As Republicans unveil VP candidate
Democrats silent on threat from religious right
By Bill Van Auken

The Republican National Convention entered its third day Wednesday with the acceptance speech of the party’s vice presidential candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as the main event.

Palin’s candidacy, which was announced to general surprise if not outright incredulity last week, has been rolled out in a peculiar political atmosphere. The Republican leadership has kept her completely under wraps, canceling all of her public events and denying any access by the media.

The only report of any political activity by Palin at the convention before her Wednesday night speech, which was drafted by a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, came from AIPAC, the Zionist lobbying group. AIPAC said that she had met with its members in private, promising to “work to expand and deepen the strategic partnership between the US and Israel.”

Meanwhile, Republican operatives have been dispatched to Alaska, where they have instructed Palin’s friends and family members not to speak to the media.

For their part, the Democrats have largely maintained a discrete silence on the candidate and her political views. The Democratic Party has avoided any political confrontation with the Republicans during the latter’s convention in Minneapolis.

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