The national media is taking the easy way out.

Late Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama went on the attack. He called the McCain/Palin campaign's reformist image "putting lipstick on a pig".

"The other side, suddenly, they're saying 'we're for change too.' Now think about it, these are the same folks that have been in charge for the last eight years," Obama said to the crowd.

"You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig. You can wrap up an old fish in a piece of paper and call it change. It's still going to stink after eight years. We've had enough," he exclaimed.

Watch the video here:

Instead of covering the issues, the press is covering a darned pig statement.

Something stinks. I think it's the reporting barnyard they're wallowing in.

Tonight is in many ways a dream come true for John McCain. As he formally accepts the Republican nomination for president it will be the culmination of a years-long journey, tasting the victory denied him by then-Texas Governor George W. Bush in 2000.

After a week of blistering partisan speeches including an explosive one by his running mate Sarah Palin, it appears McCain will strike a more bipartisan tone in his address tonight.

Here's one excerpt from his forthcoming acceptance speech:

“Again and again, I’ve worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed.”

The venue is even being retro-fitted to give the Xcel Energy Center more of a town-hall feel, except without the back and forth of a question and answer session between McCain and the party faithful.

Advisors say the format will make McCain, not known for his oratory in more formal settings, more comfortable.

It brings up a question.

Given the positive reviews (even by critics who disagreed with the contents) of Obama's speech to a gargantuan crowd of more than 80,000 last week, is the bar lower for McCain?

And can he top the roof-rising response Palin received Wednesday? Does he even want to?

Weigh in here

In the words of Diana Ross, Sarah Palin is "Comin' out."

Palin spent more than a half hour in prime time selling herself to the American people.

But as much time as she spent hocking the John McCain brand to the nation, she used equal time trying to dissuade the public from buying into the Barack Obama brand.

Here's a sample:

The Republican National Convention finally got underway last night with speeches from President Bush (via satellite) and Laura Bush, who was in Minneapolis. Below are excerpts of their respective speeches as well as Sen. Joe Lieberman's speech.

I've worked in television long enough to know that sometimes, things are in the TelePrompTer that aren't supposed to be there.

Perhaps that explains the faux pas from the co-chair of the Republican National Committee on Tuesday night.

In front of the entire convention (and presumably a national audience), Jo Ann Davidson of Ohio made a pretty noticeable slip of the tongue:

"We are holding a convention that will nominate a Republican woman, Governor Sarah Pawlenty, our next vice president," Davidson said.

Watch it for yourself: