Lke others I was wowed by Palin’s speech. I expected it to be pretty good — and better than pundits expected — but it exceeded my expectations. I have one thought on the substance. Including an extended discussion of international energy markets was quite shrewd. It allowed her to play to one of her strengths — energy policy — while simultaneously undercutting concerns about her lack of foreign policy experience. She talked about the significance of foreign production and the geostrategic importance of pipelines with a level of sophistication that few would have anticipated, and it worked. Had she tried to get into the nitty-gritty of Iraq or Iran, on the other hand, it would have seemed quite contrived.