier, friend of Karl Rove and John McCain?

Barack Obama, whose campaign theme is “change we can believe in,” promised Thursday to “spell out exactly what that change would mean.”

But instead of dwelling on specifics, he laced the crowning speech of his long campaign with the type of rhetorical flourishes that Republicans mock and the attacks on John McCain that Democrats cheer. The country saw a candidate confident in his existing campaign formula: tie McCain tightly to President Bush, and remind voters why they are unhappy with the incumbent.

Of course, no candidate can outline every initiative in a 35-minute speech – especially one that also must inspire voters, acknowledge key friends, and toss in some autobiography for the newly-interested. And Obama did touch on nitty-gritty subjects, such as the capital gains tax and biofuel investments.

He said he would “find ways to safely harness nuclear power,” a somewhat more receptive phrase than he typically uses for that subject.

But most of his address echoed and amplified the theme that dominated the four-day Democratic nominating convention here: George Bush.

The final and revised story can be viewed here.

Barack’s amazing speech below… you decide.

Last week I made an urgent call to my parents in Florida when I realized that hurricane Fay was coming ashore only a few miles from their home. I was simultaneously worried and irritated with myself, for not having tracked the storm’s progress and calling them sooner. While we often get caught up in the events of our own lives, it’s important not to lose track of events happening in the lives of others. Often times those are the ones that are most important.

While I had difficulty reaching them initially (twice answered by a fax machine, and once by broken voice mail) I was relieved when I finally got through. They assured me of course that they were fine and unsurprisingly, not really concerned. They’ve been through numerous hurricanes and seemed more interested in reminding me that the schizophrenic storm shared my mother’s middle name, Fay.

Now another hurricane, Gustav, is spinning it’s way through the Gulf of Mexico and picking up steam, heading where it has no business going. I’ve been visiting a website tracking the storm at http://i.wund.com/tropical. Formatted for the iPhone (which of course is always with me), it provides a clear snapshot of Gustav’s position and where it’s headed. Check it out.

I know the site will come in handy when the next hurricane approaches Florida, and hopefully will prompt a call to my parents a little earlier next time.

Over the next few days, as Gustav’s path becomes more clear, I am hopeful that neither the right or left will politicize the storm in this partisan-charged climate. Those who may be standing in it’s path will deserve better than that.

However, Gustav’s expected arrival around the third anniversary of Katrina, and at the opening of the Republican Convention in Minneapolis, the irony, unfortunately, is anything but lost.

Thanks to Dave Stewart (from the Eurythmics) for putting this beautiful, all inclusive video together.