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WHAT'S NEWS
•When he speaks tonight, John McCain will seek to "recast" the GOP brand "in his own maverick image" -- "an attempt to overcome what he will paint as" Barack Obama's "more ephemeral call for change" (Washington Post).
•McCain's nomination last night "was a sideshow" to Sarah Palin, who "electrified" a convo "that has been consumed by questions of whether she was up to the job" (New York Times).
•"Greeted by a thunderous ovation" (Los Angeles Times), the "self-described 'hockey mom' checked" Obama "into the boards" (New York Daily News). She used "wit, sarcasm, charm and ridicule in a full scale assault" on "an elitist adversary, a biased media and high taxes" (Politico).
•Meanwhile, Obama's camp said Palin's speech was "well delivered, but it was written by George Bush's speechwriter" (release).
•For his part, Rudy Giuliani "served up the political red meat" last night, pointing out that Obama "has never led anything. Nothing. Nada" (New York Post).
•McCain's top fundraisers have begun a new effort to raise $100M in the final two months of the race, which "would go a long way toward closing the money gap" with Obama (Wall Street Journal).
•The DNC's independent expenditure is running a new TV ad in MI that casts McCain "as out of touch on the economy, and just like" Bush (TheAtlantic.com).
•Meanwhile, McCain and the RNC launched their "Recovery" ad in MI yesterday (release).
•According to new documents, Palin wrote emails that "harshly criticized" AK state troopers for failing to fire her ex-brother-in-law "and ridiculed an internal affairs investigation into his conduct" (Washington Post).
•GOP "icons" Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy "were caught trashing" Palin on an open mic yesterday (Newsday), although Noonan says there is some "confusion" over the context ("Huffington Post").
•However, Palin "found some unlikely allies" yesterday, as ex-top aides to Hillary Clinton said that she "has been subject to a sexist double standard" (Politico).
•New CNN/Time polls of RVs, conducted 8/31-9/2, show Obama leading McCain 55-40% in IA, 53-41% in MN, and 47-45% in OH (release).
•Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), "who vowed to leave Congress" after losing the NJ SEN primary, "has changed his mind and will run again" (Newark Star-Ledger).
•For more headlines, see today's Earlybird: Top%C2%A0News; Campaigns; Pundits & Editorials; Network News; TV Guests; Today In Washington.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Jon Stewart knows what freedom smells like on Play of the Day!
HAIR OF THE DOG
21.5M people watched the GOP convo on 9/2 -- down slightly from the 22.1M who watched second night coverage in '04, and less than the 26M people who watched the second night of the Dem convo last week ("Washington Wire").
GOSSIP BUFFET
•In St. Paul yesterday, ex-Senate Maj. Leader Bill Frist took a leisurely afternoon stroll around Rice Park with Chris Matthews, who was clad almost entirely in red (Wake-Up Call! reporting).
•Sitting behind the Fox News Radio table yesterday afternoon, a lonely-looking ex-Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) was one of the only hosts in the Xcel Center's radio row without a guest (Wake-Up Call! sympathizing).
•After telling MN delegates yesterday that he had "an affinity for women's beach volleyball," Mitt Romney "quickly realized the weirdness" and explained: "For the sports, of course" (The Hill).
•After Palin's convo appearance last night, ex-Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) was overheard complaining into his cell phone: "Her speech was a little long" ("Shenanigans").
•To make up for the fact that CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) didn't attend the convo, CA GOP officials "handed out DVDs" to delegates this week, including "Conan the Barbarian," "Junior," and "Kindergarten Cop" (Los Angeles Times).
•While Bristol Palin is "wearing a ring on her left ring finger," fiance Levi Johnston apparently has "Bristol" "tattooed on his left ring finger" ("Huffington Post").
•"Everybody needs to get off that" -- Chuck Norris, warning the media to "back off" from stories about Palin's family. Or else ("Washington Whispers").
•"I don't think I can overstate all the pent-up excitement there was in this room waiting for Sarah Palin. And it exploded all over the place tonight" -- PBS' Ifill, grossing us out ("NewsHour").
•The "laborious process of tutoring Palin" will start today in "a hotel room" somewhere in Minneapolis with "big index cards," which she prefers ("Stumper").
•To stay looking so stylish, House Min. Leader John Boehner opts for "off-the-rack, middle-of-the-road" suits, pastel ties, and "Brooks Brothers Non-Iron shirts, which I do myself" ("Yeas & Nays").
•Meanwhile, Boehner was spotted dancing with at least seven different young ladies at the Warehouse Party on Tuesday night (Wake-Up Call! sources).
•Tom Brokaw has been "carrying a backpack" since '68, and now keeps his "notebook" and "all of my pens" in a "small, fire-red Patagonia" ("Daily Intel").
•"It's probably a very bad joke, but I left part of me here in Ft Myers. ... They have my gall bladder" -- Joe Biden, on the stump in FL yesterday (NBC/National Journal).
ROOSTER'S CROW
•A luncheon tribute to Cindy McCain (Hilton Minneapolis, noon).
•Members of the McCain family visit a Twin Cities Habitat For Humanity build site (644/656 North Dale St., St. Paul, 2:30 pm).
•Press briefing on women's reaction to Palin (Women's Voices Women Vote Action Fund call, 3 pm).
•Redskins vs. Giants (NBC, 6 pm).
•Ralph Nader holds a presser about something (Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, 6:30 pm).
•Tribute to the Reagan Revolution: '80s Celebration Reception (Aqua Night Club, 9 pm).
BREAKFAST FLAKE
"Palin pressured Wasilla librarian. TOWN MAYOR: She wanted to know if books would be pulled" -- Anchorage Daily News, previewing the next big Palin scandal.
Nora McAlvanah, Editor
Maura O'Brien, Associate Editor
About Wake-Up Call!
- A morning news briefing on politicians and the press.