politics

Now you've seen Sarah Palin, and now, I'm guessing, a lot of you are more confused than ever.Whatever your expectations, Palin passed her first test. She was confident. She was occasionally funny. She was reliably very, very, extremely conservative.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- After a night when Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin rocked the Republican-packed Xcel Energy Center with a message of small-town can-doism and mockery of alleged Democratic elitism, Democrats demanded her specifics on national issues.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Lorraine Marshall of Las Vegas is one of only 36 African American delegates at the Republican National Convention, and the only one in the Nevada delegation.But Marshall doesn't feel alone.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Former eBay chief Meg Whitman is one of the fastest-rising stars in the GOP universe, and her stature as national co-chair for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign was highlighted this week with her speech at the Republican National Convention on economic reform.

Here is the Scripps Howard News Service budget of stories and opinion pieces on the REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION for Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008. If you have questions or comments, SHNS editors can be reached at 202-408-1484. For all SHNS content and archives visit our Web site at www.shns.com.NEWS ... PROFILES ... NOTES:

Suddenly, everyone wants to know what Alaska thinks about Sarah Palin, the Alaska governor picked by John McCain to be his vice-presidential running mate.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- John McCain and Sarah Palin are vowing "reform" and "change" if they get to the White House. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are promising the same. What does each team mean by "change," which voters began demanding months ago?

Alaska and Internet-based businesses are cranking out Sarah Palin products -- from "Palin Power" maternity T-shirts to "Wonder Palin" thong underwear.One Anchorage entrepreneur, Jim Dooley, printed about 700 John McCain/Palin shirts this weekend, delivering the first batch to the Alaska State Fair by 4 p.m. Friday. They sold out.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Gov. Sarah Palin has taken an unusual step: She's made an ethics complaint against herself. She wants an Alaska state board to review the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Democrats were back on the attack Wednesday, responding quickly a day after political sniping as usual returned to the Republican convention's prime-time lineup."It seems that the Republicans have gone back to their Republican hats," said Robert Gibbs, a senior strategist for the Barack Obama campaign.